Obstacles and Suggested Solutions for Integrating Technology Into the Content Area

While I thoroughly enjoy technology integration and believe it to be a vital part of the learning experience in the classroom, several issues exist when it comes to its’ use in the classroom. I have recently taken a new position at my school as a Teacher on Special Assignment (TSA). In this position I will be acting as a technology coordinator on campus. This means anything from troubleshooting a printer not working to developing curriculum that embraces technology. The initial struggle a school of our size faces (3,000 students) is not having a one to one ratio of student to digital device. While the library is available before school, at lunch, and after school, students still find it difficult to complete assignments that require technology if they don’t have a digital device. Thus, as a whole our school can’t fully embrace or enforce certain technology expectations if equal access isn’t guaranteed.

A 2012 article titled “Six Lingering Technologies to Using Technologies in School” published by MindShift, an online medium that seeks to offer information for teachers, educators, and policy makers, discusses six lingering obstacles to technology integration. Three of the obstacles I find still exist today and include:

• The increased need for “blending of formal and informal learning” (MindShift). With the popularity of the “flipped classroom” students are being exposed to both traditional learning activities and more modern activities that embrace technology. This concept has only taken off in the last few years, but is still far from being the mainstream strategy for teaching (at least in my community).  
• “The demand for personalized learning is not adequately supported by current technology or practices” (MindShift)- As a country we still aren’t in a position where every student is being give access to learning in regards to digital literacy. Depending on the learning and home environment, not all students have the necessary skills to embrace learning at an individual learning pace.
• “Learning that incorporates real life experiences is not occurring enough and is undervalued when it does take place” (MindShift)- Teachers tend to think that if they put some form of technology in front of students it will automatically make the content they are teaching engaging and interesting; however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Technology is use becomes an obstacle in teaching when teachers aren’t knowledgeable of how to appropriately use technology to create meaningful learning experiences and create real world application.

These are just some of the obstacles that I believe still exist when it comes to technology integration.