Scenario: A former college roommate of yours is a new technology coordinator at a school district in a rural part of Idaho. In the first few days on the job, in a meeting with the school administrators, she learns that "most teachers in our building resist using technology, even though we just spent $75,000 buying brand new SMART Boards for their classrooms." Those SMART Boards are installed in the classrooms but are getting very little intended use. The administrators are concerned on multiple levels, including being worried about what will happen if district taxpayers learn those purchases are mostly being unused. The administrators then ask her to perhaps identify teachers in classrooms or even other schools who would make better use of the equipment. But - your friend is intrigued. Rather than simply take away the SMART Boards from teachers who are not using them, she wants to know why the teachers in the elementary school are not using the new interactive whiteboards. However, she's not really sure how to go about doing this and wants your advice.
I believe this scenario is very common for school districts who are quick to innovative with tangible items without thinking through the rationale and complete process (going beyond logistics) of implementation. It sounds to me that the generally less-than-ideal use of SMART Boards in this district is either related to a lack of teacher "buy-in" or a lack of proper training. Both of these causes are fixable, so evaluating teachers' attitudes, teaching styles, and knowledge/comfort levels (among other indicators) will help ensure that the solution addresses the root issue in an efficient and effective way.
I think an important first step is to understand the big picture of this issue. The technology coordinator should speak with administration to gather facts about the goals for this initiative. What was the rationale for spending $75,000 on SMART Boards in the first place (i.e. what were the objectives)? Who made that decision, and what involvement did teachers have? (E.g. were they made aware of the objectives and told of their accountability?) It would also be helpful to gather information about timelines for implementation and any training sessions that were conducted to get an objective sense of the behind-the-scenes preparation for this technology roll-out.
The technology coordinator should then gather data about the problem to help determine the root issue. First of all, she could try to discern if there is a pedagogical reason for their lack of use. Stopping into classrooms and gathering this kind of data from observation checklists or field notes might reveal patterns. Are the teachers that are not using the SMART Boards using other kinds of technology in their place? Are they typically demonstrating other types of teaching strategies that do not involve sharing information on a screen? Is the room set up for a different kind of interaction? It's possible that this technology is a mismatch for the teaching styles of many staff members. Their lack of use may not be through laziness or confusion at all, which it why it is so important not to jump to any conclusions before looking at the issue from as many angles as possible.
The tech coordinator would also want to find out if the teachers do not understand the purpose or value of these machines. This could be due to a lack of understanding of how they work and/or their capabilities beyond a whiteboard. It could also be due to a perception that these devices are an inferior or less efficient/effective way to teach their students. Or perhaps there is simply a lack of time to learn about and explore the device features. The best ways to gather data surrounding these attitudes and perceptions is through surveys. The coordinator could generate questions that touch upon teachers' skill and comfort level with the SMART Boards and well as their feelings about the power and value of these devices as a learning tool.
The fact-based background information, observational data, and attitude/perception surveys should help shed light on the "real" matter at hand. From here, the administration, teachers, and technology coordinator can work together to reframe, retrain, or re-implement this roll-out as needed.
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