Running head: TECHNOLOGY TEACHING COMPETENCY 1

Technology Teaching Competency

Kelsey J. Hayes

Regent University
TECHNOLOGY TEACHING COMPETENCY 2

Technology Teaching Competency

Introduction

In today’s technology-centered society, integrating technology and media resources is an

essential part of effective teaching and instruction. According to Mark L. Johnson (2020), “It is

important for us to consider how to make these” technology resources and “tools available for

our instructors, as well as how to use them to their fullest in the classroom” (p. 344). The main

obstacle teachers face when using technology is learning how to use technology, which is why it

is beneficial for me to practice integrating technology into my teaching now and in the future.

Liu et al. (2017) confirm that “a teacher’s experience with technology significantly” affects their

“classroom technology integration” (p. 795). Even though technology intimidates some teachers,

my life experiences have given me the ability to teach myself and learn new technology quickly.

As a result of this adaptability and technology literacy, technology is a central part of my

student-centered lessons.

Artifacts’ Rationale

Google Forms: Late Work Form

For my first student-centered technology artifact, I created an “English 8 Late Work

Form” for my students to fill out whenever they complete missing work. Google Forms is a

resource free for any Google account to use. On Google Forms, teachers can specifically use it as

a way to create quizzes, questionnaires, surveys, and any other types of forms they may need.

Whenever teachers use it to create quizzes, they can make an answer key for the site to

automatically grade or manually grade the quizzes according to the teacher’s preference. Thus

far, I have used Google Forms to create a “getting to know you” form, a quiz, and a late work

form. The late work form, specifically, is particularly helpful because it effectively organizes the
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classroom. On the Google Form, I have students fill out their full name, block number, and

specific completed assignments, along with how they are really doing if they decide to answer.

This form allows students to share how they are doing and organize their assignments. Rather

than submitting their assignment and hoping I realize they have completed it after I have finished

grading that assignment, the late work form ensures that students receive credit for their work. I

chose this technology, overall, for it helps me keep track of student late work and better manage

my students’ grades for them.

Google Slides: SEL Story Time Activity

For my second artifact, I assigned students a number and had them tell a story relating to

the topic on their numbered slide via Google Slides. Google Slides is another resource by Google

that allows students and/or teachers to collaborate on work together at the same time. The

students at my school are 1:1, so technology integration is a part of these students’ work every

day. To avoid the monotony of answering in the Zoom chat box, I had students share about a

time they noticed someone in trouble and they helped them during our SEL time, or morning

meeting. By having students answer on one Google Slides presentation, this gave me the ability

to watch them all as they work and see who needs more time to work, without ostracizing the

slower workers. When students wrote on their own slide, it gave them their own space to share as

little or as much as they would like. I was surprised by how much students were willing to share

on a shared Google Slides presentation. Google Slides is a great resource for cooperative

learning as well whenever I want to have my students work together when they are virtual or in

person. I chose Google Slides for this assignment as my student-centered strategy because my

students could freely share their thoughts and read what their classmates had to share about the

subject, all while keeping their work in one place for organizational purposes.
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Theory to Practice Reflection

Focusing on improving my student-centered integration of technology and media

resources, I have realized how effective and engaging technology can be for more students. It

can be easy to lecture my students and give them virtual independent worksheets, but it is

extremely important for me to keep my students engaged virtually. Even though creating Google

Forms, Google Slides presentations, and learning how to use new resources can be time

consuming at times, it is an essential part of being an effective technology leader. Christopher

Masullo (2017) claims, “The effective technology leader should possess certain qualities and

characteristics,” which involves having a “clear vision” for the integration of technology (p. 58).

With technology becoming more and more advanced, this vision is more possible today than it

has ever been. Student-centered technology integration allows students to use their “1:1

technology”, or chromebooks, as a way to bridge the gap between what students already know,

their prior knowledge, and what they want to learn. Resources like Google Forms and Google

Slides also make it easier for teachers to collect data and check for understanding of where

students are at, so a teacher can adjust the lesson plans and pacing as needed. Personally, I have

seen how using Google Forms and Google Slides has helped my students to open up and connect

with others, organize better, and grow in their understanding of the English content as a whole.

Overall, I look forward to continuing to use Google’s resources and finding new resources to

encourage cooperative learning and collaboration more, so I can better prepare my students for

the workplace where they will need to collaborate with others.

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References

Johnson, M. L. (2020). Training for the 21st century. Midwest Quarterly, 61(3), 342-47.

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.regent.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=2e7cd

36f-e0cd-470e-a1c7-3f9befab5255%40pdc-v-sessmgr06&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3

QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=144367399&db=a9h

Liu, F., Ritzhaupt, A., Dawson, K., & Barron, A. (2017). Explaining technology integration in

K-12 classrooms: A multilevel path analysis model. Educational Technology Research &

Development, 65(4), 795-813. https://doi-org.ezproxy.regent.edu/10.1007/

s11423-016-9487-9

Masullo, C. (2017). Change agents and opinion leaders: Integration of classroom technology.

Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 18(3), 57-71. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.

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b5255%40pdc-v-sessmgr06&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=1

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