Overcoming barriers

18. Barriers to the effective use of technology in education.

I love the way that a web search sends you off on tangents - it forces you to do lateral thinking whether you want to, or not. I started wanting to know about barriers to the effective use of technology, but found myself wasting time looking at mostly irrelevant pages and blog posts.
That said, you do end up learning things even if they're not the right things. So, I found myself looking at an online trade magazine called Installation, which is aimed at the people who sell hardware to colleges and schools. 
Holographic screens? Amazing, but not relevant to what I'm about here. What is interesting is an article title 'Education Technology Trends 2015', which looks at what is likely to sell well this year. By the way, knowledge sharing and video are the magazine's top tips.
But it also talks to educators about what is most important to them and says that reliability is the No.1 issue.  One interviewee stresses that teachers don't have time to waste on tech that doesn't work and adds that they must see benefits in something new, or they won't use it.
It got me working on this octopus of a mind map using Coggle. It's a big subject, but only part of it has a direct bearing on someone in my situation.

I think I can do something about at least three of the items at the end of those arrows. By 'teacher attitude' I mean that resistance to change can be a barrier, so my openness to change and readiness to try new things can make a difference.
That can also play into what I've termed the 'institution's attitude to change'. Much of that will come from a college's leaders, but staff views and opinions will also make a contribution.
Lastly, there's 'teacher confidence'. How confident - or not - I feel about using technology is partly about how well I've been trained to use it.
But it's also about putting in the time to find my way around whatever that new tech is (like I had to do with this blog a few months ago). Being ready to make a few mistakes, but to learn from them.

Sources:
Installation, www.installation-international.com (Accessed 21.1.15)