Running head: Integration of Technology 1

Integration of Technology and Media Resources

Hannah Miller

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2019

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Introduction

The use of technology in the classroom is essential in today’s world. However, mixed

feeling exist about how it should be used in order to help, rather than hinder, student education.

Technology tools such as Chromebooks are becoming increasingly popular within the classroom.

Teachers need to make sure they are preparing their students for success in a world that becomes

more saturated with technology every day. Technology and media resources should be used

thoughtfully, not gratuitously. In addition to using technology and media resources to enhance

their teaching, teachers can utilize these tools to differentiate lessons, provide opportunities for

creativity, and quickly assemble data. Technology and media now play important roles in the

classroom; teachers need to be able to use them to their advantage.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

The first artifact that I chose was the ActivInspire function of the Promethean board. This

is an interactive teaching software that I used almost daily in class in order to foster active

participation. In particular, I would typically create quiz questions that could function either as

anticipatory sets or as a quick formative assessment of the previous day’s content. The question

would be displayed on the Promethean board and I would active voting. The students would then

use their ActivExpressions, the personal voting consoles that connected straight to the voting

software. Students could either text their answer, if the question was in a short answer format, or

choose the appropriate letter for a multiple choice question. I would then close voting and

display the students’ answers on the board with the correct answer highlighted. In addition, I

could then display the answers in a list format in order to see exactly who answered what. The

students enjoyed being able to display their knowledge and could easily use the consoles. This
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provides data instantly and gets students transitioned into the next lesson in an efficient and fun

manner.

The other artifact I chose was a Kahoot quiz that I designed as a review game as the

students prepared for the Social Studies Quarterly. Kahoot is a free website that allows teachers

to build quizzes and trivia games that can then be played by their students. My students each had

a Chromebook. They were able to safely connect to the Kahoot website and participate in the

quiz, competing against each other in order to get on “the podium.” As the teacher, I could either

choose a quiz that another user created or create my own. This was a quick and fun way for

students to review before the big test. My students were all competitive and really enjoyed being

able to earn points by answering as quickly and accurately as possible. Much like the

ActivInspire software, Kahoot compiles data every time a quiz is played, displaying which

questions the students did well on and which ones might need more work. As the controller, I

was also able to pause the game in between questions and explain or elaborate on the questions

that the majority of the students missed. Kahoot was definitely a crowd favorite in my classroom.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

In my classes at Regent, I used technology daily. It is now standard to use laptops to

complete research, participate in online forums, and communicate with fellow classmates and

professors alike. The use of technologies like laptops is no longer constrained to adults. Children

also are fully capable of using them. This means that teachers now need to be incorporating

technology within classroom activities. While this may not be too difficult for young teachers

who grew up using technology, for seasoned educators this could present a challenge. I believe

that, “Computers, or other educational technologies, are neutral tools that can be put to any
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purpose, good or bad” (Zheng, Warschauer, Lin, & Chang, 2016, p. 1053). Teachers should use

technology to enhance their lessons, not take the place of them.

Teachers also need to acknowledge that their students will undoubtedly be using

technology and media in their everyday lives. We are already tasked with helping our students

grow and develop into responsible citizens. This responsibility now extends to teaching all

students how to be good cyber citizens. According to a national survey, “Although 86% of the

respondents said they believed the Internet was a valuable means for teaching and learning in

schools and that is was a vital tool for developing the skills for the next century, many said they

were concerned about access to inappropriate material, thereby making it difficult to take full

advantage of the resources” (Kilfoye, 2013, p. 53). Educating young people about how to

properly use the internet within the context of the classroom is a difficult task. However, students

may not be receiving this education at home, even though they have unlimited access to the

internet through the use of their phones. Showing students how to constructively use the internet

and its resources can be done through simple activities and discussions in the classroom, starting

when students are young and growing in depth and intensity as they grow themselves.

Technology isn’t all scary though. Teachers can use online games to generate

active participation. They can use online programs, like Achieve3000, that provide students with

individualized reading materials automatically differentiated to their Lexile level. They can also

give students computer based assignments that can be completed in the classroom – such as

PowerPoint presentations – that encourage group work and creativity. Research shows that

“technology can be helpful in classroom settings by encouraging inquiry, helping

communication, constructing teaching products, and assisting students’ self-expression” (Baek,

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Jung, & Kim, 2008, p. 224). As stated before, technology and media resources are tools that a

skilled teacher can use to enhance their teaching.

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References

Baek, Y., Jung, J., & Kim, B. (2008). What makes teachers use technology in the classroom?

Exploring the factors affecting facilitation of technology with a Korean sample.

Computers & Education, 50(1), 224-234. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2006.05.002

Kilfoye, C. (2013). A voice from the past calls for classroom technology: John Dewey’s writings

on education reform tell us we should embrace technology in the classroom so that we

can prepare students with 21st-century skills. Phi Delta Kappan, 94(7), 53.

Zheng, B., Warschauer, M., Lin, C., & Chang, C. (2016). Learning in one-to-one laptop

environments: A meta-analysis and research synthesis. Review of Educational Research,

86(4), 1052-1084. doi:10.3102/0034654316628645