It’s everywhere these days, and there’s no escaping it; and while some people swear by technology, there are others who abhor it and want nothing to do with it. However, there are certain professions where you must embrace technology if you wish to remain relevant, hold on to your job and do it successfully, and teaching is one of them. Technology has made massive inroads into the classroom and is now an integral part of education. So if you’re an older teacher who is a technophobe and wishes lessons would go back to being all about books and papers, the bad news is that you must find ways to cope with the change. However, the good news is that it’s easy to do so once you set your mind to it. Begin by:
- Accepting it: Fighting any kind of change only makes it harder to cope; it’s like trying to swim against the tide. But when you embrace change, you find that it envelops you in return and that it’s not such a bad thing after all. Technology starts to look much better once you accept it as a part of your life and start looking for ways to master it.
- Realizing the value of technology: Once you stop looking at technology like it’s the enemy, you soon begin to realize how much of a friend it can be. You can achieve so much more when you start to use technology in and out of the classroom, and with this realization, you start to become more enthusiastic about learning technology and picking up skills that will help you improve as an educator.
- Starting out slowly: Learn the basics of technology first before you jump to the more sophisticated aspects – this way, you don’t get discouraged at the outset if you’re not able to grasp concepts and skills. Get someone who’s a patient teacher to show you the ropes, and don’t hesitate to ask questions when you’re in doubt – as a teacher, you know that this is an integral rule of any learning process.
- Practicing your skills regularly: Nothing comes to you without practice, so make time each day to practice your new skills and become familiar with them. The going may be slow initially, but you’ll soon get the hang of it as the days go by. The key to becoming an expert in any field is to practice, practice and practice some more.
- Using it whenever possible: So now that you’ve gained some confidence in your technological skills, start to use technology wherever applicable. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes – when you let your fear stop you, you become a slave to it. Just remember that the more mistakes you make, the more you add to your experience and the more skilled you become.
Technology tends to grow on you, and once you master one form of it, conquering the rest is just a mere formality.