So over the course of the year it has become clear how important ICT is in schools and how much we rely on it as teachers. We create amazing presentations that incorporate YouTube clips, have whole lessons devoted to online programs and games such as WebQuest, and we often base the research components of assessments on online research. Clearly our reliance on it is HUGE! So what happens when things don't go to plan?
I have created fantastic History lessons that have been solely based around ICT that have been massive fails because the internet was down or because of a room change and access to key ICT infrastructure was denied.
When this happens, the frustration levels rise and haphazard lessons are formed. Although as teachers we should always have a back-up plan, sometime this does not happen and we are left providing students with lessons that are not as good as they should be. THIS IS A MASSIVE PROBLEM!!
In a perfect world everyone would have access to all ICT facilities all the time and would never experience "difficulties" but we don't live in a perfect world and we do have to deal with these difficulties.
I believe that ICT is a very valuable tool, however our reliance on it in our classrooms can often be our downfall.
I have created fantastic History lessons that have been solely based around ICT that have been massive fails because the internet was down or because of a room change and access to key ICT infrastructure was denied.
When this happens, the frustration levels rise and haphazard lessons are formed. Although as teachers we should always have a back-up plan, sometime this does not happen and we are left providing students with lessons that are not as good as they should be. THIS IS A MASSIVE PROBLEM!!
In a perfect world everyone would have access to all ICT facilities all the time and would never experience "difficulties" but we don't live in a perfect world and we do have to deal with these difficulties.
I believe that ICT is a very valuable tool, however our reliance on it in our classrooms can often be our downfall.
I totally agree with you Janell, and I would be really surprised if anyone didn't! You are so right in saying that we try so hard to make ICT a part of our routine classroom practice rather than using it as a mere tool, however when it constantly lets us down in more ways than one, we start to wonder sometimes why even bother with it. I too have had the same frustrating experience of setting up lessons which are solely based on using computers only to find out that the schools wireless is down! It's extremely frustrating and only when something can be done to ensure that ICT in schools is fully functional and reliable will we as teachers be able to make its incorporation a greater part of our unit and lesson planning.
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