New Teachers Techless
Study reveals some educators lacking in tech skills
By Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 12/1/2005
New teachers are ill prepared to integrate technology into the classroom, and school librarians are in a perfect position to help them, says Ann Flynn, director of educational technology at the National School Boards Association (NSBA).
According to a recent NSBA tech survey, 85 percent of its members say they’re concerned that new teachers are “only somewhat prepared or not prepared” to effectively use technology in classrooms. As a result, NSBA, an association representing school boards nationwide, believes that school districts should encourage media specialists—who are often the school’s tech guru—to help get teachers and their students up to speed with technology.
The study’s findings show that districts “have a lot of work to do in the area of professional development to help teachers understand how to use technology tools to enhance student learning and performance,” says Anne Bryant, NSBA’s executive director. “It also speaks clearly to the need for colleges of education to get their students up to speed on using new teaching technology tools.”
Flynn notes that teachers who use technology in the classroom—by letting kids do assignments on computers or surf the Web—see a real difference in their classroom performance. Some 89 percent of those surveyed say that technology helps improve academic performance.
More specifically, 40 percent believe technology helps improve kids’ critical thinking skills and makes them become better communicators, while 24 percent say it helps improve test scores. But with 70 percent of students from low-income families without Internet access at home, gaining access to technology can be a problem, the survey says.
Librarians are already easing the problem, Flynn notes, by keeping media centers open late so that these students can finish assignments or conduct research that they couldn’t complete during school hours. “This really helps to level the playing field,” adds Flynn.
About 500 NSBA members completed the online survey in October, and results showed that 46 percent believe that integrating technology is the biggest challenge facing school districts today.
While librarians make up only five percent of NSBA members, the organization considers them a critical voice in keeping teachers, schools, students, and even the community connected both on and offline.
“They help to better connect parents and the community to what the children are doing,” Flynn says. “And with more demand on school districts to have technology solutions across the board, library media specialists are a key part in making sure it works.”
