What does technology integration mean to you?

Technology integration is a huge part of education right now. For me, technology integration means using technology to enhance the learning of our students by using technology. It does not mean using technology for the sake of technology. I think that many teachers try to use as much technology as possible without actually enhancing the learning of their students. When using technology, we need to make sure that the technology we are using is not just a substitute for something they could learn without using technology, in other words, technology for technology’s sake.

For example, I wrote a lesson where I would take my students on a virtual tour of an art museum. Because of my budget, my students would not have been able to go on a museum tour otherwise. By taking my students on the virtual tour my students were able to look at artwork from a different time period in a museum setting. I also had them use the Museum website to make a video to share their knowledge of a few pieces of artwork they found to be their favorites from their virtual tour. They also had the option of making a presentation using PowerPoint or Prezi. Neither of these things would have been possible without the use of technology. The technology that they were able to use enhanced their learning of art history and changed their normal classroom experience into something more exciting and unfamiliar. I believe that both of these aspects of technology used in my classroom were able to enhance the learning of my students. This caused them to think more about the artwork they choose and use that knowledge to create an interesting and pleasing presentation to share their knowledge with their classmates.

In short, integrated technology in the classrooms means using technology in a way that encourages learning in a new way and enhances the knowledge the student gains without taking away from state requirements and benchmarks. 

Scenario 3

Right now I am placed in two Elementary schools and I have not seen much use of technology in my art classroom. However, I did see technology being used in the high school when I was placed there. The school had an online program call Frontiers. A student could take all of their classes online or just one or two. Many students used Frontiers for recovery classes. They also have a program for summer school called e2020, along with Read 180. These are used primarily for recovery classes or to get ahead in their education. The students who take one of the online classes are given a tour of the sites through a video that they watch and teacher instruction before taking the class. On top of the students being taught how to use the programs all of the teachers and teacher aides are all trained in the programs as well. That way if a teacher has a students who is taking a Frontier class, e2020, or Read 180 they can help them if they are having an issue.
While I was at the High School I also noticed that each teacher integrated technology into their lessons as much as possible. However, some teachers feel that more technology could be used. Wyoming has a lot of technology that could be utilized more often to enhance learning in the traditional classes. That being said, it seems like the new principal that Wyoming High School got this year is interested in integrating new technologies more and more. It will be interesting how they improve their technology in the years to come. Many of the students in our art classes complained about using blogger and Edmodo for every assignment but I would constantly remind them about how it would come in handy in the future. I would talk about my online classes and how they are lucky to be learning about how to use technology skills now and not while they are in college. This helped a lot of the students stop complaining. I think in High School it is hard to see the big picture. The High School could do a better job and letting students know why they need to know how to use technology. Technology is such a big part of the world right now it makes it really important and I think that students don't always see why it is important. If the teachers at the High School could teach reasons why they are using technology in their lessons the students would be more apt to want to learn how to use the technology properly.

Scenario 1

In 2011 Michigan made it a requirement for all students have to have an online experience before they graduate. This online experience can be fulfilled in three different ways: students can take an online course, they can have twenty hours of online learning with a face to face teacher facilitating, or they can be in a school were technology is infused into all of the required courses. This seems like a great idea but there are some challenges that students might face with online classes.

With students taking a completely online class through a virtual school or a recovery program there are certain issues I could see students facing. For example, I am not the best writer and I struggle with reading comprehension, but I am successful enough to get by. However, if a student had more issues with reading and writing, online classes could be a real issue for them. Another issue that online classes could have on a student is, if they are slower workers, they might not get done with their work during the class time and if they don't have access to a computer at home they might not be able to finish their homework. They could go to the local library and use their computer but the library has a lot of distractions that could cause issues for some students. Also, there could be an issue if the student has a question and the teacher doesn't respond in a timely fashion or if the teacher doesn't answer the exact question and the student ends up being more confused. With a traditional class, the student can just restate their question in a different way and get a response right then. With online classes a student might have to wait a day or two before getting their question answered. There can also be confusion between the student and teacher. Sometimes it is harder to read someones question or response to a question than it is to hear it. Lastly, with fully online courses it is hard to get a connection to the teacher and it might make it harder to ask questions if you have one. With a traditional classroom you get to know your teacher better and can feel safe asking a question. In an online class, not knowing the teacher could leave a student feeling a disconnect to the class and end up learning less than if they were in a traditional classroom.

The method of having twenty hours of online learning in a traditional face to face classroom seems very interesting to me. Some of the issues that the fully online classes cause would not be an issue here. If a student was having an issue with something or had a question they could ask the teacher right then and get an immediate answer. This makes this option seem better for students with comprehension issues. These students would also have the advantage of having a teacher remind them when something is due or if a large project is coming up, which would help students who have issues managing their time. Students would still run into issues with having access to technology at home or even in the classroom. This would be a real issue if a school didn't have the technology resources available for a teacher to fulfill the twenty hour requirement.

I believe the best scenario for students who work slower or have issues with reading and writing would be having technology in all of the required classes. However, that would require the school having the resources to have technology in all the classes. At Wyoming High School not all teachers had the resources for that. This would require the teachers getting creative with how they use technology in their classroom. They did have one computer for the teacher in each classroom and a projector. Teachers could find ways to use their own computer to include students in online learning.

My last project for interactive studio.

Instant Gratification from Alicia core on Vimeo.

As the semester is coming to a close. I am thinking back at all I learned this semester and I wonder what I will and what I won't be able to bring into the classroom some day. I don't know how many of the projects I will recreate. However, I have learned a lot about different teaching styles and what traits from different professors I will take with me into the classroom and which traits I will try not to.

Here is a link to an Interactive project I just finished.

Stillness

Michal Kohút