Created a reference page.

I found this link and it's got many suggestions for ways to overcome resistance http://www.serprofessoruniversitario.pro.br/ler.php?modulo=7&texto=294

I really like the idea of using the scenario Carolyn suggested. It allows us to organize our information into categories while applying it to a realistic situation many of us may be facing now. If we are in agreement as a team to use this format we can move forward. Thoughts?

This sounds good to me! Let's get going...should we set up some kind of timeline to get things done?

I like Carolyn's idea too.

good start

Ok, it sounds like we are good to begin. This is what we need: 1.) a survey that will determine the reasons for resistance 2.) activities designed to address the particular reasons for resistance 3.) an agenda for the technology professional development day 4.) a way to tie it all together. (I'll begin this part after we get a good start on everything else and then we can all make changes to it after it's on the wiki.) This part will include stuff like how to group the teachers, how to determine where they go if they have multiple reasons for reluctance, etc... I don't think that we need to create activities, just make a plan, but I think it would be nice to have a survey to use as a springboard. Also, some of what we do will eventually need to be tweaked to match what technologies the other group decides on.

I cleaned up the page and roughly hacked out a basic plan for action. Now we just need someone to get a survey started based on the brainstormed ideas. Whoever is going to do it, just say so and when you get a basic one started post it on the page and everyone can add to/edit it. After the survey is completed we will each grab a reason for resistance, write an objective for it and come up with some possible activities to help address it. Then, again we'll all add/edit each others stuff and hopefully end up with a decent final product! : ) Sorry if I seem bossy....don't mean to be.

Feel free to edit the intro, goal, and plan. I'm done for tonight!

You don't seem bossy and I am grateful you took charge. It has been the school year from h--- so far and taking two classes is beginning to seem like a bad choice! I wish my "roughly hacked out a basic plan for actions" looked so good. I'll start the survey this weekend and get it posted on the wiki asap.

... and thank for all of your efforts Carolyn.

Absolutely! I think we will be able to use some of that for sure.

Feel free to update the survey.

The survey looks good. I added a couple things. Feel free to comment on those.

We do have a slight problem here. Being that a training day has already been determined to attempt to rectify the resistance to change, many of the survey questions will not and cannot be fixed if they are the source of the resistance. What if the resistance is not based upon lack of skill? Training only helps problems that stem from lack of knowledge and training outside of the actual work scenario (training in the school library for example) is typically met with minimal success. I'm not saying that this is a futile attempt but don't expect too much if you were to actually to implement something like this in a school district.

Google Forms would work well for distributing the survey.

In real life if a school district doesn't provide all the necessary stuff needed for successful implementation of technology then it's there problem and they can't expect teachers to use the technology. In that case there isn't much we can do for a project here either, so we're assuming here that everything technology wise has been provided and that the resistance is coming from some other source. I'm open to any suggestions that you may have to fix this problem, but I tend to disagree that something like this couldn't help.

I would have to agree with Carolyn on this. In my school if teachers had training on technology they wanted to use, they would be so much more inclined to use it. Without training, highly unlikely they use it.

After looking at the survey in more detail, I'm wondering if, since we are assuming that this is a district that has provided a trick-bag full of technology that for some reason just isn't being used, we should omit the questions that have to do with inadequate technology (e.g. lack of hardware, current software, etc..) or support issues.Then, maybe focus on technologies that would have cost the district the most money--Student Response System, Smart Board, iPod/iPad and maybe the Microsoft office programs. If we did that, we could then focus it even further by having multiple parts to each professional development session. For example, maybe we could have a session for the Student Response System and within that session we address 1.)necessary technical skills for using it 2.) how to incorporate it into lessons and 3.)I'm not sure, but I'm sure you will think of something that I can't seem to right now! Also, within each session we could offer hands-on training and individual consultation for those who need it.

I also think that integrating technology into subject matter is something that all teachers could benefit from, so maybe this is going to need to be a series of professional development days!

Carolyn, I agree with your last coment -- one thing that strikes me as I read this is that such an effort would likely produce longer-lasting effects if there were a series of workshops rather than a single "tech day."

I do have to agree with Matt on tackling the true root cause, but I'll take the devil's advocate tack -- so what if the school doesn't provide "all the necessary stuff" for implementing technology? Can't teachers take it upon themselves to learn something new without the school having to provide training? Seems to me like that would dovetail nicely with the professional development conversation we've been having in the discussion threads.

Granted, sometimes additional training is all that is needed to help people become comfortable enough with technology to really begin integrating it into their daily lives, but training is often seen as a potential remedy for all that is ailing in technology integration. How else do we rectify the situation?

My basic concern here is that I don't think there is much of a project here if we don't take on the assumption that the school has provided the necessary equipment. I mean, if the teachers say that the reason that they aren't embracing technology is that they don't have the proper tools then that, in my opinion, isn't them resisting technology, but instead just not being willing to try building a house without a hammer. I wouldn't blame them and I don't see what we could do here to help them overcome that resistance except try to convince them that they don't need the proper tools. And, why would we do that? So, if we don't want to embrace the technology day(s) then what? If someone has got another idea PLEASE put it out here so that we can get busy. If not, let's keep going with this.

I have added the original assignment to this page and added a bit to the introduction that makes a case for equipping the schools with technology.

The idea here is fine and we can solidify it by simply stating that after an initial survey of faculty, a primary resistance to technological change was identified due to lack of training on the use and implementation of technology in the classroom/curriculum.

Chris made an excellent suggestion regarding a series of workshops. We could also do a mentoring style follow-up or a PLC style integration.

Resistance due to lack of technology could be potentially corrected by showing the teachers how to take advantage of the equipment that is already available. It is normal for people to not be aware of the resources available to them.

That is true...Do you think that is more or less often the case though? I guess I am of the opinion that it happens the way that I have suggested more, but I don't have to be right about that. : ) Let's just keep going with this though, if it's all the same to everybody so that we can get going. I feel like we are going to quickly run out of time.

I agree with the time issue and moving forward with what we have.

I made up a google form for the survey. See if you like it. I didn't add every question yet but will add them and give everyone permission if we want to use it. Survey is at: http://tinyurl.com/itec-resistance

I can't see this document and the request for access page is down. can you share this with chcrosie@kent.edu please? thx.

I could not gain access either.

Hey group!

I am having a hard time here...I don't know what I am supposed to be doing. I see we have started some planning. Please let me know...

**Should there be some kind of committee set up to monitor the teachers' use of technology after the inservice/PD? Or is the goal simply to design a technology day?

Sara--There is a 5 step plan above. We are only on step #2. Feel free to claim any of the steps and begin working on it and posting what you've done. Yes, having some way to monitor after the inservice would be a nice addition, so go ahead and add that as step #6 if you'd like.

I will gladly work on step 6/7 (When I looked at this there were two step 3s?? I fixed that, however, it may not be correct). I will set up a plan for monitoring teachers and create some kind of rubric to work with.

I also split the wiki up into some new pages to clear up the clutter. Don't worry...there is a word document with the information from before.

Sara, thanks for dividing this up into pages. I think that will help. Also, if you look in the page history you will find earlier versions of the page with what was there before so you don't need to keep a back up word doc!It looks like you have a good start on steps 6/7. Let us know when you think it's done and the rest of us will jump in and edit, add, delete, and polish. Also, I think Diane has claimed step #4, so we still need someone to get us started on steps 3 and 5.

Oops! No Access! That should be fixed now. I think it should be open to the world for editing.

I added a little blurb at the end of the scenario to validate the idea of the technology day PD. It's info I ran across in my research articles.