Technology And Teachers: How To Help Them Use EdTech

Why Is EdTech Not Used By Teachers?

Teachers are the most important part of the education system, which has changed significantly because of the pandemic. But teachers are finding it difficult to use technology. Why is that? There is a myth around EdTech that students don’t learn much through it.

Reasons Why Teachers Struggle With Educational Technology

1. No Motivation

There can be problems like a dearth of motivation because sometimes teachers may feel like they are too old to learn. So, they must be motivated to learn. Sometimes, teachers must learn without any support given to them. That’s why technology becomes complicated for them. Teachers need support from the IT department of the school or the company that is providing such educational technology.

2. No Extra Time

Teachers also face problems because they have many responsibilities on their hands. They must manage students, plan what to teach in lessons, and check students’ papers and grade them. When EdTech tools don’t work as per expectations, it’s frustrating for them.

3. Students Don’t Have Internet Access

There is another problem for teachers. They must ensure that students have computers and internet access at home. If students don’t have them, there is no use for EdTech in classrooms.

4. Dependence On Technology

Teachers believe that dependence on technology like AI will make them redundant. They think that this technology will replace them and are not eager to use it. But when they are taught about using technology, they understand its importance and how it can be helpful to them.

5. Protecting Student Data

Teachers must safeguard student data. When EdTech tools aren’t clear about how they safeguard student data, teachers are confused about which platform to use.

LMSs are one kind of EdTech platform. They are excellent for student use. They include quizzes, videos, and text and students can learn through these various forms. An LMS stores important student data, and it can be troublesome if it is hacked.

LMSs collect information from students when they sign up. This includes sign-up information like names, details of the educational organization, and email addresses. They also save the preferences of students in terms of content. They also store all students’ assessments, quizzes, test results, etc.

EdTech tools also measure how much time students spend on lessons. If some parts of the eLearning videos get skipped by students, an LMS monitors all such activities. Apart from that, students frequently visit some pages, which the LMS also monitors. The LMS records the time students take to complete a task.

Teachers must protect all such data from unauthorized access. They should select passwords for LMS tools carefully. The LMS admin must see that students are not given LMS access as an admin because this can confuse them. Students would get access to the LMS and make changes to the content. Worst of all, they would get access to students’ grades or the interactions that have happened between teachers and students.

When an LMS gets hacked, there can also be problems, such as the communication between the teachers and the students can be accessed. Communication between students can also be leaked, which includes their contributions. It is because all LMSs collect this data as part of their policies, and sometimes they are integrated with discussion forums.

How Can We Help Teachers Use EdTech?

This is how teachers can be made to learn technology.

1. Start Slowly

When teachers try to learn technology, it should start with learning simple technologies. The IT department must refrain from using too many technical terms when teaching them. For example, teachers should be encouraged to use their cameras to record videos for students and then send them through a chat messenger. This way, the teachers climb the technology learning curve in short steps. When teachers learn that using technology is easy, they might take an interest in learning it.

2. Mentoring

Schools can plan to pair a novice teacher with a more tech-savvy teacher for a semester. During this time, they can learn how to use technology. When they are working together, they can discuss problems and learn how to solve them. This system helps teachers get some hands-on learning experience while using technology.

3. Practical Demos

Teachers should be given practical demonstrations of how they can use different kinds of technology like AI. For example, they could be shown how to use ChatGPT to streamline some tasks. This is easy, especially if they only have to copy and paste text into the tool.

Creativ Technologies

We provide niche elearning solutions to corporate clients. Our company also provides LMS administration services. We are experts in Blended Learning, Mobile Learning and Web Based Training