The
primary role of the educator is to help prepare students for life in the
real world. Content is important, but it is knowledge of how to apply
skills that becomes transferable across a wide range of real world
situations. It therefore comes as no surprise that the educational world
has embraced a huge shift with the adoption of 21st Century Learning standards and college and career readiness standards.
Within
these standards is a large emphasis on the importance of digital
literacy. Some are highly critical in believing that technology only
acts as a secondary resource or that it is more of a distraction that
anything else. In Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching M.D.
Roblyer and Aaron Doering (2013) acknowledge the criticisms of
technology integration and highlight the issues in regards to lack of
funding, misuse of technology, safety, and the digital divide. In a
perfect world there would exist a 1:1 student to device ratio where
appropriate teaching and safety precautions would accompany the
integration of the technology in the classroom. While technology
integration is becoming more of a mainstream requirement it takes time
for the concept to be completely embraced, and for teachers to transform
from traditional roles as lectures and instructors to facilitators that
guide and oversee student acquisition of knowledge through technology.
Adam Bellow, who was voted the International Society for Technology in
Education’s (ISTE) Outstanding Educator of the Year in 2011, defined
technology integration as “Using whatever resources you have to the best
of your abilities” ("An introduction to technology integration", 2012).
Thus, the job of the classroom teacher is to embrace the technology
available and facilitate student learning through the accessible tools
to help them appropriately learn to apply critical thinking skills.
Roblyer
and Doering (2013) illuminates the core of technology integration by
introducing the information and communication technology (ICT)
framework. The framework is divide into three levels:
-
Technology literacy—Needed to “prepare learners, citizens, and a
workforce that is capable of taking up new technologies so as to support
social development and economic productivity.”
-
Knowledge deepening—Increases “the ability of students, citizens, and
the workforce to add value to society and the economy by applying the
knowledge of school subjects to solve complex, high priority problems
encountered in real world situations of work, society, and life.”
-
Knowledge creation—Intended “to increase productivity by creating
students, citizens, and a workforce that is continually engaged in and
benefits from knowledge creation and innovation and life-long learning”
(p. 21).
This framework bleeds into mainstream educational standards as the Common Core college and career readings standards
require that students learn to “use technology and digital media
strategically and capably” ("Students who are college and career ready in
reading, writing, speaking, listening, & language"). To use
something “strategically” requires critical thinking and access of
deeper knowledge. While various models and approaches to technology
integration exist, the premise remains the same: prepare students for
real world application.
Edutopia
acknowledges the reality that “Technology is continuously, and rapidly,
evolving. It is an ongoing process and demands continual learning”
("What is successful technology integration?", 2007). This truth serves as
a powerful platform for meaningful learning. It does a student no good
if they master the use of one technological device and never expand
their horizons to other digital tools. Learning goes beyond the
traditional and commonly accepted way of comprehension. True learning
occurs when students access the top levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy where
they must demonstrate their abilities to evaluate, create, analyze,
apply, and innovate. Technology acts as the means for developing
critical thinking skills that can be applied to diverse situations,
which makes it an instrumental component of the modern day classroom.
References
An introduction to technology integration. (2012, December 12). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction-video.
Roblyer,
M., & Doering, A. (2013). Integrating educational technology into
teaching (6th ed.). Boston:
Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Students who are college and career ready in reading, writing, speaking, listening, & language. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA- Literacy/introduction/students-who-are-college-and-career-ready-in-reading-writing- speaking-listening-language/
What is successful technology integration? (2007, November 5). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-description.
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