Integrating Technology
I found an article today when we were researching the many facets of ICT teaching that I really connected with. The premise of the article is that technology is not being used effectively in classrooms. Bowman argues many that teachers feel that technology is an add on, something else they have to teach (technology education), when instead we should be looking at technology as a tool to help us teach better (technology integration). He provides several bad examples of technology in classrooms and several ideas for good use of technology. He also stresses the importance of teachers being trained with the skills to use technology (relatively easy) and professional development for how to integrate technology (harder).
The dichotomy between teaching technology skills and using technology for meaningful curricular activities reminds me of a discussion that has been happening at my school. We have a fine arts focus, and students currently receive one hour of instruction per week in each of the four disciplines (music, drama, dance, visual art). As a staff, we have had discussions about our vision and how we want to grow. Some teachers are very committed to the four disciplines being taught explicitly, so students have the appropriate skills and vocabulary. Others are more in favour of an integrated approach, where learning activities are planned which enhance students’ understanding of both the academic curriculum and the arts. While I understand the need for explicit instruction, I am more on the side of integration, mostly because of the time constraints. With four hours of the school week taken up with the arts, it can sometimes be a challenge to fit everything you want to do into the schedule. If I can integrate the arts in a meaningful way with curriculum, then I think that is the best use of time, but it does require some confidence and proficiency on the part of the teacher.
Teaching with technology also requires confidence and proficiency from the teacher, although I think there is plenty of room for teachers to learn alongside students. I believe technology shouldn’t be an add on. It should be used for meaningful activities, that couldn’t be done without technology, or at least are done much better with technology. Playing with a magnet letter app on the iPad… fun, but students aren’t gaining anything that they wouldn’t get from playing with real magnet letters. Using a voice recording app on the iPad to record students reading in first term, then reading the same book in second term, and having them reflect on their own progress… much more meaningful and not possible without technology.
Thanks for sharing your perspective Amy. Your analogy of drinking from a fire hydrant and the image of the Converstation Prism are perfect, and I think we can all relate! Joyce Valenza is an amazing resource for us TLs, thanks for mentioning her! Check out her Virtual Library page:
http://springfieldlibrary.wikispaces.com/
-Doni
I really connected to your “drinking from a fire engine” comment. I am a person that likes to know everything as well. I think that you the heart you have to learn everything shows the drive that you have for teaching. I think it is awesome. For me, I really think it is important not to be do hard on myself.
Thanks Amy for such a thoughtful exploration of integrating technology into the curriculum. I agree with you when you say that technology shouldn’t be used as an add on rather it should be used for meaningful activities that couldn’t be done without technology. I also agree that teaching with technology requires confidence and proficiency from the teacher. Therefore, I believe that it is our duty to be more open to technology. As educators we need to make sure we are constantly taking part in professional development to further our understanding of technology.
I really appreciated your honesty during your summative presentation on Friday, I could relate with many of the things you talked about.
Although I appreciate Bowman pointing out that perceiving technology as an add-on is a mistake, the tool analogy is problematic too. Rather than separating skills learning and content learning, we can simply consider our learning experiences as a composite of learning skills in order to learn content. We know from experience that skills instruction devoid of meaning do not ‘stick’. Similarly, content teaching that avoids developing ICT skills does not foster appreciation for the learning affordances we have available at our fingertips. I totally agree, that the innovative use of ICT in education is going to stretch educators in many different ways. The fact is that we have tried to separate out skills knowledge, content knowledge, and technological knowledge as discrete topics for learning and we have resulted in an education system that is still struggling to provide the most basic consistency with the provision of ICT resources, much less teachers who are willing to try innovative uses of ICT to facilitate learning.