Running head: INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA RESOURCES 1

Integration of Technology and Media Resources

Sonya Swartzentruber

Regent University

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

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Introduction

Technology has become an important, everyday part of life, especially for a majority of

students in schools today because they have never lived in a time without technology.

Technology has the potential to make life much easier; however, it can take time to learn and

become a skilled user. Teachers should make it a priority to find the time to learn new

technologies, so they can best meet the needs of students and become more relatable. While

technology brings a lot of good to the world, it is not all good and it is not always beneficial.

Teachers should use technology in the classroom, but they should also be sure that they are

making it beneficial for students. It is outstanding that teachers are integrating technology into

their classrooms more and more, but they also need to be sure that it is helping students learn and

grow.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

The first artifact I chose is a lesson plan I wrote that integrates technology to teach

students about context clues. In this lesson, students were using the Nearpod app to highlight

context clues, answer questions, et cetera. In Nearpod, the teacher creates slides with questions

and students can write, draw, type, and highlight the slides to answer the questions. The teacher

controls this app from a computer by having students type in the code to get connected to the

lesson. During this activity, I was constantly walking around the room to assess how students

were progressing on each slide. After a majority of the students were done with one slide, I had

everyone submit their work and then I discussed what the correct answer was with the class.

Once I went over that slide, I would go to the next slide, which sent out that slide to every

students iPad. As soon as students submitted what they wrote on the slides, I was able to go back

to see what they wrote and assess their understanding of the topic. This activity helped students
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learn about context clues in an entertaining and engaging way and it also made it easy for me to

assess what students know or still have trouble with. The entire class was engaged throughout the

lesson and enjoyed using the technology to learn about context clues.

The second artifact I chose is an example of student work from the Nearpod lesson. In

this particular slide, students were asked to read a short passage, highlight the context clues, and

write what they thought happened next in the passage. I constantly walked around the room to

see if students were on target and to see how they were progressing. In this example, the student

highlighted the context clues that told him what might happen next. After he highlighted each of

the context clues, he typed his prediction of what happened after the loud crash in the passage.

This picture is just one example of how I was able to assess student understanding of context

clues. I was able to look at what students wrote or highlighted on each slide to determine if they

had a good grasp of the concept or if I needed to spend more time on the topic. By looking at the

slides students completed, I was able to see the areas where students still needed more practice,

along with the areas they had no trouble with.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Integrating technology in the classroom is quickly becoming a significant aspect of

teaching, especially since technology is constantly becoming more and more prevalent. While

teachers should be incorporating technology in their lessons, they also need to be sure that the

use of technology is beneficial to student learning, rather than simply checking off a box that

technology is used in the classroom. According to Elliott (2011), The tools we choose to use in

our classrooms to engage learners wont work without a strong understanding of best

instructional practices and classroom management (p. 4). Technology is an exceptional tool to
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use in the classroom; however, teachers need to know how to implement technology, pick lessons

that will benefit students, and manage the classroom.

Technology can take a lot of time and effort, but if teachers are planning lessons that help

students better learn the material, it is absolutely worth the time and effort. According to Inan

and Lowther (2010), Teachers professional use of technology involves preparation for various

classroom activities; such as, preparing instructional material, communicating or collaborating

with peers, students and their parents, locating digital resources, and creating lesson plans (p.

138). Incorporating technology into the classroom is similar to planning lessons for students

because it takes planning, time, communication, and collaboration. Tibbetts (2009) believes that,

The goal of using technology should be the same as every educational innovationthe

improvement of teaching to further student understanding and achievement (p. 6). As I have

previously stated, technology should always be used to help students learn and grow. Teachers

should not use technology just because they have access to it, but they should use it to teach

content and help students learn in a new, beneficial way. Technology becomes more prevalent

every single year and teachers should take advantage of all the amazing technology out there to

relate to students and help them learn in engaging, rewarding ways.

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References

Elliott, L. (2011). Teach Like a Techie. Peterborough, NH: Crystal Spring Books.

Inan, F. A., & Lowther, D. L. (2010). Factors affecting technology integration in K-12

classrooms: A path model. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 58(2),

137-154. Retrieved February 23, 2017.

Tibbetts, R. (2009). A technology-rich school? Technology and Children, 14(1), 4-6. Retrieved

February 23, 2017.