Running Head: INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA RESOURCES 1

Integration of Technology and Media Resources

Laura Fisher Seay

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2017

Introduction
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Technology is a great resource to engage students in learning and to allow them to learn

in new and exciting ways. I have had the luxury of my class to have one-to-one devices, which

means each of my students has their own google chrome book. This has been an effective way to

encourage learning and an opportunity for endless resources. Every single day, my students are

on their chrome books learning and excelling in their education. There are so many great new

applications and websites to include in lessons when technology is involved. These applications

and websites make lessons more fun and more engaging, but most importantly, it encourages

learning for each student, whether they are high or low level. Technology has been beneficial in

my classroom to facilitate learning in a new and innovative way and the students love using the

technology provided in new ways.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

I chose to provide a video of a Kahoot! review lesson in which the students could

choose the answers to the questions on their chrome books. I have learned that Kahoot! is a fun

and interactive way to engage students and gauge their learning. They love the competition of the

game and enjoy trying to beat each other and answer the questions first, which sometimes comes

back to hurt them when they get the questions wrong. The students enjoy being a part of

technology and learning with this interactive and fun game. The students have the answer

choices on their devices and they choose from four multiple choice answers individually. They

understand how to play and what to do when the question comes up and the review game

becomes easier and easier the more often it is done. They are competent to use the technology

throughout the entire game. The students enjoy answering the questions. The part that is great for

teaching is that since the students love it, then it is a great way to engage them in review or in an

everyday lesson. I have recently used a Kahoot as a pre-assessment and I will definitely be
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using it in that way in the future. The students are competing to be the fastest and most accurate,

therefore, they are given the opportunity to win. When given a competition, they will try harder

and learn more initially, which allows for a much smoother lesson throughout the week. The

students know how to use the Kahoot! which is another reason why I decided to use this as one

of my artifacts. The students understand how to use it and they use it in other classrooms as well.

They do not have any questions, but it shows their competency to use this technology.

My students use technology daily and constantly throughout the day. The one-to-one

devices make it possible to implement technology throughout the entire day. The lesson plan for

one week is a way to show how much technology we use throughout one week. Every day in

language arts, the students go into rotations. One rotation is with the teacher at the guided

reading table. One rotation is Achieve 3000, which is a reading comprehension website with

differentiated questions for the students. One is word work, which is done all online either on

google classroom or on a website called goformative.com. The last rotation is called The

Box, which is when the students work on the concept being taught in whole group, individually

or in small groups. Two out of the four rotations are always done on the computer, Achieve 3000

and word work. Every single day, the students are completing these two activities individually

without any assistance from a teacher. The Box rotation is also used occasionally online. In

this lesson plan for the week, the students were assigned work on the website Brain Pop. Brain

Pop consisted of videos explaining the concept again, activities that questioned their knowledge

of the concept and quizzes assessing their ability to use that knowledge to answer questions.

Throughout the weeks, there are many times too, when the students are completing writing

assignments. Those assignments are completed on the google classroom. They have had an

animal research project that they had to research online to find out the information to write and
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then write the eight-paragraph paper on their animal. The students know and understand how to

use technology, sometimes even more than the teachers do. There are so many new and

innovative ways to assess and teach students new information. I am very excited to continue to

research and find new activities to teach these students using technology.

Reflection

Technology is a useful and important tool in order to engage and teach in new and

innovative ways. One major problem with teachers and technology is that the teachers do not

always know the best ways to use this technology. When many teachers do not know how to use

a certain aspect of technology, then they am less optimistic to try to introduce it to my classroom,

but it is important to take risks with technology. According to Varole (2013), teachers

knowledge is a critical factor that affects their decisions about their classroom practices (p. 85).

On the other hand, some teachers use any and every bit of technology, but do not line it up with

the content or the goals in order to provide the best and most successful educational experience.

The only way this will happen is with effective technology integration in the classrooms. Varole

(2013) also said "For effective technology integration into classrooms, teachers need knowledge

that enables them to: identify which technologies are needed to support specific curricular goals,

specify how the tools will be used to help students meet and demonstrate those goalsselect and

use appropriate technologies to address needs, solve problems, and resolve issues related to their

own professional practice and growth (2013, p. 85). It is imperative for teachers to use

technology in the correct ways throughout the classroom in order for students to do their best

work and learn the most effectively. According to Neiss (2012), up through the 19th century, the

prevailing notion was that teachers needed to know the content they were to teach. This view

shifted to the importance of knowing how to teach; teachers needed to be prepared to implement
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new teaching and learning (or pedagogical) practices along with an even more in depth

understanding of the content they were planning on teaching (2012, p. 1-2). The pedagogical

practices that teachers need to learn now include technology resources and ideas. Technology is

so important for students to learn in new ways, because that is what they are growing up around

and learning daily. It is important for teachers to know how to teach using technology, because

otherwise it will be a failed attempt to teach in a new way, just like any other pedagogical

practice that failed. Another important aspect of technology that is imperative to know and

comprehend is that technology changes so quickly. According to Elliot (2011) "Another thing I

know is that technology changes rapidly, and we have to understand this when incorporating it

into the classroom. However, good teaching methods have not changed, and scaffolding learning

for students is necessary no matter what tool youre using (2011, p. 5). In my class, some

students loved "Kahoot!" the first time that I introduced it, but the next best thing is now "Quizlet

Live" in the classes. This was only just a few weeks difference. The important part to understand

is that each of these technology integrations can be used in different ways and in different

competencies. It depends on what you want out of the students and what you want to assess. For

"Kahoot!" I wanted to assess each student individually, rather than in groups. "Quizlet Live"

would not have allowed me to do so. This would have been more "fun" for the students but I

would not have achieved my objective. Overall, the main point of using technology is so that the

students have the best chance to understand to the best of their abilities. It is a great way to

differentiate based on level and engage the students in the most effective way possible.

Technology is a useful tool in teaching new concepts to students.

References
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Elliott, L. (2011). Teach like a techie: 20 tools for reaching the digital generation. Peterborough,

NH: Crystal Springs Books.

Niess, M., Rakes, C. R., & Ronau, R. N. (2012). Educational Technology, Teacher Knowledge,

and Classroom Impact : A Research Handbook on Frameworks and Approaches.

Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

VAROL, F. (2013). Elementary school teachers and teaching with technology. TOJET : The

Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 12(3)