Technology, Integration, Curriculum & Constructivism Pedagogy

EDTECH 504
Casey R. Farmer

Abstract Every year schools look at new ways to incorporate technology. Technology is thought by many educators to be the new wave of teaching students 21st Century skills. With a society that is controlled by technology it is up to the teachers to introduce these new technologies as tools to enhance student learning. People of all ages are now relying on technology for many aspects of their lives. From keeping up with family members to ordering groceries online, life is changing and schools need to as well. For most teacher technology is not their strengths, they are used to using textbooks and paper to teach their lessons. With schools now investing millions into iPads, computer labs and smart boards teachers now have to adapt with these changes. For most teachers this is becoming more and more difficult because state standards are not adapting with the technology. It is still expected for teachers to teach their standards and at the same time utilize the new technology to enhance learning. The problem now is that teachers are given all the resources and told to use them, but is never really taught how to use them in a way to enhance learning. In other countries they too have adapted to the new technologies, however they have also adapted their standards to fit in with the new technology teachers are focusing on. This paper will focus on how teachers will have to adapt their teaching theory to a more constructivist approach.

Introduction Technology, it is the tool of the future for education and to help prepare students for a more globalized society. Almost yearly there are more and more new technologies that allow researchers to question on whether or not it can be implemented in a classroom. Researchers believe that when these new technologies are introduced into the classrooms, then classroom performance and engagement both increase. Polly and Ausband in 2009 explained countless dollars have been pouring into the purchase of educational technologies and development of infrastructure in schools, however they go on to explain that teachers still lack the necessary knowledge and skills to adequately integrate technology into their instruction. The amount of research completed on this topic still does not prepare teachers for what to expect when using these new forms of technology. Students change every year and so does the research, this makes it difficult for teachers to utilize the same theories and strategies, because something that worked one year will not necessarily work the next. Because of this some teachers have shifted their learning theory view to a more constructivist approach. Constructivists believe that with selfesteem and desire to learn, students can become better learners by exploring and discovering knowledge on their own (Huwa, 2011). Constructivism is a theory that is enhanced by all of the new technologies that schools are seeing all across the world. All humans hold the ability to learn, they all learn at different rates and levels. Because of this it is important for teachers to reach out to engage the students so they want to learn. In my six years of teaching I have noticed that schools are pushing teachers more and more to use technology. This is why I choose to do some research on this topic. As an educator I feel that it is extremely important for teachers to know not just about the technology, but also the pedagogy that goes along with using that technology. For me I figured that there has to be

more than just teachers saying that they do not have the proper training or know enough about the technology as reasons of not using it. There has to be something that is underlining this in order to make it more believable for me. I say this because each year I see new teachers entering the classroom and they are even less likely to use the technology. Yes, the new teachers that grew up in the technology era are struggling just as much to integrate the technology.

History and Defining Educational Technology There is no one single definition for educational technology, but most people generally have their own definition. For me I feel it is not just about the tools that are used in education but in also the way they are being used to teach and the way that they are being used to enhance student learning. Teachers have to utilize the tools they are given as an instructional tool that will help guide the students into their learning. Educational technology takes the focus from a teacher-centered classroom and puts the emphasis on the students to learn, making it a studentcentered learning environment. Once students begin learning on their own they begin the shift towards the constructivist theory of learning. According to constructivist theory, children learn whole to part, not incrementally. The ideas and interests of children drive the learning process (Huwa, 2011). This is a theory that school districts across the United States are trying to focus on. Teachers and schools across the nation need to know it is important but it is not just about using technology, it is using the technology correctly and keeping the students engaged in the learning. Studies concluded that teachers who effectively integrate technology move toward student-centered instructional practices (Palak & Walls, 2009). Duncan Symons (2011) created a list of meaningful ways technology adds to the classroom. A shift from instructivist to constructivist education philosophy A move from teacher-centered to student-centered learning activities A shift from a focus on local resources to global resources An increased complexity of tasks and use of multi-modal information Educational technology really has been around just as long as education. However technology has adapted. The underlining problem with technology adapting to society is that education has not always adapted with the changing times. It is not that education has not

adapted because throughout the ages the standards and curriculum has continued to change with society. During the early 20th Century in the United States there seemed to be a lot of focus on physical education and geographical skills because of wars, and then took a dramatic shift during the Cold War to science and math. Then after the publication about a nation at risk the focus once again saw a major shift. Now in the United States we have Common Core and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). However with the entire changing curriculum there never was focus on using technology to teach the curriculum. Research by Shane and Wojnowski (2007) explains professional development was needed to help teachers understand how to incorporate various technologies as an authentic part of teaching and learning. One of the downfalls to technology integration is that it is constantly changing, teachers need to be kept up with all the new technologies and changing theories.

