Welcome back everyone, ready for another deep dive.
Always.
Well, today we're gonna tackle something
that I think a lot of people have experienced.
Okay, I'm intrigued.
It's about technology and education.
Like we all know it's there.
Oh yeah, absolutely.
Schools are investing tons of money in it.
But it doesn't seem to be changing
how teaching actually happens in the classroom.
We've got this fascinating research chapter here
called Strategies to Increase Technology Acceptance.
Okay.
It's by Gary Lee Ackerman from Rivendell Academy.
Have you heard of him?
I haven't, no.
Okay, so Ackerman really highlights this kind of paradox
right from the beginning.
We see technology completely revolutionizing
almost every industry imaginable.
Yeah, it's true.
I mean, you think about how much things have changed
just in our lifetime.
Exactly.
And yet, education seems to be this area
where technology is still kind of struggling
to find its footing.
Yeah.
We've got a ton of research spanning decades actually
that confirms this.
But it's not like schools aren't trying, right?
They're pouring money into hardware, software,
all this stuff.
The brawl of it.
So what's the missing piece here?
Why isn't it clicking?
Right.
Ackerman thinks that we can actually learn a lot
from industries that have successfully integrated
technology.
That makes sense.
He says, one of the keys is to understand
how people adopt new technologies.
Okay, so how do they?
Well, there's this thing called the Technology Acceptance
Model, or TAM for short.
Oh, okay.
It basically says that people are more likely to use
technology if they believe two things.
All right, what are those two things?
One, that it will be easy to use.
The effortless.
Exactly.
And two, that it'll actually help them achieve their goals.
That it'll work, that it's effective.
Yes.
So it's not just about having the coolest latest gadgets,
but making sure those gadgets are useful.
Right, that they have a purpose.
Totally.
And actually, TAM has kind of evolved over the years
into more complex models.
Oh, okay.
Like there's this one called the Unified Theory
of Acceptance and Use of Technology.
That's a mouthful.
I know, right?
UTUT.
But it basically builds on TAM,
but adds things like, you know, social influence,
like are your colleagues using it?
Right, right.
And are there enough support and resources?
So it's not just about the tech itself,
but the whole environment around it.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And the thing that I appreciate about Ackerman is,
he doesn't just leave us with these abstract theories.
No.
He actually takes us inside schools
that are using these principles
to make technology work for them.
Show us how it's done.
I like it.
Yeah, exactly.
So he presents three case studies.
We've got the planning cycle,
reflexive curriculum design,
and the curriculum repository.
Okay, so real world examples.
Yeah.
And each offers some really practical strategies
that I think other schools could adapt to.
Cool.
So let's start with the planning cycle.
Ackerman introduces us to Jerry.
Jerry.
Yeah, he's a high school principal.
And he's dealing with this really common problem.
There's a total disconnect
between what the teachers need from the technology
and what the tech department is actually providing.
Oh, I've seen that happen a lot.
Right.
It's like this communication breakdown.
The teachers feel like our needs aren't being met.
Right.
And the tech specialists are like,
why are we even doing this?
No one's using this stuff.
Spinning their wheels.
Exactly.
So to address this, Jerry and his team developed this system.
They called it the technology planning cycle.
A planning cycle, interesting.
Yeah.
So how does it work?
How does it actually play out?
Okay, so Ackerman shares
a couple of really interesting stories.
One involves the student information system.
The SIS.
Yeah.
Okay.
Now, this is kind of ironic, right?
The whole point of the system was to give students
easy access to their grades, their schedules, all that.
Right.
But it was completely inaccessible on their school laptops.
Oh, wow.
So they couldn't even use it.
So what happened?
So it turns out the network administrator
had blocked access on the wireless network.
Why would they do that?
He was worried about, you know, data breaches, security.
Security concerns, makes sense.
But the teachers weren't aware of that.
Oh, so it was just like this silent roadblock.
Exactly.
And so it created this huge amount of confusion
and frustration.
Especially for the students, I imagine.
Right.
Especially for the students.
You know, they couldn't check their grades.
Yeah.
Especially those who didn't have internet access at home.
Right, that's a big problem.
So they were kind of left in the dark.
So it was failing that effort expectancy, right?
Yes.
Too hard to use.
Too difficult, too inconvenient.
And the school wasn't getting the benefits
they wanted either.
Failing performance expectancy too.
Exactly.
So Jerry realized, okay, someone's gotta change.
Right.
First he tried to just communicate the limitations
to the teachers, to the students.
Okay.
But it just led to more complaints.
Yeah, because it's not really solving the problem.
Exactly.
But armed with his feedback,
he went back to the network administrator.
Okay.
And he said, look, the whole reason we invested
in this system was to empower students.
To give them access.
And that's not happened.
So we need to figure this out.
Yeah.
What happened?
And it worked.
The network administrator finally reconflated the system.
Students could access it from their laptops.
Wow, that's great.
I know.
They didn't actually track specific academic outcomes.
Okay.
But they saw this huge jump in student engagement
with the system.
Right.
So at least they're using it.
Exactly.
I mean, it makes sense, right?
If you have easy access to your grades,
you're more likely to take ownership of your learning.
Absolutely.
So it's a great example of how understanding
these principles of technology acceptance
can actually help school leaders advocate for changes.
Yeah.
That really benefit everyone.
They get work for everyone,
not just for the tech department.
Right.
Okay.
So the planning cycle,
it also proved valuable in a totally different context.
Oh, okay.
How so?
Ackerman tells this story about Donna.
Donna?
Yeah, she's this primary school teacher,
known for using technology in really creative ways.
Oh, that's cool.
But there was a server upgrade.
Oh.
And it wiped out this generic user account
that she'd set up for her young students.
So they all shared one.
Yeah.
To make it easier.
Exactly.
You know, imagine trying to get a class of kindergartners.
Oh my gosh.
To log in with individual usernames and passwords.
Nightmare.
Total chaos.
And it was a clear violation of effort expectancy, right?
For those little kids.
Yeah.
They're still learning to read, to use a keyboard.
Right.
Too much effort.
Way too much.
So Donna was really frustrated.
But the principal initially just deferred
to the tech department.
Like not my problem.
Exactly.
Talk to the tech guys.
But then, after the principal actually saw the struggles,
firsthand in the classroom.
Okay, that's good.
He realized, okay, we gotta change something.
Right.
Sometimes you just have to see it.
Yeah, you have to see it to really get it.
So he brought the tech coordinator, the teachers together.
Okay.
And they came up with a compromise.
A compromise, okay.
Yeah, they found this system that allowed
for the independent logins.
Okay.
But with simplified credentials.
Oh, okay.
So that even the young kids could manage.
That makes sense.
Ackerman points out that framing these discussions
in terms of effort expectancy
and performance expectancy.
Right.
Gave teachers a language to advocate for their students.
Interesting.
It wasn't just they complaints anymore.
It was like, this is the problem.
It gave them specific points to bring up.
Exactly.
Jerry, the high school principal,
even said that faculty meetings,
they went from being these gripe sessions
to productive dialogue.
That's a big shift.
Yeah.
Everyone's on the same page.
They're speaking the same language.
All came together.
Yeah.
So it's about making technology work for everyone,
both the teachers and the students.
Right.
And Ackerman's next strategy
focuses on the curriculum itself.
Oh, okay.
So not just the technology, but how it's used.
Yeah, exactly.
I'm interested to hear about this.
We too.
So this next one, it's called reflexive curriculum design.
Reflexive curriculum design, okay.
And it's really all about moving beyond just
making the technology work.
Okay.
To actually thinking about how technology
can fundamentally change what we teach and how we teach.
So it's not about just kind of like shoe-horning technology
into a lesson.
No, not at all.
But more like letting the curriculum and the technology
kind of shape each other.
Exactly.
Yeah, they influence each other.
Ackerman talks about this curriculum director, Linda.
Linda.
Yeah.
And she really wanted technology to be a meaningful part
of the learning experience.
Okay.
Not just like, oh, here's an add-on.
Right, an afterthought.
Yeah, exactly.
So she starts this project called, well,
reflexive curriculum design.
Interesting.
Gets teachers from all grade levels,
kindergarten through eighth grade.
Wow.
To explore all these possibilities.
And one of the teachers, Dave, he's the librarian,
he's tackling this age-ult problem.
What's that?
Citations.
Oh, citations.
Yeah, it's something students always struggle with.
Yeah, they do.
It's like a whole language of its own.
Right.
And he was noticing that younger students, especially,
they would get so bogged down.
Okay.
In like the mechanics of writing down the source
information that they weren't really engaging with the ideas.
Right, they're so focused on getting the format right.
Exactly, yeah.
So he decides to experiment with this online bibliography
tool.
During a research project with his fifth and sixth graders.
Cool.
Now, this tool wasn't really designed for younger users.
Yeah.
So they had to kind of adapt and be creative.
So what did they do?
So the library assistant would actually collect
and manage all the references.
Okay.
And then help the students transfer that information
into their papers when they were ready.
Oh, that's interesting.
So like a midway point.
Yeah.
Okay.
And, you know, every student had a perfect bibliography.
Oh, wow.
That never happens.
But I guess, you know, the library assistant,
that's a lot of extra work for them, right?
Potentially, yeah.
But what Dave found was really interesting.
Okay.
The students were actually freed from that burden
of formatting everything.
Yeah.
They could focus on the ideas, the research itself.
Oh, that's awesome.
It wasn't just memorization and format.
Right, it's actually about the content.
Exactly, yeah.
And he even found that they were motivated to do that last step.
Okay.
You know, transferring the references.
It just meant they were finishing the project.
Oh, so the technology was almost like a reward.
Yeah, kinda.
I like that.
That's a good strategy.
Right.
So it actually facilitated learning in a different way.
Yeah, it wasn't just a tool, it became part of the process.
Exactly.
So another teacher, Chris, he's a middle school science teacher.
Okay.
And he was struggling to teach data analysis.
Data analysis.
Oh, yeah.
Middle school, that's a tough one.
It is, yeah.
Specifically, the best fit line.
The best fit line, yeah, I remember that.
Luckily, he's Dover Eyes probably.
Well, yeah, I can only imagine.
So he decides to incorporate spreadsheets into his lesson.
Okay.
So he creates a template with a scatter plot.
Yeah.
Has the students input data from an experiment they did?
Oh, cool.
Hands on.
Right.
And as they were entering the data,
they could see the best fit line updating on the graph.
Oh, wow, that's cool.
Right, it's visual, it's interactive.
You can see it changing in real time.
Yeah.
Did they like it?
Oh, they did.
He observed them making these really insightful comments.
Oh, wow.
About how the line changed.
You know, they're playing around with it.
Oh, that's cool.
So they're really engaging with it.
Yeah, it became this dynamic exploration,
not just like a boring exercise.
Right.
And it transformed his teaching to,
he even admitted that he had stopped teaching that concept.
Really?
Because it just wasn't working with the old methods.
Wow, so the technology brought it back.
Yeah.
That's amazing.
OK, so we've got a librarian, a science teacher.
Now, what about elementary school?
Yeah, so Jason, he's a fourth grade teacher.
Yes, he's a fourth grade.
OK.
And he was looking for ways to make his unit
on their local community more exciting.
OK, yeah, that could be tough.
Right.
And his school had just gotten all these new computers.
OK.
And he comes across Google Earth.
Google Earth.
Yeah.
You know, I feel like that tool has so much potential.
It really does.
But it's often overlooked in education.
It is, yeah.
So he had his students create virtual tours of their town.
Oh, wow.
That's so much better than just reading about it in a textbook.
Right.
And he even incorporated math concepts.
Oh, OK.
How did he do that?
They would measure and compare the area of different properties.
Using Google Earth.
Yeah, using Google Earth.
Oh, that's cool.
So again, the technology is serving a purpose.
Right.
It's not just for fun.
It's integrated.
Yeah.
And Linda, the curriculum director,
she observed these fourth graders.
Yeah.
Independently checking their work using textbooks.
Wow, because they cared.
Because they wanted to get it right.
That's awesome.
That's what you want to see.
That's the goal.
Right.
That intrinsic motivation.
Now, remember, this is all part of Linda's reflexive curriculum
design project.
Yeah.
So to kind of complete the loop, she
brings those teachers who developed these cool lessons
together with the district's technology planning committee.
So it's not just teachers doing this on their own.
There's this connection.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So for example, Chris, the science teacher.
Chris, yeah.
He had to delay his spreadsheet activity.
Oh, why?
Because not all the laptops had the full version of the software.
Oh, the infrastructure wasn't there.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So it highlighted this need to make sure the technology could
actually support the learning experiences that teachers were
creating.
The two-way street.
Totally.
Yeah.
The curriculum influences the technology decisions.
Right.
And the technology shapes what's possible in the classroom.
It's all connected.
OK, so this third strategy that Akramen explores
is called the curriculum repository.
The curriculum repository.
We meet Pam, a sixth grade teacher who is really
passionate about collaboration.
Collaboration.
Yeah, that's so important, but also so hard to find the time for.
Right.
Like, teachers are already so busy.
They are, yeah.
So how do they make it work?
So Pam and her colleagues, they recognize this.
And they came up with this idea.
OK.
With Akramen's help for a curriculum repository.
Curriculum repository.
