The edutopia staff wrote an article on an overview of the Edutopia professional development guide for integrating technology tools in the classroom. They explain that technology integration is the "use of technology resources -- computers, digital cameras, CD-ROMs, software applications, the Internet, etc. -- in daily classroom practices, and in the management of a school. The first part is known as the Guided Process. In this process participants are given a brief introduction to technology integration. Answering questions such as, "Why is technology integration important?"; "What is technology integration?"; and "How do you integrate technology into the classroom?" The second part is know as the Group Participation. This part guides participants in envisioning technology integration. It requires participants to visit various educational Web sites and then to use what they found to brainstorm ideas for technology integration. The tasks are accomplished by using group collaboration and hands-on use of technology the Internet.
The article goes on to explain why we need technology integration. Besides the obvious, students live in a technological world and the excitement technology brings to the class, there is a necessity of today's students to have 21st Century Skills. These 21st Century Skills include:
- Personal and social responsibility
- Planning, critical thinking, reasoning, and creativity
- Strong communication skills, both for interpersonal and presentation needs
- Cross-cultural understanding
- Visualizing and decision-making
- Knowing how and when to use technology and choosing the most appropriate tool for the task
Technology has helped change the student/teacher roles and relationships. Promoting project-based learning styles, it engages students in their learning processes. Students acquire and use higher-order thinking, analysis, and problem solving and take responsibility for their learning outcomes. Teachers become guides and facilitators instead of education dictators.
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