Running head: TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION PHILOSOPHY 1

Philosophy of Technology Integration

Samantha J. Ellis

Concordia University, Nebraska

Author Note

Samantha J. Ellis, Department of Early Childhood Education, Concordia University,

Nebraska.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Samantha J. Ellis, 619 W 7th

Street, York, NE 68467. Contact: samantha.ellis@cune.org.

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Philosophy of Technology Integration

Over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to read the book, The Innovator’s

Mindset, by George Couros through my Instructional Technology course at Concordia

University, Nebraska. This book has taught me why it is important to integrate technology into

the classroom and many different ways that I can do it in my own classroom someday. After

reading about technology integration in the classroom and practicing creating and using many

different digital resources and technology, I look forward to using technology in my future early

childhood classroom to help improve the learning process for all of my young students. In this

paper, I will discuss why I believe technology integration is important, which types of

technology and digital resources I have enjoyed using and plan to integrate into my own

classroom, and how I plan to integrate technology into my own classroom in the future.

Technology integration is very important in the classroom for both teachers and their

students. As the world around us changes, we, as educators, need to be open and prepared to

change the ways in which we teach our students, and this includes integrating technology into

our classrooms to increase student engagement, learning, and achievement (Couros, 2015).

Technology is becoming more and more popular amongst all generations, but especially amongst

our children; because of this, educators need to continuously stay up to date on how to use

technology and integrate it into the classroom to aid in students’ learning and overall

achievement. Technology provides students with an opportunity to access a large amount of

content that can be used to strengthen their learning, such as educational videos and learning

songs, interactive games and activities, access to articles and online content, and so much more.

For teachers, technology integration can help make their jobs easier in many cases and make

them better teachers overall. For example, teachers can create or access online learning games
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for their students to advance their learning about a specific subject, create interactive formative

assessments for their students to test their knowledge, create and share information through a

variety of methods that meet each student’s individual learning needs, and so much more. By

integrating technology into the classroom, teachers are opening the door to an endless amount of

resources that will help guide, support, and encourage students to learn and grow to the best of

their abilities. “Innovation is not reserved for the few; it is something we will all need if we are

to move forward” (Couros, 2015, p. 19).

Throughout my time spent in my Instructional Technology course, I have had the

opportunity to practice using different types of technology and digital resources that I could

integrate into my own classroom someday to help my students stay engaged in the subject

matter, further their understanding of specific content, and achieve success. There were so many

resources that we learned about, but there were some that made a bigger impression on me than

others, and I look forward to using them in my classroom. One of the resources I enjoyed using

was Nearpod, an interactive formal assessment tool that teachers can use to test students’

understanding of a lesson. Teachers can create fun, interactive questions, games, and activities in

addition to adding presentations, files, videos, and more to see what each student understands

and where they may need additional assistance in their learning. Another tool that I enjoyed

learning how to use was screencasting through Screencast-O-Matic, a technology tool that allows

teachers to record their screen, themselves, or both while they demonstrate how to do a specific

skill or teach content. This is a great tool for teachers to use because it allows students to replay

the lesson as often as they need to in order to understand what is being taught to them. The

resource that I enjoyed using the most was virtual field trips. Virtual field trips offer

opportunities for teachers to take their students on an interactive learning adventure to places all
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around the world-zoos, aquariums, national parks, outer space, and more-without ever having to

leave the classroom. Before this class, I did not realize that virtual field trips existed, but I now

think they are one of the most fascinating resources for teachers to share with their students

because it allows the students to “visit” and learn about the world around them in a way that will

capture their interest and expand on what is being taught in the classroom.

With the resources I have learned about through my Instructional Technology class and

through The Innovator’s Mindset, I feel confident in my ability to integrate technology into my

classroom to keep my students engaged in the classroom, strengthen my students’ learning, and

help the achieve success someday. “Successful technology integration is achieved when the use

of technology is routine and transparent, accessible and readily available for the task at hand,

supporting the curricular goals, and helping the students to effectively reach their goals”

(Edutopia, 2007, pp. 1). I plan to integrate technology into my daily classroom routine, such as

by using an online weather forecast each morning or listening to an educational song during

circle time. Whenever I plan a digital activity for my students, I will make sure that devices are

ready to go and easily accessible, and I will also make sure the activity will support my students’

educational goals. To integrate technology in my classroom, I plan to use many of the resources I

was provided during my class, including Nearpod, screencasting, and virtual field trips. I plan to

create and utilize a Nearpod activity for each unit I am teaching my students because I feel that it

is a great way for them to get more practice with the content, and it helps me see how much they

have learned about it. I also plan to utilize screencasting for each unit of content I share with my

students so that they can replay and pause the video lesson as often as they need to in order to

learn the content. In addition, I plan to set up numerous virtual field trips for my students that go
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along with the unit we are learning so they can visualize and better understand the content they

are learning about in a fun, interactive way.

Through my Instructional Technology course and George Couros’ book, The Innovator’s

Mindset, I have learned how important technology integration is and how to use different types

of technology and digital resources to help my students learn and grow so that I can begin to

make plans for how I will integrate technology into my future classroom. Integrating technology

into the classroom is a very important part of creating a stimulating, strong learning environment

for students, as technology can help strengthen students’ understanding of content and help them

reach their educational goals. The amount of resources and opportunities to integrate technology

are endless, and I look forward to using them each day to become the best teacher I can be and

help my students grow in their learning and achieve success as learners.

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References

Couros, G. (2015). The innovator’s mindset. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.

Edutopia. (2007). What is successful technology integration? Retrieved July 31, 2020, from

https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-description.