How do we Integrate Technology into the Classrooms?
Note: This entire piece is based on the
article by (Bitner and Bitner, 2002) on integrating technology in the
classroom.
How do we Integrate
Technology into the Classrooms?
Successful
integration of technology in the class requires several strategies, (a) funding,
(b) a dynamic plan, (c) platform, (d) hardware and software and, most
importantly, (e) the teacher. The
skills and attitude of the teacher is most important for an effective inclusion
of technology in the curriculum. Teachers
must be open to learning and be influenced by technology to modify their
teaching style.
For example, in
our school, Veracross is used as an LMS platform. I have seen teachers still
using a notebook to keep the scores of the kids and uploading it all on
Veracross at the end of the year. I, on the other hand, found that the LMS made
my work efficient and time effective. So, I integrated it to upload scores
immediately, send mails to the parents and upload homework on it too. I did
have to work hard to get the kids used to it to see the homework or the scores,
but after half a year of consistent ‘check Veracross and not me’, it finally
worked.
How I did it!
Some of the
strategies I have used in my math class to integrate technology are (a) use the
computer to conduct research, (b) online CW or HW, (c) mail them to task sheets
for projects, (d) flipped the class and (e) asked them to mail the project
power points via email or Google drive.
Veracross was
used as the online grading system for posting
student’s grades, their
attendance pattern and manage data for everyone to easily access
information and monitor progress. For example, I divided the class into groups,
asked them to explore Scientific Notation using some probing questions and then
send me a paper on it via email. The next class was for discussion and a short
assessment.
However, there are challenges!
·
In my country, India, schools do not always have
access to the internet or electricity.
Not all schools have the money for infrastructure or to professionally upgrade
the teachers. This exerts a burden on the teachers to learn on their own and
often they lose interest. Maintenance and technical support may not always be
accessible when there is a technology breakdown.
·
Poor parental involvement can also pose a challenge. Parents of low economic
status might not be able to afford computers for students to work at home.
·
Kids in the
middle school I work in do not have the discipline to carry a charged laptop or
the charger. Their self-sufficiency skills to use Veracross as the medium of
content is missing at times. The emotional dependence on the teacher is large
and one of the ways to connect is to discuss grades or homework.
In Conclusion
It would not be
enough to expect technology to be integrated in the classroom. This is a
community issue and not a teacher issue. We require trained teachers,
infrastructure support and parental openness to invest in technology to make it
successful.
Teachers, brought up in a system of
non-technology and human connect, may not take to technology very quickly.
Emotional care and support are needed to create a safe space for the teachers
to be open to technology. Teachers need training from empathic individuals and
not the salesmen or women only focused on making a sale irrespective of the
learning transferred.
Learning needs to be the impetus in the school
and not technology. Technology is an enabler and not a replacement. When
schools become a space where experiments are allowed and there is space for
mistakes, teachers will learn.
Reference
Bitner, N., & Bitner, J.
(2002). Integrating technology into the classroom: Eight keys to success. Journal
of Technology and Teacher Education, 10(1), 95–100. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/9304/
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