When Teaching Goes Digital: Lived Experiences of Tech Challenged Teachers in Tech-Mediated Classrooms

This study explored the lived experiences of tech-challenged teachers in tech-mediated classrooms in public elementary and secondary schools in the Division of Valencia City during School Year 2026-2027. It sought to understand how teachers with limited tech experience manage digital teaching amid barriers to access, skills, and support, specifically their reasons for using technology, difficulties, coping strategies, and recommendations for better technology use. Using a descriptive phenomenological design, the study included 17 tech-challenged elementary and secondary teachers (KI 1-KI 17), purposively selected for their technology experience. Data came from a researcher-made, semi-structured interview guide aligned with the four research questions. Participation was voluntary, with informed consent and confidentiality. Transcripts were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis. Four major themes emerged: purposeful technology use to improve learner-centered teaching and teacher effectiveness; persistent struggles with linked access, skill, and support barriers; adaptive and resourceful coping to sustain learning; and collaborative, system-supported capacity building for meaningful technology use. Participants reported using technology to boost learner engagement, support differentiated instruction and assessment, improve communication, and ease administrative tasks. However, unreliable internet, limited devices, technical problems, uneven digital skills, unequal learner access, and added workload limited regular use. Teachers reported coping through offline preparation, alternative materials, troubleshooting, collaboration, and self-directed learning. Findings suggest that meaningful technology use, as perceived by participants, requires more than individual teacher adaptability; it appears to rely on reliable infrastructure, continuous practical training, accessible technical help, collaborative support, and inclusive instructional alternatives. These findings reflect teachers’ perceptions and reported practices rather than measured outcomes.