It has been said that there is a process of technology integration. A four step plan, as it were, for transformative teaching with technology. We start by replacing what we have always done with a technology tool to do it. We have always read "To Kill a Mockingbird," but now we read it in iBook. No real change in instruction just a substitution of technology instead of paper. If the prospect of technology in every student's hand scares you, start here. You don't have to change overnight. Look for ways to use the technology to do what you have always done. Better to take baby steps than ignore change entirely.
The second step involves adapting, or augmenting, your previous instruction with technology tools that make things easier. For example, assign a multiple choice test in My Big Campus so students can have immediate feedback. Use a drawing app, type your essay, or do a google search. Most of us have already found ways to augment our old lessons in slightly new ways.
Now the changes start to take place. The tool becomes more important as you create lessons not possible without technology. Modify your lessons to incorporate technology. Truth is we have been doing this step as well. Anytime you ask your students to create a PowerPoint in the computer lab you are modifying with technology. Look for some new ways too. Allow students to play an educational game, create a presentation in Prezi, or make a "poster" in Pic Collage.
In the final step we redefine education. This is the step that scares some of us the most. Here we refocus our role as teachers and what education is meant to do. Flipping your classroom and project based learning are examples of redefinition. But so are letting students blog, having students create educational videos to teach the class, or video conferencing. When we use technology to restructure our instruction we are reaching the highest level of technology integration.
With all this said maybe you can see where you fit on the line. Just because you are "not a technology person" doesn't mean you can make technology fit in the classroom. Just as our students come to us on different levels and with different experiences, teachers do too. Stepping just a little bit out of what is comfortable is what leads to learning. It doesn't have to be a leap in the dark, just a small step out the door to lead you on a path worth traveling.
-Casey Smith
The second step involves adapting, or augmenting, your previous instruction with technology tools that make things easier. For example, assign a multiple choice test in My Big Campus so students can have immediate feedback. Use a drawing app, type your essay, or do a google search. Most of us have already found ways to augment our old lessons in slightly new ways.
Now the changes start to take place. The tool becomes more important as you create lessons not possible without technology. Modify your lessons to incorporate technology. Truth is we have been doing this step as well. Anytime you ask your students to create a PowerPoint in the computer lab you are modifying with technology. Look for some new ways too. Allow students to play an educational game, create a presentation in Prezi, or make a "poster" in Pic Collage.
In the final step we redefine education. This is the step that scares some of us the most. Here we refocus our role as teachers and what education is meant to do. Flipping your classroom and project based learning are examples of redefinition. But so are letting students blog, having students create educational videos to teach the class, or video conferencing. When we use technology to restructure our instruction we are reaching the highest level of technology integration.
With all this said maybe you can see where you fit on the line. Just because you are "not a technology person" doesn't mean you can make technology fit in the classroom. Just as our students come to us on different levels and with different experiences, teachers do too. Stepping just a little bit out of what is comfortable is what leads to learning. It doesn't have to be a leap in the dark, just a small step out the door to lead you on a path worth traveling.
-Casey Smith
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