Blogs on Technology Integration

Technology Integration

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Discover fresh ideas for using technology in the classroom and at home to improve learning, encourage collaboration, and increase student engagement.

Todd FinleyApril 7, 2011

In 1763, a royal decree was issued from Great Britain to the North American colonists: Do not?do not!?expand west of the Appalachian Mountains. The colonists resented the proclamation, inferring that the British were trying to contain them along the Atlantic Seaboard where control and taxation could be more easily imposed. The King believed his proclamation to be motivated by good intentions, protecting colonists from instigating any more costly wars with Native Americans, for one. But nothing could stop the westward expansion fever. Frontiersmen had already plundered the fish-rich rivers and fertile lands of the west, unspoiled by settlements and tobacco-ruined soil. No matter how many punishments the King and his court imposed, the rules would be subverted. Unofficially, the revolution had begun.

In 2011, social media is the new frontier. Adolescents are the early frontierspersons because they discovered and embraced social media first.

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Paul BogdanMarch 29, 2011

Editor's Note: Paul Bogdan was once an old-fashioned lecturing teacher centered secondary math teacher who left teaching for 14 years to build computer systems. He has come back and is reborn as a student-centered teacher trying to make a difference and trying to figure out what works in today's classroom.

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Mary Beth HertzMarch 25, 2011

It's great to talk about integrating technology, but what if you're stuck in a classroom with little or no technology or in a school with limited resources?

Seek out free money!

Here are some great resources for getting technology into your students' hands.

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Heather Wolpert-GawronMarch 17, 2011

We speak about the achievement gap between the different cultures in our schools. Meanwhile, however, many of the stakeholders in education have created a vast trench that lies between those who accept the inevitability of technology and those who still refute its place in our classrooms.

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Mary Beth HertzMarch 16, 2011

One reason why I love blogging is the chance to get a variety of responses to my ideas and thoughts. A reader of my last post commented:

"This article describes how to help children learn to use an unfamiliar computer program. Is that what 'integrating technology' means?"

This got me thinking: what do we really mean when we talk about "technology integration?" To me, the term means that technology is not taught as a separate class, but integrated into the classroom. It also means that students use technology to learn content and show their understanding of content, not just their expertise with a tool.

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Andrew MarcinekMarch 8, 2011

I read many blogs and follow many tweets that suggest we should all connect, share, and collaborate more often. I agree. However, many times we say it and it sounds good, but we never get to see examples while trying to keep up with the real time tweet deck. It quickly turns into platitude chat. So I decided to welcome you, the reader, into my classroom and showcase what a typical, connected class looks like.

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Mary Beth HertzFebruary 25, 2011

Just a few posts ago I provided a list of some of my favorite education books. One of them was Applying Standards-Based Constructivism: A Two-Step Guide for Motivating Elementary Students. In this post I want to revisit the book to explain how this two-step approach works well when integrating technology into the classroom.

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Bob LenzFebruary 21, 2011

Last month I attended the Aspen Institute Education Innovation Forum & Expo in Washington D.C. The event attracted many investors who are planning on investing in the new education technologies. I heard a number of people in attendance propose that the education market is the next "Dot-com" technology growth area.

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Andrew MarcinekFebruary 16, 2011

Collaborative assessment must be part of our learning today. We, as educators are doing our students a disservice if we don't attempt to make this type of assessment available to our students. There are few professions and work environments that only focus on individual competencies. Most modern work environments involve some type of collaboration or connected problem solving to enhance their corporation or product. However, the inevitable barriers surface in the form of social and digital media taboos.

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Andrew MarcinekJanuary 26, 2011

There is an important scene in the movie Hoosiers during the team's first practice. The coach, played by Gene Hackman walks into the gym and gathers the team together. He tells his team that practice is going to be different than what they are used to. The montage that follows highlights fundamental basketball. The boys are engaged in agility drills, ball handling drills, and a variety of defensive drills. Throughout the montage you hear players asking when they are going to shoot and scrimmage. Hackman replies, "There's more to the game than shooting! There's fundamentals and defense."

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