A Vision of Technology Integration

ESPY 556: Analysis of Advanced Instructional Technologies

Jeff Jakob

jjakob@uiuc.edu

Introduction

Technology has proven to be an increasingly important aspect of our lives. As advances in technology become more commonplace in our world, aspects of life that previously were done manually or with traditional means are now heavily reliant on new technology. This is apparent in the industrial world as computers and robotics enter the workplace and also in the economic world as businesses use the latest technology to increase productivity from live web meetings down to cashiers using advanced computers to ring up orders. Our new technological world demands that the employer, employee, and consumer be capable of functioning in a society that uses and is run by advanced technology.

Schools are often lacking in the area of technology. Many of our teachers do not have experience with modern technology that is now available. Many of our schools are not properly funded to take advantage of the most advanced technologies. Schools are an integral part of shaping our future; if students are growing up in a world of advanced technology, but are using less technologically advanced and more traditional tools in their education, how will they be properly prepared to participate in a technologically run society as employees, consumers, and citizens?

Vision for Technology

I have a vision in which the classroom mirrors our society and actually leads the technological revolution rather than slowly lagging behind. Rather than incorporating technology years after its introduction to society within business, industry, communication, or entertainment, new technology should be used within the classroom so that students will be not only exposed to the new tools that will be commonplace in their lives, but also masters and leaders of this new technology. Too often the classroom adapts to the students' prior knowledge of technology; the classroom needs to be the leader and introduce the technology so all students can have the experience.

We are currently in a stage in which the digital divide is apparent. We are finally incorporating technologies such as powerpoint, moodle, digital media, web based learning, etc, into curriculum, but many students have experienced these tools like these on their own at a young age. These digital natives may be more responsive to the inclusion of these tools into their education, but they are unimpressed; these are not new technologies and their preconceived notion is that the technology is solely for entertainment. There are those students on the opposite side of the digital divide; those who lack any computer skills for lack of technology at home. This divide will only be overcome through the school system.

Schools need to incorporate technology at an early age. Schools must showcase the newest technology to ensure that all students are exposed to the educational advantages of these new tools. As students evolve into tech-savvy learners, they will be prepared to incorporate the latest technology as it advances throughout their education.

Calculators were available and the benefits apparent long before they were accepted as a tool for math education. Schools did not lead this technology, but rather adapted to the students. Had students been given the basic calculators and the knowledge and experience of their use from an early age, they would be prepared for the advanced applications that are now accessible on today's calculators. A student with personal home experience with a tool such as a modern day graphing calculator will find better success in advanced math compared to a student that is still working with a basic calculator or only possesses basic calculator skills. The same goes for computer technology. We may occasionally give students a computer to use for educational purposes, but if their previous experience is simply that the computer is a toy for games from home, they will lack the needed skills. If we feel that technology is being used as students type a paper in class rather than handwrite it, we are missing the purpose of the technology at hand; we could have as easily given them a typewriter. Many students even lack the proper typing skills that are needed to type that paper effectively or do any other advanced computing. We are using computers in the classroom, but we are not leading technology or using tools to their potential.

Catching Up

Educators currently have a great task of bridging the digital divide that has been created. There needs to be a balance between traditional classroom methods and incorporating modern technology, but as the students have been exposed to traditional methods and are lacking the technological methods, technology must increasingly be included in everyday instruction. All classrooms at this point should replace traditional chalk and blackboard for lecture based teaching with digital projectors. Just as it became commonplace for classrooms to include an overhead projector, the time has come for a much needed upgrade throughout all of our nation's schools. The most simple notes can be displayed by projecting them with a word processing program. This will allow the notes to be easily saved for students to view again at a later date through the projector, by accessing them online, or even printing them out.

With the concept of universal design, the traditional notes can be replaced with multimedia presentations. The written notes can be projected along with pictures, graphs, video, and links to other sources. You can simply narrate the notes or enhance them with recorded narration, sound and song clips. Multiple learning styles are covered and all students can benefit from this style of media presentation that is already a part of their lives through the television they watch, the games they play, and the way they communicate with modern cell phones and computers.

After this first major step is taken in presentation of educational material, the true benefits of modern technology can be integrated. Students interacting with technology is the true goal. My vision is for students to learn through multiple means and multiple media, interact with technology to become acquainted with the knowledge in a practical use, and then to use the latest technology to not only present what has been learned, but to teach one another. Not only will this create meaningful learning, it keeps the students actively involved in their own education using the technology that will be an integral part of their lives, through continuing education, participating in our global society and economy, and communicating effectively with others.

Necessary Technologies

There are many technologies that have been developed since Microsoft's powerpoint to bring technological educational tools to the classroom. Teachers can use a variety of tools that are available using the internet for something other than searching for written word. Streaming video and video file sharing sites can allow teachers to access a wide variety of video clips to enhance lessons. There are personal digital stories that can prove to be primary sources with far greater lasting impression than a journal or newspaper. There are interactive webquests that allow students to independently search for the needed information, manipulate it using technology, and create a final product using technology. Teachers must make the transition from only using available technology to present information to allowing students to interact with technology and use the latest technology in the classroom, preparing them for advanced uses in their future.

