Technology integration in the classroom provides students
with a more meaningful experience while creating a more engaging task. My broad
definition of technology includes items such as tablets, computers, websites,
smart boards, projectors, blogs, PowerPoint presentations, videos, and other
similar technological tools. Technology can easily be included into the
classroom by asking students to participate in more technological assignments,
such as PowerPoint presentations about a science unit, creating videos and/or
podcasts describing a character, etc. As a teacher, one can easily integrate
technology into their own practice by creating a class blog in which students
and parents can access to learn more about or review what is being taught in
the classroom. Teachers can also integrate more videos, presentations and other
interactive resources that technology provides into the classroom to deepen
student comprehension and involvement. All of these technology resources lead
to higher student learning and family engagement because students have access
to materials from the classroom and parents are seeing and learning more about
what their child is doing in school.
I have been in many classrooms and have witnessed a wide
variety of technology practices. For the large part, I have mostly witnessed
teachers using simple smart board applications, using a projector/ document
camera while modeling directions for students, and/or having students play
educational games on the computer during free time. I have never witnessed a
teacher who asked students to use a computer in class other than researching a
topic for a writing piece. Students need to have the opportunity to interact
with technology while in the classroom to deepen their understanding of a
concept while providing them with a different and new facet of sharing their
understanding about a topic/concept. I believe that technology should be used
when it can deepen the understanding of the material for students and/or when
students should express their understanding in a non-traditional manner that
still provides a comparable learning outcome if the traditional method was
used. Technology should also be used to give students a real audience for their
work while sharing so that their sharing becomes more meaningful and connected
to the real world. Technology is a beneficial tool that many teachers do not
choose to implement into their classrooms and this has a negative impact on the
students in their class who are not being exposed to other forms of expression
and learning. I encourage all educators to integrate meaningful technology into
their classrooms to benefit their students’ education.
