Response to Articles- Matt Wilson

Shifting from a classroom teacher to a technology coach at the onset of the pandemic provided an incredible opportunity to witness and participate in critical decision-making for the direction in which we wanted to guide our district in terms of educational technology and instruction. Teaching was challenging before the pandemic and after having come out on the other side of the shutdown, through a year of trying to make in-person learning work, two types of teachers have emerged. In observing teachers around my school system I have noticed that there are teachers who have taken the forced opportunity of having educational technology as the sole means of instruction completely thrive. They have become innovators, as Rogers calls them, finding new ways to tap into the deeper side of learning or taking something done before and putting a new spin on it. Then the other type of teacher I have noticed attempts to take the same instructional resources used in a traditional face-to-face classroom and make them digital, oftentimes with poor outcomes. Great energy is put into creating digital worksheets that were once done on paper, with little to no impact or change on student achievement.

While Rogers points out that there are other stages of adopting innovations, the two forms on either end of the spectrum have stood out as a result of the pandemic. In my role as a technology coach, reading Rogers's work helped me see and identify more plainly how I can mentally categorize teachers with whom I work; their abilities, comfort level, and willingness to try an innovation in technology.  Reading about the characteristics that affect the rate of adoption, mainly the relative advantage, complexity, and communicability, will help me better think about and analyze innovations and how they will be perceived (Rogers, 1963). He also notes the importance of an Opinion Leader, their status among community members, and their effect on the adoption of innovations. I find this to be extremely relatable to faculty in school buildings. An opinion leader should be one who is highly regarded amongst the entire school and has built quality relationships with others around them. Innovations lead to excitement and energy, not only from students, but from teachers as well, and can help teachers provide more meaningful learning for students.

In thinking about the difficulties of teaching, I remember planning lessons and trying to wrap my mind around all of the different learning styles of my class, and trying to do my very best to design a learning experience that would meet those needs to the depth and rigor required from the standard. It was hard! Now that Chromebooks are readily accessible, providing that differentiation, in terms of learning styles and needs, has become much more manageable and in reach. I really appreciated reading about the first two forces in A Rich Seam, and the importance of shifting teaching perspectives to new pedagogies and new change leadership to provide deep learning. One of the many points that were made stated that technology is not intended to facilitate the delivery of content, but rather to enable student discovery, using the knowledge acquired in the real world. (Fullan, M. & Langworthy, M. 2014). As I mentioned above, when teachers attempt to take a traditional worksheet activity and digitize it, students have no desire to learn from it because it is not personalized to their interests. They are" unimpressed with prepackaged, personalized, learning experiences." (Fullan, M. & Langworthy, M. 2014) This is why it is so important for teachers to recognize the importance of building relationships with students and partnering with them as lifelong learners. Partnering with students sheds light on what drives students' interests and how that can be utilized in their learning experiences. Becoming a learning partner allows teachers to see learning take place through the eyes of their students and encourages learning to become more visible.

I found all 5 of these articles to be enlightening as it relates to my current role in the world of education and where the future is heading. It was especially encouraging to read  A Rich Seam and relate it to the direction that the instructional technology department of my district believes in and wants to move toward. 

Fullan, M. & Langworthy, M. (2014). A rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep learning.                         London: Pearson.

Rogers, E. M. (1963). The adoption process II. Journal of Cooperative Extension, 1(2), 69-75.

Retrieved from https://archives.joe.org/joe/1963summer/1963-2-a2.pdf