BEST PRACTICES FOR INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY IN A CLASSROOM

While several of the studies above noted significant change in student achievement, there was a handful that did not indicate a positive impact. These studies did have one thing in common though; they indicated a poor implementation of technology into teaching and learning. Simply buying the technology is not enough to increase student achievement. If technology is going to have a positive effect the ISTE policy brief states that these seven key conditions should be focused on:

1. Effective professional development for teachers in the integration of technology into instruction is necessary to support student learning. Teachers must be taught how to apply the technology, and continuous professional development must be available for the educators.

2. Teachers’ direct application of technology must be aligned to local and/or state curriculum standards. Technology based interventions need to be aligned to local and state standards. Also their lesson plans that incorporate technology need to also align to the curriculum and all national standards.

3. Technology must be incorporated into the daily learning schedule (i.e., not as a supplement or after-school tutorial). Research has found that the more technology is incorporated into the classroom the higher the achievement level of the students. However, it must be part of the regular classroom instruction and not additional activates for the sake of having technology.

4. Programs and applications must provide individualized feedback to students and teachers and must have the ability to tailor lessons to individual student needs. Technology allows teachers to develop individualized applications for students, provide feedback, and use data from students work to make adjustments to instruction for the individual student.

5. Technology use must be incorporated in a collaborative environment to be most effective. Student collaboration with technology elevates student achievement more than individual use. Studies have found that collaboration amongst students has a profound effect on student technology use. This is achieved with technology through sharing information and problem-solving collectively through various applications and software.

6. Project-based learning and real-world simulations must be the main focus of instructional technology utilization. This increases student engagement by challenging them to use their problem-solving skills on real-world problems. These forms of problems have been found more effective than activities and drills.

7. Effective technology integration requires leadership, support, and modeling from teachers, administrators, and the community/parents. If leaders in the community and parents model effective technology use it is shown to improve student engagement and achievement.


Resources:

Kadel R. (2008), Technology and Student Achievement— The Indelible Link.Retrieved fromhttp://www.k12hsn.org/files/research/Technology/ISTE_policy_brief_student_achievement.pdf