Change will take a major shift

An interesting 'morning tea in the staffroom' chat I had with another teacher led me to think about what has to happen for real change in our classrooms to occur.

I was having a regular 'vent' about how few teachers are using technology in their day to day practice. She believed, however, that they shouldn't have to. Everyone has a strength, she said, mine being I.C.T and others being Art or Numeracy. It wasn't until after our conversation that I realised the reason for our 'disconnect'.

One of the reasons change is not happening (any where near as fast as we would like in some classrooms) is because so many still see tech integration as a 'curriculum area' rather than a teaching pedagogy. It's not something we teach but something that can fundamentally change the way we teach.

This, though, is obviously not the shift. It is who has to take on board that conceptual difference that is the crucial factor. Anyone reading a random teacher's blog has, probably, already grasped this concept. Real momentum will begin when we can break through to the multitudes of teachers, administrators and parents who haven't made this transition.

And how many do you know?

At the moment this conceptual shift is 'encouraged'. I've heard it said that we are the last generation of teachers for whom tech integration is an option.

How long will it be before it is part of our professional appraisal system? And then where will many teachers and schools be?

(Photo - Davd Reece / Flickr / Creative Commons)