The challenge lies in using technologies in better ways to promote meaningful student learning!
Data Analysis/Interpretation Research Contribution
Data Analysis/Interpretation
Observations of Students Using Best Practices:
Analysis of the data sources - observations of my personal growth process
related to technology integration, questionnaires and interviews with my students, informal
observations in the classroom, computer lab and library where the technologies are available, as
well as informal conversations with my students - revealed that the use of advanced technology
affected my students in the following ways. It has contributed to the building of a learning
environment where everyone is a teacher/learner, and has enhanced the learning of my students in
the areas of computer literacy, academic proficiency, and cognitive skills. After a review of
observations, interviews, questionnaires, and documents, and through analysis of the data
collected, five patterns of best practices in technology integration were found:
1. Technology was used best in conjunction with multidisciplinary projects in which curricular
activities were pertinent to students. The design of these projects, although in-depth
and time-intensive, enabled them to acquire and use information, skills, and tools in contexts
that reflect the way information will be used in their future and real lives. Web-based
technologies such as the Internet and e-mail made it possible to extend the classroom beyond its
four walls. They provided my students with opportunities to participate in virtual information
networking. They regularly participated in data-gathering projects with schools nationally
through such websites as SchoolNet GrassRoots Project.
2. One of the best practices used with my students was focusing on the objectives of an
activity first and then deciding when and if to use technology to help meet those objectives.
Implementation strategies and media selection were chosen after the learning objectives were
identified. In a technology-integrated assignment, objectives were like a travel destination,
while implementation strategies and technology were like a type of transportation; without
knowing where you were going, it was hard to know if you would need a plane, train, or automobile
to get there. Being flexible and not single-minded about where technology could be used in an
activity was necessary for technology integration. Technology would play different roles in
their projects depending on curriculum objectives and lesson design.
3. Another best practice that I observed was students building a community of learners who
participated in activities together with a shared understanding about what they were doing and
what it meant to them. In each of the assignments, everyone was a teacher/learner. They shared
what they knew about computer technology. Those students who brought presentation software
knowledge with them helped those who were not as experienced. For example, one student was able
to demonstrate the answer to the question, "How do you add sound?" They created opportunities to
expand both the individual student's and the group's knowledge base, whether it was about
technical skills or curricular content, participated in decision-making, took risks without fear
of failure, developed expertise, experienced a variety of activities, and worked on
interdependent projects with others. For my students, such collaboration fostered the potential
to think reflectively, to think critically, and to become motivated to learn independently
throughout their lives. The new users of Corel Presentations helped each other with problems,
questions, and decisions. Students who were working with partners shared their expertise with
each other. For example, two students working together on their activity identified each other's
strengths, thus, placing one as the Corel Presentations technical adviser and the other, who
had a better command of the writing process, as the writer of the text. Using computers during
co-operative learning within our project-based environment offered many benefits to my students,
such as greater quantity and quality of daily achievement, more successful problem-solving, more
task-related student-to-student interaction, and increased control over their own learning.
The community of learners in my classroom was not just about activities external to the
classroom, but also about me as their teacher being a learner in the process also, and helping
students recognize each other as technical experts. I did not allow my own lack of knowledge
about technology to hinder them. I felt confident in knowing that most students learned to
manipulate the computer quickly and we would help each other to learn. I told the students, "If
we had waited until I had learned enough to teach it, we would not have done it." I liked being
able to show them that I was a learner like they were and that we could teach each other.
Throughout a project, their questions challenged me continually to broaden my knowledge base
about computer technology. Learning and participation in this community was intertwined.
Collaborative activities were a natural fit as an effective learning strategy. Project-based
activities using technology provided the perfect context for students to work together and to
capitalize on their strengths, whether curricular or technical, to develop teamwork skills,
and to scaffold learning. For example, groups of three or four students gathered together to
brainstorm in a session prior to starting on their group project. They also shared and divided
the activity in such a way that all group members had work responsibilities so that each student
had individual time with different technologies. Student experts surfaced in this type of
environment and coached each other on a particular piece of software or participated in peer
editing.
4. During technology-connected assignments, learning was regularly and systematically
scaffolded for my students within the continuum between their actual and potential capability.
Using this method, each student was provided with some type of assistance to complete an activity
or learn a concept. Gradually, the scaffold was removed until the student was doing this on her
own. The scaffolding strategies used in conjunction with technology included bookmarking
websites, providing written directions for computer-related activities, graphic organizers,
note-taking guides to use while gathering information from on-line resources, verbal reminders,
and peer tutoring.
5. Another best practice related to integrating technology was the use of multiple hard and
soft technologies. In answer to the question "What were the best practices to integrate new
technologies to improve and enhance student learning?", findings from this study indicated that
frequent computer usage combined with various uses of technology tied to student-relevant
project-based learning strategies constituted best practices as related to technology integration
. The most interesting and innovative uses of technology took place where multiple uses of
technology were implemented; where technology integration was not limited to a narrow set of
technology tools, but rather a variety of tools in relation to learning goals were chosen.
These included soft technologies such as the Internet, Corel Presentations, word processors,
graphics programs, spreadsheets, databases, and multimedia software. They also included hard
technologies such as a digital camera, scanner, computers, printers, and a LCD projector.