Running head: INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY

Integration of Technology and Media Resources

Natalie King
Regent University
October 2nd, 2016

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Introduction

Technology and media integration is an essential part of every teachers repertoire.

Unlike adults our students do not know a time when they couldnt log into a computer and find
all the information they needed or pull out an iPad or iPhone and have it wherever they go. Once
teachers embrace this and begin to learn how to use technology in a meaningful way, a change
will be seen in the classroom. Many schools are doing away with paper worksheets and moving
towards students accessing everything online, by using such programs as Google Classroom. By
integrating technology teachers are able to create a student-centered and student-driven
classroom environment.
Rationale for Selection of Artifacts
The first artifact that I chose was a sample of my students work from a program called
TenMarks, a program that I used every day during math time. I selected these sampling because
TenMarks is an excellent program that we used for during math because it not only gets the
students on the computers, but also differentiates the work they are receiving. This program can
be accessed from school and from home which is another great feature because now what we did
in the classroom can follow the students to their homes. This allows them to continue to work on
their TenMarks assignments, such as classwork and personal work, but it also gives them the
chance to work on their amplifiers. Amplifiers are extra assignments that I can give to students
who either need more practice with a topic or to students who I feel can be challenged, making
them think more critically about the content. The artifact I provided was actually the third
attempt on this topic, prime and composite, and many of the students had been given amplifiers
prior to this particular classwork assignment. This artifact shows my competency in this area
because I am someone who has not been very good at incorporating technology into lessons;

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however I found this program extremely easy to use and very beneficial to my students. As the
students went through their work and watched the videos embedded into it, I saw them slowly
making connections and understanding the material; it really made a difference as I worked with
them in small groups and gave them their assessment.
The second artifact I chose to include was the preassessment I gave my students on the
SmartBoard at the start of the matter unit for science. Instead of preassessing my students the
traditional way with paper and pencil I thought that they would have more fun getting up and
moving around the room. These slides were shown on the SmartBoard in the front of the room
and then my students moved to different areas of the room as I asked each question. As students
moved I made anecdotal notes about which students seemed to understand, which were just
following the class majority, and which students simply had no idea. For the most part my
students really enjoyed the fact that we were using the board for the assessment because it
allowed them to move around instead of being stuck in their seats. This artifact also
demonstrated my competency in this area because by using the SmartBoard I am becoming more
familiar with using technology on a regular basis by reinventing the way assignments are
traditionally given. I am learning that my students grew up using technology, so it is imperative
that it became embedded throughout most of my content lessons.
Reflection on Theory and Practice
One important aspect I have learned during student teaching is that I am still learning,
and this is especially true when it comes to technology. A scholarly article about technology
integration stated that, For effective technology integration, teachers need to have technology
knowledge (Varol, 2013). I am not the most technology literate so I had a much harder time
integrating it into the classroom and into my lessons. I spent many hours looking up and creating

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interesting ways to bring technology into the classroom. It was also important for me to learn to
how to become technology literate; meaning having, the ability to use, manage, understand, and
assess technology (Vasquez, Sneider, & Comer, 2013). During my two placements I was able to
pull in numerous different media resources, such as using the program Achieve 3000 during
Language Arts and using webquests during Science units. In both of these instances I had to first
learn what these programs were and how to use them in the most effective and meaningful way.
Once I did so students were engaged in the activity more so than they would have been
otherwise. Since the start of my first placement I have grown in this area, both in my confidence
of integrating media and my imagination and creativity have also grown and expanded when it
came time to create engaging lessons.
During my time at Regent University using technology in the classroom was a big focus.
In my first semester I enrolled in the course Technology in Education and one of our topics
was the flipped classroom. This concept centered on the idea of having students do most of the
learning at home, and doing more hands-on activities inside the classroom. The true purpose
behind creating a flipped classroom is for teachers to, move from being the sage on the stage
to being the guide on the side (Siegle, 2014). This idea has always fascinated me and I look
forward to incorporating aspects of this practice into my own classroom and by using such
programs as TenMarks and Kahn Academy during math, I actually am. TenMarks places some
responsibility of learning on the student because they have the opportunity to watch the videos
on these programs and teach themselves in a way. That being said I do not expect students to
teach themselves and I still provide direct instruction in both whole and small group formats. At
a certain age, for example my fifth grade placement, students need to become aware of the fact
that they are responsible for their own work. One of the most impactful statements from the

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article I read was the following, In a flipped classroom students take ownership of the
course material and move from passive listeners to active learners (Siegle, 2014). Once students
move into middle and high school they need to be able to research on their own and find videos
to supplement classroom instruction: flipping the classroom prepares students for this change.
Overall technology and media integration is an essential part of any 21st century
classroom. It is unfair to students to deprive them of the vast amount of information and
opportunities that technology brings into the classroom as children nowadays have grown up
submersed in this media infused culture.

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References

Siegle, D. (2014). Technology: Differentiating Instruction by Flipping the Classroom. Gifted

Child Today, 37(1), 51. Retrieved September 30, 2016, from
https://regent.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-4568018-dt-content-rid7298125_2/courses/11892.UIS.350.01.201510/Flipping%20the%20Classroom%2C
%20Gifted%20Child%20Today-2014-Siegle-51-5.pdf
Varol, F. (2013, July). Elementary School Teachers and Teaching with Technology. The Turkish
Online Journal of Educational Technology, 12(3). Retrieved September 30, 2016, from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1016857.pdf
Vasquez, J. A., Sneider, C., & Comer, M. (2013). STEM Lesson Essentials. Portsmouth:
Heinemann. Retrieved September 30, 2016