How Information Tech Can Be Integrated into the Instructional Process and Curriculum

A more apt starting point would be why we should integrate information technology into instruction and curriculum. I found the answer to that question in a book I read called Thinking Skills for the Digital Generation: the Development of Thinking and Learning in the Age of Information. In it Drs. Athreya and Mousza note a particularly important answer to why we need to integrate technology into our lessons, in that “We, as educators, are concerned about the way that media are shaping students’ worldview. We are also aware that technology is altering how we learn and think. But, at the same time, we are excited about the enormous potential for technology to aid human thinking” (p.16).

I propose that we need to be models for how to use the vast amounts of information found on the internet. Skills in digital citizenship are vital so that we can be the type of teacher John Dewey described in his essay “My Pedagogic Creed”. We are meant to be members of the community, tasked with managing and facilitating our students exposure to the skills they will need to be successful members of society. The reality is that tools like Office 360 and Google are the way businesses run in today’s world. We need to set our students up for success; thus we need to use those same tools in the same collaborative ways in our classrooms.

Now for the average, veteran teacher that may seem overwhelming, but the reality is it can also help us track and keep kids accountable in ways that were never before possible. So, yes there will be a learning curve, but it will pay dividends and ultimately help faculty save precious time once they are proficient in using that technology. With that being said, teachers need time, patience, and support. ISTE has published numerous studies showing the value of having instructional coaches. In a 2011 Special Conference Release on Technology, Coaching and Community, the report focuses on how important it is that teachers effectively use technology in the classroom to engage students and provide authentic learning experiences. They also go on to talk about studies that have shown that without a direct support system, tech initiative can drop to 15% buy in versus 85% for programs that have an instructional coach to assist them in their use of technology (ISTE, 2011 p. 6). I have found immense value and success in helping my large faculty buy-in to the use of technology. From the early adopters to the resident Flintstones, I have seen amazing growth and more importantly a shift from fixed to a growth mindset once they realized they do not need to be tech experts to use technology in their classes.

How you ask do we do that? We provide learning opportunities and provide space for collegial dialogues to occur within grade levels and departments. We build a culture where people embrace the mess of learning in the 21st century and do away with the dominant teacher wall of the early 20th century schoolhouse. But it is a fine line, we must also not throw out our past for the sake of our future. We need a balance. Pen and paper will always have a place. But there is no denying the power of platforms like Flipgrid, Nearpod and Desmos, which allow us to provide formative and summative assessments that will also provide authentic learning experiences so that we can bring the outside world into our classrooms each and every day. It is time for us all all to be optimists! Just because we may fear a world like that of Wall-E does not mean we should condemn our students to live like the Flintstones.