Technology Integration Revisited

After nearly completing a college course on integrating technology in the classroom, my philosophy of technology in education has remained roughly the same. I still believe very strongly that technology can and should be used to the great benefit of students in and out of the classroom. As technology continues to progress faster than perhaps any other field today, it is constantly allowing us as educators to push the boundaries of how our students are able to interact with the material that they are learning. Students can do things on tablets and smart boards today that educators only dreamed of doing 20 years ago. Can you imagine having an interactive scale of the universe right in the palm of your hand? Students today can. Its right here: http://scaleofuniverse.com/.

And these new tech tools aren't just for fun. Research has supported the benefits of frequent technology use in the classroom. A study done by researchers out of the Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership at Minnesota's Walden University reported that teachers who frequently integrated technology into their classrooms "place considerably more emphasis on developing students' 21st century skills - specifically skills in accountability, collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, ethics, global awareness, innovation, leadership, problem solving, productivity and self-direction" ("Educators, Technology and 21st Century Skills: Dispelling Five Myths"). Those all sound like skills that I hope that i can instill in my students in the future, and technology integration is will help me to reach that goal.

Technology Integration in the Classroom

I believe that the integration of technology in the K-8 classroom has become a vital part of allowing students to learn to their fullest potential. For the sake of this argument, I will use “technology to refer to all electronic or digital products and systems considered as a group. As technology has rapidly progressed in recent years, giant leaps forward in touchscreen and tablet equipment has opened the door for more and more technology to be used in early elementary classrooms. Touchscreen technology can be implemented through the use of smart boards, as teachers can draw, type, and show PowerPoint’s simultaneously on the same screen. Tablet’s can be used in a much more independent manner by individual students as they work with math programs, create charts and tables, and even manage their own blogs with the help of this new handheld computer technology. While technology can be effectively integrated into a classroom in numerous other ways, such as through the use of online map software and tools for those students with learning disabilities, I think that tablet and smart board technology provide two of the most prevalent examples of how technology can be fully integrated into a classroom.

Technology is hugely beneficial to student learning, as it often serves to greatly increase the student’s level of engagement in an activity. For example, a fourth grade student is much more likely to spend a lengthy amount of time exploring an interactive online map of Asia then to spend the same amount of time looking at a classroom globe or atlas. Tools like this, which give the same information as hard-copy reference materials, help to engage students in their learning at a higher level. However the integration of technology is not always superior to the alternative, as students sometimes need hands-on activities to learn. Handwriting, for example, cannot be taught if students do all of their writing through blog posts on a computer. Math games on tablets are excellent tools for some concepts, but students often need manipulative that they can move with their hands. In these instances, technology simply cannot replace the learning that is associated with students’ sense of touch. As a result, technology integration in a K-8 classroom must be done with careful thought and consideration. And if it is done correctly, this integration can greatly increase student learning.

Here's a fun word cloud to accompany this piece!

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