The gap. Not very specific I guess since in education we talk about all kinds of gaps. The learning gap. The achievement gap. The accessibility gap. I could go on and on. This gap though, is one that I have not heard discussed at faculty meetings or division wide professional development, at least not here in VA. I've heard it talked about in hushed tones at some edcamps and a few conferences but not out in the open, to the point that I'm not sure it even has a name. I'll just call it the "teacher technology acceptance gap" or TTAG. In most articles I have read about the technology gap or digital divide, the focus is on students being able to access it or teachers wanting it but not having access to it through their school division but that is not what I am talking about at all.
As an educational technology facilitator, I get to see how technology is used in lots of different classrooms, I talk with teachers about technology use and work closely with them on implementing it into instruction. What I have observed is an ever widening gap between the teachers who are willing to give it a try and use the technology, either enthusiastically or hesitantly, and those who flat out refuse to use it unless they absolutely have no choice but would clearly rather be using a worksheet. This isn't a new gap by any means, but I feel like its widening has accelerated in the past 3-4 years.
Previously, there was still not a huge difference between the tech-savvy teacher and the non-tech savvy teacher. Now however, we have teachers going almost or completely paperless, using tools like Onenote to deliver lessons, collect and grade assignments as well as online textbooks and testing tools with immediate student feedback. This now stands in stark contrast to the teacher that wants to stick solely to the textbook, worksheets and multiple choice, hand-graded tests. This gap is becoming more pronounced and causing more interpersonal problems on teams as well because, lets face it, it's hard to make common lesson plans and assessments if you and your content team member are at opposite ends of this spectrum. Not only are we seeing ripples among content and grade level teams but parents are weighing in on it now too as the TTAG is becoming wide enough for them to notice the difference even outside of school. And to be clear, I don't think technology use makes anyone a good teacher or non-use makes anyone a bad teacher, I've seen several instances of quite the opposite.
I have no idea what the fix is, I am just concerned by the ever widening TTAG I'm seeing in my schools and those around me. Some divisions are making it a requirement to use certain technologies beyond the electronic gradebook, some mandate specific programs and others give teacher the autonomy to chose what, if anything works for them and to what degree they want to use it. As a huge fan of using programs and technology that I think fit my classroom and my style the best, I still believe we may be seeing a shift to more required use of technology in the K-12 or at least 6-12 classroom. While some will be thrilled, I see this type of shift causing even deeper divides among educators and worry what the future holds. How will administrators and leaders reconcile the inevitable clash and the aftermath?
I would love to hear perspectives from other educators who have gone through this shift and helped teams work through the minefield of issues that come with requiring teachers to use certain programs. Especially because I see it coming in the future for both my own division and most around the country, it seems inevitable.
