Barrier to Technology

A Personal Reflection

During my time working as a third-grade teacher at a private school, tablets were introduced one year into the curriculum. The requirements applied to all grades. They were provided by the school and added to the tuition fees.

As you can imagine, the parents of my students were not pleased about this, and I was not either. The school had not planned workshops or any kind of training to explain to parents how the tablets would be incorporated into their children's learning and what benefits they would provide to the classroom. They simply explained this was the modern age, and tablets were a necessity in the classroom now.

We also didn't receive proper training as teachers. Instead, we met in small groups and were instructed to figure out ways to incorporate the tablets into our lesson plans.

It was like I was thrown into completely uncharted territory, and then left alone to figure it all out.

I began to find them a nuisance when my students became obsessed with them. They began to beg to stay in for recess, opting to play games on their tablets instead of heading outside to play. Some of my faster students would ask to play with their tablets after finishing their work. When my weaker students saw this, they would hand in their work as fast as they could and run to join the others, leaving me with half-done classwork. If I made them come back and complete their work properly, then I was a mean teacher who didn't let her students have fun. After I finally banned the tablets, parents came to me asking why they paid for something that was not being used.

It was a mess.

The school had completely missed the mark with its attempt at integrating technology into our curriculum. The tablet had become more of a hassle than anything else. If the administration had taken its time and provided proper training and guidance, we would have had a more successful experience.

The end of the year left me with a bitter taste in my mouth towards technology and education. In fact, it wasn't until years later when I researched technology integration into a school curriculum for myself, that I realized how valuable using technology in the classroom could be.