Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Abstract:
The internet is a rapidly
growing tool used to find any
information you could possibly ever
need. Not only does the internet
allow us to access information, it
also permits us to collaborate with
others online. This paper outlines
the integration of technology in the
classroom; the internet specifically,
and the benefits of using Google
programs in the classroom. While all
the programs offered by Google are
handy, today we will narrow in on
Google Drive and three of its main
components explicitly.
Keywords: Internet, Google Drive,
technology, classroom, Docs, Slides,
Sheets
Introduction
Technology seems to have hit an
all time high here in the 21st century.
Quickly does technology evolve,
becoming a common concept for
individuals of all ages. Grades K-12
have begun to integrate some form
of technology or another into the
classroom; especially with in the last
couple of years. With technological
advances comes endless methods in
incorporating technology into your
lesson plan. Google programs have
become vastly popular in the school
setting due to the fact that it allows
students
and
teachers
to
communicate
and
collaborate
whenever and wherever. While
technology allows students endless
possibilities, it is important to
understand the precautions that
need to be taken along with it.
Safety and inaccurate information

are the top two precautions we will

be taking a look at today.
Internet in the classroom
Seeing the internet is a tool
that continues to grow and change
every day, it is inevitable that we
humans must adapt and learn the
changes/upgrades it continues to
make
in
order
to
stay
technologically sharp. For those of
you currently reading this paper,
reflect back to when you first
became
acquainted
with
technology; the internet to be
specific. We all started somewhere
and the first step in becoming
familiar with technology is having
time set aside to learn the device or
program
you
will
be
using.
According to Eileen Cotton in her
book
The
Online
Classroom;
Teaching
with
the
Internet,
published in 2000, You need to give
your students time to practice using
the computer and the Internet. They
need it as much as you did when
you were first accessing the Web.
Chapter 5 in Cottons book states; in
order for your students to grasp the
concept
of
the
internet
and
technology itself you as their
instructor must first set aside time
for them to become familiar with
their canvas (2000). Whether you
teach in the public school system or
for a private school, the end goal in
putting students (typically) through
thirteen
mandatory
years
of
schooling is to ultimately mold
young children into responsible
members of the community. As well
as prepare students who are able or
wish to pursue further schooling
with some type of college program.
The ultimate goal in having children

receive an education is to have

them practice and obtain essential
skills for hopefully college and
ultimately a career (Moeller &
Reitzes 2011).
Technology also
allows
teachers
to
address
individual needs, whether those are
strengths or weaknesses. For the
students who excel at their studies
and need more challenging material
than what the general percentage of
the class is covering, the internet
can provide more activities to
complete on paper or online.
Technology can also offer you the
educator to explore other teachers
ideas on more methods for pushing
gifted students. On the other hand,
for those students who struggle with
particular lessons or concepts, the
internet can be used during free
time or at home (if internet access is
available) to practice those concepts
they need extra help on.

Precautions
Although the internet is a
useful tool to incorporate in the
classroom, it is important to outline
the risks involved in doing so. The
first and top concern with granting
your students internet access is
safety. There is a lot of information
available on the internet and it is
inevitable that one of your students
will come across some inappropriate
material if capable. With that being
said, it is highly recommended that
you as their instructor take the time
to have the software filtered. While
blocking
web
sites
that
are
inappropriate for children, it is
necessary to understand that you
will run into problems when filtering
software. Although doing so does
block inappropriate things, it may
also end up blocking web sites that
are
appropriate
(Poole
2011).

Another risk involved in integrating

technology in the classroom is
having your students use unreliable
or biased information. Seeing the
vast majority of individuals do have
internet access, we run into the
problem of anybody putting their
opinion disguised as information on
the web. When incorporating the
use of technology in your classroom,
remind students to lean towards
credible sources (2011).
Google Programs
Along with technology comes
thousands of channels for the
classroom, such as smart boards,
websites, social media, google
classroom, google scholar, google
drive, and many more options.
Although the channels mentioned
above are all good tools for the
classroom, this paper will focus in on
the benefits of google drive. Google
drive allows students and teachers
to collaborate and work together
inside as well as outside of the
classroom. Before google drive there
was essentially no way for members
of a group working on a school
project to work together while not in
the same place. Google drive is a
tool that allows you to break up the
classroom but not necessarily go to
the extent of making it a paperless
classroom. For example, Julie Bass is
a sixth-grade math teacher uses
Google Drive to enable her students
to keep interactive math journals.
Her students collaborated to create
documents that held information
about data and examples they
discussed in class. Julie assigned
each student to be responsible for a
portion of the document but also
allowed them to provide additional
help to the class by providing more
information. In using google drive, it

allows students to access their

documents in in the future (Harvell
2014). Not only are students able to
access their documents at future
grade levels when using Google
Drive, but teachers also reap similar
benefits. For example, say your
students
are
presenting
presentations in class; instead of
multitasking and trying to grade and
give your students your undivided
attention, you can go back later and
grade the information presented on
the slides. Google Drive allows its
users unlimited access to their
documents. Within Drive there are
numerous channels available to be
of service to your class, such as
Google Docs, Google Sheets, and
Google Slides. Google Docs is
essentially Apples version of pages
or Microsoft word. Google Sheets is
their
version
of
spreadsheets,
allowing users to create tables and
graphs. Google Slides is set up like
PowerPoint to help users create slide
shows. There are many benefits to
these Google programs; since your
documents are stored online it is
accessible anywhere you have
internet access.
It also allows
classmates to work on projects
simultaneously.
Before Google
programs, group slideshows were
often the result of one persons work
since it simply wasnt possible for
more than one person to work on it
at a time. Another bonus of using
these programs are that they allow
teachers to see how students are
contributing
to
group
projects
(Oxnevad 2012). Overall, Google
programs
incorporates
creative
ways to get everyone in the
classroom involved in assignments.

Conclusion
Seeing its the 21st century
and more households than not have
technology or internet access its
common to come across students
wanting to use technology in the
school setting as well.
By
integrating technology into the
classroom it taps into many
students quest to learn (Moeller &
Reitzes 2011).
Google programs
offer
many
opportunities
to
collaborate with peers or coworkers
in a variety of ways. Its safe to say
that most students learn better
when theyre having fun. It would
be a good idea to carve time out of
our schedule for those students who
enjoy using todays technology. By
integrating 21st century methods
students are forced to be more
engaged
in
their
learning.
Technology is a tool that opens
thousands of doors for students
when used properly. Find the time to
incorporate at least one form of
technology into your lesson plan, to
break up your classroom. However,
when doing so be sure to take the
proper precautions before granting
your students internet access.
References
Cotton, E. (2000). The Online
Classroom;
Teaching
with
the
Internet.
Retrieved
from
files.eric.ed.gov
Poole, B. (2011, September 12).
Reflecting Poole: Risks Involved in
Integrating the Internet into the K12 Curriculum. Retrieved from
educationworld.com
Oxnevad, S. (2012, December
14). 5 Ways to Use Google Docs in
the Classroom. Retrieved from
getting smart.com
Moeller, B. & Reitzes, T. (2011,
July). Integrating technology with

student-centered learning. Retrieved

from nmefoundation.org
Harvell, E. (2014). Common Core:
How Google Apps for Education Can

Help You Implement Common Core.

Retrieved from thejournal.com