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Technology in the Classroom

The Theory behind the Integration of Technology in the Classroom

Sarah Zetka
Lakehead University

To prepare my students for the future, I plan to start by playing an electronic game. The
bases of these game principles are persuasive technologies. If the student is to properly learn and

Technology in the Classroom

develop skills they will carry with them for a lifetime, they need the proper technological
support. This will not happen if the teachers, school board community, parents, etc. are not on the
same page. Hobbs (1998) states that media initiatives are most successful in schools where
teachers, parents, and students are able to see the negative and positive effects of media literacy.
This is why it is so important to create a class blog/page and teach students how to properly use
it. This will keep the communication lines open with parents and keep everyone informed about
how technology is aiding these students in developing new skills they can apply to real world
situations. Having countless devices in the class and incorporating these in lessons will allow
students to easily adapt to using the devices and not view them in awe, but as another tool of
discovery. As discussed in Hobbs article, technology has always been viewed as the last resort
for struggling students, where low-level students are allowed to play video-games (1998). It is no
wonder that technology has a negative connotation in the classroom since it has only been
viewed as a distraction thus far. Technology and media literacy need to be integrated in the
classroom to show that it is no longer a punishment or a privilege to play on a device.
Technology is not there to replace the pen and paper, it is there to do so much more by helping to
develop new skills for these students. We want to prepare our students for the future and we
know they respond better to real world problems. As Andrew Churches (2009) puts it, we need to
teach knowledge or content in context with the tasks and activities the students are undertaking.
Our delivery of knowledge should scaffold the learning process and provide a foundation for
activities (pg. 4) As we know from the learning pyramid content or concept delivered without
context or other activity has a low retention rate. We are teaching students skills they will be able
to use not knowledge that maybe obsolete in a few years.

Technology in the Classroom

Students are constantly exposed to technology throughout the day but they have not
explicitly been taught how to properly utilise a device to the best of its ability to aid in their
learning. Once students have the skills to use technology properly, the possibilities of learning
are endless. Blooms Digital Taxonomy identifies how important technology is to learning. This
is why I believe the devices I would incorporate in my classroom, mentioned in Blog #3 would
ultimately aid in the development of real life skills these students will easily be able to apply and
integrate throughout their lives. All Blooms levels can be met by learning with technology.
Bloom (2009) stated You cannot understand a concept if you do not first remember it, similarly
you cannot apply knowledge and concepts if you do not understand them (p. 7). Previously, not
all concepts were easy for all students to remember and, then to understand. But now all students
are able to reach the highest order of thinking skills when they are exposed to a technology based
classroom where the teacher and students learn and discover together. There are now countless
ways to reach the top levels of Higher Order of Thinking Skills by, using apps, devices, etc. this
is how students learn NOW and technology supports that learning. Technology allows all
students to Create and Apply. It is only through the creation of evidence that we will see if media
literacy and technology has a negative or positive effect in the classroom. I can hopefully be the
teacher who starts creating the evidence to support the use of technology as an advantage to the
up and coming generation through my technology based classroom.

Technology in the Classroom

Technology in the Classroom

Bibliography
Churches, A. (2009). Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from
http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom's Digital Taxonomy
Corbett, K. (2012, January 1). GameBased Learning vs Gamification. Retrieved February 2,
2015, from http://kevincorbett.com/game-based-learning/
Hobbs, R. (1998). The seven great debates in the media literacy movement. Journal of
Communication. Retrieved February 2, 2015.