Continuing Education

For my vision of educational use of technology to work, changes must be made not only in the classroom, but in our teachers as well. As we try to instill the value of life long learning into our students, we must also practice this ourselves. As new teachers will have experienced technology throughout the education I envision, they will be better prepared to showcase the latest technology in the classroom for future students. These teachers, along with the non digital-natives that currently teach, must learn the newest available technology and work for its inclusion in the classroom. In-service workshops and institute days dedicated to learning technology must be made a standard part of the school calendar for our teachers to ensure that they possess the knowledge of the latest technology. Our teacher education programs at the university level need to incorporate this vision into their programs. All teachers should possess the needed skills to ensure that they are not only prepared to teach our digital natives, but to most effectively teach them using the latest technology; we must stay at least one step ahead of the technological trend. While the creation of master lists of “Technology Skills Every Educator Should Have,” as Laura Turner has done , (http://www.thejournal.com/articles/17325) is a step in the right direction, we must constantly update lists such as these and not only suggest that these skills be mastered by teachers themselves, but also that they will be passed onto the students, as well.

Continuing education programs, such as CTER, can allow for teachers to stay on top of the latest technology on their own. Although a masters degree cannot be made mandatory for our teachers, the inclusion of many of the valuable skills learned through this program should be addressed in standard undergraduate teacher education programs. Incentives for teachers to participate in such programs must be provided by our school districts. The experience may produce better teachers, but we need to do more to get all teachers at the same level. Even having a few teachers with experience from programs such as CTER can benefit a whole school as those teachers teach their peers and bring new uses for technology to the building.

I have already had great success this school year using technology learned in less than a year of CTER classes. I have not only gotten my students more involved with more meaningful lessons, but I have also created tools that other teachers are using, as well.

Webquest

I created a webquest called “What if?” for use in my social studies classes this past semester. The students had never had an experience like it throughout their schooling. We discussed the topic of the battle of Tours and its historical implications in class. I then turned them loose in the computer lab with my webquest. With little oral instruction, the students were immediately actively engaged in learning. After the initial amazement that Mr Jakob created a website, the students were impressed by the sources of information related to our current social studies topic available on the internet, all organized for them to view at their own pace. They gained an understanding of their task while researching and then used different programs on the computer along with traditional pen and paper to complete the tasks. They used critical thinking beyond my original expectations and many groups produced more detailed maps, timelines, and journals than for any other project done in class using traditional methods.

The social studies director for the school noticed the focused learning and asked me to present the webquest to the other teachers in the building. I discussed the success and how to create webquests for a variety of subjects. The teachers were interested and we will all be working to create webquests for future lessons. Another social studies teacher has asked permission to use my webquest with his classes for next year. Had we been given more opportunity to discuss technology as a faculty earlier in the year, we may have been able to include many more students in technology based learning through my webquest.

Moodle

I created a moodle course over the summer for a novel that was released the last month of the previous school year. I had read the book aloud to the class, who loved it. For a CTER class, I developed the “Small Steps Moodle” to correspond with the Louis Sachar follow-up to “Holes.” The English department chair was so impressed with the moodle course that she purchased a class set of hardcover books and added the novel to the 7^th grade curriculum. My class piloted the moodle course and the course will be used by three other reading classes during the third quarter.

The students are not a vocal or motivated group; a new spin on reading was exactly what they needed. Even the quietest, most shy students were able to shine during this unit. The class did not realize that forums, blogs, instant messaging, and chat rooms are not just for AOL Instant Messenger and myspace. Students were actually keeping up and reading the assigned chapters so they could actively participate on the computers in class; this had not happened previously during the year. Students that refuse to participate or answer questions in the classroom were posting sophisticated blogs and forum posts and even the most cruel and mean students were giving positive feedback and replies to fellow students. Students were logging on from home to add more to the discussions from the day, students were making connections to the text and our discussions and even posting links to related websites, the rest of the students were following the links and discussing the content, an absent student home sick from school even logged on during our normal class time so that he could tell the class his thoughts about the novel. He may have missed school that day, but using this technology, he did not miss reading class. While updating the moodle weeks after the completion of our unit, I noticed that the students were still logging in to leave random posts related to the book. The students had never been so engaged. I will be working with other teachers to create another moodle course and hopefully we will even be able to get our own moodle server to open this technology to all of the students at our school.

Digital Media

Although I do not have my my own digital projector, another teacher on my team has one for her classroom and agrees to swap rooms with me on occasion so that I may use the technology. I used the projector to showcase CNN Pipeline to share current events with students as well as share a controversial conspiracy video posted online that the students were discussing from a recent episode of South Park. Having these resources available immediately to enhance the discussion impressed the students. I also am working to incorporate digital storytelling to the classroom. Although I am very new at it, I presented my “How to Create a Castle” instructional video for all of my classes to introduce a project being assigned. If I had simply explained the directions, I would not have gotten the awe-struck complete attention nor the request for an encore presentation of the video for each class. In addition, I will be working to have the students themselves make digital stories later in the year after we view a variety of digital stories as primary source research.

Conclusion

Although I am currently learning new technology myself, I have a vision for technology to be an integral part of education rather than something enjoyed by a few students at home. We need to tear down the digital divide amongst our nation's teachers before we can address the digital divide apparent in our students. Continuing education in technology must become a standard component of our teacher's careers to stay on the leading edge of technology so that our students will have the education and technological experience necessary to participate and compete in our global community. Proper funding to include the latest technology in schools along with the lessons that programs such as CTER provide its students to ensure this technology is being utilized to its fullest extent will bring a new era of education in our nation.