As Roblyer states, educational and instructional technology isn’t just the devices or equipment that is used in the classroom. Some people think that educational technology is all about pulling out a device to use within a lesson and checking that checkbox off, but not making the technology use effective and meaningful. Though these devices are great tools to use, it should be more about how they are being used in the classroom. As teachers, we need to be sure to use technology to help our students become productive members of society and to help enhance their 21st-century skills. The goal shouldn’t be to check a box off but to use the technology to enhance and transform their learning and allow them to take control and ownership over their own learning. As the Framework for 21st Century Learning states, “to be effective in the 21st century, citizens and workers must be able to create, evaluate, and effectively utilize information, media, and technology.”
In order to do this effectively, as Roblyer says, “teachers need system-wide support.” This means everyone involved from the school to the state needs to be committed to using technology as a way to support the teaching and learning of students. With the correct support, it will give teachers the opportunity to use technology in meaningful ways to help their students. Roblyer also explains there are two perspectives on effective instruction, direct instruction, and inquiry-based learning. The direct instruction perspective is based on the objectivist theories while inquiry-based learning perspective is based on the constructivist theories. The objectivist theories are based on students needing individual learning and practice in order to learn the material in an efficient way. Whereas the constructivist theories are based on promoting collaboration between students and having students explore and discover as they learn. Teachers should balance both the direct instruction and the inquiry-based learning within their classroom in order to help all students to learn in varying ways.
There is far too much inconsistency in the classrooms today and educational technology is a tool that can help. From checking off the use of technology just to say it's been used, to teaching to solely prepare for a test, to lack of engagement from our students. It's our job as teachers to not only prepare students for tests, but to prepare them for life. It's our job to teach them in a way they will learn and in a way that engages them. Students need to be able to learn to work individually and be able to succeed that way, but it’s also important for students to explore and discover together what they’re learning about. If there is a balance of both, the learning will go much further. The same goes for technology use in the classroom. Their needs to be a balance of how it is being used. As it can be seen in the Technology Integration Matrix, there are five characteristics of the learning environment: active, collaborative, constructive, authentic, and goal-directed. The matrix also lists five levels of technology integration: entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation. If teachers and schools were to focus on educational technology use to allow students to be active in their learning, to collaborate with one another, to be constructive, to be authentic and to be goal-directed, then that is how we will transform the classroom. This is how we will transform our students. This is how we will transform their learning. And by doing that, it will, in turn, help them transform the world.
References
Framework for 21st Century Learning. (2016, January). Retrieved January 19, 2018, from http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework
Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (7th ed.). Massachusetts: Pearson.
The Technology Integration Matrix. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2018, from https://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/matrix/
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