Teaching with Technology

     Students existing expertise as information communication technology (ICT) learners and communicators is varied and questionable.  It is true that the majority of today’s college students have grown up in a world immersed in technology – computers, electronic media, cell phones, internet-phones (i-phones), and more (Ratliff, 2009).  For a generation of young people, technology, particularly the Internet, has assumed a substantial stake in their social and educational lives (NCREL, 2005).  In 2008, the Pew Internet & American Life Project conducted a survey that showed 94 percent of all American teenagers, 12- to 17-year olds, now use the internet.  It also showed that 89 percent have Internet access in the home (Sims, 2008).  Students are becoming a participatory culture with regard to technology.  They are shifting from a focus on individual expression to community involvement.  Many are already a part of this process through affiliations in online communities, expressions like digital sampling and video making, collaborative problem-solving through Wikipedia and alternative reality gaming, and circulations such as podcasting and blogging (Jenkins et al., 2008).
     At the same time, higher education has become dependent upon technology to deliver and enhance course offerings at all levels from the community college to the graduate level.  An effective technology-rich learning environment generally includes the use of computers, software, Internet connections, projectors, and a variety of other high-tech devices, as well as an online course management system and student information system.  With this growing pervasiveness of technology in society, educators often expect students to have a certain amount of competency in computer and software use needed to perform in an academic environment (Ratliff, 2009).  Unfortunately, this is often a misconception.   A short-term study on technology readiness of students at a rural community college located in the Southeastern region of the United States showed some startling results for student technological preparation.  The study surveyed 331 freshmen with 145 of them not meeting the minimum pass rate of 75 percent.  Nearly 44% of them required remediation (Ratliff, 2009).  Students are ill prepared to function above a social use level with the technology.  Most of the students in this survey reported that they use a computer on a regular basis, but it was unclear if they realize there are differences in academic use and social networking.   Few of the freshmen have experience using word processing programs and even fewer have used spreadsheet or presentation software prior to college.  Their reports of “regular computer use” are from a personal and/or social aspect (Ratliff, 2009).  Teachers need to know upfront if their students are prepared when implementing technological tools into the curriculum.
     There may be expectations that technology will solve all the school’s problems with student learning and achievement.  To be effective, however, technology must be used to promote new learning goals and teaching strategies that are student-centered, collaborative, engaging, authentic, self-directed, and based on development of higher-order thinking skills (NCREL, 2005).  However, when new technologies are adopted, learning how to use the technology may take precedence over learning through the technology.  Effective content integration takes time.  As a result, teachers’ first technology projects generate excitement, but often little content learning.  It often takes a few years until teachers can use technology effectively in core subject areas (NCREL, 2005).  Research on successfully developing, evaluating, studying, and implementing a wide range of technology-based educational programs suggests that the value of technology for students will not be realized unless attention is paid to several important considerations that support the effective use of technology.  These considerations include specific educational goals and a vision of learning through technology, ongoing professional development, structural changes in the school day, a robust technical infrastructure and technical support, and ongoing evaluations (NCREL, 2005).
     Teachers can maximize transferability of what students learn to enhance all aspects of their lives.  They must determine the purpose of using technology in the classroom based on the specific educational goals.  These goals could be to support inquiry, enhance communication, extend access to resources, guide students to analyze and visualize data, enable product development, or encourage expression of ideas.  After the purpose is determined, the teacher must select the appropriate technology and develop the curricula.  Create a plan for evaluating students’ work and assessing the impact of the technology (NCREL, 2005).
     Teachers must coordinate technology implementation efforts with core learning goals, such as improving students’ writing skills, reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, and problem-solving skills.  Collaboration with colleagues is important to design curricula that involve students in meaningful learning activities in which technology is used for research, data analysis, synthesis, and communication (NCREL, 2005).
     While incorporating technology into classes and courses, teachers should be encouraging their students.  They can start by promoting the use of  learning circles, which offer opportunities for students to exchange ideas with other students, teachers, and professionals across the world.  All along they must encourage students to broaden their horizons with technology by means of global connections, electronic visualizations, electronic field trips, and online research and publishing.  While this is occurring, they should ensure that students have equitable access to various technologies (such as presentation software, video production, web page production, word processing, modeling software, and desktop publishing software) to produce projects that demonstrate what they have learned in particular areas of the curriculum (NCREL, 2005).  It is more than this though.  Teachers must ensure that the students can use and think with the technology.  They have to help close the digital divide by promoting the skills and content that is most beneficial (Jenkins et al., 2008).  Additionally, they should encourage students to collaborate on projects and to use peer assessment to critique each other’s work (NCREL, 2005).  
     In addition to testing, teachers should consider using alternative assessment strategies that are based on students’ performance of authentic tasks like electronic portfolios.  Teachers must ensure that technology-rich student products can be evaluated directly in relation to the goals for student outcomes, rather than according to students’ level of skill with the technology (NCREL, 2005).
     Teachers should participate in professional development activities to gain experience with various types of educational technology and learn how to integrate this technology into the curriculum.  This will aid in their learning how various technologies are used today in the world of work which will prepare them to help students see the value of technology applications (NCREL, 2005).
     Consequently, when implementing technological tools into the curriculum, it would be advantageous for faculty to know upfront if their students are prepared for this environment.  It is the responsibility of higher education to assess the skills of incoming students before expecting them to perform in a technology-rich learning environment.  Many higher education institutions are missing the mark and ignoring a fundamental element of student success.  Colleges and universities should no longer limit their focus to the traditional three R’s of readiness, reading, writing, and arithmetic, but should take into consideration technology readiness levels (Ratliff, 2009).  In the end, the correct and competent use of technology in the classroom relies on both faculty and students.  Faculty and students both are hungry for the use of technology, but its use should aid learning not hinder it (u-tube video.)

References:

Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Clinton, K., Weigel, M., and Robinson, A. J.  (2008).  Confronting the challenges of participatory culture:  Media education for the 21st century.  Chicago:  The MacArthur Foundation.  Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/63pmfm

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL).  (2005).  Critical Issue: Using  Technology to Improve Student Achievement.  [Adapted from a Center for Children and Technology manuscript Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement by M. Honey, K. M. Culp, and R. Spielvogel, 1999].  Retrieved from http://www.ncrel.org 

Ratliff, V.  (2009).  Are college students prepared for a technology-rich learning environment?   MERLOT Journal of On-line Learning and Teaching, 5 (4), 698-702.  Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org

Sims, C.  (2008).  Media Ecologies:  Quantitative perspectives.  Digital youth research project Hanging out, messing around, geeking out:  Living and learning with new media.  Retrieved from http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu