A GUIDE TO INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

In this guide, I will provide you with some easy and effective ways of integrating more technology into your classroom and students' learning. If you have any questions and would like to know more, please do not hesitate to email me at [email protected].
WHAT  IS  TECHNOLOGY  INTEGRATION?
Technology integration is enabling our students to learn in a modern environment reminiscent of the world they live in, while also preparing them for the world they are going into. Who knows what technology will look like once our students are adults! We need to integrate technology into their education to build these fundamental skills and enhance their learning simultaneously.
  • ​​Technology doesn't need to be taught as a separate lesson, it is best used when integrated into whatever learning is happening in your classroom.
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  • However, students and you as the teachers, need to be taught how to use the technology before being able to seamlessly integrate it into the learning.

  • Students should also get the opportunity to select the appropriate use of technology in order to obtain information, analyze the content and present their understanding of the topic.
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  • The focus should always still remain the outcome of the lesson, and not the technology.
WHY  SHOULD  YOU  INTEGRATE  TECHNOLOGY  INTO  YOUR  LESSONS?
Technology is not the future, it is the present. This is the world our students are living in right now and schools should be adapting to keep up.

  • It can actually make teaching easier! We are able to use technology to visually demonstrate a concept via images or even better - videos! It also enables students (and us) to have access to all the information in the world at our fingertips.

  • Students will be more likely to remain engaged when a lesson is integrated with technology. You're connecting what they currently use for entertainment and using it as a tool for learning! Not to mention providing greater variety of learning activities and resources available to keep their interest.

  • It is more of a real world representation as most jobs our students will be going into is highly likely to be integrated with technology.

  • It's so helpful for you in monitoring student progress or having self-calculating scores for tests.

  • It's really great for going paperless. Just having less notes scattered everywhere from all those meetings is a huge plus!

  • It makes collaboration much more simple and effective. No longer do groups of students have to find a time to get together after school to complete assignments. With the power of tools like Google Apps and Hangouts, students can now work on projects at the same time and have face-time conversations - wherever they are in the world!

  • Encourages individual learning and growth. The technological tools available to students enable effective differentiated possibilities for students (such as speech to text or captioned videos for example) which enable students to learn at their own pace.
WHAT  ARE  THE  DANGERS  OF  NOT  INTEGRATING  TECHNOLOGY  INTO  STUDENTS'  LEARNING?
We have a responsibility to ensure our students are prepared for the world they are going in to (yes, prepared beyond the test!) Without technology integration we:

  • Are not capitalising on the one media our students know the best! They're already tech savvy and use technology every waking moment so why not use what they love to help them learn!

  • Are not preparing them for the world they are going into. Technology is integrated in our every day lives as it is, let alone our jobs! We need to be getting them used to that from now.

  • Are limiting their learning experiences. We need to offer as many avenues and possibilities for learning as possible for our students so they can all access the curriculum in a way that suits them best.

  • Are making our lives harder! Yes, initially if you're not tech savvy yet this is going to feel true for you, but once you learn and start integrating technology in your planning and lessons you will see how much faster many tasks become for you!
HOW  CAN  YOU  IMPLEMENT  TECHNOLOGY  INTO  YOUR  CLASSROOM?
Technology is very easy to implement in the classroom, you may already be doing it without realising! You also don't need a whole kit of IT facilities to be able to do it successfully. Here are some ways you can do it:

  • Look at the curriculum you want to teach, identify the skills and knowledge you want your students to gain and try to think of some possible technology that might be suitable for for helping them gain it and present their findings! 

  • If you're still unsure, start simple and use Google Apps (e.g. Google Slides) and get students to use that to present their work. If you would like support with how to use this, check the e-course below! You can always leave it open ended and tell students they can use whatever tools they wish to present their work - I do this all the time with mine and am pleasantly surprised with what they come up with! Some produce presentations, but some have even done videos, news broadcasts, animations etc. all off their own back!

  • You can use Google Forms to get feedback quickly from students, such as these Back to School Get to Know You Google Forms. You could use these for exit tickets or questionnaires for quick feedback - plus Google automatically puts the results into graphs for you <3

  • You can use websites such as these which offer 50 different teaching tools for your classroom.

  • You can download digital teaching resources which are already set up for you on Google Slides / Google Forms etc. so it's all taken care of for you and students just need to complete the tasks on screen!

  • You can try and make your own digital teaching resources! If you're interested in learning how to do that for your own classroom or for sharing on Teachers Pay Teachers for example, then I have an e-course for you with video tutorials which take you through step by step how to make them!
Video preview for e-course on how to make your own digital teaching resources!


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Click the image below to find out more about this course:
RELATED  BLOG  POSTS  ABOUT  TECHNOLOGY  INTEGRATION:
I blogged about some ways you can integrate technology into your classroom. Here is a growing collection you can always refer to:

Blog posts:
Find more free ideas and inspiration on my Pinterest board:
WHERE  CAN  YOU  FIND  MORE  INFORMATION  ON  TECHNOLOGY  INTEGRATION:
If you want to learn more about integrating technology from other professionals all around the world, here's a growing list of some of my favourite links and sources of information:
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“TEACHERS NEED TO INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGY SEAMLESSLY INTO THE CURRICULUM INSTEAD OF
​VIEWING IT AS AN ADD-ON, AN AFTERTHOUGHT, OR AN EVENT.” – Heidi-Hayes Jacobs

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“EDUCATION IS EVOLVING DUE TO THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET.
WE CANNOT TEACH OUR STUDENTS IN THE SAME MANNER IN WHICH WE WERE TAUGHT.
​CHANGE IS NECESSARY TO ENGAGE STUDENTS ... IN SCHOOL PERIOD." – April Chamberlain

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"WE NEED TO EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE LEARNING MORE ENGAGING.
​BECAUSE WHEN STUDENTS ARE ENGAGED THEY ARE INTERESTED, THAT'S WHERE LEARNING TAKES PLACE."

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​"LEARNERS IN THE INTERNET AGE DON'T NEED MORE INFORMATION. THEY NEED TO KNOW HOW TO EFFICIENTLY USE THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT THEIR FINGERTIPS - TO DETERMINE WHAT'S CREDIBLE, WHAT'S RELEVANT, AND WHEN IT'S USEFUL TO REFERENCE." - Anna Sabramowicz

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