While the shift to emergency remote teaching was sudden and caught many off-guard, the reality exists that we need to better prepare faculty to utilize technology in a meaningful way and integrate it into lessons. This chapter provides an overview of two aspects: 1) preparing faculty for use of technology through a modified transitional learning model so that they are supported with just-in-time professional learning and 2) introducing them to the PICRAT technology framework to assist them in the design of their lessons. Both the model and the framework are constructivist in nature and align with transformative learning theory. Examples of what each of these structures look like are provided within the narrative.
TopIntroduction
COVID-19 created a situation where all educators had to move from face-to-face instruction for which they felt prepared to online instruction or, more appropriately, emergency remote teaching (Hodges et al., 2020), for which they may have needed additional preparation. This transition created an awareness of the challenges faced teaching online and the needs of educators.
Newly minted educators and many who have entered the classroom within the last decade have been immersed in the technology world since birth and have interacted with technology in many different ways (Li et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2014). These technologies include communication technologies, search engines, apps for sharing information and digital images, and even AI assistants (Harrell & Bynum, 2018; Royce, 2019). Their immersion, however, does not mean that they feel comfortable using or even wanting to use the technology within a learning environment (Royce & German, 2019).
Whether they are digital natives (Prensky, 2001) or second-generation digital natives (Helsper & Eynon, 2010), or even those identified as having the most experience with using technology (Palfrey & Glasser, 2008), there is still a need to assist them in transitioning to the use of technology for focused, thoughtful, and explicit learning experiences. In other words, these “digital natives” and all others who found themselves teaching in an emergency remote teaching experience needed “old-fashioned instructional techniques of modeling and scaffolding” (Royce & German, 2019, p. 69) to feel comfortable using and teaching with technology during this unexpected educational transformation. One of the significant challenges to maintaining this transformation in the post-pandemic world is determining the most effective support system to offer educators as they transition to redesigning classes both in such short order and in general.
It is clear from the many manuscripts published during the pandemic that there is a current need for educators to have a fresh and distinctive set of skills and competencies to meet the challenges of technology. How we move faculty towards adopting technology for use has similar challenges to moving people towards adopting technology for disruptive innovation and change, as explained in Moore’s (2014)Crossing the Chasm. As we look to the future and emerge from the pandemic, it is crucial to avoid retrograde motion in technology integration and move all faculty forward. Furthermore, it is important to include technology and prepare for using technology for future situations and blend the different modalities that students and educators became accustomed to during the pandemic. This chapter suggests connecting a learning theory and model to a pedagogical framework for use when supporting faculty to prepare them for the transformational use of digital tools and technology. The narrative, anecdotal examples provided were used to test the concept during the pandemic. While a more robust application of this concept has yet to be implemented, this chapter outlines an approach to professional development that allows administrators and districts to support educators as they integrate digital tools and technology.