INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY INTO THECURRICULUM

ByMichael D. King

For more than two centuries, schools have used printed paper materials such astextbooks, dictionaries, and encyclopedias to educate students, but today learningresources are reaching a limitless realm. Participatory learning and Literacy 2.0 hasintroduced a plethora of new teaching opportunities for educators: multi-mediapresentations, computers, streaming video resources and web-based collaborativelessons and units. With emerging technological resources, students also face newchallenges and opportunities. Today's world demands that students learn how toaccess, manage, apply, and evaluate rapidly growing banks of information. This newly developed technology-based learning must provide students with a widerange of expanded opportunities from the basics to the complex. The school’stechnology curriculum should address Literacy 2.0, digital storytelling, collaborativeculture and computer ethics as well as word processing, database use, graphics,and data analysis. It must give students experience in social networking as well asaccessing and organizing information for future use. "Teachers must work togetherto ensure that every young person has access to the skills and experiences neededto become a full participant, can articulate their understanding of how mediashapes perceptions, and has been socialized into the emerging ethical standardsthat should shape their practices as media makers and participants in onlinecommunities. In order to meet these objectives, teachers should begin to build unitsof study that merge traditional learning with Web 2.0 learning. "

The lessons and units developed will be integrated into all areas of the curriculum,not just computer, business or technology classes. The process of blendingtraditional internal content with the external Web 2.0 participatory learning worldwill require all members of the staff to develop technology-based learning units. Theschool’s teachers will be vital partners in curriculum development as teams of teachers are selected in the development of at least one technology-based learningunit.Using the process outlined in this section, teachers will be asked to develop virtuallearning units to be included in the overall technology plan. In order to accomplish

the development of these virtual units, the school must first train key members of the instructional staff. Once these key members are trained in the unitdevelopment process, the next step will be to ask individuals or teams of teachersto develop virtual learning units using the Technology-Based Learning Unit Planner. The instrument requires the teacher to identify instructional standards, purpose forthe unit, learning tasks, types of assessment, technology tools and methods forintegrating technology into the curriculum.As the process of technology unit development begins, the unit developers shoulduse the school’s current curriculum frameworks as benchmarks for achievement atspecific grade levels. The unit developer should identify ways to incorporatetechnology so that the school will achieve both state and national standards. Theunits the teachers develop using this process will serve as samples of what ispossible when technology steps outside the computer lab and moves into theclassrooms.Integrating technology and unit development will encourage a curriculum that isboth challenging and meaningful for students. This process also will create acoherent, workable framework for teacher instruction. In order to integratetechnology into the curriculum, the school must follow six essential steps: selectingcontent standards, establishing purpose, developing learning tasks, definingmethods of assessment, identifying technology tools and applying technologyintegration. The final step in the process is to submit all technology- based learningunits to the steering committee. These units will be made available to teachers in allsubject areas once the technology equipment is installed. The author has provided amodel of this process in Exhibit 1-1; Model for Technology Unit-Based Development.

Exhibit 1-1MODEL FOR TECHNOLOGY UNIT-BASED DEVELOPMENTSelecting Content StandardsEstablishing PurposeIdentifying Technology Tools

Selecting Content Standards

A content standard is an ability or skill that students can demonstrate, usually in avariety of ways. Using the content standard component of the Technology-BasedLearning Unit Planner, the unit developer should outline the desired content(proficiencies) in a selected subject area or areas. In Exhibit 1-2 Content StandardsComponent, the author hasdefined the content standards for a unit entitled, “BlackHistory Month.” In this Language Arts Unit, the culminating activity will requireproficiencies in student use of technology to produce an original work, drawingconclusions, demonstrating an understanding of various cultures, and appliedconcepts of effective writing. The unit developers must select specific contentstandards or expectations for student performance as illustrated in Exhibit 1-2. Theauthor recommends that unit developers choose content standards that arerequired by the state and/or district.

Exhibit 1-2CONTENT STANDARDS COMPONENTSubject Area

Choosing Proficiencies: What content standards does this unit address?

_X_ Language Arts ___ Math ___ Social Science ___ P.E. ___Arts __ Other

UNIT TITLE: “Black History Month”

List all content standards below that this unit will address:

Use aspects of technology to produce an original work.

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Incorporate multimedia into student presentation.

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Choose multimedia most appropriate for specific purpose.

Draw conclusions and make generalizations based on research findings.

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