Brief Introduction
In September 2009, my observations at a local middle school’s computer lab has led me on a nine-month quest to find answers to the following:
What is technology integration? Why should teachers integrate technology in the classroom? What effective strategies exist to encourage higher levels of teacher technology integration? How can these strategies be used?
These questions formed the basis of my action research project for my graduate research seminar. With the help of my Twitter Professional Learning Network (PLN), I was able to find a wealth of information and resources to share. Thank you, Twitter PLN, for our wonderful Skype sessions, for letting me pick your brains, and for putting up with all of my questionnaires and surveys! Listed below is the Recommendations–a compilation of everyone’s advice– section from my research paper.
7 ways to Increase Teacher Technology Integration in the Classroom
1. Create a clear vision of what an ideal classroom with integrated technology looks like. Individual teachers can design their own technology growth development plans by outlining their expectations for the school year. Take out the school’s mission statement and your learning objectives. How does the technology fit in? Align learning objectives with the appropriate tools, and list 1-2 new tools you would like to use in the classroom. Set small measurable goals. Focus on one goal at a time. Schedule time during the week to practice with the tools.
2. Build an on-campus professional learning network. Befriend the staff in the technology department. Individual teachers can form small study groups with colleagues to sign up for professional development courses, attend conferences and programs together, swap literature, and share ideas for lesson plans, materials, and resources. Visit and observe each other’s classrooms. Encourage one another to host informal workshops, demonstrations, or tutoring sessions during breaks or after school. Encourage each other to develop and lead professional development sessions.
3. Build an online professional learning network. Learn how to set up a Twitter account or a profile on one of the social networking platforms. Connect with other educators and join education-related groups. When you feel more comfortable, expand your network to include artists, scientists, authors, etc., to create a more well-rounded learning network. Make a commitment to spend a few minutes a day or a half hour on weekends to browse through the current articles, materials, and links shared on your network stream. When you feel more comfortable reading the resources on your social networks, don’t just lurk! Try your hand at leaving 1-2 comments on a blog or join in a group discussion. Share your own articles and resources. Jump in on a live online chat with other educators, administrators, and parents.
4. Invest in yourself. Read, read, and read! Subscribe to technology journals and publications. Open an aggregator account like Google Reader and subscribe to educational blogs, online magazines, and newsletters. Search for online tutorials and videos. Use open content sources. Follow along with free university online classes, or take your time with open courseware. Attend free webinars and free virtual conferences whenever you can.
5. Expand your learning network to the classroom. Harness your students’ creativity and ingenuity. Involve your students by asking them how they best learn, how they network outside the classroom, and what technology tools they are using for their hobbies and personal use. Allow them to be your technology tutors by encouraging them to share their tips and tricks. Set up monthly technology show-and-tells in the classroom. Ask students to do a tutorial for you (and later, for parents and staff!) Search for videos, pod-casts, vod-casts and other useful tutorials together and create a class technology knowledge-base on a class website, social bookmarking site, or wiki-space.
6. Publish, publicize, and advertise your students’ technology-related work. Create a classroom website or a wiki-space to share ideas, tutorials, and class projects. Share the links with parents, administration, faculty, and local community. Make your classroom transparent: invite them to your classroom to see what the students are learning and doing. Distribute a monthly newsletter, or create a photo album, or put together a portfolio to share what you have done to integrate technology in your classroom. Share these with your colleagues and your professional learning networks. Ask for constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement.
7. Develop a reflective practice with your integration of technology in the classroom. Keep a small notebook to jot down initial thoughts and impressions of particular tools or certain issues. Follow up your implementation of technology tools in a lesson plan or activity with a reflection on its strengths, weaknesses, successes and areas that can be further improved. Remember to include samples of formative and summative student assessments. Ask for and include student responses/quotes in your evaluations. Write about your personal journey into technology integration. Reflect on your technology growth development plan. Consider signing up for and setting up an online blog and linking it to your professional learning networks. Continue to encourage discussions with your colleagues and networks.
Other Resources
http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/edtechstrategies
Above is a link to a Wallwisher that was distributed to my Twitter PLN. I used it as a digital handout for my research presentation. Check it out! If you have a Wallwisher account, I encourage you to add a post-it! There is also a short list of great tutorials on how to develop online professional learning networks and teacher blog posts on technology integration below. If you know of any good resources, please share in the comments!
http://cmlorena.wikispaces.com/Graduate+Projects
The above link will forward you to my wiki portfolio, which includes an embedded vodcast of the short Prezi I used to talk about my project in research seminar.
