A Review on the Integration of Technology in Teaching and Learning

Introduction:
Although there has been much debate about what teachers need to know about
technology, less attention has been paid to how they are supposed to learn it. Teacher
preparation programs need to go beyond merely training teachers in how to use specific software
and hardware tools (Koehler and Punya, 2005)
Early standards conceptualized technology proficiency as a wide range of competencies
for teachers to master (Wiebe and Taylor, 1997), including concrete skills (e.g., keyboarding,
connecting a computer to the network), software application (e.g., word processing,
spreadsheets), key technology concepts (e.g., networking, distributed computing), and
transformative uses of technology in the classroom (e.g., learner-centered inquiry, using real-
time data). Lankshear (1997) described this emphasis as a form of applied technocratic
rationality, a view that technology is self-contained, has an independent integrity, and that to
unlock its potential and power requires merely learning certain basic skills. It is assumed that
teachers who can demonstrate proficiency with software and hardware will be able to
incorporate technology successfully into their teaching. effective teaching requires effective
technology use (Peggy, 2010)
We have argued elsewhere (Mishra and Koehler, 2003) that these standards only answer
part of the question regarding technology integration. In other words, though these standards
tell us what teachers need to know, they often do not tell us how they are supposed to learn it.
Most scholars working in this area agree that traditional methods of technology training for
teachers-mainly workshops and courses-are ill-suited to produce the "deep understanding" that
can assist teachers in becoming intelligent users of technology for pedagogy (Brand, 1997; Milken
Exchange on Education Technology, 1999). A survey by the Milken Family Foundation and ISTE
found that teacher-training programs, in general, do not provide future teachers with the kinds
of experiences necessary to prepare them to use technology effectively in their classrooms.
Specifically, they found that formal stand-alone IT coursework does not correlate well with
technology skills and the ability to integrate technology into teaching. They recommended that
teacher preparation programs should increase the level of technology integration in their own
academic programs (Milken Exchange on Education Technology, 1999).
The issue of how technology is to be covered in preservice teacher education and in-
service teacher professional development has received significant attention recently. A review of
the recent teacher education research around technology will show numerous examples of
teacher education programs that have implemented instructional technology in ways that
encourage integration (Fulton et. al, 2002; Fulton et al, 2003). Most of these approaches have
involved providing teachers and teacher candidates with experiences with real educational
problems to be solved by technology.
Education
No doubt, teachers have increased their personal and professional uses of computers
(Project Tomorrow, 2008; van Braak et al., 2004). In response to the Teachers Talk Tech survey
(CDW-G, 2006), 88% of the teachers reported using technology for administrative tasks, whereas
86% reported using technology for communication tasks. Similarly, 93% of the teachers who
responded to the Speak Up 2007 survey (n = 23,756/25,544) reported using technology to
communicate with colleagues or parents (Project Tomorrow, 2008).
 Based on the results of the Speak Up 2007 national survey (Project Tomorrow, 2008), 51%
of the responding teachers (n = 13,027 I 25,544) reported that their primary uses of technology
to "facilitate student learning" comprised (a) asking students to complete homework
assignments using the computer (e.g., writing reports, finding information on the Internet) and
(b) assigning practice work at the computer (e.g., using drill-and-practice software). These results
are verified, to some extent, by the large percentage of students (grades 6-12) taking the same
survey who reported using technology to (a) write assignments (74%), (b) conduct online
research (72%), and (c) check assignments or grades online (58%)
Most important feature of a professional development program is a strong focus on
helping teachers understand how students learn specific content and how specific instructional
practices support that learning (Kanaya et al., 2005).
Technology
Understanding the role of technology in pedagogy is more than the accumulation of
technology skills, and that skillful teaching is more than finding and applying the right tool
(Koehler and Punya, 2005)
According to the U.S. DOE (2003), "Technology is now considered by most educators and
parents to be an integral part of providing a high-quality education'' (p. 3). Furthermore, Means
and Olson (1997), student-centered learning was defined as using technology to “promote
student learning through collaborative involvement in authentic, challenging, multidisciplinary
tasks by providing realistic complex environments for student inquiry, furnishing information and
tools to support investigation, and linking classrooms for joint investigations” (p. 9). McCain
(2005) elaborated: “the use of technology in the classroom is not the critical issue facing
education in the 21st century. Rather, the issue of foremost importance is to develop thinking
skills in our students so that they will be able to utilize the power of technological tools to solve
problems and do useful work” (p. 84). This, then, translates into the requirement that technology
be placed in the hands of students, who are encouraged and enabled to utilize it in the same
ways, and for the same purposes, that professionals do – that is, to communicate, collaborate,
and solve problems.
