Integrating Technology

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.