Running head: INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA RESOURCES

Integration of Technology and Media Resources

Madeline Keever

Regent University

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

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Introduction

As technology advances, teachers have a responsibility to prepare students with the

twenty-first century skills that they will need in college and beyond (Wood & Cockerham, 2018,

p. 1). In a world where technology is ever-changing, this can certainly be a challenge for both

teachers and administrators. Technology is costly and with every new gadget or software that

comes down the pike, teachers have something new to learn. Unfortunately, “Because of limited

professional development opportunities, teachers often lack the skills to integrate technologies

into classroom instruction” (Wood & Cockerham, 2018, p. 2). With any significant change that

takes place, growing pains are inevitable and technology is no exception. Despite the hurdles that

are involved, advancement in technology has brought incredible benefits to classrooms,

including wider access to resources, more creativity, and the ability to prepare students for the

technology-driven world we all live in.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

Lynnhaven Middle School is a one-to-one school; meaning, every student is given a

chrome book of their own to keep throughout the year. Each student is responsible for

maintaining their chrome book and for bringing it to school charged every day. As a result, we

use technology daily. To showcase my use of technology in the classroom, I have included two

artifacts. The first artifact is set of pictures of the students using their chrome books to play

Kahoot. Kahoot is an educational resource that allows teachers to create a quiz-based game for

students to access through a web browser. Using Kahoot, I was able to display questions on the

Promethium board and students would race to select the correct answer on their chrome books.

Not only was this a fun and interactive way for students to use their technology, it also served as
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an informal assessment, providing me with data in real time. I used this data to assess how well

the class learned concepts and would differentiate accordingly.

The second artifact is a lesson plan that I co-wrote with my cooperating teacher. The

lesson includes a project-based, formative assessment, wherein the students would work in a

group to create a google slide based on a section of the textbook. This was a pre-cursor to a

formal assessment of an entire unit, that required each student to independently create a google

slide show. Through this initial project I was able to see which students were comfortable with

their technology, how fast they were able to create content, and how clear they were able to

present information using google slides—a skill that will be required in college and in the

business world.

Reflection on Theory of Practice

Technology and media resources are wonderful tools for educators and “the process of

integrating technology into classroom work has emerged as a significant focus of study in

educational research” (Guzman & Nussbaum, 2009, p.453). Not only will technology prepare

students for their future jobs, it offers educators an opportunity to connect with students with

different learning styles. “Some benefits to technology are the increased interaction and

availability of resources for education” (Ainsworth, 2013, p. 786). I have observed many

students come to life when they are given an assignment that requires them to get creative with

technology. Students who struggle with reading are often able to use the read aloud feature on

their chrome books. Many students have this written into their accommodations and are required

by law to be provided with this option during testing—a valuable resource for helping students

be successful.
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For technology to be successfully integrated into a classroom, a few things must be in

place. First, the teachers must be educated and comfortable navigating various mediums.

“Technology integration will only be achieved to the extent educators can link the tool in a

natural and logical manner” (Guzman & Nussbaum, 2009, p.453). A lesson can get easily de-

railed by an attempt at technology that is not fully understood. Second, educators must be

supported by their administration with appropriate training and funding. “The school district’s

economic base must be strong enough to provide sufficient bandwidth, hire technology

specialists, support professional development, and maintain equipment” (Ainsworth, 2013, p. 3).

A teacher cannot be expected to be an expert in all things IT; consequentially, schools with

technology often have a few staff members dedicated to hardware and software issues that may

arise.

As a teacher in the twenty-first century I understand that I have a responsibility to teach

my students how to be successful in the outside world. Technology is rapidly changing and is

increasingly an inseparable part of daily life. As a life-long learner, I must adapt to the changes

that take place in my world.

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References

Ainsworth, J. (2013). Sociology of Education : An A-to-Z Guide. Thousand Oaks, California:

SAGE Publications, Inc. Retrieved from

http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tru

&db=e000xna&AN=592550&site=ehost-live

Guzman, A., & Nussbaum, M. (2009). Teaching competencies for technology integration in the

classroom: Technology integration in the classroom. Journal of Computer Assisted

Learning, 25(5), 453-469. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2009.00322.x

Tyler-Wood, T. L., Cockerham, D., & Johnson, K. R. (2018). Implementing new technologies in

a middle school curriculum: A rural perspective. Smart Learning Environments, 5(1), 1

16. doi:10.1186/s40561-018-0073