Blog Post #1eTip- -Educational Technology Integration and Implementation Principles

This article is one of the best organized articles I have read so far. It provides a great blueprint to integrate technology in the educational environment. Traditional teaching cannot be replaced by technology, but it can be enhanced by it. Sara Dexter presented a series of educational technology integration and implementation principles that would facilitate the appropriate use of technology to enhance traditional instruction in a classroom. Teachers support student learning in many ways and with different activities through out the grade level curriculum. Currently, educators have various technologies available that expand the support resources used in the past. A teacher supported by the school integrates adequate technology will successfully add value to students’ learning. I found that the three eTIPs that prompt a teacher-designer to consider in the integrating and implementing process do not differ that much from the principles involved in good and effective lesson planning process. The first step of every teacher lesson design is to consider what and how to teach. Also, an educator has to evaluate what resources are available to complement the lesson delivery process. Finally, one has to reflect on how to assess and measure students’ performance and achievement when they use those resources. Educational technology is just another tool to support students’ learning. Educators, as longtime learners themselves, should not be intimidated by technology integration and implementation process to instruction. Through that process the teacher and school could decide to use or not to use technology by pondering the added value to teaching and learning.

Technology is the preferred media by the younger generation, so it is relevant for our students. An educator should consider any media that will present educational information to students in a way that allows them to make meaningful connections. Students can acquire facts, use higher level thinking in problem solving, and gain specific procedural and technical skills useful for their future life as productive adults. Technology provides students with special needs the opportunity to gain access to educational information, and different methods to manipulate and construct new knowledge in ways that traditional teaching fell short. Also, it offers them an alternative mean to demonstrate their understanding of a content area aligned with the student abilities or learning styles when traditional means are a real obstacle for that expression.

Through various technology tools, the student is prompted to use critical think within their own learning ability and style, making the learning experience more meaningful real and usable for them ultimately making it permanent and valuable.

Based on my experience in the education field, I have considered what the students are learning at the moment and how technology can facilitate and enrich their learning experience. How technology can help to assess student learning was a new question to reflect on. I found this question attention-grabbing. I am eager to learn how to answer the questions posed in the article: what are we teaching, what added value technology can bring to that teaching process and how it can help to assess student learning. I believe this will be an enriching experience for me as an educator in which my future students will reap all the benefits.