Advantages of Integrating Technology
Schools today are so very different than when I was a kid, and we are NOT going to talk about how long ago that was. :) Science was pretty hands on, and that was great, but Math consisted of me sitting at my desk while the teacher droned on and on about confusing math concepts. Honestly, I fell behind in high school, mostly out of boredom. Today's teacher has the advantage of integrating technology into math and science! How, you might ask, will I find time to do this? Isn't it so much easier to tell the students what to do. Well, yeah, it is so much easier to just lecture them all day, but we want them to learn, don't we!?! Also, think about how much every person uses technology every day in the workplace. We need to prepare our students for life! "Technologies provide students with the opportunity to visualize and make more concrete the abstract world of mathematics. Technologies can also serve as a catalyst to move teachers toward an instructional style that is more student-centered, active, and relevant to the world in which they live" (Roblyer, 2010, p. 310).
Disadvantages of Integrating Technology
Do I even need to state the obvious disadvantage of integrating technology? Just in case this has not happened to you in your personal or professional life, heads up people, technology is great, but sometimes, for no apparent reason, it shuts down. Besides the obvious, there are some other disadvantages, like, why should students memorize facts or algorithms when they have access to a calculator or app that will spit the information out for them? I can not tell you the amount of students in college that can not compute simple math because they rely so heavily on their calculators! Even so, technology is relevant, and completely necessary because of how much it encompasses our lives every day, and let's remember that technology, when used correctly in the classroom, aides in a "deeper conceptual mathematical knowledge and insight" (Roblyler, 2010, p.311). Simply placing a child in front of an iPad is not what I am talking about, let's dig a little deeper teachers!
Specific Activities, Programs, etc...
My most favorite thing about technology integration is that it "bridges the gap between abstract and concrete with visual manipulatives" (Roblyer, 2010, p.312). I am such a visual learner and I am programmed to teach this way naturally in my classroom, technology helps me explain concepts in a way I never would be able to otherwise. A resource you might want to check out is the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html This site is AWESOME! One, it's free. And two, there is even an offline version! Teachers, please consider using this in your classroom. A great Science resource available to you is Journey North. https://www.learner.org/jnorth/livecam/index.html This site has multiple live webcams where you and your students can observe animals in their natural habitat! Let's strive to use these wonderful resources that have been made available to us, to enrich the lives of our students.
Roblyer, M. D. (2010). Integrating educational technology into teaching
(7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
Rachel, love your post on integrating technology. Like you said in reference to the text, having students make connection to abstract concepts is so much easier using technology! I've found that my students love when I incorporate technology into math!
ReplyDeleteRachel, I love reading your blog it is so interesting how you feel about integrating technology because I feel the same. During this semester, I struggled with implementing technology in the Social Studies lesson with the Social Studies having a short time to teach, but we are required to integrate different things.
ReplyDeleteThe time constraint was difficult for me as well, and I loved teaching Social Studies and my kids loved learning about the content. I loved it so much, I offered to take over teaching Social Studies for my CT, lol! Finding quick videos and pictures worked great for me, as well as passing out an article and having a group of students read a paragraph and summarize their paragraph to the whole class. All of these things allowed me to teach a whole lot of things in a short time. Hope this helps!
DeleteI am also a visual learner, so the "virtual manipulates" were SO cool to hear about! I love them and will absolutely be using them!
ReplyDeleteRachel,great information discussed in your blog! I have not sat and thought about how much technology we use throughout the day but once you said, "think how much every person uses technology every day in the workplace." This made me realize we use it more than we think we do.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I loved how you said it is important for teachers to dig deeper and not just stick to iPads to teach children material. It is vital that teachers use direct instruction.
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