Why Integrate Technology?

Article Response By Tyler Breitbarth

http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction

Why integrate technology? This is a question a lot of educators ask. Although more and more educators are accepting that technology is important to student learning, how will technology fit into the daily classroom environment is a question that many have not answered. The benefit to using technology, this article suggests, is that it will help give students experience they can use in their professional lives, college and career. The author really emphasizes the point that the skills students will learn will not be typing and how to run applications, but how to sort and process information digitally, such as when researching online.

Effective technology integration must be made across the curriculum, in ways that deepens and enhances the learning process. To achieve this, technology must support; active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction, and feedback (usually personalized and prompt). The end result of successful technology integration means the technology will become transparent or largely routine, similar to pencil and paper in the classroom.

The biggest point that I take away from this article is “Technology...changes the way teachers teach, offering educators effective ways to reach different types of learners and assess student understanding through multiple means.” I could not agree more with this statement. This is now what I believe to be the biggest barrier to technology integration. Teachers (young and old) find that if technology does not fit their teaching style, they may be less willing to integrate technology as it does not fit their teaching style.

First of all, I did pick this article because it contains that all encompassing word, ubiquitous. Technology is successfully integrated when it becomes ubiquitous. More and more in our district, technology has not lost its appeal to children as they enjoy using it in the classroom, as it often stimulates independent learning and engagement. However it is becoming more routine in the classroom. Students expect to be using these devices often, if not on a daily basis. More time is spent on content then learning how to use the apps. However, I wish the article had suggested ways this could be accomplished.