INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY into INSTRUCTION

Mrs. Hazel B. France

h.france@gmail.com

How to integrate Technology into Classroom Instruction

Keeping students connected to the real world is essential in the learning environment. When students are able to incorporate real world experiences into any learning endeavor, they are more likely to retain the information.

1. Create a class website. Students can visit the site to catch up on missed assignments or to check on the next day's lesson plan. The class website is also an excellent place to showcase exceptional work by students and to make announcements regarding tests and homework assignments.

2. Create online assignments. Have the students search for information on a particular subject and prepare a report. Send them on a Virtual Field Trip or Scavenger Hunt to locate information on whatever subject you are teaching.

3. Provide the Internet sites where students can participate in interactive assignments. There are plenty of places on the Internet that provide lessons and tests that give students immediate feedback. Use these for tutoring sessions, regular homework or extra credit.

4. Require students to participate in a discussion forum. You can easily create one of these through groups like yahoogroups.com. Messages are sent back and forth via email. It encourages students to interact with one another.

5. Hold periodic chat sessions. Perhaps once or twice throughout the semester, I require my students to participate in an online chat session. Again, this activity encourages student interaction.

6. Provide instruction on navigation. No matter how you choose to integrate technology into the classroom, it is of utmost importance to first instruct the students on navigating the Internet. You should plan on at least two class lessons on how to work online.

INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH
Five Phases: Planning Research Development Refinement Implementation

Planning
Objective: To define the current knowledge base and to develop the foundation for the organization of learning . Tools: Inspiration Concept Mapping Software

 The planning stage is the first stage, and is often the most critical. This is the point where the instructor has to provide a hook that will create interest in the learner to continue with the process over the months to come.

Example:
The instructor can set the hook by posing an open-ended question that frames the context of the subject matter to be studied.

An example might be, What do you know about cell? What is the structure of a Cell?

 The instructor can begin the lesson by brainstorming what students already know about sustaining life and the needs within a community. These items can be put onto a white board, chalkboard, or butcher paper.

 This is a moment where the technology can be integrated with great ease and efficiency. Inspiration is a concept mapping software that permits the user to define the relationships that exist in their knowledge structure. It also allows the user the flexibility to shape, move, link, draw, connect, arrange, and rearrange the individual concepts and ideas.

Research
Objective: To allow the learner to explore the content area and to deepen their knowledge base Tools: Browsers for the Internet (Netscape, Internet Explorer), e-mail

 The research stage follows the planning stage so that learners can explore the knowledge base and deepen it through independent or cooperative research activities.

 This includes searching on the Internet for useful sources of information, but also for sharing these resources in discussion formats. Research activities give the students the ability to retain these facts by affording them the opportunity to think critically, to work through problems logically and to make connections with the real world.

Development
Objective: To provide the learner with the opportunity to construct their knowledge following the curriculum materials and scope and sequence of the instruction Tools: Inspiration, word processors

 Now the learner is ready to drive toward putting their ideas into a format that can lead to a demonstration of the learning. Note: The given scenario was to develop understanding about cell structure.

Important questions that the students need to discover and strive to answer:
How will the students go about doing this? What will they do to make sense of the work they have done so far? How will this result in a viable presentation?

 Students begin this phase by revisiting the planning stage and identifying the areas they are to work on to complete the task. Coupled with reviewing the research phase in order to discover ways to put their ideas into reality.

 Inspiration will be a valuable tool to revisit in this stage As learners can map their ideas, rearrange them, and create an outline from the concept map that can be used to write up their plan.

 The word-processing software can be introduced at this time, yet this may be the one tool with which learners have the most experience. Now, the technology tools are framed in another context for learning and can be integrated for the development phase.

 Plagiarism should be discussed and avoided, and this is best accomplished by requiring a unique student task that will frame the research.

Refinement
Objective: To further the development and to lead the learner to the implementation phase Tools: Inspiration, word processors, WYSIWYG editors, HTML instruction

 The learner (or teams of learners) should proceed to refine their work and make it ready for public dissemination. It is one thing to do a project and turn it into a teacher in your school, it is quite another to publish your work on the Internet for anyone around the world with access to read and consult.

 The need for refinement becomes clear and the instruction can center on the tools of Web building, primarily the use of WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-youget) editors and the use of HTML coding.

 The research now may center on finding images to enhance the presentation or the planning of links within the Web site.

Implementation
Objective: To demonstrate the learning that has taken place through the phases Tools: Inspiration, word processors, WYSIWYG editors, HTML instruction, FTP, Fetch

 The implementation of an end product that will be the focus for pulling all the material, ideas, and applications together. This should be done in a public forum to develop skills in communication and presentation.

 The learners should have some presentation options, and these choices should be given at the beginning of the assignment. It is also a time to use peer instruction and cooperative groupings, as the knowledge students gained in applied software skills can be valuable to the progress and learning in the classroom.

 This is also the point where the classroom appears most constructivist, in that learners are constantly putting their new knowledge to use and building on their previous premises.

 The classroom should be active, filled with discussion and group interaction, far from your basic drill-and-kill approach.