Technology in Education Rationale
"In the past 5 years, the digital universe has grown by 1000%", according to 'what is 21st century education?' video. This statistic is a main reason in which the need for technology integration in the classroom is essential. Teachers must serve as innovators, mentors, and facilitators to expand upon the learning experience for all students' needs. Statistics show that 46% of teachers say their homework requires technology of some sort and 94% of students use technology to do their homework. Integration of technology needs to go beyond the learning in the classroom. Students should be able to apply their basic learning of technology and develop new ways of thinking that are expressed outside the classroom, whether that be in science, math, engineering, or applying to real world situations.
21st Century Education has become a progressive and innovative way of teaching and learning. Education today is designed by a 21st Century Framework for Learning and focuses on core subjects, three R's, and 21st Century themes. These subjects are designed through global awareness, financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy, civic literacy, health literacy, and environmental literacy. Learning and Innovation skills form the 4 C's such as, Critical thinking and problem solving, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and innovation. Information and Life skills are also a significant aspect to the reasoning behind integrating technology into the classroom. (Up to the Challenge)
How is ISTE Shaping the Way in which Technology is Integrated?
ISTE has provided standards for teachers and students that state the skills needed for technology integration. Having an understanding of these standards will better support teachers by providing authentic and innovative learning experiences, while students will have an understanding of what is expected and how to apply what is learned to their own lives by assessing progress and goals throughout careers and life itself. The ISTE standards for teachers is focused primarily on designing, implementing, and assessing learning experiences to improve student learning, and provide positive models to all students. It is essential that teachers remember the role of teaching today which is more directed at facilitating and providing a framework for learning, while the students are the ones taking initiative and creating their own knowledge of learning. Teachers must inspire student creativity, design digital learning experiences and assessments, and model digital age work and learning. ISTE standards for students focus on the emphasis of creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, research and information fluency, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. If these standards are aligned with the appropriate tasks and content, students will be able to begin creating new knowledge and will become more efficient in using technology outside the classroom. (ISTE)
Factors of Integrating Technology into the Classroom
As with any new material introduced into a lesson, there is expected to be factors that may affect the way in which students learn. There are three main factors that can attest to the accreditation of applying technology into a classroom. These factors include: Learning theory foundation; an integration planning model in which includes teachers' Tech-PACK, optimal combination of content knowledge, pedagogy technology, technology knowledge, and essential conditions. The foundation of learning is also established upon two integration models: direct and constructivist. Direct integration focuses primarily on cognitive-behavioral, where as constructivist integration focuses on social learning, scaffolding, and multiple intelligences. Students also engage in various strategies while integrating technology such as skill fluency and automaticity, creative problem solving, and using multiple intelligences.
The Significance of Using the Technology Integration Planning (TIP) Model
The Technology Integration Planning Model is vital resource that teachers have access to in terms of planning and modeling the use of technology in the classroom. This model has three phases that implement the analysis of learning and teaching needs, planning for integration, and post-instruction analysis and revisions. Utilizing this model will guide teachers in identifying the necessary resources and materials to integrate technology. The TIP model will also provide a framework highlights key areas of success in integrating technology by prompting self assessment questions in regards to objectives and assessments.
Understandings Of Why Technology Needs To Be Integrated
Based upon the research I have collected and the connections I have made to implementing technology into the classroom, I am a strong advocate for embracing the STEM program and finding additional ways to incorporate technology into my lesson plans as much as possible. 'Up to the Challenge', states the shared understandings in which a better path to college and career readiness may be established. These shared understandings include: All students need to be college and career ready, College and Career readiness requires both knowledge and skills, and How students learn has a decided impact on what they learn. The shared understandings highlight the importance of integrating technology into the classroom by providing a stepping stone that can be built upon in terms of improving ways of learning and having students build upon what they already know. Students must have not only the knowledge to use the skills, but students also need to know why they are using these skills. Together as educators, we can set the framework in this day of teaching and provide the backbone that encourages and motivates students to seek the technology career fields and learn in a whole new dimension that requires building upon mastered skills.