Technology is an important part of our everyday lives and efforts to improve teaching and
learning (Voogt, et al, 2009;). With the importance of technology in education, technology
integration has been greatly emphasized in teacher training and professional development
(Lawless & Pellegrino, 2007).
Integration of Technology in Instruction
Inevitably, traditional approaches lead to teachers becoming consumers of knowledge
about technological tools, with the hope that teachers will be able to apply this general
knowledge to solving problems particular to their classroom situations. In this view, the role of
technology is to create more tools for teachers and students to use, and the role of teacher
preparation is to train teachers in the proper use of these tools (Koehler and Punya, 2005).
According to Becker (2000), computers serve as a “valuable and well-functioning
instructional tool” (p. 29) in schools and classrooms in which teachers: (a) have convenient
access, (b) are adequately prepared, (c) have some freedom in the curriculum, and (d) hold
personal beliefs aligned with a constructivist pedagogy.
Overcoming Barriers to Technology (Hew and Brush, 2006)
Effects of Technology to Teaching and Learning
Research studies in education demonstrate that the use of technology (e.g., computers)
can help improve students’ scores on standardized tests (Bain and Ross, 1999), improve students’
inventive thinking (e.g., problem solving) (Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Forum on Education and
Technology, 2001), and improve students’ self-concept and motivation (Sivin-Kachala and Bialo,
2000)
As with other professionals, we expect teachers to use technology in ways that extend
and increase their effectiveness. It is no longer appropriate to suggest that teachers' low-level
uses of technology are adequate to meet the needs of the 21st century learner. Using technology
simply to support lecture-based instruction falls far short of recommended best practice (Lawless
and Pellegrino, 2007; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2007; Zemelman, Daniels, & Hyde,
2005). Although survey data may suggest that the "teaching process is fundamentally changing
as professional development is taking teachers from learning how computers work to using
technology to change how they teach'' (CDW-G, 2006, para. 3, emphasis added), current data
from classroom observations do not support this view (Andrew, 2007; Bauer and Kenton, 2005;
Schaumburg, cited in Schulz-Zander, Pfeifer, & Voss, 2008). Even among teachers who claim to
have student-centered, constructivist practices, technology uses are described as not being
particularly powerful or innovative (Cuban, Kirkpatrick, & Peck; 2001; Hermans, Tondeur, van
Braak, & Valcke, 2008).
To achieve the kinds of technology uses required for 21st century teaching and learning
(Lai, 2008; Law, 2008; Thomas & Knezek, 2008), we need to help teachers understand how to use
technology to facilitate meaningful learning, defined as that which enables students to construct
deep and connected knowledge, which can be applied to real situations. Although "technology
can make it quicker or easier to teach the same things in routine ways:' it also makes it possible
to "adopt new and arguably better approaches to instruction and/ or change the content or
context of learning, instruction, and assessment" (Lawless & Pellegrino, 2007, p. 581). These
latter uses are precisely the ones that the majority of today's teachers find most challenging,
perhaps because they require the most amount of change.
Research by Ottenbreit-Leftwich (2007) also demonstrated that when teachers witnessed
the impact of technology on their students' learning, they were motivated to experiment with
additional technologies in their teaching.
Conclusion
Educational reform efforts have consistently purported student –centered practices as
the most effective way to prepare our students for the 21st century (Voogt, 2008). These reform
efforts are based on a new definition of "good" teaching-that is, teaching that facilitates student
learning by leveraging relevant ICT resources as meaningful pedagogical tools.
Teachers’ own beliefs and attitudes about the relevance of technology to students’
learning were perceived as having the biggest impact on their success. Additionally, most
teachers indicated that internal factors (e.g., passion for technology, having a problem-solving
mentality) and support from others (administrators and personal learning networks) played key
roles in shaping their practices. Teachers noted that the strongest barriers preventing other
teachers from using technology were their existing attitudes and beliefs toward technology, as
well as their current levels of knowledge and skills (P.A Ertmer et. al, 2012)
Directions for Future Research
Although the conditions for successful technology integration finally appear to be in place,
including ready access to technology, increased training for teachers, and a favorable policy
environment, high-level technology use is still surprisingly low. This suggests that additional
barriers, specifically related to teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, may be at work. Previous
researchers have noted the influence of teachers’ beliefs on classroom instruction specifically in
math, reading, and science, yet little research has been done to establish a similar link to
teachers’ classroom uses of technology. (Ertmer, 2005)
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