Technology integration encompasses a wide range of activities. One indication of integration is the incorporation of desired technology proficiencies into general and subject-area standards for students and teachers.
Another indicator is the extent to which technology is incorporated into administrative processes, such as tracking student attendance and managing recordkeeping.
Communication
When a new technology is introduced to a classroom, the communication among teachers and students can be as important as the technical components. Educators must be able to communicate the value of the tool, how it will benefit the curriculum and student learning, and its potential for transforming their classroom practice.
Moreover, it is crucial for educators to share their understanding of how the technology works, and their personal perspectives about its use. This will help teachers build trust and a shared language that can support the use of new technologies in their classrooms. For example, if a teacher believes that a particular piece of technology will reduce the need for educators, they may be less receptive to its implementation. However, if they feel that a specific tool will provide additional teaching support and enhance their own abilities, they might be more open to using it in their classrooms.
A second consideration in evaluating the success of a technology integration model is whether it encourages fruitful thinking and pedagogical connections across disciplines or traditional silos. For example, the models used by teacher education programs for training student teachers must address the fact that pedagogical approaches to instruction vary by content discipline, while technologies change at an ever-increasing rate. The models must also be broad enough to accommodate the different ways that teachers might use different educational technologies, including substitution – augmentation – modification – redefinition (SAMR; Koehler & Mishra, 2009), TPACK; Kuhn, 2013), and replacement – augmentation – modification – integration (RAT; Roblyer & Doering, 2013).
A third indicator of successful technology integration is whether or not desired technological proficiencies are incorporated into general or subject-area standards for students and teachers. This signifies that a teacher or school has bought-in to the value of the tool and will seek to incorporate it into their practices. Incorporating technology goals into standards will increase the likelihood that a tool will remain in place even when circumstances change. It will also prevent the loss of a tool because it was not adapted to suit local needs.
Differentiation
Differentiation is a variety of teaching techniques and lesson adaptations that educators use to address differences among students in a single class or learning environment. These variations include providing different types of text for visual learners, auditory learners and kinesthetic learners; allowing students to work in small groups or individually; offering extra time on tests to provide assistance to struggling students; and extending the thinking and skills of advanced students. Differentiation also relates to ongoing debates about academic tracking and equity in education.
Incorporation of technology standards into curriculum and teaching is a key indicator that schools are integrating technology. However, relying solely on these measures can lead to unhelpful comparisons and overemphasis on the presence of hardware. It’s not enough to simply count devices or measure the number of students using a device, as these simple counts do not capture the complexities of technology integration.
The definition of technology integration can vary greatly depending on the context, educational setting and the stakeholders involved. For example, a teacher may value proof that a particular piece of technology improves student achievement, while a principal values cost and ease of implementation, while a tech support professional might prioritize the ability to access a database for technical help.
For teachers, effective technology integration should promote new ways of learning. To be successful, technology must allow for this innovation to be transparent to students. A technology integration measure should be based on whether the tool supports these new ways of learning, not just how many computers are in a classroom or how much time students spend online.
When assessing the effectiveness of technology integration, the best indicators are those that measure how well teachers use tools to engage students in meaningful activities. These should not be superficial or passive activities, such as completing online assignments or watching videos. Instead, they should involve student-centered activities that allow them to obtain information, analyze and synthesize it, and present it in a meaningful way. Examples of these activities include conducting a search, writing an essay or report, solving a problem, designing an experiment and creating a multimedia presentation.
Assessment
Assessment is the process by which students learn, and it is a critical component of technology integration. Teachers need to know whether students are understanding concepts and making progress, so they can adjust their instructional strategies accordingly. Additionally, many schools use assessments to determine student eligibility for special services and programs such as tutoring, academic support, or social work assistance. Assessments can be a powerful tool for motivating students and fostering a culture of learning.
Educators also need to assess their own knowledge and skill levels regarding the technologies they are using in the classroom. A teacher may have a strong grasp on the uses of a particular piece of software, but may not be able to explain why it is useful for teaching, or even how to use it effectively. This is why it is important to include assessment in any PD plan for teachers integrating technology.
It is also important to assess the overall impact of technology integration on a school, which includes its effects on the business and management of education. This involves daily routine processes such as the scheduling and dispatching of buses; the payment of staff and students; attendance, grading, and transcripting; and the exchange of information between administrators and faculty members. While it may seem less glamorous than allowing students to remotely control telescopes in Antarctica, these administrative functions are essential for the operation of a school.
A successful model of technology integration should encourage students to engage in new ways of obtaining, organizing, and communicating information. In addition to helping them solve problems and make decisions, it should promote collaboration in an open-ended manner and allow them to work together across geographical boundaries. It should also enable them to gain an understanding of complex issues such as globalization, climate change, and terrorism.
Achieving the goal of technology integration in schools is a complex task. It involves a great deal of hard work by all parties, including teachers, students, school administrators, and district administrators. A number of different models of technology integration have been suggested, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. However, most of these models are based on the same basic principles: they all focus on teaching and learning, and they all provide some form of assessment.
Collaboration
In order to effectively integrate technology into their classrooms, teachers need to create a learning environment that fosters collaboration. This can be done by encouraging students to work in groups, allowing them to share information through social media, or by using the technology to complete group assignments. By doing so, students will be more engaged in the lesson and will retain information longer. Additionally, the use of technology can help to differentiate instruction and provide a more personalized learning experience for all students.
Many models for teaching with technology emphasize collaborative activities that can be accomplished by students working together in the same classroom or even from different locations via remote access. Examples include wikis, blogs, online discussions, videoconferencing, and virtual labs. While these tools may not be as effective for individualized student instruction as face-to-face classroom interactions, they can allow students to work through difficult concepts, ask questions, and engage in deeper learning and discussion.
Students can use technology to collaborate with each other and with classmates, share information, create projects, and perform research. In addition, they can also access digital content that is linked to the curriculum. The use of technology to facilitate collaborative learning is often referred to as “flipping the classroom,” a practice that involves moving the lecture part of class to a more collaborative setting.
Educators often argue that technology integration can change teacher-student relationships, encourage project-based learning styles, and support the acquisition of skills such as higher order thinking, analysis, and problem solving. However, the way in which technology is used can be highly subjective and hard to measure. For example, a head count of computers in a classroom might be an accurate indicator of integration, but it tells little about how the devices are being used.
Some of the current models for teaching with technology are unclear or overly theoretical. For example, the TPACK model is complex and often confusing to teachers. Other models focus on constructs that are incompatible with a teacher’s daily needs (e.g., activism in LoTi or user perceptions in TAM) or are too general to be useful (e.g., substitution versus augmentation in SAMR or TIM and RAT).
