Tech+Integration

**1.) ARTIFACT:** Technology Integration

There were several videos that I watched but one that I liked the most was called “Tech-Differentiated Instruction Engages Elementary School Students” at Forest Elementary. I enjoyed this video because rather than having the predictable classroom with a lecturing teacher and students were unconscious from boredom; this video illustrated a refreshing level of engagement among students that is hard pressed to find in schools today. What I have observed and learned from watching various videos on technology integration is the level of effectiveness, engagement, and creativity that students operate on as a result of bringing technology to the classroom. The access to self-expression, critical thinking, and problem solving at such a young age was remarkable! The tech integration at Forest Elementary showed that we have a tendency to underestimate students’ abilities when we limit them to rigid ways of expressing their learning.

The importance of technology integration in today’s classrooms is critical. Another video on edutopia.org titled “Big Thinkers” by Judy Willis explains this. As a former neuroscientist she breaks down the mechanisms in which our brains work that illustrate the nature of boredom. By bringing technology integration into classrooms, we can disappear boredom by shaking up curiosity and being unpredictable. (Surprise, surprise!). There are multiple ways to create curiosity, however, technology is a wonderful access to do this because it connects with a generation that has been immersed in technology pretty much since they were born. As a future educator, I would bring technology into the classroom as a means of interaction. I think connecting with other classrooms, creating projects within the community, and using technology as a means of self-expression for students is how I would like to initially bring technology into my classroom.