Barriers to the effective use of technology in education

Technology is constantly being updated meaning that unless you are going on training regularly it is quite difficult to keep up to date with everything new that is being released. This in itself is enough to put some people off even trying to learn, as because by the time that piece of technology is mastered there is an update or a new version to use again. We are still at a time where there was nothing or little technology used in our own education and now we find ourselves surrounded by all this technology and if it is used correctly can change learning and teaching.

Most people have found a style of working that is effective for them individually and then that style becomes familiar and comfortable and as time goes on (in all professions not just teaching) this becomes the norm. When this style becomes the norm it can be difficult to step out of it and see if there are any improvements or changes that could be made to the way in which you work. People don’t like change and I am guilty of avoiding change at all costs. I believe that this may be a barrier for the more experienced teachers who may be set in their teaching ways. All teachers must be willing to improve their teaching by learning how to implement new technologies into teaching. Some teachers no matter how experienced they are may have little or no confidence in their technology abilities so overcoming these barriers for the teachers is a must if the schools and the curriculum are putting more pressure on the teachers to implement technology into the classroom. Providing adequate training for teachers must be invested for the future of learning. Chin (2004) states that technology may be new to some teachers and not to others but it is the way in which it is used is how it becomes advantageous to the learning of the students.

All of this however would be useless if the resources weren’t actively available for teachers to use. Having the resources readily accessible would be paramount to the implementation of new technologies into the classroom. If these were not available then that would be another barrier for a teacher to overcome and another negative tick towards a potentially already low view of technology in teaching.

Whether it is teachers’ attitudes or the resources available or lack of availability the bottom line is that technology is all around and it should be used to its full advantage to enhance the learners experience in the classroom. The barriers to the effective use of technology can be easily overcome if a little more effort and belief is injected all round.     

References

Chin, P. (2004). Using C&IT to support teaching, London: Routeledge