More technology, less support: teaching and learning are not benefitting from the great techno-push

photo by Katie Lips

Educational technology has not improved teaching or learning in general because teachers are not able to explore, experience, and be trained in relevant uses. A great amount of teachers want to help students become technologically literate, but finding the time to work with new technology and incorporate it into meaningful lessons is a huge challenge - and it’s not getting any easier. As Oppenheimer (2003) has noted, “…teacher training takes serious doses of time, money and effort” (p. 306). He has also suggested that “as far as technology is concerned…the panopoly of demands on America’s teaching force is substantial, and rising.” (p.311). I think we can apply that last quote to Canada’s educators as well. In my division, teachers coach and head other school clubs, plan educational trips, work on numerous school committees, incessantly work on keeping up-to-date on resources and teaching methods, and in the last few years have continuously been working on changing assessment practices.

Other educators such as Larry Cuban (2001)have echoed these issues, citing a “lack of time available for teachers to find relevant software, judge its worth, and try out the products in classrooms” and saying that “training in relevant software and applications was seldom offered at the times that they needed them” (p. 97)

Kalkowski has attempted to figure out why teachers have not been able to integrate technology to the desired levels. One of the important findings was that teacher training needs to be more extensive and start earlier – in fact, when teachers are learning their profession.

“It has been shown that teachers teach how they were taught. (Norton & Gonzales, 1998). So, for beginning teachers, the teacher education faculty members must model effective use of technologies in their own classrooms (Cooper & Bull, 1997). Ropp (1999) conducted a longitudinal study during a preservice teacher education course that included hands-on technology training and classroom discussion of technology and found that students made significant improvements in technology proficiency, computer self-efficacy and computer coping strategies from the beginning to the end of the course. When Topp (1996) studied recent teacher graduates, he found that a computer-specific course was essential, especially one on computer integration, but that the technology education pre-service teachers felt they received was inadequate.”


Think about how you were taught to use technology in when you were attaining your education degree. Do you believe it was substantive and focused on integration in the classroom, or was it superficial and ineffective? My Teacher and Technology course involved creating a website, a PowerPoint presentation, and learning about computers themselves. In one of my courses students had the opportunity to create a short film. In essence, teacher candidates received a brief introduction to educational technology. Is that good enough?

One force in education that may have been able to assist teachers in technology integration is teacher-librarians. Unfortunately, education budgets across many parts of North America have not allowed for extensive teacher-librarian or library budgets. Froese-Germain (2001) suggests that the whole system is backward: “Paradoxically, while schools go about acquiring more information and communications technology, teacher librarian positions are being eliminated as a result of funding cutbacks” (p.3).

But is Froese-Germain’s position supported by evidence? Here’s a few more voices on the issue:

“The government, teachers, and the public agree that literacy is essential. Research
evidence supports the value of libraries to improving literacy. However, the drastic
cuts in resources are hitting school libraries particularly hard. Teacher-librarian time
is reduced or eliminated in many schools making library services less available to
students.” British Columbia Teachers’ Federation

“In 2005 Statistics Canada released a study documenting the dramatic decline of school libraries over the years. It found the median expenditure on the physical collection of libraries (including books and magazines) was a mere $2,000. Even more revealing was the finding that few schools had a full-time
teacher-librarian. Those most affected by this sad state of affairs are families unable to supplement their child’s learning with books and other resources in the home.” - Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives

From 2001–02 to 2007–08, the number of library specialist teachers in B.C. schools declined by 21 percent. – Pieta Wooley

So even though there has been a strong, clear push for overworked teachers to use more technology, the support has not been equally strong. There should be more and more teacher-librarians in schools – why isn’t that occurring?

Works Cited

Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold & underused: computers in the classroom. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

Froese-Germain, B. (2001). A critical approach to technology - an anti-technology approach: putting education & technology in context. In But it’s only a tool! The politics of technology and education reform (pp.1-11). Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Oppenheimer, T. (2003). The flickering mind: the false promise of technology in the classroom and how learning can be saved. New York: Random House.


photo by Kevin Dooley