India has struggled with technology integration in schools for many different reasons. In a study completed by Komathi Ale and Arul Chib, researchers determined a few factors that would assist India with technology integration in their schools. These factors were created with the rural Indian school in mind, but would be beneficial to Annapolis Middle School for many reasons which are detailed below.
Reducing Technical Anxiety for Teachers
According to Ale and Chib (2011), “while students are the primary beneficiaries of ICTE interventions, teachers remain the gatekeepers of students’ access to the educational opportunities afforded by technology.” Similar to the teachers at Annapolis Middle School, teachers in rural India “who are not trained in the instructional use of technology, face constant challenges in obtaining computer skills and using them for pedagogical purposes” (Ale and Chib, 2011). Teachers need to be provided with the right knowledge and skills to assist the students with using technology themselves. In both the urban schools featured in the interviews, as well as at Annapolis Middle School, there are many teachers who struggle with the integration of technology. In order to make it easier for the teachers to learn about the technology training must reduce the teachers’ technological anxiety (Ale and Chib, 2011). The best way to reduce the technological anxiety is to provide training using a less intimidating approach. The teachers should be “comfortable and confident of the capabilities to learn” (Ale and Chib, 2011). This approach to teacher training would be very beneficial to the teachers at Annapolis Middle School. Often times the training provided for the teachers at Annapolis Middle School can be very fast paced and intense. The teachers often leave the sessions overwhelmed with information. Since they are overloaded with information, they are often intimidated to return to their classroom and attempt to integrate the technology with their students. If teachers were provided with training that was less intimidating and comfortable, the teachers would be more confident in their abilities.
Informing Teachers about the Benefits of Technology for Students
According to Ale and Chib (2011), “It is essential to promote positive approaches in teaching technology to children.” In India, it is often a competition between the teacher and the student of who gets to explore the technology (Ale and Chib, 2011). It is important that the teachers understand that they need to take on the role of the technological mentor for their students instead of competing with the child’s use of technology. At Annapolis Middle School, teachers do not compete with students over the use of technology, but they do have difficulty understanding how it can benefit their students. When providing professional development, we need to focus on how the technology can benefit our students. According to Ale and Chib (2011), “it is important to communicate the usefulness of a technology in helping to increase their work efficiency and to reduce labor.” Teachers need to realize that technology can assist them with being better teachers as well as improve their abilities to be more efficient at their career. Once the teachers realize that the technology is in fact helping them and their students, they will have a more positive outlook towards technology. This positive outlook can create a chain reaction among other teachers as they will see the positive impact that technology integration is having on their peers.
Allowing Students Ownership Over Technology
In India, students face many sociocultural issues that might limit them from the ability to have ownership over their use of technology. This ownership is related to the access that a student has to the technology. As stated by Ale and Chib (2011), “access can be explained in terms of the amount of time one gets to use the technology, the frequency with which it is used, the extent of engagement during usage, as well as the extent of barriers to usage” (pg. 55). The cultural issues that affect the equal usage of technology lie in the gender segregation that occurs in India. Girls are often expected to stay home to perform domestic duties, instead of going to school. Boys are expected to receive an education in order to care for their families once their parents grow old. Therefore, when a classroom is provided with technology, the boys often dominate the use of the technology and the girls lose interest (Ale and Chib, 2011). At Annapolis Middle School, we have equality among race and gender, but we have a large difference in the economic status of our students. Because of this, our students do not have equal access to technology, and therefore they need to be provided with additional time at school to allow the students to gain the technological knowledge that is necessary for them to be successful in our ever-changing technological world.