Technology Integration Using technology in the classroom and using technology to enhance student learning are two different concepts. Just because a teacher is using technology in a classroom, does not mean that it is affecting the way a student is learning. If students are creating a PowerPoint just for the sake of making a PowerPoint to use technology really is not showing anything that they are learning. Most of the time we will learn that students are just copying and pasting information they find on the internet into their assignments and taking no time to learn or read what they are even learning. As a teacher I have had many assignments where students will turn them in and leave the same website font and colors. Schools districts all over the world are seeing the positive impacts that technology is having on education. Because of all the advancements schools are investing the money for the resources. Technology is seen as a major component of school reform, significant amounts of resources have been invested to equip schools with computer hardware and software (Palak & Walls, 2009). The most crucial aspect of utilizing the technology is purchasing the technology to use. It should also be maintained, because if technology is not maintained then after a year of use it will become slow and outdated. Integrating technology is a difficult process for a lot of teachers. One reason teachers do not like to use the technology that has been purchased for their classroom is because they do not know how to use it in a meaningful educational way. Although countless dollars have been pouring into the purchase of educational technologies and development of infrastructure in schools, teachers still lack the necessary knowledge and skills to adequately integrate technology into their classroom(Polly & Ausband, 2009). To be fair to teachers the technology is constantly changing and updating. This makes it really difficult to become masters of using

technology in the classroom. For a lot of teachers the constant change makes it very difficult to integrate the technology. Shane and Wojnowski (2007) explain that, teachers must be afforded the opportunity to learn new teaching methodologies. A lot of schools offer professional development training throughout the school year or even the summer to help teachers make this shift. Additional investments have been made into teacher professional development to help them integrate technologies in the classroom (Palak & Walls, 2009). Teachers like all other professions need to be trained. This is very hard because teachers are already overwhelmed with the amount of work that is expected out of them. The technology is sort of like a double edged sword, great tool when learned how to use it properly but takes a lot of time to become accustomed to using it. One of the hardest obstacles for teachers to overcome when using technology in the classroom is knowing how to create a plan to use it. As Kevin Besnov (2007) explained, more frequent technology integration is strategic planning that provides continuous professional development. Once a teacher begins planning lessons that utilize technology, the plans themselves begin to act like a professional development because teachers are becoming more familiar and more comfortable in using the technology. Once teachers begin to implement all the different types of technology, it allows them to expand their instructional methods. In other words it allows for differentiation through technology. This makes the teachers job much easier. Using technology to differentiate learning allows teachers to begin to be smarter rather than working harder because it often decreases the amount of time required by teachers to create differentiated content. (Stanford, Crowe, & Flise, 2010) Teachers spend a lot of their planning time trying to reach the abilities of

all of their students. All students progress at different rates so it is very important for teachers to find ways to teach to the needs of all of their students.

Curriculum and Technology Most teachers would explain the reason for not implementing technology is because they have not been trained in how to use that technology. Research suggests that, teacher must be afforded the opportunity to learn new teaching methodologies (Shane & Wojnowski, 2007). As explained earlier it is important not just to invest in the technology, but it is just as crucial to train the teachers how to use it. There are many reasons why teachers do not use technology to its full potential including limited classroom space, unwillingness to take students to labs, and lack of access at teachers and students homes (Park & Ertmer, 2006). Teachers have so many reasons not to incorporate technology, but in the end if they do not need to use the technology they will not use it. Incorporating technology is not just as simple as reserving it and assigning something for the students to do. It would be a perfect world if that was possible. But it is not, teachers have to put a lot more into the technology then just reserving it to use. In addition to enhancing our own skills, we have to emphasize the importance of ongoing technology training for our students (Shinsky & Stevens, 2011). Even though the students are probably more use to using technology then the teachers, they do not understand how to use them for education. It is up to the teachers to not only show them but model expectations and to monitor students. English, science, math, social studies and really all other subject aside from an actual technology course do not require students to use technology. In most state standards its about learning a specific objective, and not about using technology to know that standard. A small step is always a good start and I think with some of the wording in the Common Core standards we are getting there. Some standards are including objectives about creating data tables or graphs.

