Before I started the ITEC 815 class (Integration of Instructional Computing), I thought "technology integration" in schools meant simply making technology available to students and using it in the school curricula. I quickly learned that there is a big difference between using the technology and integrating the technology into the curricula to truly enhance student learning.
The Embellishment or Integration Case Study helped me to see this distinction. The case study involved two ninth grade school teachers at a high school.
Although both teachers had the students using computers during class, they used the technology in very different ways. The social studies teacher used the computers to create an interactive, constructivist learning environment. There was no lecture from the teacher. Instead, she gave her students a problem to solve ("How is our state dependent on other states and which states depend on our state?”). She had the students work in groups, using laptops to work on the question. The teacher circulated through the room and asked the students questions, listened to their thoughts, and provided guidance when needed.
In contrast, the biology teacher used the technology in a very static way to learn about the bones of the human skeleton. Students worked in pairs, and rolled their cursor over each bone of the human body to learn each bone's name and pronunciation.
While the biology teacher was certainly making use of the technology, he was not using the technology to its full potential, and the technology was not fully integrated into the classroom. The social studies teacher had truly integrated the technology into her classroom. She let the children research and discover the answers on their own, while also providing guidance when needed. There was a clear difference in the children in each classroom. The social studies students seemed excited and interested, while the biology students seemed very quiet and less interested. What a difference between the two classes!
The social studies teacher had applied the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Standards for students:
1. Creativity and innovation
2. Communication and collaboration
3. Research and information fluency
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
Read more about the ISTE Standards for Students here.
