INCREASING TEACHERS ’ EDTECH CONFIDENCE ONE STEP AT A TIME
BY : AL KINGSLEY
With the radical changes that have occurred in education over the last year , teachers have had no choice but to get on board with technology . Some were already extremely comfortable teaching this way , but for those who previously only used it minimally in the classroom , facing their fears and tackling it headon was the only option if education was to continue throughout the dark months of the pandemic .
Of course , there ’ s a difference between choosing not to use EdTech for pedagogical reasons ( i . e ., if the learning situation is not appropriate for its application ) and choosing not to use it due to lack of confidence . Let ’ s deal with the latter here , because not moving forward with technology due to feelings of being overwhelmed or uncertain is absolutely something that can be overcome with the right support from senior leaders and colleagues . I think the majority of schools now realise that not doing so is counterproductive , and they will try to assist teachers as much as they can , within the limits of their budgets .
Removing any barriers to more fluent EdTech use in the classroom has taken on a new priority for schools , now that we have seen just how important it has been over the last year . Indeed , some of the adjustments that have been made out of necessity ( e . g ., online parents ’ evenings , using a variety of tech solutions for communication , apps for audio feedback , the use of video exemplars and so on ) have worked so well that many schools are planning to continue them in the future . So , it ’ s now clear that , in terms of technology use , there is no going back to how it was before and EdTech is set to become even more embedded throughout schools across the world .
30 Term 3 Apr - Jun 2021
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