Grounded Tech Integration

While reading this article I learned, first, that technology integration efforts most often begin with what the teacher is least familiar with: meaning the actual technologies themselves. Even though becoming familiar and comfortable with the technologies, this alone will not ensure the most successful technologically facilitated teaching.

As a teacher, you need to focus on the students’ standards-based learning needs rather than the technology tools and resources. You must be easily adaptable to the many different teaching styles and levels of technological expertise. As the teacher, you must learn and apply rather quickly with very few additional resources required, even in those more resource-scarce settings.

There are five basic steps when planning a learning event, regardless of the actual planning model used.

• The planning must begin with appropriate learning goals. These goals are usually framed by the district, state, and/or national content based curriculum standards.
• Once the goals are determined, consider a series of eight practical pedagogical decisions to help determine the specific parameters of the learning experience you are planning for your classroom.
• Now you can determine the nature of the specific activities that will make up the learning experience.
• After the activities are determined, you must then select appropriated assessment strategies to progress monitor the students’ progress in achieving the targeted learning goals.
• You must now select tools and resources.

One big thing that you must remember when planning, is that “as students’ learning needs and experiences develop, as contextual conditions change, as teachers’ expertise grows, and as curriculum requirements shift, the decisions and choices made at each of the five stages of planning will similarly change.” With each new development, you may need to modify and make accommodations to help the students. These steps can easily be incorporated into planning with many of the different planning models.