Arcadia Valley R-IITeacher Technology Initiative

Technology Integration in the Classroom

Introduction Technology integration is a key to raising student achievement. Under the No Child Left Behind legislation, the use of technology is encouraged and supported through additional funding. Technology integration in the classroom is the ultimate purpose for educational technology. Most schools now have a foundation in hardware and infrastructure. Once the structure is provided, teachers need to learn how to use the equipment and software. Year One of the Arcadia Valley Technology Training Initiative focused on using the hardware and the software. The next step is to assist teachers to use the technology to enhance their curriculum and raise student achievement. This guide will provide a basis for technology integration in the classroom at all grade levels. Not every lesson needs technology and many lessons do not readily allow for technology. While there may be many opportunities to integrate technology in the classroom, teachers need to consider their class goals and objectives along with the curriculum being taught. Teachers also need to consider the amount of time they have to research, plan and develop lessons that integrate technology. Technology integration like any other activity needs to be implemented one step at a time, not all at once. This guide is not all-inclusive, but rather is a starting point for an ever ongoing process of technology integration and meeting the District’s CSIP Goals for raising student achievement.

Definition(s)There are many definitions for technology integration. The key is that most of them have the same major components. The following are several working definitions.

No Child Left Behind: The specific goals for Title II, Part D – Enhancing Education through Technology are as follows:

1. Primary Goal: The primary goal is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary and secondary school.

2. Additional Goals: The additional goals of this part are the following:a. To assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every

student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student’s race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location or disability.

b. To encourage the effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development to establish research-based instructional methods that can be widely implemented as best practices by State educational agencies and local educational agencies.

National Center for Educational Statistics: Technology integration is the incorporation of technology resources and technology-based practices into the daily routines, work, and management of schools. Technology resources, computers and specialized software, network-based communications systems, and other equipment and

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infrastructure need to be emplace and used to enhance student learning. Practices include collaborative work and communications based research, remote access to instrumentation, network-based transmission and raw data, and other methods. This definition is not in itself sufficient to describe successful integration: it is important that integration be routine, seamless, and both efficient and in support of school goals and purposes.

Education World: Integrating technology into the curriculum is a priority – if not a mandate – in most schools today. Most educational technology experts agree, however, that technology should be integrated, not as a separate subject or as a once-in-a-while project, but as a tool to promote and extend student learning on a daily basis. The challenge, of course, is in finding ways to use technology – and to help students use it – that don’t take time away from core subjects.

Ed Tech Online: Educational Technology is another phrase for instructional technology – using computers, audiovisual equipment, and mass media to enhance teaching and learning. It is a tool. – Technology for all Americans, 1998. To better understand the term educational technology, educators will need to pay attention to the two key phrases: (1) “it is a tool” and (2) “enhance teaching and learning.” “Technology integration is the process of teaching technology (technology education) and another curricular area simultaneously. In addition, it is the process of using technology to enhance teaching for learning (educational technology).” -EdTech Connect, 1999. Technology integration is not about purchasing/selecting the “right” piece of hardware and software; but rather using technology to enhance student learning.

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory: In more and more classrooms, teachers are using technology to help them meet the challenges posed by these changes. Constructivism, a theory of learning, provides a valuable framework for using computers and other technology in productive, interesting ways. Technology can enrich students' use of a variety of resources and help them gain understanding about their world. Assisted by teachers and peers in their growth as individual learners, students can use technology to enhance their work and increase their connections with resources outside school walls. However, computers are not inherently instructional tools, and most teachers need suggestions for using them. Not every lesson needs technology. While there may be opportunities to attach technology to many activities, teachers must consider lesson goals before deciding to use technology. If computers enrich, extend or facilitate learning, they should be used. If not, they shouldn't. Teachers should consider lesson goals before deciding to use technology.

There are several forms of technology integration. These include Teacher Productivity: Educators can use technology to improve the profession of teaching. Teachers can use technology to automate a task like keeping a grade book, making a seating chart or test writing. As educators, we need to be careful not to assume that automating a task necessarily enhances student learning. While teacher productivity is an important use of technology in schools, the focus of the focus of integration in the classroom must be to raise student achievement.

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Teacher led instruction: Teachers can use technology to enhance their lecture or presentation technique. In its ultimate form, the technology can transform the classroom away from lecture to inquiry based learning where information is provided without the teacher talking all the time. This form works best when the teacher has access to a projector, SmartBoard, TV & Computer on a cart, and/or the eInstruction “clickers.”Student participation: This form of integration is student centered. Students use the technology to research and create new knowledge or design projects. It is best used in a lab setting, but it can be accomplished in a single computer room or in a classroom with several computers. Students can work individually or in small groups. In a single computer room, individuals or small groups can rotate their use of the computer.

Forms of IntegrationClassroom computer use should instruct and not just entertain. Technology should support instructional goals and assist in the development of core area objectives. Olcott provides the following 5 “I’s” of effective distance learning teaching that can serve as the beginning point for integration in the classroom:

1st. Interaction deals with student/teacher and student/student levels of communication

2nd. Introspection deals with interpreting and demonstrating an understanding of concepts

3rd. Innovation deals with the instructor’s ability to experiment with different technologies

4th. Integration deals with integration of facts, theories, and practical application of knowledge

5th. Information deals with the knowledge and understanding of information to move to another level

1. Large group Promote discussion Problem based activities with students making decisions Guided group activities including virtual tours, museum visits Manage and document information using word processing, spreadsheets,

graphic organizers Role playing

2. Small groups (single or multiple computers in the classroom) Promote cooperation, collaboration, and competition (if desired) Distribute responsibilities Develop group concepts Promote cross-group interaction Pace group movement and manage content and students

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3. A lecture tool: As a lecture tool the computer with a large screen TV or SmartBoard will encourage student participation and enliven demonstrations. There are an unlimited number of web sites that teachers can use to enhance their classroom lectures. The key is to find them first. Many of them are interactive.

Use the computer as a Smart chalk board. This works well with a SmartBoard in classrooms that have them.

Illustrate ideas and concepts by going to preset web pages (like in favorites or using blackflip).

Manage and organize information. This is an excellent way to incorporate webbing concepts.

4. Learning center Directed student exploration. Individual or small groups of students

working collaborative can find information or take visual tours while other students complete seatwork or other activities.

Create a motivating environment: many students will complete work on a computer that they might not have finished as paper and pencil.

One method for classrooms that do not have multiple computers or when you do not want to access a lab, is to divide the research process out over a couple weeks and schedule individuals or small groups to do their research.

Specific examples eThemes: eThemes is an extensive database of content-rich, age-appropriate

resources organized around specific themes. These resources are created for educators to use in their classrooms. MOREnet has an extensive set of resources at: http://emints.more.net/ethemes/.

Webquests: A WebQuest is an inquiry-based activity created online where most of the information used by the participant is taken from the Internet. For information about WebQuests see Bernie Dodge’s web site: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/about_webquests.html.

Multimedia Slideshow: PowerPoint presentations are an excellent way for teachers to keep student attention when presenting information. It is also a great idea to have students create PowerPoint presentations for the rest of the class. This becomes easy for all teachers when the presentations can be given using a computer and large TV.

Quizzes and test review: The eInstruction devices allow for teachers to enhance test learning through sample quizzes, test reviews or actual test taking with tracking of student results.

Student magnets: Students create a picture with or without text and place it on the business card size magnets. These are available at most office supply stores and are fairly inexpensive. They make great refrigerator wallpaper.

Wanted Poster: Students can make wanted posters with their digital photograph and text. The assignment can be open or there can be a theme behind the poster.

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This is often a great idea for a project to take home. Themes include “Wanted to keep their room clean,” “Wanted to score high on MAP,” or many other topics.

Student created art work. MS Paint is not the most sophisticated software, but it does allow students to create artwork and graphics that can be saved and used in word processing. There are other software packages that are available and some are on the Internet.

Journal writing: 10 minutes writing on a theme of the week, lab notes, class news, free writing or any topic that fits your curriculum. These can be saved and added to daily or weekly, they can be individual, in pairs, or small groups.

Newsletters: Newsletters can rage from those for the classroom to those to be sent home. Newsletters make excellent projects. Teachers need to expand the definition of the newsletter to include “purely academic” subjects like math. Students can create a classroom newsletter that they can use a study guides or for test preparation.

Story writing with graphics in the place of key words. This is an excellent way to get reluctant writers to develop stories. Spelling and vocabulary words can be used.

Graphics can be used to enhance math skills in the primary grades. Addition, subtraction, patterns and geometric concepts can be practiced by students as they create pictograms:Example A: 2 + 3 is +is

Example B: what is the next shape?

Students can create calendars. Depending on the grade level, there are many things that they can be used for including learning days, months, keeping track of assignments and tracking historical and/or seasonal events.

Graphic organizers: Various software packages can be used to create many different types of brainstorming or webbing activities that allow students to organize their thoughts. Inspiration, MS Word, MS Excel, and several Internet sites can be used to create graphic organizers. Concept mapping is an excellent method for students to work on projects, develop ideas and as a tool for teaching reading comprehension. Story maps, Venn diagrams, K.W.L. charts, and concept maps can all be created by the teacher or as an activity for students individually or in groups.

Scavenger Hunts: Simple scavenger hunts can be made by bookmarking articles or web sites ahead of time and having students, individually or in groups, answer predetermined questions or work to solve a problem.

Internet based worksheets: A word processed document containing questions and hyperlinks to Internet resources can be saved as templates. The students click on the link and are directed to a specific web page the teacher has chosen to answer a question or series of question.

Parent involvement/service learning: students can create letters and cards for all occasions to give their parents or a class activity could be to create special occasion cards for the elderly or those elderly who reside in nursing homes. MS

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Word has several methods to create cards. The MS Office Homepage has excellent templates to create greeting cards, other activities, and free graphics. http://office.microsoft.com/home/default.aspx?CTT=6&Origin=EC790020111033

Current events research: Individual or small group research on current events is an excellent way to get students involved in class activities.

PowerPoint Jeopardy game – to review topics or have students make their own questions about something.

Clickers for reviewing subject, taking tests, reviewing with Jeopardy like game Making a scrapbook with scanned pictures from home or from yearbooks Using office equipment to send facsimiles and make photocopies Make a music video using PowerPoint Make a storybook using PowerPoint Use Microsoft Excel to keep a checkbook register Career Research – Use Internet to find information on career, then use

PowerPoint to present information to the class Introduction to business practices – use excel to do a payroll register, balance

sheet, income statement, etc. Business cards: these can be for the student’s parents for actual use or the

students can create trade and collect them. If the students make them for trading, they can be very creative. They can also be incorporated with career exploration as students research a career and put the information they find on the card.

Baseball or some other form of trading card can also be made. The topics can be any area of study and could include sports, presidents, famous mathematicians, famous scientists, or those from any other area of study. Students can make the cards with specific information that is being studied and then trade the cards and prepare for assessments.

Visit a museum: There are many online museums that can be the subject of a class trip using a projector or large TV and computer. Check out: http://icom.museum/vlmp/world.html. While you are there, you might want to check out the Virtual Library at the top of the page. Great resources.

Classroom related websites. There are numerous websites that have daily lessons, activities and content for all curriculum areas. This may take some searching and be sure to check the site prior to the lesson.

Homework Helper Web Sites: these can be found for any subject and any level. A quick search will find lots of resources that can be used in the classroom and students can then use them at home or open library time.

Authentic Documents, Photos, and Video Clips: These can spice up any class and can be used to lead class discussion, especially when they are used in class with a projector or large TV.

Advertisements: In our society, we are constantly inundated with advertising. Students can create their own advertising campaigns for almost any topic including academic subjects like math, science, social studies, character education topics and health. They can use a wide variety of software tools to produce the advertisements for presentation or to hang in the classroom or hallway.

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Written assignments: There are numerous assignments that students can complete their work using MS Word or even MS Excel.

o Lab reportso Practice spelling words and/or definitionso Type class noteso Biographieso Country studieso Term papers and other larger assignments

E-Pals: find another class in another location that will exchange email with your students about a topic you have in common. You can share local history, current events, geography, and economics. Some schools may not allow student email, but you can usually get building administrator permission to create hotmail or some other hosted mail if it fits your curriculum. Try to find another teacher you know or you can use: http://www.epals.com, http://web66.coled.umn.edu/schools.html, or http://www.globalschoolhouse.com.

Use ITV to conduct a lesson with another school. There are eleven schools in the MIAN ITV consortium and another teacher with a similar class can be found.

Timelines: You can use MS Excel to make timelines. Whatever the topic, you can setup cells with dates (years), inset important information, and graphics.

Web pages: Students can create class web pages. While this may be problem with posting, most districts will allow posting of a student created web page that is monitored by the teacher.

Video creation: There is lots of inexpensive video exiting software on the market. Some districts, like Arcadia Valley, can offer cooperation with the vocation Communications Arts Class to do the editing, assist in filming, or loan video cameras. Students get very excited when they design and produce their own video productions.

Planning

Focus on INSTRUCTIONWhat research says about using technology effectively:

Students should be motivated, engaged and learning actively Learning should be authentic Learning should be collaborative Students should be the explorers and producers of knowledge Instruction and learning should be integrated across the curriculum Students should be proficient in digital age literacy skills Assessments should be performance based

Ask yourself the following questions: How will the technology support or enhance learning? What are the instructional objectives for the lesson, unit, or project?

Not all lesson plans that will be developed can be completed in one day.

How will technology help students master those objectives?

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What resources do I have available? Do I know how to use the technology? Are there other staff members that I need to assist me to complete the

lesson? What methods of teaching and instruction will be used? DO I need to

find information on cooperative learning, project/inquiry-based learning?

According to the Kent School District, the following are the steps that teachers should follow in developing integration lessons:

Before you start: Check what research says and check other lessons on the web Determine how to engage students

Identify content essential learning outcomes: What do I want students to know and be able to do? Review learning objectives and your curriculum guide. Determine specific learning goals for the unit and how they are related

to the Missouri Show-Me Standards Define where technology can be incorporated effectively

Construct Assessment Determine what form of student assessment will be used When will assessment be done? How can students self-assess during the learning process (formative

assessment)? How will I measure student learning at the end of the unit (summative

assessment)? Rubrics are an excellent form of assessment, if students have they

rubric at the beginning of the assignment they know the standard for assessment and can work toward that assessment

Design the Activity What activity will engage students and form knowledge? Think of

activities that: Meet curriculum objectives Require students to answer a How? Which? Or Why question

allowing students to create new knowledge or information Pertain to the real world Allow student creativity and choice Present a high but acceptable level of challenge

Determine what technologies and strategies would best enable students to complete the task/activity

Design the Process Identification of instructional resources and materials

Determine the hardware to be used Determine websites, graphic organizers, etc

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Selection of instructional strategies for content and technology goals, i.e. direct instruction, guided practice, modeling, providing examples, cooperative learning

Determine the student activities; what will they do Determine the calendar of events

Plan for Classroom Management Related to the Use of Technology What technology is available? Grouping of students

Execute the lesson Review the lesson and double check resources Conduct the lesson Evaluate the lesson and improve based on evaluation

Points to remember (The Lesson)How long will the lesson take?Do the students have the necessary computer or technology skills or will the teaching of the technology skills have to be part of the lesson?Is it necessary for all the members of a group to be at the computer at the same time?

Points to remember (Technology)Copyright and fair use. This is a critical issue. There will be an ITV in-service on the subject this semester. For a quick reference see the pdf version of Copyright and FairUse Guidelines for teachers at www.techlearning.com or for more information see www.haldavidson.com, or the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Library/Media Center site at: http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/lmcindex.htm.Students need to learn how to “footnote” or provide the source of their information. When teachers have students create projects we are proud of we need to ensure that documentation is provided of the sources. It is illegal to post to our website or “share” information that is copyrighted in whole or part. This includes graphics that are obtained from the Internet.Is the technology working?What is “Plan B” if the technology fails? You need to think of alternative processes when the technology fails.

Developing a lesson planLook at the objectives for your class. Technology should be used to enhance learning, not be placed in the lesson to fulfill a requirement or for the sake of “using technology.”You need to be comfortable with the subject matter you are going to integrate with technology. While we are all “subject matter experts,” there are always some topics that we are more comfortable with than others. It is a good idea to choose an area that you can answer questions about as they arise.Follow the District’s lesson plan model.

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The lesson plans should follow the District’s standard format. Technology Lesson Plan ComponentsInstructor: (your name)

Subject Area: (subject and grade level)

Curriculum Objective: (the lesson should be aligned to your written curriculum)

Technology Objective: This is optional. There are district and national standards for student technology. The District Technology Plan contains the objectives for technology curriculum K-12. The national standards can be found at: http://cnets.iste.org/getdocs.html#students.

Content Standard Alignment: (Missouri Show-Me Standards) If you do not have access to the Missouri Show-Me Standards they can be found at: http://dese.mo.gov/standards/index.html. . Also as an option, teachers may want to include cross-reference to the new Grade-Level Expectations.

Process Standard Alignment: (Missouri Show-Me Standards) If you do not have access to the Missouri Show-Me Standards they can be found at: http://dese.mo.gov/standards/index.html. Also as an option, teachers may want to include cross-reference to the new Grade-Level Expectations.

Subskills: (These will be aligned to your written curriculum and may include the Technology Standards and Grade-Level Expectations if appropriate)

Learner Activity: Describe what the students will do during the lesson.

Assessment Activity: Describe how you will determine the extent to which students have mastered the instructional objective(s). Be sure this part is directly connected to the behavior called for in the instructional objective. Scoring guides or rubrics should be developed and provided to the students at the beginning of the lesson if they to be used. Rubistar is an excellent resource at: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php. At the District web site there is a lesson under the MAIN ITV training schedule for creating rubrics and student assessments: http://www.av.k12.mo.us/main/schedule.html.

Method of Assessment: By what method will the assessment of students be accomplished? It would be useful to include the assessment (test, scoring guide, rubric) with the lesson.

Instructional Method: This is the step-by-step processes for completing the lesson. Include how the lesson will begin, the activities for completing the lesson and the process for brining the lesson to completion. It is a description of what you will do in teaching the lesson, and, as appropriate, includes a description of how you will introduce the lesson to the students, what actual instructional techniques you will use, and how you will bring closure to the lesson (for a unit size lesson plan the closure will have daily and end of unit closure). Include what specific things students will actually do during the lesson. In most cases, you will provide some sort of summary for the students. According to the traditional lesson plan model based on the work of Madeline Hunter there is an eight (8) step process:

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1. Anticipatory Set (the focus): This is a short activity that gains the students attention and sets the stage for the lesson. It is often useful to draw on student’s prior knowledge.

2. Purpose: State the objective so the students know what they are expected to do and learn.

3. Input: Provide the vocabulary, technology skills, other skills, and knowledge the students will need to accomplish the lesson.

4. Modeling: Show student what they are going to do or learn. With technology the teacher really needs to understand how to accomplish any tasks they ask the students to perform. We cannot assume that all students have prior technology and software skills.

5. Guided Practice: The teacher leads the students through the steps of what they will do.

6. Checking for Understanding: Ask the students questions using a variety of questioning strategies.

7. Independent Practice: The teacher allows the students to practice steps 3 through 6 or allows them to work on the assigned project.

8. Closure: A review or wrap-up of the lesson. If the lesson in continued over more than one day, there should still be a closing procedure each day.

Resources (include the Technology Resources): This section should list all the resources the teacher is going to use to accomplish the lesson. The specific technology resources should be listed to include hardware (and location or checkout from the media center), software and Internet connection if needed.

Reflection/Lesson Evaluation: This is for the technology lesson and not part of the standard District lesson plan process. What it amounts to, is the teacher’s and/or the observing administrator’s perception of how the lesson meets the District rubric for technology integration. The rubric can be downloaded at: http://www.av.k12.mo.us/training/index.html.

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Additional Resources

1. 101 Ideas for the One-Computer Classroom. Lots of great ideas for integration. http://www2.drury.edu/dswadley/101/index.html

2. Smithville School District: Classroom Resources in Technology. A great resource for samples on how to integrate technology and lesson plans plus a whole of other educational material.

http://schoolweb.missouri.edu/smithville.k12.mo.us/uptegrove/technologyresources.html

3. Integrated Technology Lesson Plans. A great site for ideas and sample lesson plans. http://www.internet4classrooms.com/integ_tech_lessons.htm

4. Awsome Library: http://www.awesomelibrary.org/Classroom/Technology/Integrating_Technology/Integrating_Technology.html

5. Teachnet.com: Lesson plans and ideas on integration topics for most curriculum areas. http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/index.html

6. Filamentality is a fill-in-the-blank interactive Web site that guides you through picking a topic, searching the Web, gathering good Internet sites, and turning Web resources into learning activities. Teachers, students, and media specialists, for example, can create hot links, subject samplers, treasure hunts, and WebQuests and automatically see their work in a web page.  This site is part of the Knowledge Network Explorer from Pacific Bell's education program. http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/

7. St. Marguerite Catholic School: An excellent web site with many integration topics and lessons developed. The lessons are on line in pdf format. http://www.evergreencsrd.ab.ca/St.Marguerite/technology/default.htm#ICT-Outcomes

8. This is an excellent website to create graphics. You can create titles or buttons and save them as files. Excellent way to spice up

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presentations or have students create titles using an on line environment. http://www.cooltext.com/

9. Great site with free software. http://www.cs.uu.nl/people/markov/kids/draw.html

10. Best Practices of Technology Integration in Michigan Site. This site is sponsored by the Association of Intermediate School Administrators and the Great Lakes Educational Network (GLEN). Sample lesson plans that integrate technology in the elementary, middle school and high school. http://www.remc11.k12.us/bstpract/

11. Issues and Strategies in Technology Integration: A great web site for those with time to explore the issues in technology integration. Has links to many great sites that focus on technology integration. http://www.tcent.unt.edu/START/instruct/general/teachinteg.htm

12. Technology Integration at Prince William County Public Schools. This site is full of links for integration topics, WebQuests, Student links, Lesson Plans, and Interactive virtual sites for math and science: http://www.pwcs.edu/i-tech/Integration.htm

13. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory: This site has many resources including an introduction to Constructivism, Computers and Constructivism, Classroom Activities, and other resources. http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/flash.html

14. http://cnets.iste.org/getdocs.html#students

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