I often reflect and look back at how far technology has come and how it has personally transformed the way I think. From my adolescence until now technology has played a vital role in my education. I am in awe at times when I see how much of an imprint technology has on one’s life and education. However, I know that no amount of advances in educational technology can help students without great teachers in place to educate and guide them. I believe teachers will alway be more valuable to education than technology, and the goal of educational technology should be finding “more teachers who are both technology savvy and child-centered.” (Roblyer & Doering, p.10)
Technology today is ubiquitous and plays a crucial part in all of our lives in ways that we can and cannot see. Technology Is used everywhere and was created to make life easier. The application of technology has improved the way people communicate, the way they learn, and the way they create. Students today are 21st-century learners, and it’s a necessity for them to have 21st-century skills, such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration. “For student performance to approximate student potential, students need access to a constantly evolving array of technological tools and activities that demand problem-solving, decision-making, teamwork, and innovation.” according to NAESP.
Technology, when integrated into the curriculum, transforms the learning process. Edutopia states that “studies show that technology integration in the curriculum improves students’ learning processes and outcomes” and it positively affects academic performance. As stated in Roblyer & Doering “Technology integration supports students’ learning by making their work more efficient and productive and by providing access to sources and ways of learning that they would not otherwise have.” Edutopia stated that “The Center for Applied Research in Education Technology (CARET) found that, when used in collaborative learning methods and leadership that is aimed at improving the school through technology planning, technology impacts achievement in content area learning, promotes higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills, and prepares students for the workforce.”
I believe that effective technology integration supports many components of learning. Edutopia states that it supports “active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction, and feedback, and connection to real-world experts.” This addresses issues with students that need more than usual motivation and students that need to see the relevance of newly acquired skills in their lives. Technology Integration strategies based on directed and constructivist models help to generate motivation to learn, optimizing scarce personnel, removing logistical hurdles to learning, and developing information literacy by giving students practice in using modern methods of communicating information. (Roblyer & Doering, p.51)
A constructivist learning approach encourages the learner to use active techniques to create more knowledge and to assess how their understanding is changing. The benefits of this learning approach give students ownership of what they learn, promotes communication, concentrates on learning how to think and understand, and gets the learner actively involved. The objectivist learning approach of transmitting predefined sets of information to students through teacher-organized activities. It Also plays a meaningful role and can help teachers and students meet many requirements of learning. As technology usage increases, the skills in using it and the information they carry, are essential. (Roblyer & Doering, p.24)
Resources:
National Association of Elementary School Principals: Serving all elementary and middle-level principals. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2016, from http://www.naesp.org/principal-januaryfebruary-2012-technology/technology-integration-new-21st-century-learner
Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (7th Edition). Pearson. Kindle Edition.
Why Do We Need Technology Integration?| Edutopia (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-importance