People learn by actively engaging with new ideas or by actively applying new skills sets. Constructivism views the learner not as a passive recipient of knowledge, but instead as a responsible, active player in acquiring new ideas or mastering new skills. In this way, the learner is seen “as an educational subject who, to some extent, manages his/her education actively and independently”(Juvova, 2015). Current constructivist pedagogy envisions education with “an emphasis on activity and increasing the student’s motivation for learning”(Juvova, 2015).
The integration of technology within the educational setting provides opportunities for students to actively engage with content and skills in the acquisition of knowledge and the mastery of new skills. As noted by Jaleel and Verghis “e learning environments create constructivist learning environment in our classrooms”(2015) because learning environments that integrate technology spark student creativity with their “rich variety of experiences” (2015); additionally, the collaboration inherent in technology infused educational experience enhances student learning.
Ciampa and Gallagher also discuss the potential of technology for education to improve student learning by enhancing student motivation, engagement, and productivity (2013). Benefits of technology integration identified by Ciampa and Gallagher technology include a shift to “self-directed learning” (2013) that may extend beyond the time and space parameters of the actual classroom, along with increased opportunities for teachers to individualize instruction. According to Ciampa and Gallagher students become “creators, not just consumers, of technology”(2013) when technology is integrated into teaching and learning.
Technology integrated into education can potentially provide students with rich and ample opportunities to manipulate new concepts and materials. Using technology resources, students may also practice newly introduced skills until knowledge has been acquired, or mastery has been achieved. In the English Language Arts curriculum, technology integration offers new ways for students to collaborate when writing papers, creating projects, or developing comprehension of a difficult work of literature. Online learning platforms, such as Google Docs and Google Classroom allow students to connect in a manner similar to social media, but for educational, not entertainment, purposes. Quieter students find a voice in online discussions, and all students gain in understanding as they read, write, or create multimedia presentations together in a virtual space they can access at any time, from any place, as long as they have internet access.
Countless reliable electronic resources exist to assist students in the English classroom. Project Gutenberg and any number of universities offer digital texts for free; Purdue Owl helps students write in MLA and APA format and avoid plagiarism; sites such as Bibme or EasyBib allow students an efficient, online way to keep track of research materials. Additionally, free tools abound for teachers to integrate within their lessons. Using Google Docs or Google Classroom, teachers can electronically comment on student work, and even electronically discuss an area of concern, even embedding links to helpful sites that will help students further their learning independently.
Students, as digital natives, enjoy using technology; it stands to reason then that technology in the classroom will be inherently both motivational and engaging. Online and built-in assists in mobile devices and personal computers foster student independence; dictionaries, calculators, text-to-speech and speech-to-text applications are but a few of the resources that can empower students to rely less upon the teacher as the source of knowledge, and to learn how to seek out knowledge independently.
But technology integration is important for reasons beyond motivation and engagement of students. One vital and compelling reason for technology integration, according to Project Tomorrow’s 2011 report The New 3 E’s of Education: Enabled, Engaged, Empowered, is the necessity for helping “students develop the 21st century skills needed to meet the demands of their future workplace”(2011). And this includes more than teaching students about online tools, learning platforms, and educational websites. In order to participate fully in future educational and employment opportunities “every 21st century learner must be prepared to participate responsibily in the Web and its many environments” (Lever-Duffy, 2015). To prepare students for the future, teachers must explicitly teach correct protocols for electronic communications along with safe, acceptable use of electronic resources.
The reality for teachers who wish to integrate technology is daunting; both funding and time are short, leaving many educators to do what they can with whatever devices are available. Smart phones can be quite useful in supporting learning, however experience has shown that students require limits, including school-wide internet filters as well as clear classroom expectations for when and how smart phones may be used during instruction.
However daunting, educators must find ways to integrate technology into their instruction. The digital divide is and will remain alive and well until the number of students who can access the internet from both school and home using a personal computer, laptop, netbook, or tablet is one hundred percent. Technological literacy is now as necessary as language literacy; students may be quite knowledgeable about the application of technology for entertainment, but not for learning or employment. Teaching students the educational potential of technology, creates opportunities for students who would otherwise be trapped in the cycle of poverty into which they were born.
Currently, I have four student computers, one teacher computer, an iPad, a black and white laser printer, and a Smartboard with a clicker. My school and district network provide me with Microsoft Office Suite software, storage on the “O” drive, and the Power Teacher tool for attendance, grading, and other classroom management tasks. I also have a state of Connecticut e-mail. My most recent acquisition is a wi-fi booster attached to my ceiling that allows all of my students to access the internet at the same time.
