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Question: What Are the Basic Aspects We Need to
Think about When We Plan/Design to Integrate
Technology into Classroom Instruction? Answer: Technology
can be a great tool in the classroom to aid in the mastery of knowledge for your
students (Abrami et al, 2006; Lever-Duffy, McDonald, & Mizell, 2003; Treagust, 1990).
It can be an integral part of the design plan of the classroom instruction.
However, much thought should be put into the use of technology in the
classroom. Some of the important aspects teachers need to think about when
they plan and design to integrate technology into classroom instruction. Those
aspects to take into consideration of integrating technology include the
student, the subject, the environment, and the specific technology that is to
be used. This can also be approached using the ASSURE Model: Analyze the learners; State objective; Select methods, media, and materials; Utilize the media and materials; Require learner participation; and Evaluate and revise (Lever-Duffy
et al, 2003). The
first aspect regards the students and how to analyze them. Many things should
be taken into consideration when you plan on integrating technology into a
classroom such as the age of the student, the background of the students, the
subject you are teaching, how proficient the students are with computers, and
how much access the student has to the technology facilities both in and out
of the classroom (Abrami et al 2006; Treagust, 1990). Computer-assisted learning resources and multimedia-aided
instruction could provide effective content input to the learners (Timothy et
al, 2000). Students in elementary schools and colleges can benefit
from technology in the classroom, however their needs will vary. Elementary
school aged children would benefit from verbal and visual cues. They learn by
watching television and computer games such as Blue’s Clues and Baby Einstein. These programs show small amounts
of useful information in repetitive fashions so that the information can
easily be grasped by its viewers using its colorful, big and artistic
drawings. It is also helpful because of its narration. Children in elementary
school do not read well yet, so narration can be a very helpful tool in
explaining concepts in a simple and easy to understand manner (Lever-Duffy et al, 2003; Treagust, 1990). The
other end of the spectrum would be college students. Many of my college
classes utilize PowerPoint and Blackboard to relay information from the
professor to the student and from the student to the professor or even
student to student through chat rooms. PowerPoint is a very useful program
that can utilize video, text, music, audio, narration, graphics, charts, and
many other things to teach the student new material. It is also helpful
because students can download these materials and go over them at home to get
extra practice. As a teacher you
want to make sure you are addressing all the different learning styles from
visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles (Lever-Duffy et al, 2003; Treagust,
1990). The
teacher should also take into consideration how well their students know how
to use technology (Lever-Duffy et al,
2003, Treagust, 1990). If a student does not
have a computer at home, they may not know how to use it very well. Students
can learn how to use a computer very well in a short amount of time due to
its straightforward approach. A teacher can then show a student how to use
the computer to type papers, search or resources, and learn through
presentations and games. Most students will like playing games to learn
because it is fun and does not feel like work. If
your students know how to use the computer very well, then the teacher can
use more sophisticated ways of integrating technology into the classroom (Abrami et al, 2006, Treagust, 1990). For instance, if all of the students in a teacher’s
class know how to use computers and have one at home, the teacher can use a
website such as blackboard to post important information regarding class and
projects. This is very useful as well, because students can talk to each
other and help each other out without having to be in the same room. This is
very helpful especially for long distance learners. The
next thing to take into consideration would be the topic or subject you are
teaching and state your objective (Lever-Duffy
et al, 2003). By taking into consideration the topic you are teaching
you can make an objective. Some
subjects require a lot of hands on work like math, so a projector would be
handy to allow the teacher to write on his or her laptop and have a projector
project the image onto a wall large enough for all the students to see. He or
she could then work through math problems step by step in from of the student
so they could follow along and ask questions. Science
is another topic that could greatly benefit from the use of technology in the
classroom. For instance, when learning how to dissect a from to learn about
anatomy, the teacher could video tape themselves dissecting the frog to
project in front of the class so that all the students could watch saving
hundreds of frogs from dying just to be dissected. This could also be saved
on the computer so students could watch it at home to study more when they
have time. I have also seen dissections in the form of video games so that
the student could play around and learn more interactively. This is a very
useful tool to teacher and students. The
environment of the student should be taken into consideration when teaching
with technology (Lever-Duffy et al,
2003). If the teacher is using a projector, all the desks should be
arranged to allow for minimal distractions and maximum viewing so that all students
can see the board. All the students should be facing forward so they don’t
have to turn around in their seats to see what the teacher is showing the
class. Another thing to keep in mind is the temperature of the classroom. If
a classroom is filled with computers, it will become very warm. These
classrooms should be equipped with air-conditioning to make sure the students
remain comfortable and able to focus on what you are trying to teach them.
Next the teacher should be able to close out the light to the windows so the
students can see the computer screen or projected images better. If there is
too much light, the student will not be able to see what the teacher is
trying to show them. Next
the teacher should take into great consideration which technology they will
use in the classroom then select and utilize the materials (Lever-Duffy et al, 2003). Computers
are a very useful tool because it allows the student to use a number of
programs such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel, the internet, and many more programs
and resources (Annetta, Slykhuis,
& Wiebe, 2007; Treagust, 1990).
Televisions are also useful because you can show
movies in class using a DVD player. This allows the teacher to show clips
from movies such as the Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth DVD set to show what life is like at the North Pole
or under the ocean. PowerPoint has been the most commonly used technological
tool in the science classroom and its popularity is still growing (Annetta et al, 2007). Another
useful piece of technology is the internet it self. Teachers can post
homework, class lectures, and other useful sites by posting them on the
internet for the students to use at home. This allows students to learn
anytime they want because the internet is always on. The student can also use
the internet to send the teacher any questions they have about their
homework. The teacher can then send his or her answer back to the student
such as using Word to correct a paper using Track Changes to show the student
how he or she corrected his paper. This is a way to require learner
participation and ensure interactive learning which has been proven to
increase the understanding of the knowledge (Lever-Duffy et al, 2003). This,
however, leads us to the discussion on how much access the student has to
technology once they leave the classroom. I the After
the teacher has presented the material in class, the teacher should then
evaluate and revise the methods they used integrating technology into the
classroom (Lever-Duffy et al, 2003).
They should determine strengths and weaknesses of their presentation to
improve their lessons for the next classes they will teach. Technology can
help the teacher to easily change the material to better suit the students in
their classroom. These
are the few important aspects we need to think about as teachers when we plan and design
our classroom instruction by integrating technology. Technology is a great
tool used in classrooms to teach effectively and thoroughly. Some of the
things we discussed include taking the student into consideration including
the student’s age, familiarity with technology, access to technology outside
of the classroom and the environment it will be placed to ensure maximum
learning happening in the classroom. References: Abrami, P., Bernard, R., Borokhovski,
E., Lowerison, G., Newman, S., Nicolaidou,
Annetta, L., Slykhuis, D., & Wiebe, E. (2007). Evaluating the effectiveness of scientific visualization in two PowerPoint delivery strategies on science learning for pre-service science teachers. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 5 (2) 329-348. Lever-Duffy, J., McDonald, J., & Mizell, A. (2003). Teaching and Learning with Technology.
Timothy, J. Newby, Donald,
A. Stepich, James, D. Lehman, & James, Russell.
(2000). Instructional technology for teaching and learning: Designing
instruction, integrating computers, and using media (2nd Ed.). Treagust, D. (1990). Integration
of technology in the school curriculum. International Journal of Science and Mathematics
Education 20 (1) 272-281. |