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Interview with a Veteran Teacher
Interview on January 26
th
, 2009 with male veteran teacher in small to mid-sized (400 students) private high school.Questions in bold, comments on selected passages on the right, in italics.
Q: What classes do you teach?
A: Math 11, Physics 11,12, Chemistry11, 12
Q: How long have you beenteaching?
A: 34 years
Q: What is your degree in?
A: Chemistry - BA Science plus PDP
Q: Why do you teach?
A: Well, to put bread on the table?(laughs)Actually, I really enjoy it, I enjoy thesubject, and I enjoy the students. Ienjoy helping people. Also, I like thatI can control how I spend my day -I'm in control of those things. I alsoenjoy the summer holidays. I doenjoy teaching ... though some daysare better than others!
Q: What technology do you use inyour classes?
A: Well, um, my own computer forkeeping up daily grades andattendance - we use BCeSIS. Andemails with staff. I get the schoolannouncements, and read them fromoff the screen - any updates, thatsort of thing.For smaller classes, I might show aYouTube clip, or use CD-ROMinstructional software for Chemistryfor instance. But I don't have aPowerPoint projector - most of theother teachers in my school do, and
Quite obviously, this is a very veteran teacher who has beenaround for a while. And yet, this teacher is fairly tech-savvy: he uses digital cameras,computers, etc. in his personal life.To be still enjoying what you’re doingafter 34 years – whatever it is that you’re doing – is, I think, a definitionof success.Subject first mistakes the question asa personal one … but moves on toinstructional uses. Question could have been clearer.Subject has
one
computer for student instructional use in hisclassroom/lab.The graphing calculator subject mentions is fairly new, but he does
 
I'm supposed to be on the list. I douse a DVD player and television fromtime to time.I do have a TI-83 calculator with anoverhead panel, but I don't use itvery often because it's kinda clunky -it shows a really pixellated image.
Q: What challenges do you havewith technology and education?
A: The changing standards - youhave a library of material and then itgets dated. Also, I don't have aPowerPoint projector - those who dohave in my school one makeextensive use of it.Generating notes for PowerPointpresentations is nice, but I'mreluctant to put in that kind of investment if I later discover that theprogram I'm using is no longersupported by the technology we havein our school. I've had that a fewtimes.
Q: Do you find that technologyhinders learning in some cases?
A: At times it may end up givingpeople a real quick fix to a problemand they may not be actually forcedto think it through. Since Google,students need an answer quickly, sothey don't know how to use aglossary or index. They wantsomething right away, and to lookback to a previous paragraph is toomuch effort.
Q: That reminds me of NicholasCarr's recent article questioningwhere Google is making usstupid.
A: Well, it's an incredible resource,you can get everything there. It sortof becomes an Oracle of Delphi.We're all tempted to take the path or
not have enough for the entire class.Here is the first instance of arecurring comment theme: thisteacher has often been burned by technological adoption that has thenbeen outdated, and he’s lost previouswork. This makes subject somewhat suspicious of new technology.Subject has only mild resistance totechnology … some concern over students’ instant gratificationorientation.See following answer as well.
 
least resistance, but we should beable to use print too.
Q: Do you find there's a tendencyto search for somebody's else'sanswer instead of figuring outyour own?
A: Yes. A person who uses resourceswell could gather info from manysources and synthesize in a neat way,but a lot don't.But technology has a lot of good aswell - for example: computerized labsimulations. You can do the samething as the graphing calculator buteven more realistic - you can do asimulated concentration (acid/base),run a scenario, change something,and you can run a simulation again... and see how it changes theresults. And you can get physicssimulations like that - changevelocities or angles. These are fun,they're quick, and visual ...
Q: Is that a good thing?
A: Yes. Especially for some people.
A: Do you find that technologyaccelerates learning in somecases?
Q: Sure. Graphing calculators canhelp you see changing resultsets veryquickly and easily by changing a fewinputs, whereas doing by hand wouldtake a long, long time.
Q: Finish this sentence:technology allows me as ateacher to:
A: Stay current. Motivate students.
Q: How do students feel aboutusing technology in class?
A: They like it. I think if we had abunch of computers and everyonehad their own station they'd feel very
Subject sees the need for “21
st 
Century” skills, and the fact that students often do not have them, or won’t expend the effort required toexercise them.Subject does, however, valuesimulations that allow students to play with initial conditions inchemistry/physics, and other sciencecourses, and see different results.Subject recognizes that learners aredifferent, and provides different options for those who need or would benefit from them. Again, subject reveals a bit of anarrow perspective on technology (see page one) and thinks about how technology affects him personally rather than the class as a whole.
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