Technology Training

Check with your administration for more information on upcoming training at your school. Alternatively, arrange for someone to come into the classroom to teach both you and your students how to use new technology. In this way everyone learns from an expert and can then serve as resources for each other. Look for developments such as online environments for grading and "smart" classrooms that are computer-assisted to support different kinds of technology.

One way to build familiarity with new technology is to use it for research or administrative tasks before assigning it in the classroom. For example, try posting your class syllabus on the Web and then build a class Web presence from there rather than trying to tackle an online course without prior experience.

Try out new technology in your own life before introducing it to the classroom. For example, try logging onto a Web chat or joining a listserv outside of class before setting up your own in class. By experimenting with technology on your own, you will experience the same missteps that students will later encounter, and you will be better prepared to help them overcome frustrations.

Ask colleagues to show you how they use technology in their classrooms and offer to share your own strategies in return. Or ask an experienced colleague to serve as moral support and sit in on a class in which you are introducing a new technology. It may put your mind at ease to have an expert available should problems arise. Your students may have experience with software, research techniques, or equipment that you would like to introduce in class. Asking them to share their expertise with the class will develop their presentation skills while reinforcing their knowledge of new technologies.