Barriers to the effective use of technology in education

Are WE one of the main barriers to technology in education ?

 Personally, I was very anti-technology at the beginning, however I am beginning to see the benefits of it's use as a tool. I believe it can never replace the knowledge and skills of the teacher however can enhance it. How can I expect students to embrace technology if I am reluctant to embrace this world myself.

Minton (2005) believes barriers to education are not unlike phobias, the only way to overcome them is to face them squarely.

Whilst reading around the topic of barriers, it became apparent only one of the barriers was peoples fear   of technology and  resistance to change. The rest were external factors from educational / governing bodies.  Geography, also played a part. Bigger cities and towns would have an abundance of ICT facilities, where as smaller rural or deprived areas less so. theguardian.com/technology/2001/mar/16/internet.communities
telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6900319/Free-computers-for-deprived-families.html. These two articles highlight the need for action and the steps being made to ensure equality in education.

It would be interesting to do a study on whether the more technology resistant teachers worked in the rural deprived areas, and the more technology minded teachers in the inner cities? Yet, this is another blog for another topic!


I found many blogs and articles on barriers to education, but found www.useoftechnology to be quite interesting as they have some good topics of discussion, which make you think out of the box about teaching delivery and overcoming those barriers. They also have details of some good applications and programmes you can use for teaching, to engage the students.

Technology is a major part of education whether we agree with it or not. At the beginning of my pcet course I was very sceptical of how technology could really enhance learning and teaching ( a big barrier there - resistance to change), but, a few weeks on I am glad to say I can recognise it's benefit.  However, it is not as easily implemented as one thinks. Different schools and educational establishments have differing levels and opportunities to integrate technology into their everyday class and lecturers. This saddens me to think some students miss out, which could be a detriment to their progress.

The site / blog above highlights the explosion of technology to the point where some jobs could become obsolete in years to come, with greater opportunities in the world of technology. I understand we are moving into a world governed by technology, but surely some things cannot be replaced; such as the touch of a reassuring hand, the soft tones of an encouraging voice or the skill of a professional. Yes, I believe all these can still remain but with the help of technology for students and teachers.

The barriers are ever so present, however, all can be overcome with planning and intervention. The barriers are:
1. Lack of professional development / training.

2. Resistance to change / lack of confidence.
3. Lack of innovation.
4. Access / lack of resources
5. Cost / funds.

All the above except for point two need to be addressed by organisational, governing bodies/ structure. We are evolving into a very technology led world, yet unless the developments are established for all to have opportunity and support, how can we expect point two to be overcome.

 So, are we standing in the way of taking technology forward? Maybe we need to embrace the change and innovate the idea not only in our workplace but also for our personal usage.

Minton,D.(2005). Teaching Skills in further and adult education. London. Thomson learning.