New Perspectives on Educational Technology Integration
Jan 29th, 2009 by Steffanie Reid
After completing my interview and then reading and reflecting on those of my peers, my thoughts on technology integration in education (T.I.) have changed somewhat. I used to think that T.I. was something that proactive teachers should attempt in an urge to stay on the cutting edge of education. I’m now starting to think that the advancement of technology is inevitable, and rather than applauding those who choose to fight to include technology it is something that should be more mandatory. I do not think that teachers should be forced to change their style of teaching, but the fact remains that our students are becoming more and more tech-savvy and to not choose to teach them in the language they are most comfortable with (technology) is doing a disservice to them.
Considering how essential I’m starting to think T.I. is quickly becoming to teaching, it is vital that we improve the manor in which we educate teachers on this topic. Pre-service programs need to include courses that both teach how to use the programs AND how teachers can effectively integrate these programs into their teaching. Providing some pre-made teaching resources so that teachers can have the chance to experience success with these techniques without the requirement of a tonne of effort on their part would help to show the reluctant teachers how valuable technology can be.
I found it interesting that none of the interviewee’s held negative viewpoints about technology. Some were concerned about wasted time due to technical glitches, but all could see the value in this resource. I would be interested to discover if there is any research showing the superiority of tech-inclusive teaching styles to those that do not include any tech content.