Concerns about the slow adoption of technology by teachers are not new, and rapid technological changes have increased the likelihood that teachers will have to grapple with unfamiliar technology. This presentation highlights for K-12 educators a framework of enablers for teachers to make sense of their experience with new and emerging technology. It is taken from the study, “Unfamiliar Technology and the Architect of Learning: A Case Study.” This framework outlines characteristics of internal affordance (teacher capacity), external affordances including dynamic professional development experiences, a collaborative culture of lifelong learning and inevitable constraints with something new. Constraints were not seen as barriers in opposition to the enablers. The study found limitations of time, infrastructure and opportunities for teacher learning challenged the teachers to engage with unfamiliar technology. The data also revealed a personal capacity to be open to the possibility that a new technology might present and a strong supportive ecosystem had a powerful impact in facilitating the process of sense making. A constructivist teaching and learning environment invited teachers as participants in the process of learning. As participants the teachers had the capacity to act within their environment, thus the weight of the constraints was diminished. The study also concluded that teachers who do not have the opportunity to see themselves as learners will find it more and more difficult to cope with the endlessly changing landscape influenced by educational technology. Teachers will benefit from participating in building personal pathways for making sense of new and emerging technology.
Of Interest to: K-12 educators, Researchers, Educational technologists, Administrators
