Barriers to inventiveness in #EdTech implementation

What is inventiveness? I believe that is it not something that just happens–or, rather it does given the right chemistry. Well, that’s a topic of discussion for some other day. Today, let’s stick to inventiveness in education technology and especially in its implementation. To be more specific, I would like to focus on K-12 education, because that’s where the students spend the most important years in their lives. I would like to, particularly, talk about my guesses at some of the barriers to successful implementation of innovative education technologies.

Disclaimer: The following list doesn’t necessarily make any of the items mentioned therein “bad” any more than a needle point, hot stove, or venomous snake should be thought of as “bad.”

Let’s dive in:

#1 – Teacher turnover

Few things adversely affect learning or learning management more than teacher turnover. While replacing teachers that aren’t likely to be innovative with those that ‘sound good in theory,’ innovation isn’t the only thing. Inventiveness requires conditions to get off the ground—clout, trust, organization, communication, and so on. Constantly replacing teachers is a recipe for not only wasted resources, but stagnant thinking conditioned by systems, tradition, policies, and protocol.

#2 – The teaching climate

You will often find the words ‘innovation’ and/or ‘inventiveness’ in the mission statements or on the websites of many schools. You will hear them often in the committee meetings. However, when it comes to making them happen in reality, people tend to lose their nerve. Supporting something seen as secondary (innovation) in the face of pressure, far-reaching programs, external standards ranging from Common Core to Literacy, Technology, and Career Readiness becomes a matter of priority–and job security. Policy is often valued above all else. Therefore, inventiveness is rare.

#3 – Policies

That last sentence in the above point brings me to my next guess – policies. If you asked me to define it, policy refers to attempting to manage something unmanageable. They are created and adopted to ‘police’ students, curriculum, teacher development, etc. Policies help in ensuring that ‘everyone is on the same page.” I believe that policies must hate inventiveness, because they’re not built for that kind of fast-moving thinking, and put teachers at odds with other educators and personnel who dutifully follow said policies, making these kinds of educators seem like “non-team players.”

#4 – Scripted curricula

Schools often go for a shortcut – of going with a curriculum that’s scripted. This provides the pleasing image of all educators on the “same page,” and would seem to make tracking learning results simpler across classes. However, I disagree. I strongly believe that it stifles inventiveness and ultimately reduces teacher capacity.

#5 – Overworked educators

Those in the industry often think that a teacher’s job is very easy and relaxed. But, if you’ve worked in the education sector for long enough, or even just started, you know the truth. Talk about: learning targets, meetings, fluency probes, scripted curricula, pre-assessment, differentiation based on assessment results, summative assessment, authenticity, and what not. And this is not simply a matter of shorter days, fewer students, or longer summers, but rather a schedule and climate within formal learning environments like schools that support educators in developing truly lasting innovations where the rubber meets the road—the classroom. If the teacher is drowning in paperwork, meetings, and accountability tasks, true inventiveness–and subsequent consistent performance–will always be a challenge.

#6 – Meetings

That last point brings me to another important issue – meetings!! I am not saying that meetings are unnecessary. But, with so many digital tools and social media platforms available, a huge percentage of the information exchanged at meetings could be distributed elsewhere—and in ways that could be curated for broader sharing, input, and reference later as well. Innovation does not happen in the minds of passive teachers discussing the logistics of bus duty or computer lab access during testing. If digital and social media platforms could be used to reduce their duration and frequency, educators could have more time to relax their minds, read about education leisurely, and as a consequence, innovate.

#7 – Rigid learning communities

We all know by now that learning networks and communities are a trending instrument of improvement and inventiveness in education. In reality though, it simply asks teachers to agree on standards, share instructional strategies, and gather again to disaggregate the data. The problem is that many learning communities unwittingly meld together teaching and instructional design styles across classrooms and teachers until they’re indistinguishable.

#8 – Districts

By districts, I am referring to the district programs. In concept, they sound great, but the challenge comes in their application. These programs are very comprehensive. Trouble is, there’s already more to do as an educator than there is time for. What makes a great teacher can often be not what they “put in,” but what they leave out—and how to hide that from those “holding them accountable.” Adding more programs that are tangled with everything else a teacher touches only guarantees that other things are going to fall by the wayside, including many of the same kinds of (often expensive) programs from the year before.

#9 – Parents

Let’s face it – Parents are always busy! They rarely have enough time to support inventiveness in learning. They are mostly accustomed to one way of education – how it was when they were in school. Therefore, new and inventive technology-based education confuses them. This makes it difficult for them to support inventiveness. And such reluctance on the parent’s part easily carries over to their kids.

So, what do you think? Which, according to you, is the biggest barrier to inventiveness in #EdTech implementation? Share your thoughts in the comments below.