What is technology integration?

Technology integration is the use of technology to support and further learning within a classroom. This can often bring a real world element to the subject. It provides students with a chance to engage actively in their learning through research and analysis of information and it builds a learning community.

Good technology integration can be determined by observing the growth students show in comparison to results when technology was not used. In Linking Technology, Learning, and School Change, William the teacher tried using the Internet as a further source of data, and had great success in connecting the subject matter being studied in their class to the subject matter as it applies to the world. As a result the students were able to make inferences and predictions about phenomena in their area, based on data from other places that previous students could not.

For technology integration to be successful it must optimize the use of the technology and involve the students on many levels. An example of bad technology integration would be a PowerPoint presentation with 8-point font, top to bottom text, 100 cell charts or presentations that are read verbatim from the slides. Technology must be used appropriately to maximize the learning experience.

BLOGS? ... BLOGS!

Hi, my name is Laura Faber and it is quite a miracle that you are hearing from me through this channel of communication. If you had asked me what a BLOG was a week ago, I wouldn’t have been able to come close to guessing it’s actual purpose. Anyway, a little about me: I was born and raised by my parents in the small rural community of Vauxhall, along with my two younger brothers. Growing up I shared a very close relationship with my family and to this day my family remains an integral part of the decisions I make. It is through the encouragement of my mom that I find myself in PS1 and thus typing in this BLOG. It is through my dad’s encouragement to get my masters that I find myself doubting an Education degree. A career as a teacher is not a question; the question is whether I want to focus on the academic part (university) or the teaching part of it. Perhaps a blog will help work out some of these questions.

Being a technologically challenged individual, I was very skeptical of my ability to use such an "advanced" technological tool. Just this summer, my employer was celebrating because I was e-mailing and answering the phone without considerable prompting and prodding. My skepticism of technology stems from a feeling that technology takes away from the personable component of human interaction. Things such as non-verbal cues (facial expression, body language and tone) are lost through teaching with a technology like a blog. I feel that non-verbal cues serve both to strengthen meaning of a statement and quality of a relationship.
Non-verbal cues can also be used to assist in assessing a student’s true understanding of a set material. Something a blog could not display.

Another reason I am apprehensive about technology is the ease of information. It is easy to fall into the trap of revealing too much about oneself even with the proper instruction.

While I am skeptical that it would work for me, I will attempt to use blogs as an occasional teaching tool. At this time I could see myself using it as a syllabus or as a way of getting students to discuss their feelings on a question or article. Technology seems to excite students and perhaps this excitement could transfer over to excitement for the material. While I don’t understand how it could help a relationship, I am interested in further exploring this as such an avenue. I am also a fan of the ease of use factor and accessibility of it. So, while I don’t know how well it will work for me, I am willing to try it.