You are on page 1of 7

MY EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SWOT ANALYSIS

IANC.SIMKO
EDUC331
MYEDUCATIONALTECHNOLOGYSWOTANALYSIS

MY EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SWOT ANALYSIS

Iwasbornin1983andhavebeensurroundedbyvariousformsoftechnologymyentire
life.Myolderbrotherexposedmetocomputersfromayoungage,andinfluencedmyfamilyto
useAppleproducts.Hewastheresidentcomputerexpertinourhouseholdandconvincedmy
parentstoupgradetheircomputerswhenappropriate.Hecombinedhisinterestsincomputers
withart,andlearnedgraphicdesignandanimationprogramswhileinhighschool.Duetothis
exposure,Iwasvicariouslycomputerliterateandcouldnavigatethedesktop,useprimitivefile
sharingprogramstodownloadmusic,andsurftheInternetalongwiththerestofmypeers.I
attendedcollegeatatimewhenmoststudentsstillhaddesktops,andfeltproudtopurchasemy
owniMacwhenIsetoffonmyliberalartseducation.
BeforeIbecameateacher,technologywasatoolforcommunicationandentertainment.
Asaneducator,Iamnowtryingtousethesetoolstopromotestudentinterest,andreinforce
ideasandcontentthroughdifferentiatedformsofinstruction.Mystrengthsinusingeducational
technologyarenavigatingtheInternet,communicatingwithfellowteachersandcolleagues,and
explainingtechnologytoothers.Iamalsoconfidentinmyabilitiestoeffectivelyusedifferent
educational,databasesoftwareandtroubleshootproblemsastheyoccur.Myownuseof
technologyhasneverbeenintimidatingorscarytome.
TheareaoftechnologythatIfindaweaknessinisfiguringouthowtofindtheresources
formyclassroomswhenIlackabudgetandtechnologyisgenerallycostlyandnotavailable
throughmyschooldistrict.Irecognizethatitislefttometolocatetheseresources,andIam
alreadyawareofDonorsechoose.organdotherorganizationsthatdonatetechnology.However,I
strugglewithbeingmotivatedtofollowthroughandcreateaprofile.Thisisaneasypredicament
tofix.Itisoneofmygoalsthissemestertobegintouseoutsideresourcestoenhancethe

MY EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SWOT ANALYSIS

technologicallybasedlearningthatoccursinmyresourceclassroom.Iamalsointerestedin
utilizingexistingsoftwarethathelpsstudentslearnreadingcomprehensionandmath
computationthroughinteractivegamesandactivities.Byincreasingtheaccessibilityof
computerstomystudents,IwillbesubvertingthemonetaryrestrictionsthatIpresentlyhave.I
aminterestedingatheringenoughfundingforanIpad,somystudentscanworkcollaboratively
toexploreconceptsandtopics.LastsemesterinamathmethodsclasswithMarionMarshall,we
wereassignedtoresearchonlinemathsoftwareandapplications.Inowhavealargedatabaseof
programsandonlineteachingtoolstoutilizehoweveritisdifficulttousethemwhenIonly
havemypersonalcomputeravailable.
WhenIfurtherexaminemyotherweaknesses,theotherareaisincreatingpresentations
usingPowerPoint.Mostofmypresentationsaresimplistic,anddonottakeadvantageofthe
manyinteractive,visuallystimulatingfeaturesthatareavailablewiththeprogram.Ihavealways
valuedcontentoverflashwhencreatingapresentation,butalsorecognizethevalueof
understandinghowtoembedvideo,andmusic.Inaddition,Iamunfamiliarwithmanyofthe
applicationsthatarespecificallydesignedtoteachEnglish/LanguageArtscontenttostudents.
ThisisanareaIhopetofurtherdevelopbyresearchingtheusefulappsthatexist,andcollaborate
withmycolleaguestodiscoverwhattheyfindeffectiveintheirteachingpractices.
Irecognizethatincorporatingtechnologyintomyteachingwillonlybenefitthelearning
ofmystudents.Therearemanyscholarlyarticlesthatciteanddocumenttheeffectivenessof
usingtechnologyintheclassroom.GulekandDemirtas(2005)reportthatteachersthat
incorporatetechnologyinclassroomsgenerallyhaveaconstructivistapproachtoteaching.They
alsosuggestthattheuseoftechnologymakesteachersfeelmoreempoweredintheclassroom

