Integration in 3000

Information technology has changed the face of education today. In the past, the teacher was the focus of information in the classroom. When technology is integrated in today’s classrooms, students are the focus and the creators, synthesizers and collaborators of massive amounts of information. I spent the past 3 years integrating technology in curricula from K-12 for North Penn School District. Technology is an actively engaging medium for instruction. It offers students immediate feedback and interaction on any level. Google offers a suite of applications that mimic Microsoft Office. A teacher can generate a Google form that collects student data and displays it automatically as the data is entered. The same activity can be conducted offline with a student response system. Students respond to a posted question using a hand-held device and the answers can be reported in a variety of formats. Integrating technology in this manner allows students to generate and synthesize their own data and solutions creating an authentic learning environment, providing teachers with quick formative assessment.

Integrated technology offers a high degree of differentiation. There is no wrong way of expressing creativity or mastery of a concept when the technology allows students to choose the format best suited to their learning styles. There are numerous web 2.0 applications that enable students to express their knowledge in a variety of media. Animated avatars, Prezi and Animoto are web based applications that actively integrate technology in any subject. Avatars are speaking animations that can be used to practice accents with foreign languages or give a book talk instead of a written review. Replace the textbook chapter on early explorers; students can research them and design an avatar to speak about their lives and discoveries. Prezi is a web based program that produces a dynamic presentation concentrating the focus through zoom and perspective to create impact on the audience with visuals and text. Animoto creates free, professional looking videos. This type of technology enables students to create a product that is professional in appearance and easy to use. The focus of these sites is content. The website produces the video. The most powerful point to integrating technology in all grade levels is to encourage early users and freedom of thought. Give students the tools and freedom to create what they know. As a technology integrator, my greatest success is to instill in students a craving for creativity beyond the norm.

Technology integration starts with teachers and administrators. It is not an addition to a lesson but a new way of organizing a lesson to fit the needs of students and content. Web 2.0 sites, Google, Microsoft Office, podcasting, multimedia projects and wikis are excellent tools to help shape original, perpetual digital natives that will communicate, collaborate and create for the real world.

I had 3000 characters to explain how information technology could be integrated into instruction and curriculum...it took two days and two people to pare down what could be said. We did not say it all, but we did scratch the surface.