Technology Integration in the High School Classroom - Research Paper Example

Technology Integration in the High School Classroom Technology in the classroom needs to be instituted on the high school level, and there are many ways to achieve this overall objective. Instructional strategy has roots in cognitive development and social learning theories that are applicable to the observation situation and the teaching paradigm. Many of these theories involve self-efficacy, or the motivation to succeed in high school students, as well as self-regulation, which may have more to do with teaching good study habits. The relationship between self-efficacy and self-regulated learning in students is a good place to begin looking at how teachers can appropriately plan to meet the needs of all learners through dynamic instructional strategy that employs technology effectively. “Professors who employ various methods of teaching such as a PowerPoint, video segments and overhead projectors during one course lecture are able to better keep students' attention, thereby, reducing boredom with the lecture and, consequently improving the overall learning experience” (D’Angelo, 2007) . Regarding technology in the classroom, a recommendation that this report has for the established high school system is that more focus needs to be placed on getting students familiar with technology and putting technology in the classroom, even at this high school level. Knowing how to use and being familiar with up-to-date technology is vital in a wide variety of environments, and the sooner students experience it, the better. Today’s technology embraces the idea of the information revolution and the way that it impacts communication. Basically, the relationship between student-teacher efficiency and technology is synchronous and complementary, especially considering the fact that issues of forethought that arise with self-efficacy are directly related to the application of this technology. The concepts can also be found to work in terms of complementary cause-and-effect relationships. Standard pedagogy pertains to technology, basically: it assays the degree to which an individual believes that they can succeed at a given task. The concept of using technology centers on the formation of helpful self-motivational strategies which ultimately or resultantly lead to the same belief; in this case, the result is achievement. The key difference between the two concepts is that technological change is related to the self in terms of reflection and evaluation compared to a standard, while some teachers are related to a different type of comparison that puts more weight on a the perceptions of others. The increasing use of technology in the classroom is focused upon in many instances in the form of internet and networked communications, but an older and often more overlooked issue concerning the use of technology in schools is that of other technological media in the classroom. This issue has divided many people in terms of either professing the efficacy of the medium or drawing out concerns regarding how it in the classroom is being presented and utilized. Much of the debate centers around the content of the programs that are incorporated into the classroom, and the facility with which they are integrated in the core curriculum Many researchers have found that incorporating technology into the classroom dynamic is especially useful in language and literature courses, and also may help students who learn visually better integrate concepts and definitions. Shin focuses on history and social studies as subjects that are also applicable. “Technology can be used in the middle school classroom to facilitate history and social studies learning. Technology can help to address multiple experiential learning styles by applying constructivist learning principles. Examples of these activities include students using technology to construct web sites” (Shin, 2000). These are often interactive activities, and they are once again advocated in this article which favors expanded technology in the classroom. Problems of funding and training also raise the level of technological issues in the minds of the students as they are encouraged to discuss options that will affect them directly. Some students may not think that they have an active voice in the issue, but they might have a lot of good ideas about how to better incorporate computers in the classroom. These students can find out through this method that they do have a substantial voice. The teacher can prompt them to raise the level of possibility and can focus on putting technology in the forefront of the consciousness of the student. “There is no one best way to use information technologies in the classroom. Different technologies or none at all work best for different types of course, different teaching styles, and different student needs.” (Mack and DeLecio, 2005). Rosenfield and Martinez provide another study that seeks individuation, but basically supports the theme of technology in the classroom. “The NCLB legislation requires that technology be integrated into instruction to promote learning. Over 40 states have technology standards for K-12 students. However teachers who have been in the field often do not have the expertise to use technology with their students…” (Rosenfield and Martinez, 2005). This article shows how a political perspective is also part of the educational issue, which tends to obscure accurate reportage on it. Swan and Van Hooft examine three ways in which computers can be integrated in the classroom, first focusing on the problems faced by districts in challenged areas, and then proposing solutions to these problems in terms of three basic parameters. In the first, challenged areas are held as focal points for technological development. In the second, already-existing technologies are seen as instructive. In the second, technological development is named as paramount. And in the authors’ final proposal, the classroom itself becomes an experiment in learning how to integrate computers that are convenient to use, especially hand held devices such as Palms. “Findings highlight the personalization of learning afforded by such devices both in terms of individuals and individual classroom cultures, as well as their usefulness in extending learning beyond the classroom.” (Swan and Van Hooft, 2005). These are positive findings overall. Shin’s article also highlights the assumption that rather than looking to a document or another person in terms of guidance and blame, creative decision-makers work by their own compass to provide them with answers that work equally well on group projects and everyday tasks that affect their education’s dynamic in non-traditionalways. “The results showed that active responding correlated highly with initial and final performance measures and that active responding contributed significantly to predicting final performance when initial performance was controlled for.” (Shin, 2000). This is a reminder in Shin’s study that face to face instruction is a variable as well. “Some also fear that the use of technology may lead to the creation of barriers between the student and professor by fostering an atmosphere that is not conducive to student centered interactions. Others argue that students will become passive and "tune-out" the professor and thus fail to learn the necessary information. Professors who adhere to the belief in "learner-centered teaching” (D’Angelo, 2007). REFERENCE D’Angelo, J (2007). Technology in the classroom: friend or foe. Education. Mack, P. and G. LeLicio (2005). Assessing the use of information technology in the classroom. Journal of Electric Publishing. Rosenfield, B. and M. Martinez (2005). Promoting classroom technology use. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education. Shin, J (2000). Predicting classroom achievement from active responding on a computer- based groupware system. Remedial and Special Education. Swan, K. and M. Van Hooft (2005). Uses and Effects of Mobile Computing Devices. Journal of Research on Technology in Education. Trimmel, M. and J. Bachmann (2004). Cognitive, social, motivational and health aspects of students in laptop classrooms. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. Read More