Additional Optional Readings
Steven W. Anderson’s “Why PLN? (Voicethread Presentation)”
Sue Water’s “How to PLN Yourself”
Shelly Terrell’s “How to Build a PLN Using Twitter (Presto Presentation)”
Rick Biche’s 2008 post on “What You Might See In A Technology Integrated Classroom”
Nick Provenzano’s “Tech Integration Is Like Cooking”
I agree with all 7 points you made, and I especially like the wallwisher you created. I work with PBS TeacherLine (sorry for the blatant plug) and some of our most popular professional development courses are in our instructional technology category, and we have recently updated some of those courses to include the latest web 2.0 strategies in the classroom. I also think you should repost/link to this blog post during the ISTE conference in June and tweet it with the conference tag #iste2010. Conference attendees really like short and to the point posts like this one.
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Donovan.
Thanks for the advice! I will definitely re-post and add the #iste2010 hashtag in June. I love PBS Teachers, but haven’t come across PBS TeacherLine. I will make sure to check it out this weekend!
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Great post, Cheska!
All 7 points are practical and important, I think, in tech integration. #4 is quite easy these days with apps on smartphones and Google Reader, as the reading materials can all come to you. PLN sure helps a lot (#3) as many members of our network share great deal of good information!
There is power of sharing students’ work with other teachers. I have learned a great deal from teachers all over the world and feel encouraged to share what my students are doing.
Thanks for this post!
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Thank you for your support, Yoon! I am in love with all of the free PD resources that are available today, and it doesn’t help that I can access them from almost anywhere anytime! The problem comes down to finding the time to read, attend, and respond to everything! 🙂 PLNs are very helpful, and I honestly can’t thank you and the others enough for your help in my research. I’m so blessed to have you in my PLN! When I presented last Tuesday and shared the Wallwisher with my colleagues, they were amazed! The PLN is very powerful, indeed!
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Great post with great ideas. I’ll be using this with my colleagues.
I like your blog also.
Here are some things I wrote on my blog about getting started with ed tech:
http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-get-started-with-project-based.html
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Great summation Cheska. I will be sure to use this in a workshop I’m teaching (I hope!) this summer.
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Thanks, Matt! Wow, that’d be AWESOME! Please keep me up to date with your workshop endeavors! I’d love to hear how it goes. 🙂
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I really can relate to number five. Students are acquainted and familiar with different technology tools. If you ask any questions about the latest cell phones, ipods, or video games they will tell you immediately. Networking is super! They can share ideas with other students, as well as the teacher. Students rely upon teachers for everything, then why can’t teachers rely upon students for somethings.
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Brenda,
Thanks! I agree with you – learning is about creating that positive cycle of give and take. As teachers, we don’t know everything and that’s okay. It takes awhile for some to get used to that idea, to even let go of the locus of control and allow students to step up and take it. I always call my little brother and ask for his opinion on new gadgets LOL
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Hi there, I agree with your blog and I will be back to check it more in the future so please keep up your good quality work. I love your content & the way that you write. It looks like you’ve been doing this for a while now, how long have you been blogging for? You make it look easy
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Loutfie,
Thanks for the kind comment. I’ve written in personal online blogs before as a kid, but realistically I’m brand new to public blogging so I’m just figuring it out as I go along! 🙂
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Hi
I saw this thread and couldn’t help diving in!
Nice
Thanks
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Being both a teacher and educational software seller I have no choice but to agree with the post. Great ideas for the class!
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Diego,
Thank you! 🙂
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I really needed to discuss this particular posting, “7 Ways
to Increase Teacher Technology Integration in the Classroom
Teaching Miss Cheska” along with my own close friends on facebook
or twitter. Ionly just desired to spread ur very good writing!
Thanks a lot, Jarrod
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First off I want to say great blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you do not mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts before writing. I’ve
had trouble clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out there.
I truly do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10
to 15 minutes tend to be lost just trying to figure
out how to begin. Any ideas or tips? Appreciate it!
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Thanks for the kind compliment! Honestly, I free-write and type whatever is on my mind. I save it as a draft, then come back to it a few days later to edit and add links or photos. When I first started blogging, I thought I had to write and get it just right. That usually was enough to freeze me, and start off my writer’s block! Now, I just think of my blog as more of a diary, to act as repository for my own thoughts and that helps me get over the road blocks. Write for yourself and be honest in your writing!
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Hi there, everything is going nicely here and ofcourse
every one is sharing information, that’s really good, keep up writing.
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Particularly educational, looking frontward to visiting again.
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My partner and I absolutely love your bog and find most of your post’s to be what precisely I’m looking for.
Does one offer guest writers to write content to suit your needs?
I wouldn’t mind writing a post or elaborating on a
lot of the subjects you write with regards to here. Again, awesome
website!
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I have had offers for guest writers, but as this a personal teacher’s blog, I did not give permission.
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