Understanding Teaching Technology Use By Generation, Knowledge and Career Cycle
October 1, 2010
Susan Crichton, Curtis Slater and Karen Pegler
Author’s Note: The authors wish to thank the Alberta Teachers’ Association for the invitation to submit this abridged version of their paper, and they encourage readers with significant interest in this topic to contact Susan Crichton at susan.crichton@ucalgary.ca for the complete article.
Introduction
Prensky’s (2001) notion of digital immigrants/digital natives,[1] which has permeated the literature, suggests that older teachers struggle when they use Technology to connect with their students and, by extension, with their younger colleagues. In questioning that suggestion we learned that teachers’ career cycles (Steffy et al. 199
Prensky's (2001) notion of digital immigrants/digital natives,[1] which has permeated the literature, suggests that older teachers struggle when they use technology to connect with their students and, by extension, with their younger colleagues. In questioning that suggestion we learned that teachers' career cycles (Steffy et al. 1999), possibly even more than their generation, impacts their use of information and communication technology (ICT) and how they integrate it into the curriculum. These findings are significant for their impact on commonly held assumptions and their support for differentiated professional development in the areas of pedagogy, technology and content knowledge.
