Technology integration is very important in this era of teaching, for students and teachers. Learning using technology gives educators additional ways to ensure that students are learning material but also gives educators multiple ways to teach curriculum. It’s no longer an necessity to have students turn in paper test or assignments requiring teachers to take home bags of paperwork for grading. “With technology integrated into classes successfully, classroom dynamics can change”(Gilbertson 2007) in a positive way. With these changes come challenges that will have to be controlled and managed. My first year teaching was when the Covid 19 pandemic hit and even though I was excited and anxious to get started teaching my business education classes, my middle school students tested me and kept me on my toes. I had to “address my own comfort level with the technology that is in my classroom”(Gilbertson 2007) to be able to get complete control over things that were happening. I also had to have some flashbacks of when I was middle school age and taking computer classes to get ideas of what some of my students were doing and how to use their computer access to my advantage. Minecraft education was big in my classroom and while I had access to controlling the content that my students were accessing, I couldn’t block that particular program. I decided to design a project for my coding class for my coding students to work on using Minecraft Education.
One of my biggest errors that I made when I started teaching was assuming that all students knew how to use a computer properly. With a lot of students being into gaming, I assumed that students knew how to properly use a computer. I assumed that students knew that they had to cite sources when completing research. I assumed that they knew not to turn off their peer’s devices maliciously. The biggest sign that I needed to teach them how to treat computer hardware was when I had a few students spill water on a few systems and carry on with their day, unaware that they were causing Mr. Hollowell to be down a few computers until they were fixed. Teaching students and staff members how to safely use computers is very important for technology integration. As much as students need to learn about using computers, some of the more seasoned teachers could use some assistance with operating technology.
Everyone has to know about or learn about digital citizenship. People have to learn about all acceptable uses of technology. Students need to know about what websites are good to for visiting and how to tell if something is a scam and possibly contain a virus. Everyone should know about digital footprints and how what they post can affect them years later. Educators have to also understand that they can’t post everything that goes on in their lives as this stays online forever. Once one learns about safely using a computer and how technology can be used to enhance learning, students will grasp concepts better. Teachers will be able to provide instruction that resulting in more students learning the lessons and actually being able to apply what’s learned to their lives. Technology integration into classrooms open doors to better teaching and better learning that can reach students in their own individual ways. Students are all different and learn using the ways that that help them best, in their own time. Teaching using technology will be a lot more exciting than the typical teaching and can provide instant results with grading and feedback. I’m excited to see how much technology will change things.
Works Cited
https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-implementation