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Integration of Technology and Media Resources

Anne Corbitt

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2018

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Introduction

In many modern schools, technology is integrated in a majority of the content and

materials in teacher lessons and student work. The world of technology has come a long way

and serves a great purpose in the schools. In Virginia Beach Public school system, all schools

are one-to-one, meaning each student is provided their own Chromebook to use for school

purposes. At first, this was a challenge for me. With students’ using this technology, this meant

that I also needed to use technology in my lessons and post items for students to complete

through their Chromebooks. Not being a technologically advanced person, this was a concept I

struggled with at first. Once I got accustomed to the different technology resources and how to

use them, I now understand the importance of incorporating technology in the classroom,

especially when technology is advancing more frequently. Danny Mareco of Secure Edge

Networks brings up an important point when it comes to integrating technology in the classroom,

“Integrating technology in education helps students stay engaged. Most students today have been

using mobile devices like tablets and smartphones to play and learn since they could crawl. So, it

only seems logical to align today's classrooms with the way that your students want and are used

to learning” (Mareco, 2017). Technology is constantly surrounding students and they are using

it daily. It only makes sense to use it in the classroom and incorporate it in a positive and

educational manner.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

My first artifact for integrating technology in the classroom is the Apple iPad. In honor

of March Madness, the fifth-grade students will be doing a Tournament of Books activity. How

this works is the students will start with a total of sixteen books to choose from. Each week, the

number of books will reduce. Like March Madness, the order goes: Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight,
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Final Four, and Top Two. Most likely, all forty-four students have not read all sixteen books on

the list they have to choose from. In order to give students an idea of what each book is about, I

assigned them to read a summary of each book. To make this task more interesting, I created QR

codes for each book and included the title at the top of that code. Students would scan the code

with the QR Read App on the iPads. Once they scan this code, a link would direct them to a

summary of the book that was listed above the QR code. Instead of printing out summaries for

the books and having students sit and read them, students were able to complete this task with a

partner which allowed them to get up and move around the room. It was fun creating this

activity and it was extremely rewarding seeing the students enjoy the assignment and learning

more about books that could potentially appeal to them. Many of them looked at it as a

competition too. Once they read a summary, students had to go to the poster board that was at

the back of the classroom, find their name, find the name of the book summary they read, and

put a checkmark in the box provided. Many of the students turned it into a contest with their

peers and/or partner, which made the activity more engaging and fun.

The second artifact of integrating technology that I chose was the Promethean board. I

use this source of technology every single day. In the morning, I post the morning message,

notes, reading passages/articles, and many other resources on this tool that students use daily.

Through a program called ACTIVE Inspire, I can use the Promethean board as a white board to

type or write using a specified stylist pen. I use this often in the classroom and even allow

opportunities for the students to use it. For example, I assigned the students to create a

PowerPoint presentation with their team where they made inferences and conclusions about a

story that we had read. Once completed, each group would email me their presentation, that way

I could bring it up on the Promethean board. I allowed the students to use my laptop that was
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hooked up to the board in order to navigate and control their presentation. Another way I used

the board was to review questions from a text that was read. I typed out the reading

comprehension question on the board and allowed a few students to come up to the board to

write their answers with their stylist pen. Students really enjoy using the Promethean board and

like to share their work and answers to the class by using the board to write or present their

findings. This helped the students stay engage with the lesson and it allowed for student led

learning which I find to be extremely effective. It took me a week or so to adjust to the

technology resources, but once I had an understanding for it, I used it daily and found it to be

effective in the classroom.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Reflecting back to when I was in elementary school, I cannot recall ever using

technology. When I was at this age, technology was on the up rise with laptops and cellphones

being introduced, but only the businessmen had the resources to obtain these tools. Today when

you walk into a classroom, chances are every classroom has a smartboard or a related resource

for writing and displaying information, and students either have their own laptop or have access

to a laptop in the classroom or school. With this being said, I am fortunate to have taken the

Technology for Educators course at Regent University. Through this course, I was able to

understand how to create and manage a Weebly page, which is crucial for my student teaching

experience, and explore the importance of integrating technology in the classroom. I learned

how, why, and when technology can be used and how it is important that teachers not only learn

how to use it, but actually use it in their classrooms. Benjamin Herold of Education Week

discusses that by using technology, teachers are individualizing and personalizing technology,
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students can have their own profile that is specified to their learning level and needs (Herold,

2016).

In her book, Teach like a Techie, Lori Elliot discusses the importance of finding and

using technological resources that work best for the teacher and the students (Elliot, 2011).

Elliot also discusses the essence of time as a teacher. Many teachers complain about not having

enough time and are always wanting more of it. There is a great amount of material and a

massive amount of information to go over in such a small amount of time. Technology, is an

extremely effective tool that not only has the potential to save teachers time on research, but it

can be used as a learning tool for students to use (Elliot, 2011). Students are able to find more

information about the subject they are researching and this allows for the opportunity of teaching

them how to use these tools effectively and efficiently. Using technology could potential save

classroom time and will give students a necessary skill, I found this to be true through my

student teaching experience. I was able to take the information and importance of technology

from this text and apply it into the curriculum and lessons. Before taking the Technology for

Educators course, I had no idea the amount of technology that was used in the classroom, nor

how to use it. This course gave me knowledge on how and why technology is used in the

classroom. My knowledge of the technology resources and how to incorporate them into my

lessons will grow with experience and I believe it is something that will be extremely useful in

the future. Technology resources are increasing in the classrooms and will soon be the dominate

source of learning for students.

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Resources

Elliott, L. (2011). Teach Like a Techie: 20 Tools for Reaching the Digital Generation.

Peterborough, NH: Crystal Springs Books.

Mareco, D. (2017, July 27). 10 Reasons Today’s Students NEED Technology in the Classroom.

Retrieved March 11, 2018, from https://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/10-resons-

today-s-students-need-technology-in-the-classroom

Herold, B. (2016, February 5). Technology in Education: An Overview. Retrieved March 11.

2018, from https://edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/index.html