The suggestion was made that, if other factors interfere with teaching during the first week of the school year, at least one could use the computer facilities beneficially. The comments indicated that this is indeed possible.
We have moved into the third quarter of the year, and in some schools we are now suffering from the "middle-of-the-year syndrome". All sorts of excuses are given why learners are not given access to the facilities that could make such a difference to their learning process.
Please consider a blog from a teacher on another continent (and another hemisphere) who start teaching beneficially on the first day of the year - yes, the first day of the year.
It is true, not all of our teachers may be able to play a guitar, but many of them can sing, dance, or even play an instrument common to their own culture: banjo, concertina or drum.
What are the interesting points that you pick up in this posting that could be copied by some of our teachers? How could we start preparing now to overcome the "first-week-of-year syndrome that will hit us again next year?
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What are the low hanging fruit of ICT implementation in schools? What are the quick wins?
A few suggestions have already been offered in comments on the posting a few days ago, all with great merit. There are different views one could take regarding what this "fruit" could be.
Acknowledgement for this image.
After a computer facility has been completed at a school, training of the educators start. The individual teachers in a school typically fall into different categories: some embrace the use of technology immediately; others may be averse to learning a new skill; there could be some that are just too busy with other activities to give proper attention to technology at this time; it may be that some teachers are just slow adopters.
Where are the low hanging fruit? It is clear that it must be the early adopters – those teachers who see the possibilities of ICT in education and hold on to it.
Would it not make sense to focus on these ones – give them extra attention; help them to develop quickly; provide them with as much support as possible.
By reaping these low hanging fruit, we will develop a core of expertise in a school that could help us to harvest the crop of fruit that may initially be out of reach.
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The purpose of this posting is simplhy to link to Technorati.
<a href="http://technorati.com/claim/3p9e2uk777" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>
Now this blog can be tracked by Technorati.
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In the Western Cape we call them facilitators - those folks who go from school to school to help teachers to integrate the use of technology into education.
They also could also be called “technology integrators”. Sharon Elin holds such a position in the United States of America and she kindly shares her experience with us in her blog. Do yourself a favour and consider the promises she makes regarding the way in which she is going to approach her task in the new year (the academic year in the USA has just started).
A few of the highlights of her posting are:
“I’m going to expect that many people are in need of remediation, which is perfectly OK. The learners are more important than the process!” We can certainly relate to this sentiment. We are reminded that it is OK if teachers are not progressing as fast as we would like; just be patient with them.
“I will be pushing independence and ‘taking it up a notch’.” That is one of our goals as well – move teachers progressively to the point where they become independent users of ICT.
The last paragraph is striking: “Other ideas brewing for my professional improvement include developing cross-curriculum projects, problem-based learning units, and global outreach initiatives with other teachers around the country and the world. If I stretch out of my own comfort zone, I can try to extend the reach of my learners, whether they are teachers or students.” A technology integrator may never fall into a comfort zone – continue to explore new ways in which to stimulate teachers.
These are just a few quotes – you simply have to read the posting for yourself. The USA has a head-start of more that two decades over us in the provisioning of ICT resources in schools – we could benefit from the approach they are taking to technology integration.
Which points in the posting do you believe merit our consideration?
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When one is faced with a task that is so big that it may seem impossible to achieve, how can one make it more manageable? One way is to adopt the low hanging fruit strategy.
The idea behind this strategy is that one sets targets or goals that are easily achievable and which do not require a lot of effort.
Acknowledgement for this image.
The concept of targeting low hanging fruit is given to us by nature. A tree often bears the most desirable fruit on high branches that are out of reach. Less attractive fruit may be on lower branches that could be picked with very little effort.
In the business world this strategy is sometimes suggested to encourage sales staff to seek out the easiest customers first, which may be called low hanging fruit.
When it comes to technology in education, one sometimes feels like it is a losing battle – too many stumbling blocks to achieve our goals:
• Unwilling teachers
• Uncooperative school principals
• Lack of technology support
However, what are the low hanging fruit ? What are the quick wins that may give us hope and could fortify us for the rest of the challenge?
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