Reflection on Fifth Lecture

The fifth lecture was good which helps me to  understand how implementation is challenging.  During this session we have seen that  implementation models have a lot of contributions in integrating technology in the teaching/learning process. These models shows that the scaling up of implementation shall better follow piloting. The implementation of technology is also highly affected with the context on which the technology could be implemented. However, new technology integration in the teaching learning process is not as simple as we think. It is affected by different factors and vary depending on the context. When the factors were mentioned in the classroom during the fifth lecture, I was thinking of my context (Ethiopian schools), the factors are more complex than mentioned in our discussion in the classroom. For example, the top critical concern for teachers in Ethiopian context in using technology in education is the resource. It is very challenging to find resources in most schools. It is common in using technology in universities of Ethiopia however, not that much significant. I have conducted a simple research in a university about the practice of teachers in using technology in their teaching. I found that the most critical problem which inhabits teachers in using technology is the availability of resources. Teachers dominantly use technology (specially computers) for their routine purposes (writing, email etc) rather than systematically integrate technology in their teaching. Even though teachers have access for technology in some extent (like computers), it is difficult for students to get access for these technologies. Even I can say that the issue of the impact of technology on student achievement is immature. The issue is not as the extent as what I have seen here in Netherlands. More emphasis is given in building schools and expanding access for education. There are some efforts actually to integrate technology in schools with the initiation of the government and some organization (one project one laptop per a child) though the issue is in its young stage. watch please the effort of this project.

Therefore, the challenges of teachers in using technology in my context are i) the availability of resources ii) the use of technology in teaching even immature. All indicates that there are a lot of research areas that can be done in Ethiopia.