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The ITEST program through research and model-building activities seeks to build understandings of best practice factors, contexts and processes contributing to K-12 students' motivation and participation in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) core domains along with other STEM cognate domains (e.g., information and communications technology (ICT), computing, computer sciences, data analytics, among others) that inform education programs and workforce domains. The ITEST program funds foundational and applied research projects addressing the development, implementation, and dissemination of innovative strategies, tools, and models for engaging students to be aware of STEM and cognate careers, and to pursue formal school-based and informal out-of-school educational experiences to prepare for such careers.  ITEST supports projects that: (1) increase students' awareness of STEM and cognate careers; (2) motivate students to pursue the appropriate education pathways for STEM and cognate careers; and/or (3) provide students with technology-rich experiences that develop disciplinary-based knowledge and practices, and non-cognitive skills (e.g., critical thinking and communication skills) needed for entering STEM workforce sectors. ITEST projects may adopt an interdisciplinary focus on one or more STEM domains or focus on sub discipline(s) within a domain. ITEST projects must involve students, and may also include teachers. ITEST is especially interested in broadening participation of student groups from traditionally underrepresented in STEM and cognate intensive education and workforce domains. Strongly encouraged are projects that actively engage business and industry to better ensure K-12 experiences are likely to foster the skill-sets of emerging STEM and cognate careers.  ITEST supports two project types: Strategies and SPrEaD (Successful Project Expansion and Dissemination) projects. Strategies projects address the creation and implementation of innovative technology-related interventions that support ITEST's objectives. SPrEaD projects support the wider and broader dissemination and examination of innovative interventions to generate evidence and understanding regarding contextual factors that operate to enhance, moderate, or constrain the desired results. All ITEST projects include activities designed to inform judgments regarding the feasibility of implementing strategies in typical delivery settings such as classrooms and out-of-school settings.

When technology integration in the classroom is seamless and thoughtful, students not only become more engaged, they begin to take more control over their own lear

students not only become more engaged, they begin to take more control over their own learning, too.

While students may be surrounded by technology at home, it is dangerous to assume that they know how to use it for learning

Teachers Administrators Lesson Plans Technology Prof. Development EdWorld Community Have Some Fun

Teachers are committed to students and their learning. Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students. Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. Teaches think systematically about their practice and learn from experience. Teachers are members of learning communities

“Students, regardless of community demographics, socio-economic backgrounds, gender, and grade, tell us year after year that the lack of sophisticated use of emerging technology tools in school is, in fact, holding back their education – and in many ways disengages them from learning.”

nology is changing the way children learn, educators teach and

how teachers and students communicate with one another. While technology provides greater access to information and new ways for students to learn, it can become a crutch hindering creative problem solving and cognitive development.

Reasons for Integrating Technology When done effectively, technology has a positive impact on student learning. It can: Increase student motivation for learning Improve communication of learning goals Facilitate higher-order thinking skills Build valuable skills that students will use in college and in the workplace Expand students' understanding from novice to mastery There is no denying that computer technology has become as commonplace as the telephone in American society. To make learning relevant to students, this reality needs to be acknowledged in the form of technology-based lessons.

When students are using technology as a tool or a support for communicating with others, they are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of information transmitted by a teacher, textbook, or broadcast. The student is actively making choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or display information. Technology use allows many more students to be actively thinking about information, making choices, and executing skills than is typical in teacher-led lessons. Moreover, when technology is used as a tool to support students in performing authentic tasks, the students are in the position of defining their goals, making design decisions, and evaluating their progress. The teacher's role changes as well. The teacher is no longer the center of attention as the dispenser of information, but rather plays the role of facilitator, setting project goals and providing guidelines and resources, moving from student to student or group to group, providing suggestions and support for student activity. As students work on their technology-supported products, the teacher rotates through the room, looking over shoulders, asking about the reasons for various design choices, and suggesting resources that might be used

A dramatic shift is sweeping through our schools. The signs are all around us. Third graders texting on their cell phones. Kindergarteners who can navigate an iPod Touch better than we can. Middle schoolers who already have an Internet following on their blog or YouTube channel. These are not the same 21st century learners we came to know over the first decade of the new millennium. For these students, simply watching videos or images during class, playing an Internet multiplication game, or even taking turns at an interactive whiteboard is no longer enough. These new 21st century learners are highly relational and demand quick access to new knowledge. More than that, they are capable of engaging in learning at a whole new level. With the world literally at their fingertips, today’s students need teachers and administrators to re-envision the role of technology in the classroom.

as they try to find a way to safely incorporate this technology in the classroom.

“Whatever they do, [schools fear that] parents will be upset, money will be inappropriately spent, they will draw the ire of the public. They're scared of all of this, so there is an extra layer of conservatism to protect the kids. But we can’t let it paralyze us from taking steps into the new.”

“Kids can get together online and work together.”

Technology has opened many educational doors to children, particularly to children with disabilities

Technology is providing more powerful and efficient tools to teachers who work with children with disabilities. These tools enable teachers to offer new and more effective means of learning while individualizing instruction to the broad range of student learning needs.

Text can be read electronically by a digitized voice synthesizer for a person who is blind. For persons with hearing impairments, amplification devices can filter extraneous noise from the background or pick up an FM signal from a microphone on a teacher's lapel.

1. Encourage students to share work socially.

Edmodo helps you create a social, digital classroom. On Edmodo, you can vote, post assignments, create a class assignments calendar, and upload photos and messages to students. With more 17 million users, Edmodo has been a highly successful endeavor. It allows students to get real-time feedback by taking quizzes online. Teachers can also engage socially with one another by sharing lesson plans online and asking questions to their online communities. Edmodo's Global Read Aloud program encourages students to practice their reading and public speaking skills with other students from around the world

How much are kids using media? The total amount of media use by youth ages 8 to 18 averages 6-plus hours a day—more than any other activity. The amount of use has increased significantly, up from 4-plus hours in the last five years. Eighty percent of adolescents possess at least one form of media access. There is extensive multi-tasking associated with media use (instant messaging while doing homework and listening to music on an mp3 player, for example). Of particular concern is the amount of TV kids consume. From 2004 to 2009, television and video use averaged three to five hours per day, peaking between the ages of 11 and 14, a crucial period for kids' social development. Fifty-four percent of teens send text messages, and one third of teens send more than 100 text messages per day. One third talk face-to-face with friends, around the same percentage that talk on cell phones (38 percent) and land lines (30 percent). Twenty-four percent communicate with friends via instant messages. Twenty-five percent contact friends via social networking sites. Eleven percent use e-mail.

creates animated, curricular content that engages students, supports educators, and bolsters achievement.

educational games portal for the classroom.

ndividual, team, and whole-class learning

Technology should help us to teach better and in more meaningful ways.

It should not be something that you do in addition to everything else you already do in your classroom.

Children already know how to use technology for entertainment. They need to learn how technology can help them to learn.