Technology Integration

SIMPLE STEPS TO TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION

HAVE A GOOD REASON

First, have a good reason to integrate technology. You need to ask yourself;

Will it improve the lesson?
Will it engage students?
Will it save you time?

Whatever physical device or program you are using with your students make sure it makes a connection to learning. Once you find the connection the students will also.

PREPARE YOURSELF

You don't just hike up a mountain without preparing yourself, so think the same when it comes to integrating technology in your class.

Be Patient

Be Understanding

Be Flexible

Not only mentally should you be prepared but also physically. Have a back up plan in place at all times. Schools are prone to wifi and internet outages and sometimes things just don't work right.

LINE UP THE TROOPS

You have people around you to help, trust me, just ask. I've often told my teachers that if they need help with something on their computer usually a kid is the place to start. Let's admit they pick it up a lot quicker. So find your STLP kids, older high school kids, or even your own children and ask for help. Finding other teachers not only in your building and district but in the world is a great place start too. Twitter is a wonderful educational resource that most people overlook. Searching for certain hashtags (#) will bring up many options and places to learn.

Baby Steps:

Start small. It could be something as little as using a QR Code to direct the kids to a website or videoing yourself giving the directions to a project, but starting small will create an impact in your kids that you will be able to see.

Walk A Mile:

The best way to show how to use the technology is to pretend to be the student. If you were the student would you understand the directions you just gave? If at all possible do a test run with either a student, teacher, or outsider to see if everything works.

Learn From It

The best way to grow... look back. After you've completed your first lesson go back and look to see where the problems occurred and what you can do different. You worked so hard on this project it would be a shame to toss it out the window. Learn from the student struggles, get feedback from the kids. Something simple as an open discussion or even a Google form may help you get an understanding of how it really went.

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