Now it does not state to use Microsoft Office, most teachers will find it beneficial to use such a program. In Australia their standards actually take it a little bit further. The Australian Curriculum acknowledges the importance of teaching and learning with technology by including the use of information and communication technology (ICT) as one of the skills, behaviours and attributes, identified as general capabilities, that students need to succeed in life and work in the twenty-first century (Attard, 2011). Knowing the importance that technology will not have only in education, but also in the real world, has Australia in front of the educational technology race.

Pedagogy and Technology Most teachers have their own pedagogy when it comes to teaching. Most of them do not include technology. The idea of using technology to assist in education is hard to instill in many teachers. Teachers admitted they did not resist technology per se but agreed that they could not fully integrate it into their own practices because of the organizational, administrative, pedagogical or personal constraints (Okojie, Olinzock, & Okojie-Boulder, 2006). Teachers that have taught before have their own beliefs that they feel work and new teachers who enter the profession are usually taken under the wing of the seasoned teachers. When teachers use technology more often than not it is for benefit of the teacher. Results indicated that preservice teachers were more likely to use technology as a teacher centered tool (Park & Ertmer, 2006). This includes just using a PowerPoint to show their lesson or even viewing images or videos. Though this can be beneficial and make teaching more powerful, it still has a long way to go. The goals of new technologies that are being purchased are to make teaching student-centered. Students need to be in the role of what they are learning. This is the theory of constructivism, this is what schools are aiming for. In order to get where education needs to be teachers are going to have to adapt their pedagogies. Schools have invested the money and teachers may use the technology once per unit, but eventually education need to shift to incorporate the technology into everyday teaching practices. Teachers have to learn that the technology is more than just a tool it is a resource that allows students to have global information at their fingertips. The use of technology clearly is a viable resource for expanding knowledge, engaging learners, and enhancing skills that can be used for 21st Century leadership preparation (Shinksy & Stevens, 2011). The idea of using paper and pencil is becoming an idea of the past and soon technology will take over the paper and

pencil, much like it is replacing the textbook. If teachers want to continue to be effective eventually they will have to adapt. The idea of constructivism or students generating their own learning is something that not just seasoned teachers need to look at, but also those that are interested in the field teaching. Constructivism is a student-centered learning approach, which maintains that students construct newly encountered information using the learning environments in which they are actively engaged (Inel & Balim, 2010). With the new common core standards objectives are meant to be student-centered and students will learn based off of prior knowledge. This scaffolding effect should be apparent each year as students learn more detailed information on a topic that they have already built a foundation for. This is actually a theory more and more teachers are beginning to focus on. Student-centered learning is very similar to PBL (Project Based Learning). This has been very beneficial in getting students and communities involved in the learning that is taking place. When students see a problem and have to find a solution it creates meaning for them to learn something. In a project setting, this incorporates prior skills, communication, and team effort. Basically this is what educators are looking for, a complex yet exciting way to teach the students 21Century skills.

Conclusion Technology has been around since the beginning of education. However it has slowly adapted in schools, but not in our societies or cultures. Now times are changing and the way students learn has changed. Teachers are now at the center of the educational technology reform. Some are on board and adapting their strategies to teach with these new resources and tools, however some have been very reluctant to make this step. Schools, states and countries all see the advantages to the new technologies in education and have begun restating objectives. Some have even required the use of technology as part of the curriculum. This is helping students become more prepared for such a global society. Small steps to a big change are where every teacher needs to start. For most teachers it will be training on how to use the technology, for others it will be more about changing their pedagogy and beliefs in their educational theories. A constructivist learning theory is a highly researched theory that will help teachers implement the new technologies they are given. When students use technology they are more involved and their learning is based off of what they know and how they are able to use the technology. This helps generate the higher order thinking skills that education is becoming more focused on.

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