Essential Conditions for Effective Technology Integration

1. Essential Conditions for Effective Technology Integration Cliff Hutto Columbus State University

2. 8 Essential Conditions • To best implement technology into the classrooms, there are some essential conditions that must be met: • A Shared Vision for Technology Integration • Standards and Curriculum Support • Required Policies • Access to Hardware, Software, and Other Resources • Skilled Personnel • Technical Assistance • Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Models • Engaged Community

3. A Shared Vision for Technology Integration • In order to fully integrate technology, teachers and staff members need support from the following groups: • The School • The School District • The State • The Local Community

4. Standards and Curriculum Support • Students must not only learn the curriculum of the subject, but also learn technology skills. • Technology should be integrated into the curriculum in order to satisfy both the standards of curriculum and technology.

5. Required Policies • The following policies must be put into place when integrating technology: • Online use policy • Legal/ethical policy • Policies to ensure equity • Technology must be readily available for ALL students • Financial assistance, incentives, and accountability policy

6. Access to Hardware, Software, and Other Resources • Schools must determine how to get the most use out of technology based on the budget that is given to them. • There must be input from teachers when it comes to the purchasing of hardware and software. • Technology should be kept safe, cared for properly, and maintained sufficiently in order to ensure the longevity of equipment.

7. Skilled Personnel • Because of the rapid changes in technology, educators must be trained continuously on new technology and the different uses of technology. • Having individual program training works better than training on multiple programs at once. • It is also more widely accepted if the training occurs on a paid day that teachers must be there (in-service days).

8. Technical Assistance • The school must have a technical team in place to handle complicated problems. • Teachers can be trained on basic trouble-shooting, but should not be expected to solve major technical issues. • The technical team must also be available to help when teachers need problems about technology answered.

9. Appropriate Teaching and Assessment Models • Teachers should know how to use and implement the four types of technology integration models: • Substitution • Augmentation • Modification • Redefinition

10. Engaged Community • The local community must be on board with the integration of technology. • Gaining support from local community can be done by: • Inviting community members in to show them how the technology is being used. • Partnering with other schools and local businesses. • Educating members of the community on the technology that is being integrated.

11. Science Department’s Strong Points • As a department, these conditions are what we implement best: • Shared vision for technology integration • Standards and curriculum support • Required policies • Appropriate teaching and assessment models • Skilled personnel* • *Our department has faculty members that have the ability to become very skilled in the use of technology. However, the training that we go through should be focused on one program at a time.

12. Science Department’s Weaknesses • The skills that we need improvement on are: • Access to hardware, software, and other resources* • *Our department members (or teachers in the school), are not involved in the decision making of what hardware or software is implemented. • Technical assistance • Engaged community

13. Resource • Roblyer, M. & Doering, A. (2013). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon