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earning for K-12 students cite the value of digital games to teach and reinforce skills that prepare students for college and career

Invisible assessments such as games provide teachers, students, and parents with immediate feedback about progress, enabling them to make timely adjustments to teaching and learning approaches. They also enable educators to build models of student learning and proficiency by capturing many observations of a student over time, without the pressure of performance on a single test.

Just as when playing a game, players get feedback and scores as a regular, expected part of play, so with all digital learning activity, we can be providing information about proficiency and suggestions for other activity.

Despite the challenges, incorporating technology into education still has proven benefits, especially when it comes to personalized learning. From math games that adjust the level of difficulty as players progress to electronic books that talk and respond to the tap of a finger, products that personalize the learning experience for students often benefit their understanding. An interactive game is more engaging than a book, so technology often promotes more practice and review in areas requiring memorization, such as spelling, math and geography. This frees up time in the classroom so educators can focus on skills like problem solving, character development and critical thinking.

Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum?

echnology will help students acquire the skills they need to survive in a complex, highly technological knowledge-based economy.

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AT for kids with LD is defined as any device, piece of equipment or system that helps bypass, work around or compensate for an individual's specific learning deficits. Over the past decade, a number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of AT for individuals with LD. 1 AT doesn't cure or eliminate learning difficulties, but it can help your child reach her potential because it allows her to capitalize on her strengths and bypass areas of difficulty. For example, a student who struggles with reading but who has good listening skills might benefit from listening to audio books. In general, AT compensates for a student's skills deficits or area(s) of disability. However, utilizing AT does not mean that a child can't also receive remedial instruction aimed at alleviating deficits (such as software designed to improve poor phonic skills). A student could use remedial reading software as well as listen to audio books. In fact, research has shown that AT can improve certain skill deficits (e.g., reading and spelling).2,3 AT can increase a child's self-reliance and sense of independence. Kids who struggle in school are often overly dependent on parents, siblings, friends and teachers for help with assignments. By using AT, kids can experience success with working independently

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

Technology should be used for a purpose—not for the sake of being flashy and not as a distraction from other forms of pedagogy

Be sure that the technology that you intend to use is accessible to your students

do consider whether or not your students have access to technology that you want them to use

Most teachers still lag behind their students in their undestanding of the latest technologies, and it's certainly clear that most teachers need help with how to leverage these technologies to enhance learning.

What does this child need to learn next? She may benefit from seeing different ways to organize factual information. The teacher may use a mini-lesson to show different examples of nonfiction animal books. This student, and the rest of her classmates, could look at nonfiction text features and try to use them in their own writing (table of contents, captions with pictures, bold words, close-ups, diagrams with labels, an index). This may motivate her to find more information about white sharks and think about how to organize it in a multi-page format. This would be an effective tie to a nonfiction reading unit.

Children need real-life experiences with real people to truly benefit from available technologies. Technologies should be used to enhance curriculum and experiences for children. Children have to have an integrated and well-balanced set of experiences to help them grow into capable adults that can handle social-emotional interactions as well as develop their intellectual abilities.

Unfortunately, technology is often used to replace social situations and I would rather see it used to enhance human interactions. And I think that can happen.

Keynotes, Workshops & ConferencesI have been a presenter and keynote speaker around the world on a variety of topics in the areas of 21st century modern teaching and learning, heutagogy, blogging as pedagogy, personal learning networks, digital storytelling, world language teaching, presentation design,  visual literacy and globally connected learning. Learn More Blended Coaching ModelSchools are struggling to keep up with the demands of curriculum design and upgrades to prepare students for modern skills and emerging literacies. Professional Development needs to offer opportunities for teachers to transform traditional experiences and redefine their own learning and in consequence their teaching practices. Learn More Webinar & Video ConferencesFor a cost effective alternative to bringing in a consultant, consider inviting me to support your teachers online. I am available for online 1:1  coaching, small group or large group professional development in the areas of modern teaching & learning.