Technology Integration in Education

EDUA 6375 - Foundations of Educational Technology

As we move further into the digital age, it is becoming increasingly important for educators to integrate technology into their teaching practices. This enhances the learning experience and makes it more engaging and effective. Unfortunately, good technology integration in education has not occurred because of several factors cited below.

Why hasn't good technology integration occurred in education?

In the article "Facilitating Collaboration, Communication, and Critical Thinking Skills in Physical Therapy Education through Technology-Enhanced Instruction: A Case Study."Hughes et al. (2018) mentioned that in the area of physical therapy, some educators seem reluctant or may even resist adopting technology in their classroom for various reasons, including discomfort with technology and lack of support with technology integration. The data from the study suggests that faculty are using technology but without a good understanding of the pedagogy related to instructional design, perhaps, as suggested by Baumgartner (2011), because of pressure by the institution that is focused primarily on marketing, not on the pedagogical benefits of the use of such technology. (Hughes et al., 2018)

Professional development is one of the methods schools have used to “ensure that teachers keep up with changes in statewide student performance standards or to become familiar with new methods of teaching in the content areas, or learn how to make the most of effective instructional use of new technologies for teaching and learning and adapt their teaching to shifting school environments and increasingly diverse student populations. (Lawless & Pellegrino, 2007)

Lawless and Pellegrino (2007) cited three major challenges:

1. The first is defining what constitutes quality professional development, irrespective of the specific topic.

2. The second major challenge is that integrating technology into teaching and learning is not a simple matter because there are many ways that technology integration can occur, some more productive and theoretically meaningful than others.

3. The third major challenge was the fact that recent research literature on technology-related professional development is extremely limited in scope and markedly weak regarding the influences one can draw about what makes a difference. (Lawless & Pellegrino 2007)

The article "The Pedagogy of Technology Integration by Okojie et al. (2006) acknowledged that the degree of success teachers have in using technology for instruction could depend in part on their ability to explore the relationship between pedagogy and technology. Furthermore, this article also discusses the narrow perception of the term “technology integration” and considers that such a perception is likely to result in a poor use of technology for instructional purposes. The scope of technology integration is examined with a view to showing its relationship with pedagogy. Technology is usually seen as a tool or device, and “educators take an even narrower view and are more likely to confine educational technology primarily to computers, computer peripherals, and related software used for teaching and learning. (Okojie et al., 2006) This article was written to assist teachers in recognizing the relationship between pedagogy and technology in education. It is necessary that teachers understand the pedagogical principles that govern the application of technology in teaching and learning. (Okojie et al., 2006)

What tips would you offer teachers and/or administrators?

According to the TEDx Talks Video, "The Importance of Technology Education at the Elementary Level," Kasey Dirnberger cites that students of today are digital natives; they have iPods, iPads, tablets, DSS, wheeze, Xboxes, smartphones, you name it, they have it so they're digital chefs, right? “These three things will help our students propel into the 21st century at a younger age instead of waiting for middle school, high school, or even college. So, what can you do? Be loud. Don’t let me be the only squeaky wheel at every meeting that you attend; make sure they’re either not listening to you or listening to you; it does not matter, yell at them. We need our kids to leave our school district knowing more than cool math and Facebook.” (TEDx Talks, 2012a) So, schools need more advocates for technology and how they allow students to use technology for learning. We need to turn our students loose and let them incorporate technology into their educational lessons, and teachers should be facilitators or collaborators in this process. Dirnberger gives advice to all teachers, telling them, “Don’t be afraid,” don’t be afraid to use it (technology).

Another piece of advice offered to teachers and administrators comes from TEDx Talks, "Redefining Learning & Teaching Using Technology" by Jason Brown | TEDX NorwichED. He recommends this: "The Education system in the UK at least has stayed the same for hundreds of years, but more importantly, the world around it and the students benefiting from it have changed completely. We really need to be more embracing, more forward-thinking, and more creative with how we use technology in the classroom.” (TEDx Talks, 2016) Schools need to let go of the past and start to embrace the present and, most importantly, the future. Students know more about technology than most teachers and educators, so facilitate and collaborate with them, let them be the teachers for once, and learn together. Put egos aside and watch our young kids thrive in a new environment where one day, the student will be the teacher, and the next, the teacher will be a teacher, and, in another instance, both the teacher and student are both students and teachers. There is nothing wrong with this picture; if this is what it takes to start moving technology and align with pedagogical strategies, then so be it.

References

Hughes, E. S., Bradford, J., & Likens, C. (2018). Facilitating Collaboration, Communication, and Critical Thinking Skills in Physical Therapy Education through Technology-Enhanced Instruction: A Case Study. TechTrends, 62(3), 296–302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-018-0259-8

Lawless, K. A., & Pellegrino, J. W. (2007). Professional development in integrating technology into teaching and learning: knowns, unknowns, and ways to pursue better questions and answers. Review of Educational Research, 77(4), 575–614. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654307309921

Okojie, M. C. P. O., Olinzock, A. A., & Okojie-Boulder, T. C. (2006). <p>The Pedagogy of Technology Integration</p> The Journal of Technology Studies, 32(2), 66–71. https://doi.org/10.21061/jots.v32i2.a.1

TEDx Talks. (2012a, August 1). The importance of technology education at the elementary level: Kasey Dirnberger at TEDxMCPSTeachers [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz5JnjByXh4

TEDx Talks. (2016, March 28). Redefining Learning & Teaching using Technology. | Jason Brown | TEDxNorwichED [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOTEQVYDPpg