Integrating Technology in Classroom Teaching

Integrating Technology in Classroom Teaching

By

Tammy Jo Cruz

EDCI 6304 Learning & Cognition (Fall 2007)
School of Education

University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College

Literature Review

The diversity of our world is evident in the classroom setting. Educators should understand that not all children learn in the same manner or in the same time frame. Technology can be a great tool for the educator in these situations. Integration of technology in the classroom can fulfill the needs of the diverse student body.

With today's advanced technology, our education system is changing. According to one study (Gosmire, 2007), technology expenditures and usage in schools has increased nearly 300% in the last three decades. Teachers and students of all ages gravitate towards the use of technology in the classroom. This new phenomenon leads us to ask ourselves an important question: Are teachers integrating technology into their classroom teaching appropriately and effectively?

Definitions of Technology and Integration

First, it is important to define technology and the integration of technology. The National Association of the Education of Young Children defines technology "to refer primarily to computer technology, but this can be extended to include related technologies, such as telecommunications and multimedia"(1996). NAEYC defines integration of technology by teachers in the classroom in terms of three levels: physical use, functional use, and philosophical use (1996). Physical use of integration implies that 1) the teacher should use technology to teach in the classroom, and 2) the students should be using technology in their learning. Technology is most functional when computers are in a classroom setting where children can use them as a workstation. Functional use of technology depends on the accessibility of technology to the students. Lastly, integration of technology should be at the philosophical level – that is, pertaining to the subject matter at hand and used in a well composed lesson. For example, during a classroom lesson on the orbit of planets around the sun, the computer could be used to show a model of the solar system in motion or to present information on the paths of the planet orbits. The technology used should bring a higher understanding to the students of the classroom teaching.

The Need for Integration of Technology in the Classroom

Our society is information-based. Students can be shown this when technology is integrated into classroom teaching. The teacher should model how to use technology to make connections in learning. For instance, internet searches can be done in a whole group setting so that the teacher can model how to find information related to what is being taught during the lesson.

Another reason that technology should be integrated into classroom teaching is to show students that workplace skills are now technology based. As educators it is our responsibility to society to make our students productive students. In this Age of Technology this means showing them how to be a part of the Global community through use of technology.

Thirdly, motivation is an important element in the learning process. Technology can motivate children to create because the user can complete a product or discover new information on their own in a colorful and friendly interface. Also, the degree of motivation of a learner becomes high when their creations are printed into hard copy.

Fourthly, higher-order thinking skills are critical in student learning and integrating technology in the classroom can enhance these skills. The New Bloom's Taxonomy defines the order of thinking as below:

When students physically use computers to create a product, they are using the highest level of thinking (Anderson, 2001). Students use the thinking level of remembering and memorization when computers are used by the teacher in a classroom setting to present materials. The teachers are using the computer as a tool to teach, but only at a minimal level of integration. Teachers are using the technology at the functional level, but the students are not physically using the technology. When students use computers as "Mindtools", they must conceptualize, organize, and make connections in order to develop an understanding of the learned materials (Hertzog and Klein, 2005).

State-wide mandated curriculum guides now include technology applications. The State of Texas, for example, includes TEKS for elementary technology applications (Hammink, 2000).
Teachers who do not integrate technology or allow students to create using higher-order thinking skills are not following the curriculum.

It has been found that one-third of full-time regular public school teachers feel that they are prepared to use technology in the classroom as reported in a study conducted by Jones (2001). Jones reports that new teachers feel that they were exposed to superficial use of technology in the classroom only in classes that were required towards completion of their degree program (2001). Experienced teachers face more of a deficit in technology integration because the technology classes were not necessary at the time of their completion of courses (Jones, 2001).
Joseph Hardin (2000), National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, summarizes the problem with technology usage as follows:

There are many factors affecting this slow implementation of computing and communication technology in schools, including administrations with no knowledge of its value or no willingness to realign school budgets to include computational technology; insufficient in-service professional development programs for teachers; a lack of specific curriculum benefits or resources for teacher to use in their courses; and deficient preservice preparation of teachers in technology or computation.

The usage of technology is a must at all grade levels of education. “For technology to fulfill its promise as a powerful contributor to learning, it must be used to deepen children’s engagement in meaningful and intellectually authentic curriculum. After all, technology is a tool, and as such it should be selected because it is the best tool for the job.”(DePasquale, 2003)

Purpose of the Present Study

The present study was to look at technology in the classroom setting and find out if teachers integrate technology in their classroom teaching appropriately and effectively.

Methodology

I chose a quantitative research method to complete this study. This method was chosen because the data obtained would be generalized to describe teachers in today's classrooms. The data would be compiled and measured in relation to integration of technology defined above.

Research Question

The following question was asked in this study: Do teachers integrate technology in their classroom teaching appropriately and effectively?

Research Site

Research was conducted at two school districts in two different cities. District A is located in a small town in South Texas with a population of 6,856. The student population of this district is at 3, 186. District B is also located in South Texas with a population 14,734. The student population of this district is 5,342. The site selection was based on a local district that displayed a positive interest and administrative support of the present study.
The data for the research is collected through observations of classrooms, interviews and surveys of educators, and informal conversations with classroom teachers.

Data Collection

Classroom Observations
The participants were chosen based on their interest in participating in the study. Six hours and forty-five minutes of observations were completed in classrooms ranging in grade level from first to eighth grade. 74% of the observations were conducted at the elementary grade level and 26% at the junior high level. Classes observed were both content area classes and electives. The classrooms observed are as follows:
Site
Length of Observations
Course
Instructor
# of Students in class
# of Computers in Class
DISTRICT A
1st Grade
1 hour
Social Studies
Age: 30s
Gender: Female
Years Of Experience: 6
21
1
1st Grade
45 min
Science
Age: 20s
Gender: Female
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE: 5
19
1
1st Grade
1 hour
Language Arts Spelling
Age: 30s
Gender: Female
Years Of Experience: 3
21
1
2nd Grade
45 min
Language Arts
Age: 30s
Gender: Female
Years Of Experience: 10
21
1
2nd Grade
45 min
Math
Age: 50s
Gender: Female
Years Of Experience: 20
20
1
4th Grade
45 min
Language Arts
Age: 50s
Gender: Female
Years Of Experience: 13
20
1
7th Grade
45 min
Math
Age: 40s
Gender: Male
Years Of Experience: 10
20
2
DISTRICT B
7th and 8th Grade
1 hour
Computer Technology
Age: 40s
Gender: Male
Years Of Experience: 6
8
20

Interview
The technology for District A is coordinated by the Director of Technology. He examines the technology needs of the teachers and students. He is responsible for the purchase of technology and the implementation of technology programs in the district. The Director of Technology was interviewed to collect data on the count of computers that are available to teachers as well as other peripherals that would aide in the integration of technology.

Conversations with Colleagues

Throughout the research period, the researcher asked informal questions of the classroom teachers on their opinions and experiences with the usage of technology. This information has proved to be valuable and is included in the findings.

Findings

The research found that integration of technology in the classroom setting is limited. Thirteen percent of the classrooms observed truly integrated technology according to the standards mentioned previously (e.g., physical use, functional use, philosophical use). In these classrooms, it was observed that the teachers and students physically used the computers in the classroom to perform a task related to the lesson at hand.

Other teachers observed tried to use technology available to them in the classroom, but this physical usage was limited by the lack of enough equipment for the each student to sue in the classroom. Only 25% of classrooms observed had more than one computer in the classroom and yet 63% of the classrooms did have some form of technology used with the lesson. From these observations it was seen that most of the technology in a school district is located in a computer lab setting, not in the classroom. Of the 38% of classrooms observed that did not use any technology, teachers were asked as to why technology was not used as a tool for the lesson. One teacher commented that she had never used technology to teach in "all of her years of experience".

This finding supports the idea that experienced teachers do not feel comfortable using technology in the classroom because they have never used it before (Jones, 2001).
During informal conversations with colleagues it was found that some teachers felt that technology is best used as a drill machine. "I can't wait to get into the computer lab and have the students memorize [math] facts." Through these informal conversations teachers shared their experiences of how they used technology and perceived it as a "time-filler". Teachers felt that it was a time for them to "take a break" when the students were at the computer. Some teachers felt that technology was time consuming and there was no time in the day to "mess with" technology. These experienced teachers justified their not using technology in the sense that if they never used technology before, why should they need it now?

Some teachers who did believe in the usage of technology were passionate about the correct integration of technology. However, it was also difficult for these teachers to truly integrate technology into a lesson because of the lack of technological resources in the classroom.
When teachers were surveyed on their successes with technology, only one out of eight could say that 90% of his lessons were truly integrated based on the criteria defined by NAEYC.

Conclusion

In response to the research question addressed at the beginning of this endeavor it was found by the researcher that technology is not being adequately integrated into classroom lessons.

From the data collected at this time there are two main reasons for this lack of integration: 1) Lack of technology in the functional setting, and 2) Lack of exposure to technology training provided for the teachers. Teachers have not been trained or do not find the time to make this setting work with true integration of technology; and 3) The physiological aspect of integration has not been endorsed by the districts observed.

Through observations of the sites visited it was seen by the researcher that schools were using the bulk of their technology in lab settings. This means that only those rooms were equipped to allow for functional usage of technology by the students. The problem is that the classes only visit the lab for a limited amount of time each week (Lab Schedule, 2007).

Limitations and Future Research

First of all, this research collected limited amount of data. More observations and interviews need to be conducted to provide a more complete and clearer picture of what was actually happening in classrooms. Lastly, a personal bias of the researcher for the proper use of technology in the classroom could have tainted the observation data.

Future research will be conducted in a more systematical way on this topic with a larger scale.

References

Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives: Complete edition, New York : Longman.

David G. Sanchez Elementary. (2007) Computer Lab Schedule. La Feria, TX: I. Gamboa.

DePasquale, R., Murphy, K. & McNamara, E. (2003). Meaningful Connections: Using Technology in Primary Classrooms. Beyond the Journal: Young children on the Web. 1-8.

Gosmire, D. and Grady, M. (2007). 10 Questions to Answer for Technology to Succeed in Your School. Education Digest, 12-18.

Hammink, J. (2000). Including technology: How you can get started now. The City Kids Foundation.

Hardin, J. and Ziebarth, J.(2000). Digital Technology and its Impact on Education. National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Hertzog, N. and Klein, M. (2005). Beyond Gaming: A technology explosion in early childhood classrooms. Gifted Child Today, 28(3) 24-65.

Jones, C.A. (2001). When Teachers’ Computer Literacy Doesn’t Go Far Enough. Education Digest, 57-61.

Medrano, M. A. (2007). Personal Interview.

National Association for the Educaiton of Young Children. (1996). Technology and Young Children – Ages 3 through 8: A position statement of the NAEYC.

Texas Education Agency. (1998). Chapter 126. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Technology Applications: Subchapter A. Elementary. Available from TEA Web site, http://www.tea.state.tx.us/teks/126-001n.htm

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