It was an online space where teachers could upload,
download, revise, share instructional materials.
Oh, cool.
Like a teacher-created resource library.
Exactly.
And they built it using the district's existing learning
management system.
Go smart, using what they already had.
Right.
Which at the time was mainly used by high school teachers
and students.
OK.
So did it work?
Did teachers use it?
It did.
Pam became a huge advocate for it.
Oh, cool.
She loved how it gave her access to high quality resources.
Created by other teachers, saved her time and effort.
And she found that the content was more
aligned with her curriculum goals.
OK, that makes sense.
Because it's coming from other teachers who
are teaching the same things.
Exactly.
Yeah, it's like a curated collection.
Yeah, yeah.
Not just this giant database of who knows what.
Right.
You know it's good stuff.
So did this experience change how Pam used technology
in her own classroom?
It did.
She had been kind of hesitant to use the learning management
system with her own students.
OK.
She thought it was kind of clunky and time consuming.
Yeah.
But after using the repository, she realized its potential.
Oh, cool.
And started using it regularly in her own teaching.
So one good experience can lead to more broader acceptance.
It can, yeah.
Now, Ackerman does point out that not all teachers
were as enthusiastic.
Right.
Of course not.
Everyone's going to love it.
Yeah.
The principal at Pam's school observed three distinct groups.
OK.
What were they?
Active contributors.
OK.
Those who just downloaded materials.
OK.
Just users.
And those who uploaded something once
and never logged in again.
Oh, the one time uploaders.
Yeah, I guess that makes sense.
Different levels of comfort with technology.
Everyone's different.
So we've explored these three strategies.
And they seem really promising.
Yeah.
But like you said earlier, integrating technology
and education is a complex process.
It really is.
It's not a simple fix.
So what are your thoughts on where we go from here?
It really is, yeah.
It's definitely not just like buy some computers
and everything's fixed.
That's really where Ackerman's discussion of wicked problems
comes in.
Wicked problems.
What are those?
Well, unlike those technical problems,
which usually have pretty clear cut solutions.
OK.
Wicked problems are like they're kind of messy.
OK.
They involve people.
So integrating technology and education,
that's a wicked problem.
So what makes them so wicked then?
Well, for one, there's always that social element.
You've got different people with different priorities.
Different values.
Exactly.
And the solutions, they're rarely straightforward.
What works in one school might not work in another.
It's not a one size fits all.
Exactly.
And even those key factors we talked about.
OK.
The effort expectancy, the performance expectancy,
social influence, all that.
Yeah.
They need to be constantly redefined as technology changes.
That's true.
Things change so quickly.
They do.
Something that seems super easy to use today
could be clunky and outdated tomorrow.
Yeah.
And what's cutting edge now is old news next year.
Exactly.
Ackerman really emphasizes that.
OK.
Creating a culture of reflection and continuous improvement,
he says that's essential.
So you can't just implement something and then forget about it.
Nope.
Schools need to be willing to experiment,
learn from what doesn't work.
Yeah.
And just keep adapting their approach.
Exactly.
He also brings up some really interesting points
about autonomy.
OK.
Especially for teachers.
How that affects technology acceptance.
So how much control teachers have.
Yeah, exactly.
He suggests that things like cognitive engagement
are teachers really interested in using it.
And do they feel like they have the agency to make choices?
He says those might be even more important than their age
gender experience.
That makes sense.
If you feel forced to use something,
you probably won't use it very well.
Right.
Exactly.
It's about empowering teachers, helping them see themselves
as designers, innovators, not just following a script.
I like that.
So as we wrap up this deep dive, we've covered a lot of ground.
What stands out to you as the most important takeaway?
For me, it's that reminder that successfully integrating
technology, it's so multifaceted.
It's not just about the tech itself.
No, it's about the people using it, their needs,
their beliefs, the systems that support them.
It's about collaboration, continuous improvement,
embracing that complexity.
And being willing to kind of navigate that messy world.
Exactly.
It's not easy.
No, it's not.
But I think Ackerman gives us some good tools to start with.
Absolutely.
So as we always like to do, we want
to leave you with something to think about.
What's one small change you can make,
whether you're a parent, a teacher,
even just a community member?
To promote technology acceptance.
Yeah, to promote technology acceptance in education.
Maybe it's starting a conversation, sharing a resource,
or even just being more aware of how technology is being used,
or maybe not being used in the schools around you.
Every little bit helps.
So thanks for joining us on another deep dive.
Keep those conversations going.
And we'll see you next time.
Bye, everyone.