Welcome!

Hello, my name is Kim Mulkey. I am the Instructional Technology Facilitator at the Primary School of Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia.

What is Technology Integration (TI)? Is it teacher or student centered? What is appropriate for different age levels? Why teachers and not just Technology Specialists? What is the difference between Technology Instruction and Integration? These are questions of which every teacher should know the answers.

My definition of TI includes the answers to the above questions. TI should be both teacher and student centered, adaptable for all age levels, should be included in all classrooms, may include technology instruction, and is the responsibility of all teachers in the school.In my opinion, curriculum is the most important ingredient in TI. Technology is a tool that aids in the accomplishment of content objectives being met. All teachers are as responsible for technology as “computer” teachers. Integrating technology follows the same plan for creating lessons as has traditionally been done in the past. As teachers create their lesson plans for instruction they need to first determine the curricular objectives that need to be met. The next step would be to determine the best available tools for delivery of the instruction. Interactive Whiteboards, Powerpoint presentations, digital photography, videos, printed outlines and many more are technological aids for instruction in the classroom. The third step of any lesson would be to give the student the opportunity to practice the concept(s). Once again the teacher would need to choose the best available tool to give the student maximum practice. This may or may not include technology, depending on the age level and objective. For a first grader learning the writing process, they may use a pencil and paper to write all of the drafts but the final. At this time the student may type the finished product. If the objective is math facts, then a web or software based program for repetition may be used. Once the students have had the opportunity to practice the skill, there should be some type of assessment. This does not have to be a formal assessment. Senteo is a great tool to use throughout a lesson to check for understanding, or it can be used as a final test. There are also many programs available to keep track of student achievement. Many are costly, but some are affordable.

I also like culminating activities to assess multiple objectives and skills that should improve over time. There are many technology examples of these type activities. At the elementary level, examples may be using a paint program (Pixie2 is my favorite) to create a class book (printed or online with audio,) blog projects on a topic, videos, photo stories, and many more.