Frustration with Technology!

In my attempts to incorporate different forms of technology in my classroom,I booked out one of my schools two new LCD projectors, only to be meet with total frustration.

I have used LCD projectors at other venues several times for presentation purposes. As a result, I thought nothing of setting up the projector a few minutes before my grade 8 science class. First, I went to book out the projector to be greeted by a piece of paper which was scribbled up with dates and times of when teachers wanted to book out this device and other audio visual material. I went to the office(where the projector was stored) only to find that the person who had it before me had not returned it on time. From there I embarked upon a search!!! After locating the machine, I proceeded to my classroom to discover the monitor cord was too short!! Upon trying to move things around I knocked out the internet connection, meaning I had to reload the computer before I could begin. Meanwhile 15 minutes of instructional time has passed.

At this point I was very tempted to scrap the idea of using technology to review a lesson on Global warming. None the less, I prevailed, got the kids settled in but the momentum was gone.

My point?
If schools expect teachers to incorporate technology in their classrooms then the equipment should be user friendly and easily accessible. For me at least I knew what to do,but what about those who hadn't had any prior experience?

Schmidit, as noted by Gurreco (2004) noted that while teachers were open to the use of technology, it was found that they felt they lacked both experience with and the understanding of technology as an instructional tool.

My frustration continues to mount with the fact that my school had a smartboard delivered on Aug 31,2008 which is still sitting in a box with no signs of it being hooked up in the near future.

I will keep you posted on any developments!!!

Guerrero, S., Walker, N., Dugdale, S. (2004). Technology in Support of Middle Grade Mathematics: What Have We Learned? Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 23(1), 5-20.