Wednesday, July 26, 2006

On the Integration of Technology into the Learning Environment

The phrase “technology integration” strikes fear into the hearts of some and relief and excitement in others. Your perspective may be generalized loosely by your responsibilities associated with the phrase and might even be affected by your generation. Regardless of where you lie on the spectrum of reaction, the need to effectively use information technology in the educational and academic environments is not likely to go away any time in the near or even distant future. Business uses information technology to make gains in worker productivity and to leverage the analysis of digital information for decision support, often with a shrinking work force.

In the halls and classrooms of our schools our needs are very different. We are engaged in a process of indoctrinating the youth with our culture and values while preparing them for a changing economy and work force. The need to meet state and nationally mandated standards verified by high-stakes testing is the order of the day. The process of education is morphing to meet these new challenges in ways that are surprising to veteran practitioners. While we do not produce a “product” that is measurable in currency in an immediate way, we are engaged in efforts that will have a profound effect on the economy and character of the nation for decades to come.

Our youth are changing their expectations of the learning environment as well. Engaging the youth of today may take more than the best that lectures of yesterday had to offer. Contemporary learners are engaged by a high degree of individual control over the learning environment and tasks that are as authentic to the “real-world” as possible. The amount of information available to the young today and the variety of channels through which this information can be delivered has had a profound impact on the expectations that young learners have of the educational process. Fighting this process of change may prove to be futile, although there are adherents to this mentality. The future is here and it promises a process of constant change.

So how does one proceed to attempt effective integration of technology into the learning process? The conversation is best had about a specific discipline, thoughtfully and with reflection on the character of a specific group of students. There are however some general principles that can be stated.

There are three principles that should be applied when integrating technology into lesson planning. They are as follows:

Start with the curriculum in mind. We are all charged to teach something in particular. Regardless of how much latitude we have in defining exactly what the curriculum consists of, we must plan according to its content. Doing anything else is “missing the boat.” Furthermore standards - local, state and national help to define what is / should be acceptable in curriculum – thereby informing the process of curriculum development and associated teaching practice. In many cases – for better or worse – high stakes tests serve to evaluate the teaching of curriculum aligned with these standards.
Utilize all appropriate methods to deliver content to students. There is no reason to stop doing what works – e.g. using manipulatives or accessing hardcopy resources in the library. Stating that we are going to integrate technology into a lesson means that we are going to continue this process by including tools that will support varied learning styles (multiple intelligences), allow for acceleration of a process that is less efficient when done manually – e.g. writing a paper, and enhance critical thinking on the part of a learner. There are valid reasons for the integration technology into the business sector and more recently into our private lives. Technology helps us get things done, gives us added capabilities and access to a very powerful variety of information that when appropriately managed – gives us the knowledge to make better decisions. To ignore these facts is to be left behind. 1
Reflect on what learners need then study and use the body of current research to give it to them. Use this reflection and study to validate and improve on what you present to your students. There are many ways of looking at teaching and learning. B.F. Skinner believed that “expert knowledge” could be integrated into curriculum then be broken up into “digestible” bits of information which the learner could handle in sequence. (programmed instruction) He also promoted the use of teaching machines, with which the learner could interact to accomplish learning tasks, negating the need for a teacher. These theories have been eclipsed by both cognitive and social constructivism – whereby learners make their own meaning from their environment and through interaction with their peers and others. This has led to a changing role for the teacher. No longer are we asked to be a “Sage on the Stage” who knows everything about a specific subject area, we are now encouraged to be facilitators of learning “a Guide on the Side.” 3
These transitions are hard for some to accept. Resistance to change has been somewhat of a social constant in its own right. Taking the “long view” reminds us that we must learn from history rather than be doomed to repeat it. Change will happen whether or not we decide to accept it. The question is – what will we choose to do about it?

So what does effective “technology integration” look like? How would an administrator, fellow teacher or parent know they were seeing “effective technology integration” if they happened upon such a lesson being taught in any given classroom? The answer lies at the crossroads where mandated curriculum, designed to meet state and federal standards, and learner engagement with a well-prepared lesson delivered by a motivated and thoughtful educational professional using technology appropriate to the subject and learning that will take place meet. 2

The learners will be visibly and audibly engaged. Questions are not foisted upon the learners – they are likely to be generated by the learners. The curriculum rather than the technology is the centerpiece of the lesson. The learners want to know more, and they are engaged in an assignment where they will ultimately be able to demonstrate that they do. Cooperation and communication between students is emphasized in being able to complete the culminating tasks. The learners will not need a one to one computer to student ratio; rather they may divide the varied tasks required of them amongst themselves and then pursue them individually before coming back together with the group to negotiate the integration of the parts into the most meaningful whole.3

There is not an individual technology or use of a specific set of technologies that will be the “magic prescription” for technology integration. There is however, a thoughtful and deliberate process to engage learners using every means available most effectively. There is the motivation on the part of all stake-holders to see that the learning process informed by curriculum is at the center of our efforts at all times. The desire to achieve beyond our perceived limitations is evident in what we aspire to accomplish.

Copyright Tom Spencer 2006

1. "Schools, like many businesses today, are leveraging the power of technology to make their own operations- just like their students - smarter and more resourceful than ever."

'Smart' Technology Offers Schools New Solutions to Save Time and Money in the Changing Landscape of Education
Kevin Hunter, Director of Marketing Support, RISO Inc.
T.H.E. Journal September 2004

2. "In A Theory-Based Meta-Analysis of Research on Instruction, Robert J. Marzano analyzed the results of more than 100 research reports on instruction, involving more than 1.2 million subjects. The goal of the analysis was to identify those instructional strategies that have a high probability of enhancing student achievement for all students in all subject areas at all grade levels. [] Based on this meta-analysis, Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock identified and subsequently reviewed nine categories of instructional strategies that are most likely to lead to enhanced student achievement in their book, Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Many teachers are using these strategies, and they are asking how technology can be integrated with these strategies to improve student learning. In this article, we review the research-based instructional strategies and give concrete examples of readily available technology that support them."
Building Better Instruction
By Kathy Brabec, Kim Fisher, and Howard Pitler

http://www.iste.org/LL/31/5/06b/index.cfm

3. "Teachers in Papert's view, should serve as guides for students, immersing themselves in projects that bring together multiple areas of the curriculum." From Papert - "The goal should be to connect rich projects with powerful ideas."

The Daring Dozen
Compiled by the Edutopia Staff
Edutopia Volume 1 Issue 2 November / December 2004 pg.49
Tom Spencer Copyright 2004

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