Understanding and Overcoming Teacher Reluctance

By: Melissa Lashevicki

Being a foreign language teacher, I can agree with many of the points that Joe
Dale makes in his article Are language teachers leading the way with education
technology? In particular when he refers to how bringing technology into the classroom
can promote productive skills of speaking and writing as well as a higher order of
thinking while creating a meaningful integration of technology and working on their
listening and comprehension skills.
At the end of the day we are all educators and as such, we tend to stick to
activities that are in our comfort zone and that we know has worked in the past. For that
reason, many of us whether tenure teachers with many years of experience under our
belts or brand new to the field of education tend to be a bit reluctant to try new things in
the classroom for fear of failure or looking silly.
Students in my opinion tend to respond more to the type of real communication
that technology can provide as opposed to the more structured kind that often takes
place in a classroom. They feel more relaxed and engaged, perhaps even more willing
to take risks with the target language at hand and not so consumed with worries of
making grammatical mistakes or improper pronunciations.
Steven A. Carbone II in Incorporating Technology into the Modern English
Language Arts Classroom talks about many different studies that have been done on
the topic. One in particular stands out for me, a survey on modifications to lessons as
well as assessments that incorporate student motivation as well as interest. Chances
are that if the student is engaged and interested in they will retain much more of the
information that you as a teacher is trying to convey.

Understanding and Overcoming Teacher Reluctance

By: Melissa Lashevicki

Replacing traditional worksheets and packets with wikis is one of many different
strategies that a teacher can use to encourage student synthesis of content. Not to
mention collaboration, as students are prompted to organize information about
vocabulary and summarize. They are also prompted to additional information of their
own while working on the wiki pages mentioned.
This particular study was done for a Language Arts class but it is something that
teachers of all subjects matters can gain from. Expression is something that is
important in the English classroom. Students need to understand texts, authors and
technology can provide that as well as new ways to communicate ideas and express
knowledge and feelings.
There are many components to learning a foreign language, one of them being
that the learner needs to be comfortable making mistakes and learning from them. I
can certainly use wikis in my classroom instead of a worksheet in order to help better
accommodate my students needs. Adding a technology component to our lessons can
certainly help students in many ways such as:
o Motivating students to learn,
o Helping students relate to life outside of the classroom,
o Giving students an opportunity to use their language ability outside of the
classroom,
o Helping teachers reach all of their students in a variety of different ways
and
o Effectively differentiating instruction as well as allowing students to work at
their own pace.

Another component is that of learning about the culture that accompanies that
particular language. There are 21 Spanish speaking countries who are all unique and

Understanding and Overcoming Teacher Reluctance

By: Melissa Lashevicki

diverse and that offer unique and amazing attributes such as transporting to where
Spanish is spoken and seeing what these places are like. From the wildlife and
topography, to city life. As well as everyday routines, celebrations, holidays and
traditions. Not to mention the various delicious foods and great music depending on
geographical location.
Some of the different ways to incorporate technology are via use of audio files
and videos, it can potentially help students further develop their listening skills. For
example, in my classroom I can give my students the opportunity to listen to a native
speaker in all of their glory and really get the exposure of all of the different accents
there are in the Spanish language. Its also a way to introduce new topics and themes
by showing the language in use in different contexts via a possible do-now activity or
even a closing activity.
Another great reason to incorporate technology into the classroom is because of
the great tools it can offer us in order to be able to differentiate instruction. For
example, with laptops or chrome books in the classroom as a 1:1 ratio, a teacher can
essentially have all students on the same topic but working on different activities based
on where their comfort level is so that they can be challenged appropriately without any
embarrassment from students who may be a lower level.
Meredith Swallow from the University of Vermont-Tarant Institute states that a
one-to-one (1:1) technology initiatives have expanded throughout school districts as a
model of strategic change to improve the quality of education, enhance student
academic outcomes, and support 21st-century skill development. There is generally a

Understanding and Overcoming Teacher Reluctance

By: Melissa Lashevicki

positive outcome from year to year of incorporating technology in the classroom in a 1:1
manner.
It is however a struggle because it may take some time in order to be able to see
the positive outcome and many teachers get discouraged and no longer want to
incorporate their new methods. In her article on Exploring the Incremental
Experiences of a 1:1 Technology Initiative Meredith Swallow states that this conclusion
comes from a series of studies on teacher-learning strategies and student outcomes in
technology rich environments.
Yet, Joe Dale in Are language teachers leading the way with education
technology? states that in order for us teachers not to get discouraged, we should
consult one another through the use of social media. It helps eliminate solidarity and
gives us teachers a sense of comradery and an outlet for both frustration and ideas the
like. He recommends that teachers join an online community to help with the process of
incorporating technology into our classrooms.

Understanding and Overcoming Teacher Reluctance

By: Melissa Lashevicki

Bibliography
Meredith Swallow (2015) The Year-Two Decline: Exploring the Incremental Experiences
of a 1:1 Technology Initiative, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 47:2,
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Carbone II, S. A. (2011). Incorporating Technology into the Modern English Language
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<http://www.studentpulse.com/a?id=364>
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Understanding and Overcoming Teacher Reluctance

By: Melissa Lashevicki