Group items tagged

Technology integration is the use of technology resources like computers, mobile devices like and tablets, digital cameras, social media platforms and networks, software applications, the Internet, and so on in daily classroom practices, and in the management of a school. This article discusses the successful ways you can incorporate this into the classrooms for your students.

This article has many different points and examples of technology integration. They start off by defining technology and quoting "Effective integration of technology is achieved when students are able to select technology tools to help them obtain information in a timely manner, analyze and synthesize the information, and present it professionally. The technology should become an integral part of how the classroom functions -- as accessible as all other classroom tools." When effectively integrated into the curriculum, technology tools can extend learning in powerful ways. The article also brushes up on types of technology integration, such as online learning, blended classrooms, project based activities incorporating technology, game based learning and assessment, Learning with Mobile and Handheld Devices, Instructional Tools like Interactive Whiteboards and Student Response Systems, Web-Based Projects, Explorations, and Research, Student-Created Media like Podcasts, Videos, or Slideshows, Collaborative Online Tools like Wikis or Google Docs, Using Social Media to Engage Students, and the levels of technology.

I like that this article is very detailed in how to effectively use technology in the classroom. According to the article, technology incorporation should be seamless, second-nature. The way we use pen and paper today should be the way technology is used. We don't stop to think about how to use the pen and paper in a class; ideally, the same thing should be happening in blended classrooms.

This short article researched the attitudes of teachers familiar with technology vs teachers who were not as familiar, and compared the attitudes of the two. As expected, those more familiar with technology had a better attitude towards integrating into the classroom. It was said the attitudes of teachers directly affected students'.