Merry-Go-Round

Technology integration - that old chestnut! It seems that this discussion has been on the table for a most of my teaching career. A discussion point that has never been resolved, one that everyone defined differently and one that quite frankly scared people.Personal I think that the way this discussion is handled is key to any successful implementation. In 2001 when we first had some discussions the thought was that technological integration was the use of computers in every lesson; with staff lining up to book the computer labs. Then the discussions looked at the use of Smart boards - was the use of SmartBoards technological integration? How advance did the use need to be to be called integration?Spin this forward to 2011 we were looking at the use of different technology, using a computer was seen as the norm and technological integration was now the use of devices such as iPads, mobiles phones, video and sound recorders. So now it is 2015 and does it look any different. I think at policy level the discussion still rumbles on and they continue to try and define what they mean by this statement. Whilst in the classroom many teachers remain confused as to what this would look like in their classroom, often feeling that technology needs to be tacked onto each lesson.For me I think it is a lot simpler and my core beliefs remain much as they were in 2001 (although the technology we can use has changed dramatically). I think the definition of technology was never the issue, all of these items listed above fall under the remit of technology, and the list could easily be extended. I think the core question is integration, how do we integrate the technology and what is integration?Now here again I must be clear. Integration for its own sake does not benefit a lesson. Adding some multimedia creation to a badly designed and taught lesson will not improve it, and equally a lesson can be great and inspiring and well designed without any technology.  For me good integration is when technology is used to enhance a lesson with a genuine purpose and the technology chosen complements the lesson design. However, to do this teachers need to feel confident to fail. Feel that if the project has problems the first time they can make changes for the next attempt. Feel empowered to allow the pupils to become the instructors within the class. Feel confident that the addition of the technology will not necessitate more planning. Technology should not be “pushed”, rather that great lesson opportunities should be developed, using whichever medium is relevant.Here lies the crux of the question - what is integration and is integration the best term? I was interested to read the Jeff Utecht piece on defining it as embedding technology:

“What if we allowed our curriculum to grow around the technology, allowed the technology to be swallowed whole by the curriculum maybe even scraping the paint off in the process and in some cases modeling the technology skills and tools into something new and different to meet the needs of the curriculum.”

It made me think - is this what I am looking for? I am not sure I know. I do know that I am uncomfortable with the idea of growing the curriculum around the technology, as I firmly believe technology can enhance learning but it is not required to enhance learning. However, the idea of having technology as a given, a something that is already assumed (but not always used) a something that can be twisted and manipulated at ease to develop new and exciting paths for learning and teaching, now that is something that I can buy into!But how to do this within schools? Often we use visual devices to help us. The one used at my school is the SAMR structure. I can see some merit in this as it gives an easy to follow structure of where we are and where we need to be. It also allows a teacher to reflect on their teaching techniques. I am never keen on such rigid structures and this website made me raise an eyebrow.[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6j8soDYoaw[/youtube]However, when I listened to Ruben Puentedura’s ideas and philosophy (even though the music was too loud and overpowering) I could not help but become intrigued! So now I will reflect on my teaching and add a little post before Christmas.

“keeping teaching practice as something enjoyable and lively...keeping the passion alive” (6:27 on the video)