Introduction
This study addresses the problem of many school teachers, such as the lack of skills and knowledge to integrate technology into their curriculum. Digital solutions are becoming more common and constantly evolving, which leads to their widespread use in all spheres of people’s lives (Tadesse & Muluye, 2020). Thus, education should align with general trends and reflect innovative solutions.
The lack of adequate digital infrastructure in schools, as well as the inability of teachers to use it, can significantly affect the quality of education. The study should be conducted because teachers lack the skills necessary to work with modern technologies, making it impossible to implement them in schools. Thus, it may lead to students perceiving the lessons not as something that can transfer knowledge but as something lagging behind in development.
This disruption of perception may occur because students will be faced with a stark contrast to their daily lives, where technology has become a familiar element. At the same time, the study will lead to some consequences that may be reflected in the fact that teachers can implement modern technologies in their classes. Thus, the study will better interest and engage students in the educational process.
In connection with the identified problem, the research aims to study ways to implement digital solutions in schools and train teachers to use gadgets. Technology plays a vital role in a better understanding of the material through children’s greater involvement through integration with innovation (Altinay, 2020). Technological tools that teachers lack knowledge about are projectors, computers, online classroom software, and augmented reality tools.
Technology in this project is considered a concept denoting any gadget or program for use in school. Technological integration in this context means making it possible to use technology in a school. The first research cycle will focus on developing and implementing a program to train school personnel to interact with modern devices to improve the educational experience. Research general questions are:
- How do teachers view their existing technological tool and equipment usage abilities and knowledge?
- What specific training is required of instructors to successfully integrate technology into the classroom?
- What can enhance the current teacher training programs to promote technology integration better?
- For the first round of research activities, the question is: How can a professional development program affect the technical knowledge of teachers?
This study is needed because many schools can significantly improve information delivery if teachers improve their digital skills. In this way, teachers will be able to provide children with more information that can make the learning process more interesting (Burden et al., 2019). The study’s implications may be helpful for educational leaders in implementing the proposed plan to improve teachers’ capacity.
Literature Review
The topic is important because it is revealed in the works of many scientists who study the problems of the education system. In their work, Qiao et al. (2021) reveal the concept of technology adoption as an essential aspect of evolution. Implementing digital media in schools is necessary, as it can contribute to better disclosure of the topics that interactive materials will accompany. This could be a good example for modeling interventions for teachers that allow them to be freer with technology.
Another correct solution proposed in his work, Rashid (2019), who indicated that the technological equipment of schools is also closely related to implementing sustainable development goals and can contribute to better learning of the material. Innovation is a mandatory aspect that must be present in the educational process.
Solutions to the problem of low knowledge of teachers regarding modern technologies may suggest the presence of cybersecurity risks in the future. This problem partly becomes an obstacle because many teachers do not want to implement modern information technologies in their programs (Rahman et al., 2020). Rahman et al. (2020) propose solutions to potential technology implementation problems. At the same time, the authors also highlight the theory of action as an essential concept that can become the basis for solving the problem (Rahman et al., 2020).
A problem in achieving the implementation of innovations in school education is also the conservatism of teachers, which manifests itself in traditional and outdated approaches to teaching. Many scholars point out that the cause of the problem of low digital skills among teachers may be excessive conservatism and unwillingness to change the teaching style (Fernández-Batanero et al., 2021; Alalwan et al., 2020). The problem is that the older generation is less willing to use new technologies. These barriers need to be overcome by providing teachers with more information about the effectiveness of technology use.
With all the positive aspects of the technological support of schools, it is vital to consider the negative aspects of this decision. Fernández-Batanero et al. (2021) examine how technology can affect teacher burnout, fatigue, and anxiety. These adverse effects can affect education as teachers cannot provide the same quality of services as they should.
Thus, an important aspect is the provision of measures to protect against overwork and provide more comfortable working conditions. However, Hernández-Serrano (2021) argues that the skills to use modern technology are essential for the modern teacher. Teachers should strive to improve their skills to meet the high standards of the educational process.
Methodology
The theory of the action research method was chosen because it allows interaction between teachers and students to overcome obstacles. This approach is necessary because it has significant advantages that will allow the implementation of planned action cycles. At the same time, the type of this research is Collaborative Action Research (CAR), which justifies partnerships between trainees and researchers combined with the action research method (Banegas & de Castro, 2019).
The nature of the CAR investigation may ensure effective communication for better interaction. The sample and participants for this study are middle school students and teachers. They will be provided with confidentiality, and in addition to this, a sample of people will have to interact with researchers to study the question of the implementation of technological solutions.
The study’s model and participants are students and teachers who teach according to old standards. In this regard, collecting and analyzing data relating to the main teaching approaches is necessary. Depending on this, achieving a better final result will be possible. In addition, data analysis should include drawing separate conclusions for each factor teachers cite as a reason for not using innovation. In this way, it will be possible to achieve maximum usefulness from the research done by further implementing the selected methods.