To augment my four student computers, I allow students to use smart phones. They are useful for Kahoot.it quiz reviews, for accessing online dictionaries and other small or impromptu research activities, as well as for writing in Google Docs, accessing Google Classroom, or accessing Power School to check grades. Students also use their smart phones to access and read online novels for our district reading program.
Students use the four student computers to take Accelerated Reader quizzes, to write in Google Docs, and to conduct research. During study hall, students use the computers for these same reasons, as well as to play educational games at Scholastic.com or Funbrain. In the past, I have assigned group research projects because of the limited number of student computers as well as to facilitate collaborative learning experiences.
Teachers in my school have just begun to use Google Classroom. Most of my students have been able to access my classroom; however, at least two dozen had problems with their accounts or with their passwords, and I have yet to resolve those problems. Those students will be able to use Google Docs to write and submit assignments electronically to my work e-mail. Although my students have been enthusiastic about using smart phones, it is much easier to introduce Google Classroom and log students in, at least initially, when every student is on a personal computer rather than a smart phone. This is primarily because the Google Classroom app for smart phones is not identical to the computer version, which can slow down the process and engender frustration for all, myself included. I am in the process of learning how to use Google Classroom.
My school has a computer lab with thirty-two student computers, a teacher computer, and a Smart Board available in the library media center, as well as three classroom sets of chrome books, an iPad cart, and a netbook cart, all available from the library media center if they have not already been reserved. Our technology areas that have already been renovated all have their own computer labs, but competition between academic teachers for the computer lab remains fierce. This should be alleviated once the ninth and tenth grade students receive their individual chrome books.
My vision for my future fully technology integrated classroom involves no paper, no pens or pencils and no printed books. Students would write and create projects using Google Docs, and submit finished work electronically via Google Classroom. Instead of textbooks, students would each have their own netbook or chromebook, and they would access their multi-media-augmented e-textbooks by connecting to the internet using classroom Wi-Fi. In this perfect world, New Haven will have implemented wi-max citywide, and every student would have access to the internet at home as well as at school.
In the meantime, I would be fully trained and prepared to provide technology-based learning that is student-centered and which promotes active learning through collaborative, engaging lessons.
While some parts of my vision are already in place, including wi-fi in my classroom, the availability of Google Classroom through my district, and some training, there are areas where I can enact change.
I can talk to my district’s English Language Arts consultant about the availability of e-texts for my students. Three schools in my district are currently piloting an e-text for English Language Arts, but we have not been given any notice of whether or not this practice will go district-wide. By expressing an interest in e-texts, I may set myself up to be considered to participate should the district expand the pilot program.
There are two people I can talk to about fixes necessary for getting all of my students into my Google Classroom. Once all of my students have the ability to use my Google Classroom, then I want to ensure that all of my students have an appropriate device with which to access it. I can try to get a straight answer out of my district’s technology consultant regarding the district’s plans for expanding the chrome book distribution to junior and senior students. If there is no plan in place, then I can research the possibility of applying for grant money to fund, at the least, a classroom set of devices that I could use with my students on a daily basis.
I can also use the library media center specialist’s archived weekly schedules and cross-reference a list of teachers for grades 11 and 12 to determine which technology in the library media center will most likely be available during my own class meeting times. Careful planning on my part will mean more opportunities for my students to use technology for learning.
I can survey my students to determine who among them truly cannot access the internet at home. Locating nearby businesses and/or libraries with free, accessible wi-fi could be liberating for some students.
Once I have ensured that my students will have daily access to appropriate devices, I can work on recreating how I teach on a large scale. This will require time, both to research and learn, as well as time to think and design. I can do some of the work during the summer, but I could also consider applying for a few months sabbatical leave in order to truly transform what I do and bring my teaching into the 21st century. By sharing this work with other English teachers in my district, I could contribute to growth on a larger scale than just my classroom or my school.
Teachers need to continue to support and prepare for the integration of technology in education. A clear vision for the future and a willingness to overcome challenges are the underpinnings of effective technology integration, along with educators who are committed to teaching 21st century skills.
References
Ciaimpa, K. &. (2013). Getting in Touch: Use of Mobile Devices in the Elementary Classroom. Computers in the Schools, 309-328.
Jaleel, S., & Verghis, A. M. (2015). Knowledge Creation in Constructivist Learning. Universal Journal Of Educational Research, 3(1), 8-12.
Juvova, A. C. (2015). Reflection of Constructivist Theories in Current Educational Practice. Universal Journal Of Educational Research, 345.
Lever-Duffy, J. M. (2015). Teaching and Learning with Technology. New York, New York: Pearson.
The New 3 E’s of Education: Enabled, Engaged, Empowered. (2011).