Technology Integration: What I've Learned

I was not certain coming into this class what I would learn and how beneficial it would truly be. I soon found out that Learning Through Technology would be a valuable course. I have gained an understanding of what it means to learn through technology and why it is so important to incorporate it into my classroom. Schrum and Levin point out in their book Leading 21^st Century Schools that students are using technology to learn outside of school and yet they are not being allowed to do the same thing inside of school. While I would use technology occasionally in my classroom, it has not been enough. 

This class opened up my eyes to many useful Web 2.0 tools, from blogs, animoto, podcasts, bookmarking, virtual libraries, virtual tours, and many more. I am now tweaking my current lesson plans to incorporate more technology and this technology will help to make my lessons authentic for my students. I see so many possibilities now with what I can do, whereas before I knew I wanted to use technology, but I wasn’t sure how. I am currently sharing the WebQuest I created for this class with my students and just today they completed a focus lesson on how to navigate through the WebQuest. I can already tell that the WebQuest will help to make my mythology unit more relevant and authentic to the students, as well as help connect what I am doing in my classroom to Iowa’s standards, the Iowa Core.

This class ignited a curiosity in me to learn more. It allowed me to conduct research and find articles about technology. I found myself not being able to stop at just finding one article, and I now have a binder of educational technology articles to use when I need guidance on a future lesson. These articles helped me to explore the many ways I can use technology in my classroom, by proving the relevance for technology and by letting me in on what other teachers are doing. For example, the article A (Pod)cast of Thousands, helped to clarify for me how to incorporate podcasting into my lessons. The article made a relevant point for me in that “if we want our students to be confident effective communicators in the coming decades, we must prepare them to communicate through digital media” (Dlott, 2007). As an English teacher, one of my main goals is to help create effective communicators and I had to question why I wasn’t using digital media to do that in the first place, when I know, as I am also a journalism teacher, how much blogging and online videos have become so popular. 

Overall, I have learned how important technology is in the classroom. It helps to make lessons authentic as well as assists in creating an environment where a differentiated lesson can exist. The article Turning on the Lights by Mark Prensky helped to reiterate the importance of asking students to power-up in school versus power-down. We all strive to be engaging teachers, so that our students walk out of our classroom gaining something versus learning how they can use our notes as a replacement tool to counting sheep. This course has been very valuable and it made quite an impression on me. I will use what I have learned and apply it to my lessons, and I have actually already started doing just that. 

Dlott, A. M. (2007). A (pod)cast of thousands. Educational Leadership, 64(7), 80-82.

Prensky, M. (2008, March). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.

Schrum, L., & Levin, B. B. (2009). Leading 21st century school: Harnessing technology for engagement and achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Equal Access to the Digital World!

How do we achieve equal access to the digital world for our students? This can be tricky because of the digital divide. The article "The Digital Divide: Where are we" defines the digital divide "as the gap between those individuals and communities that have, and do not have, access to the information technologies that are transforming our lives". As a teacher I cannot guarantee that every single one of my students has a computer or even the internet in their home, so how do I integrate technology into my classroom without losing those students who do not have access to it? The solution is to use what they have and I have.

Every student may not have access to a computer or the internet at home, but they do have access to it in my classroom. I can create technological projects for my students to complete in class, such as a WebQuest, Podcast, blog, etc. As long as I give them adequate time in class to complete this assignment, then I won't lose those students who cannot complete the assignment out of class.

Most students have a cell phone and this can be used as a tool in the classroom, too. Students can now download books onto their phones, look up words using a free dictionary app. I know of one teacher who has his students call themselves to leave voicemails on assignments they need to complete or to remind themselves of the most important thing they learned today. There doesn't have to be a divide. Just because a student may not have access to technology outside your classroom, does not mean that you shouldn't use it. Students in this day in age need to know how to use technology for educational purposes. They love to use technology so, if we start powering them up in school then we will be able to appropriately arm them to overcome the digital divide and help to provide equal access to the digital world. No one should be denied the digital experience, so it is up to us as teachers to incorporate it into our lessons.

In a nutshell, providing equal access to the digital world for students means allowing them to use digital tools in the school environment. Use the resources available to you and incorporate the resources they have at their disposal. Don't deny them thought provoking technological projects because some students don't have access outside of class, provide for them the tools you have at your disposal and open up the digital world for them.

Dickard, N., & Schneider, D. (2002, July 07). The digital divide: Where we are. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-divide-where-we-are-today