Technology PD With No Technology...What?

“I embrace the tech failure. Expect it. Plan for it. Take away its power to catch me off guard.” This quote by Angela Watson is now my new technology mantra. Let’s recap my first October Make & Take focused on Google Classroom…

I arrived at the building at 7:30 am which gave me plenty of time to set up my laptop to project, put swag on tables, and set up the sign-in sheet and raffle ticket table. Sounds like I had every detail planned. What I didn’t plan on what not being able to log into the network. When I couldn’t sign in, I went to my go-to fix and restarted my laptop. Then the dreaded message that Windows was updated appeared on my screen. Panic has not set in yet as I grabbed a Chromebook as my back up. But that back up device gave me a login error. My next backup plan was to use the desktop that is wired to the network. Surely that had to work but once again, no luck. By this time, participants are beginning to enter the library and saying they cannot log on. We all come to find out that particular building’s network wasn’t functioning that morning. Just my luck...a make and take with no technology to use. Let the panic on the inside begin while trying to remain calm and collected on the outside. My last resort was accessing the presentation and Google Classroom on my phone and putting it under the ELMO to project. I am very thankful for one of my very generous colleagues who volunteered to scroll my phone while I presented.

Jacqui Murray perfectly describes every teacher’s worst nightmare when it comes to technology integration. Imagine spending hours on the perfect lesson that includes the perfect technology activity. You practice the program or tool many times, including the morning of the lesson. When it’s time to teach the students, technology fails and you feel like a failure. Every teacher who has integrated technology has had this similar experience and unfortunately many teachers stop there because teachers cannot fathom the thought that the lesson wasn’t successful.

Jacqui Murray provides three things teachers can do and remember when things go wrong. Teachers must accept that technology will change. Links will stop working or become incompatible with your devices. These kinds of moments can be used as a teachable moment. This is a great example to show students how to handle stress, problem solve, and avoid frustration. In other words, it’s a learning experience to allow students to see if they can solve the problem. The biggest thing to remember and possible the hardest is to not apologize. In almost all cases, the teacher didn’t do anything wrong… the technology did.

On the other hand, Angela Watson describes every technology coach’s worst nightmare. It’s very easy to be embarrassed when facilitating a professional development and something goes wrong. Apologies are continuously given and thoughts of participants thinking you have no clue what you are doing always run through your mind. In most cases, however, teachers don’t blame the facilitator, they blame technology which in turn may lead to teachers giving up. As a technology coach, it is my job to sway the frustrations with technology to teachable moments. Nothing will work right 100% of the time and planning a backup activity is essential. In this case my backup plan was using my phone under the ELMO and it worked. I think that modeled for teachers that panicking is not the solution, problem-solving is.

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​After this whole experience, a few days after the session, a first grade teacher at that building told me she was using Google Classroom for the first time with her students. Not all bad experiences lead to bad outcomes after all.

“Technology mishaps keep us humble; they force us to stay in the position of the learner.” ~ Angela Watson

References

Watson, Angela (2017, March 03). Technology FAIL: Embracing tech when it doesn't work. Retrieved from https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/technology-fail-embracing-tech-when-it- doesnt-work/

Murray, J. (n.d.). Technology in the Classroom: What Happens When It Fails? Retrieved from http://www.teachhub.com/technology-classroom-what-happens-when-it-fails