Topic 2 Creatively use of tools and resources to solve technical problems
When we are using ICTs it inevitable to face technical problems that are caused by hardware, software or network. When these problems occur during the teaching process it is it up to the educator and the learners to handle these problems in order to continue their participation to learning activities.
Incident plan
Education is changing. Digital technologies are everywhere and they are impacting what, where, how and why students learn, and who they learn from. Digital information is different from its physical counterpart in many ways. It can be rapidly duplicated, easily distributed and is able to be stored in multiple locations. These factors mean that it can be hard to control and completely eliminate.
Having an appreciation of these unique characteristics is key to developing an effective prevention and incident response plan. However, the effect is most keenly felt when a learning organization needs to respond to an incident involving misuse of digital technology or a technical problem. Staff may feel that they do not have sufficient control over the digital technology involved to achieve a successful outcome.
The reality is, however, having greater control does not necessarily equate to a better outcome. Organizations are advised to recognise and understand the nature of the changes and challenges that digital technology have brought and develop systems and processes to manage these (New Zealand Government-Ministry of Education, 2015).
The overall objective for learning organizations is to create a learning environment involving the safe and responsible use of digital technology. This is largely achieved by fostering a positive culture of digital technology use where challenges are understood to exist. This approach should reduce negative outcomes by (New Zealand Government-Ministry of Education, 2015):
- reducing the incidents of misconduct involving digital technology
- minimising harm to students by effectively responding to incidents when they occur.
Read “CHAPTER 2: DIGITAL COMPETENCES FOR TEACHERS: PROFESSIONALISATION AND SUPPORT” of the Eurydice Report on Digital Education at School in Europe to understand teacher-specific digital competences and the use of technology.
Digital Education at School in Europe
(en_digital_education_n.pdf)
There are two guiding principles for responding to incidents that schools need to consider:
Focus more on the behavior involved in an incident, and less on the digital technology
Always act in a way that maintains the integrity of digital devices and the information stored on them.
Try to remember one occasion that an incident involving digital technology happened during teaching. How did you handle it? Where was your focus?
A professional learning organization have policies about technical problems that may occur but they can not entirely eliminate the risk of a technical problem occurring. It is critical that, organizations have developed and implemented a response plan available to educators and learners to deal with such problems when they occur. Still it is up to the educator and learners to creatively use of tools and resources to solve technical problems and be involved in the process of providing solutions.