An appropriate intervention for the problem identified is establishing a teacher training program to improve their technology skills. This professional development program will be implemented primarily through seminars. Based on personal experience, the expected results of the selected intervention are to increase teachers’ professionalism by acquiring skills in working with modern technologies.
Literature suggests that continuing education courses can lead to long-term results in improving education quality and sustainability (Rashid, 2019; Rahman et al., 2020). This means that the implementation of an intervention to improve the skills of teachers can have a positive impact on the learning process in the future. The preliminary schedule for the implementation of the intervention:
- Week 1: Assessment of teachers’ technical knowledge and teaching style;
- Week 2: Development of a program for seminars on increasing technological awareness;
- Weeks 3-7: Conducting classes with the teaching staff of the school to study working methods using modern technologies;
- Week 8: Testing and analysis of the results obtained to assess the state of progress in learning;
- Weeks 9-10: Additional workshops to strengthen the implementation of the technology integration strategy in the classroom;
- Weeks 11-12: Observe the educational process and evaluate the intervention’s effectiveness.
To correctly implement an intervention and evaluate its subsequent results, it will be necessary to collect essential data. This will require information such as the level of knowledge of teachers regarding digital solutions in the educational process. This material will be collected through questionnaires, tests, and surveys conducted among school staff. They should reveal questions about which topics in the study seemed to teachers the most optimal and what strategies for using technology they plan to use in the future.
The availability of such information will allow for answering research questions by analyzing and observing how teachers conduct classes after advanced training. Lesson observations are another essential kind of data that must be gathered to evaluate an intervention’s effectiveness. In this case, it will be necessary to divide the observation groups into each subject to determine which disciplines the chosen strategy worked best in.
In addition, collecting such data will make it possible to understand what weaknesses exist in the intervention and what needs improvement in the future. An important type of data to collect should also be surveys of students on how their perception of information in school subjects has changed since teachers began to use modern technologies in their lectures. In this way, it will be possible to answer research questions about the best ways to educate teachers about the use of technology.
For each research question, the collected data will need to be analyzed to understand how the intervention could help improve the quality of education. The information will be analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. In this case, some initial code will be necessary for better data organization. They will characterize categories such as “student engagement,” “teaching strategies,” “technology integration,” and “student achievement.” This is necessary for a better organization of the data and a better understanding of the degree of change.
Reflection
While developing this research plan, I learned about the chosen topic: the lack of technology-based learning tools can worsen classroom performance. In addition, the sustainability of the educational process can be significantly affected because teachers do not hesitate to implement technological teaching methods in their classrooms. The action research process is the best option for such a project, as it helps to determine the target areas for research. This action plan follows the fundamental principles of action research. This is achieved by adapting to teachers’ knowledge levels and building based on this schedule of actions.
In addition, the CAR approach allows researchers to collaborate with educators to motivate them to change their learning styles as much as possible. As a researcher, I learned how important it is to have a critical and flexible mindset that can enable multi-level change projects. At the same time, on the subject of the course, there is still a question concerning the barriers teachers may encounter when implementing technologies in the classroom.
References
Alalwan, N., Cheng, L., Al-Samarraie, H., Yousef, R., Alzahrani, A. I., & Sarsam, S. M. (2020). Challenges and prospects of virtual reality and augmented reality utilization among primary school teachers: A developing country perspective. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 66. Web.
Altinay, F. (2020). The role of technology in education. IntechOpen.
Banegas, D. L., & de Castro, V. (2019). Action research. In (Walsh, S. & Mann, S). (Eds.). The Routledge handbook of English language teacher education, (pp. 570-582). Routledge. Web.
Burden, K., Kearney, M., Schuck, S., & Hall, T. (2019). Investigating the use of innovative mobile pedagogies for school-aged students: A systematic literature review. Computers & Education, 138, 83-100. Web.
Fernández-Batanero, J., Román-Graván, P., Reyes-Rebollo, M. M., & Montenegro-Rueda, M. (2021). Impact of educational technology on teacher stress and anxiety: A literature review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18(2). Web.
Hernández-Serrano, M. J. (2021). Teacher education in the 21st century: Emerging skills for a changing world. IntechOpen.
Qiao, P., Zhu, X., Guo, Y., Sun, Y., & Qin, C. (2021). The development and adoption of online learning in pre- and post-COVID-19: Combination of technological system evolution theory and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 14(4), 162. Web.
Rahman, N. A., Sairi, I. H., Zizi, N. A., & Khalid, F. (2020). The importance of cybersecurity education in school. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 10(5). Web.
Rashid, R. (2019). Entrepreneurship education and sustainable development goals: A literature review and a closer look at fragile states and technology-enabled approaches. Sustainability, 11(19). Web.
Tadesse, S., & Muluye, W. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education system in developing countries: A review. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 8(10). Web.