Definitions of "technology integration" in K-12
From WikEd
What are the definitions of "technology integration" that you're finding as you read about this topic in different sources?
(Please be sure to include location/publication information about your sources here, using quotation marks to show verbatim quotes; no quotation marks if you're summarizing the definitions that you've read. Please post discussion (e.g., comparison/contrast, synthesis, evaluation) of the emerging information posted in this article by clicking on the "Discussion" tab near the top of the screen.)
- "Integration refers to the appropriate use of specific technologies as highly effective tools in facilitating learning across all levels of cognitive inquiry and development." (Educational Technology Plan for Virginia 2003-2009, page 12)
- Technology integration seems to be evident when technology is used "to support instruction" and when it begins at the level of curriculum design and development. (Beaver & Moore, 2004, p. 45, available from ISTE's Learning and Leading with Technology)
- "Although using technology to deliver instruction can be useful, it is not true integration." (Beaver & Moore, 2004, p. 43 available from ISTE's Learning and Leading with Technology)
- The Arlington Public Schools in Arlington, Virginia have a technology use observation form that uses a scale to determine the type of technology use. The form is available for viewing online: Observation Form. (Note: This is a pdf file so you will need the free Acrobat Reader. The form is based on the Levels of Technology Implementation (LoTi) scale developed by Dr. Christopher Moersch. The LoTi scale is based on a similar scale developed as part of the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) research project.
- The enGauge Framework seeks to help schools "use technology effectively" and it ties that effective use to a particular type of pedagogy: "While some applications of technology are effectively using didactic teaching methods, most technology interventions are enhanced significantly when accompanied by approaches to learning that more actively engage students." [1]
- From the Kaiser Family Foundation, a report on the digital divide that indicates that while most students have some kind of access to technology, there is still a divide between the amount of access, the speed of the Internet connection and so on. But for our technology integration definition, the important part of this report is the paragraph that discusses how educational policy is changing in this area. Whereas it used to focus on building infrastructure and access, now policy is focussing on "integrating online access into other policy objectives." In other words, policy doesn't talk about wires and boxes but talks about how to use technology "to help children learn, develop and succeed in the workforce." This trend can be seen in Virginia as well. The first six year technology plan focussed on access and infrastructure while the second one puts integration squarely at the center of the plan.
- "An instructional program in which student outcomes are the focus and technology use is woven throughout the curriculum...[it] enables students to work with and understand a concept that might be too difficult, time consuming, or expensive to attempt otherwise." Brooks-Young, Making Technology Standards Work for You - A Guide for School Administrators, ISTE, 2002. The definition goes on to add several essential conditions for these instructional programs including: (1) "a program in which teachers have ready access to the technologies they need and this is structured to support teachers at various levels of expertise" (2) "an environment...where all educators are encouraged to look for innovative uses of technology that enable students to approach problem solving using a range for thinking skills and learning styles" and (3) "where teachers ultimately change their approach to instruction through the use of technology" (p. 46).
- From a study that reviewed available research in technology integration to see if any conclusions can be drawn about the link between technology and student achievement, here's another definition of technology integration: "Waddoups also defines what is meant by “technology integration,�? noting that it encompasses more than merely using computers in a school setting. Rather, technology integration corresponds to the incorporation of technology in lessons to transform learning experiences for students. It thus involves redesigning curricula and aligning lesson content and learning objectives with effective instructional practices to maximize technology’s benefits (Wager, 1992; Earle, 2002)." You can read the Executive Summary of the report online but must request the full report. The study was sponsored by a software vendor who makes a product called EasyTech, a technology integration curriculum package that provides activities, lesson plans, and assessments to help teachers integrate technology into the curriculum. Care to make a prediction about what the research showed? You can learn more about the product at the company's website.
- Our school division has adopted the following defination of technology integration for their technology plan "technology is used to enable students to work with and understand a concept that might be too difficult, time consuming, or expensive to attempt otherwise. It is an environment where simple competence is not enough, but where all educators are encouraged to look for innovative uses of technology that enable students to approach problem solving using a range of thinking skills and learning styles and where teachers ultimately change their approach to instruction through the use of technology (Brooks-Young, 2002)."
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