MY EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SWOT ANALYSIS

andconsequentlyspendlesstimelecturingbecausetheirstudentsareinvolvedin
criticalthinkingbasedproblemsolvingactivities,activelearning,andinteractionswithfellow
students.
Itisimportantforstudentswithlearningdisabilitiestofeelsuccessfulandhave
opportunitiestoengageinmeaningfullearningactivitiesthatallowthemtoconstructknowledge.
Technologyalsoallowsstudentstopracticerelevantresearchandinvestigationonvirtuallyany
topicimaginable.Childrentodayliveinanunbelievabletimeofimmenseaccesstoinformation,
anditisadisservicetonothavethemexplorethismediumoflearning.
KingSears&Evmenova,(2007)statedtheimportanceofdemonstratingtoteachershow
tocreatewelldesignedandmeaningfulactivitiesincorporatingtechnologytopromotestudent
learning.Fortunatelytherearemanyopportunitiestodirectlywitnesstheeffectiveuseof
educationaltechnologyindifferentclassrooms.Theseinclude,directobservationofgeneral
educationteacherswhouseGoogleChromeBooks,ELMOS,andSmartBoards.Otherteachers
usereadingcomprehensionprogramsincludingAchieve3000,andspecialdayclassesatoneof
myschoolshaveaccesstoRazKids.Inadditiontodirectobservation,Icanalsopracticeusing
thesetoolswithstudentsbyworkingwithgeneraleducationteachersduringpushinresource
servicesessionsintheirclassrooms.Therearealsoresourcesincludingteacherblogs,message
boards,interactivetutorials,andvideosthatdemonstrateeffectiveusesofcomputersandother
educationalsoftwareforteachers.
Thisleadsmetothepotentialthreatsthatcouldharmmyimplementationoftechnology
intheclassroom.Asamemberofthespecialeducationdepartment,Ihaveexperiencedimmense
frustrationwiththegeneraldisorganizationandlackofpropercommunicationregardingthe

MY EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SWOT ANALYSIS

expectationsandtrainingsonnewIEPsoftwareanddatabases.Thedistrictbegantotransition
fromWebIEPtoSEISlastyear,andthedepartmentdidnotprovideadequatetrainingforall
staff.Teacherswerepoorlytrained,andsupportstaff,includingschoolpsychologists,health
services,andspeechpathologistswerenottrainedinatimelymanner.Thisadverselyaffected
theabilitytohaveasmoothandsuccessfultransition.
Colleagueswhoarenottechnologysavvyhavehadaparticularlydifficulttimemaking
thisadjustment.Unfortunately,thishasnegativelyimpactedtheabilitytoholdIEPmeetingsand
filereportsinatimelymanner.TheconsequencehasbeenthatmanyIEPsarelate.Thishas
directlyaffectedmyabilitytobeincompliancewithmycaseload,andreflectspoorlyonmy
professionalism.Iamalsoconcernedaboutthis,becauseIamcurrentlyaninternteacher,andI
donotwanttobereprimandedforalargersystemicproblemthatcouldaffectmyplacementand
employmentwithinthedistrict.Therefore,Ifindmyselfbeingimpactedbyothercolleagues
comfortinusingthesedatabaseprograms,andcompletingevaluationsandotherpaperworkina
timelymanner.WhileIdonotmindteachingothershowtousethissoftware,itcanbe
frustratingtoworkwithinanineffectivelargerbureaucraticsystemwheregeneral
communicationandexpectationsarelacking,andinformationisnotdeliveredefficiently.
Researchersandtheoristsclearlyvieweducationaltechnologytobeavaluablelearning
toolforteachers.Studentsopinionsandimpressionsoftheirteacherscanbeinfluencedthrough
educatorstechnologicalliteracy.Studentswhoperceivetheirinstructorstobeeffectiveusersof
technologyreportgreatercourseengagement,moreinterestinthesubjectmatter,andbetter
understandingofcomplexconcepts(Caruso&Kvavik,2005).Thereforetechnologycanhelp
fosterconnectionandengagementbetweenteachersandstudents.Theclassroomisaplacethat

MY EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SWOT ANALYSIS

isdesignedtopreparechildrenforthecognitive,andsocialskillsthatarenecessarytogrowasa
lifelonglearner.Thecurrentinformationagecreatesunparalleledopportunitiestoinclude
interactivestudentdirectedactivitiesandlessonsinbothgeneraleducationandspecialeducation
classrooms.Ilookforwardtotakingadvantageoftheinformation,practices,andresourcesI
discoverthroughoutthiscourse.Mygoalistofurtherdevelopmystrengths,overcomemy
weaknessesandcreatepeersupportnetworkstoenhancemyuseofeducationaltechnologyinmy
elementaryschoolresourceclassrooms.

MY EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SWOT ANALYSIS

REFERENCES

Caruso,J.B,&Kvavik,R.B.(2005).
ECARstudyofstudentsandinformation
technology,2005:Convenience,connection,control,andlearningroadmap
.Retrievedfrom
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ECM/ECM0506.pdf

Gulek,J.,&Demirtas,H.(2005).Learningwithtechnology:Theimpactoflaptopuseon
studentachievement.
JournalofTechnology,Learning,andAssessment
,3(2),36.

KingSears,M.,&Evmenova,A.(2007).Premises,principles,andprocessesforintegrating
technologyintoinstruction.
CouncilforExceptionalChildren
,40(1),614.

You might also like