Factors to Consider When Introducing New Technology/Media into the Classroom

There are many factors that you need to consider when you are thinking about introducing new technologies or media. What are the biggest issues you need to consider in your school? Have any of your colleagues attempted to integrate new technologies/media in their classes? If so, were they successful? If not, what happened? What can you learn from their experience?

One of the first things that I feel is important to consider when thinking about introducing new technologies or media within my future classroom would be the issue of available resources. While new technologies can be a great asset within an educational environment, they are only effective if you have the proper resources to implement them within that environment. I went to school in a district where funding was always an issue and I currently work in a rural district where budgets are often tight and the amount of technology resources available are often few.  Unlike some schools, where every student has access to their own computer or mobile device, the schools that I am most familiar with often have a single computer lab that all students must share and one or two computers per classroom. In addition, most students do not have access to internet or computers at home and if required to access information outside of school, they would not have the resources at their disposal in order to complete that task. While efforts are being made to improve this situation, the availability of these resources is certainly something to consider before deciding to implement new technologies or media in my classroom. The new tools can not be as effective if I do not have the necessary resources to allow all students to access this technology. 

Another factor to consider is the issue of content and privacy. Any new media or technology that is introduced to the students needs to be evaluated by faculty or administrators to determine if the content is appropriate for the students and whether or not privacy issues will arise from the use of the new technology. I also feel it is important to determine if the media or tool being introduced within the classroom allows students to access outside resources that would not be appropriate for school activities or contains advertisements, links, etc. that are not appropriate or necessary for school related work.

One factor that has been a road block at the campus where I currently work has been the issue of having to have new programs installed by campus technology specialists before teachers can use the program with their students.  A teacher that I work with is currently conducting afterschool tutorial sessions in order to help prepare students for the upcoming STAAR test. She found a fun and educational computer program that she wanted the student to be able to use during tutorials. Before tutorials began, she put in a request to have the program installed on the campus set of netbooks that could be used within her classroom after school. She has made numerous inquiries as to the progress of the instillation and after four weeks, has yet to receive word that the program is installed and ready for the students to use. Although school approval is a necessary step and I can see the need for instillation by campus technology specialists, the time frame that it takes to accomplish these steps interferes with the ability to successfully implement this program.  I suppose that one of the lessons that I have learned from her experience is that if there is any new technology or media that I want to introduce within my future classroom, if would be most efficient if I can decide which tools need to be implemented using this process and make my request earlier, rather than later to help ensure that the process of preparing to implement these new resources proceeds in a timely manner.