Integrating Technology Into the Weather Unit
Obstacles and Solutions
Lack of Professional Development
Opportunities for introducing games, simulations, and videos into a weather unit are numerous. But, if teachers are not confident in using the technology or familiar with the tools available to them, it's not going to happen. Professional development is usually geared toward reading and math programs, along with new initiatives brought forth by the government. So, that being said, what can we do within the school in order to ensure teachers have the skills necessary to understand how to use technology.
Where's the "ON" button? (5)
Below are some ideas that I feel will help to get more teachers comfortable integrating technology.
- Seek out of district training opportunities, whether they be on-line (3) or at a fixed location. NSTA offers science webinars developed to assist teachers in their entry into the world of STEM. Weather resources are free to members.
- Weekly after school hands-on sessions, lead by the technology savvy teachers in a school. PBS has a pre-recorded webinar on "Top Strategies for Transforming Professional Development". (4) Introducing a website such as the PBS Learning Media site, and giving teachers time to "play" with the resources, such as weather, will help to build teacher confidence and see the value of integrating technology.
- Incentive (5) for pursuing professional development in technology. With everything else that a teacher has to do, like planning, grading, testing, benchmarking, communication with parents, and trying to have a personal life, it is difficult to carve out time to commit to anything else. But, what if there was an extra benefit to finding that time, like a guarantee of a piece of equipment or software to implement what they learn? Would they be more likely to attend?
- Reimbursement for time spent learning about new technologies. Many technology based conferences are during the summer or on weekends. Paying teachers for their time would help to get more to attend. Many of the GAFE tools can be used while studying weather, and there is always a Google Summit held during the summer.
- Teacher-to-teacher training is a great way to spread the knowledge. Showcasing software being used during a staff meeting is a great way to share. Free Technology for Teachers, a blog written by Richard Byrne, is full of great technology ideas.
- Students who are tech savvy are a great resource in the classroom. Students who study weather in 6th grade could go to the lower grades and be the "experts", assisting the younger students.
- Bring local professionals into the classroom or school to share how technology is used in their profession. Meteorologists from the local news station could come into the classroom to answer questions about how technology is used in forecasting.
- Resource pages are set up for teachers, listing the games, simulations, and lesson plans available within the school, and those free resources that other teachers are using. Organizing these by grade and subject would help teachers to locate good technology resources.
Lack of Time to Learn New Technologies
Finding the time is always a challenge. With everything that teachers are expected to do on a daily basis, asking them to locate, evaluate, and learn to use and integrate new technologies is overwhelming. While designing the weather unit, I came across hundreds of videos, games, and simulations. There was no way that I could look at all of them, and I was only working on one unit, weather. So, what can be done to make the task less daunting for a teacher?
- The Technology Committee could form a group of interested "tech geeks" to explore tech options.
- Students who love gaming could locate and evaluate resources.
- The Technology Integration Specialist could locate and suggest resources.
- The school could buy into a STEM program, where simulations, games, videos, and materials are all included as part of the program.
Lack of Technology Resources
If resources are not available, all the professional development in the world won't help! Having a strong Technology Committee and supportive administration, a community that supports technology use, and evidence that technology use in schools will benefit the students, will help to get the technology budget approved. Having students showcase the results of their use of technology, such as videos and presentations produced while studying weather, will demonstrate to the community how they are putting their knowledge to use. Posting these on the town's cable channel and on the school's website is a great place to display these projects.
Availability of Resources on a Regular Basis
In order to have true technology integration, resources need to be available to teachers all the time. Teachers are hesitant to changed over to technology based teaching because there are not enough Chromebooks and laptops to go around. A weather unit, or any science unit, could benefit from technology through the use of free videos showing interesting weather phenomena, simulations demonstrating how to use weather tools, Google Earth to explore weather around the world, and games to practice the scientific concepts. But, if the resources are not always available, teachers are not motivated to put the work into planning lessons that integrate technology. One solution to this would be to have a policy that would allow students to bring their mobile devices (BYOD) to school with them.
BYOD - Bring Your Own Device
Used for Testing
Smarter Balance, NWEA, Science NECAPS...when these are being administered, technology access for classroom use disappears! So, for many weeks of the year, sadly, classrooms are "tech-less" for a good part of the day. A one-to-one laptop program, with separate computers would alleviate this problem. Another thing that could help is to work in a "flipped classroom" environment, where most of the computer work is done at home. Many of the weather simulations, videos, and games are perfect for homework assignments.
Difficulty Locating/Retrieving Equipment
Visualize this scenario: I've got a great project planned for my weather unit, where the students will use the Internet to follow a hurricane that is occurring on the other side of the world. My class is 50 minutes, I have no other adult in the class, and the laptops are checked out by someone in another area of the building. I have them signed out, but it turns out that the other teacher didn't need them, so someone else took them for that block. Now I need to find them. By the time I locate the equipment needed, half of my class is over. More commitment to the sign-out calendars, and a better method of delivering the carts to the next class, would help to eliminate some of the wasted time.
Lack of Actual Time Spent Teaching Science
Due to federal mandated testing, math and reading are in the forefront and science and social studies take the back seat. "Teach to the Test" is what happens, and this is no reflection on the teachers. Districts are judged based on their scores, so this has come to be the expectation. Yet, all the talk now is about STEM/STEAM programs. Technology is the opportunity to pull it all together, integrating reading and math right into the science and social studies curriculum. Why do districts keep buying reading programs, when the focus should be more on a curriculum heavier in STEM? The answer...the tests and the fear of changing over to meet the needs of the 21st century!
Dino Miele sums it up in the quote below. Right now the focus is on getting the resources to the students, without proper professional development for the teachers. Technology should be used in a way that is just a part of the science curriculum, not as a "special treat". Students should just automatically incorporate technology and see it as a natural part of their learning.
Dino Miele, Chief Information Officer
District School Board of Niagara (5)
Enjoy! Learning for the Future
1. (2015). What Obstacles Prevent Teachers from Using Technology ... Retrieved April 3, 2016, from https://thejournal.com/articles/2015/11/03/what-obstacles-prevent-teachers.aspx.
2. (2014). Teaching Science Resources - EdTechTeacher. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://edtechteacher.org/tools/science/.
3. (2012). NGSS Web Seminar Series - NSTA Learning Center. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NGSS/webseminar.aspx.
5. Richard, V. (2007). ERIC - Technology Incentives: Motivating Teachers to ... Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ779944.
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