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Technology in Education Framing Statement

The use of technology in education can open dynamic gateways to multi-faceted

understandings for students, but technology can also be used in impersonal and inappropriate

ways that lead to dispassion, confusion, and distraction. In this interactive powerpoint

presentation I created to teach fourth and fifth graders hyperbole and limericks, I used the

visually flashy and animated fun advantages of technology and combined it with student

interaction with the technology and each other. During this lesson, students were attracted and

entertained by the visual and movement elements of the presentation. They were also completely

engaged in the participatory portion of the lesson, using the technology themselves to express

their understandings of hyperbole and limericks. They were pulled into the lesson in ways they

might not have been had I not used technology, during both the instructional and participatory

portions of the lesson.

Considering how skillful teachers guide instruction supported by technological tools,

Reuben Puentedura developed the SAMR model to suggest increasingly complex ways that

technology impacts the classroom (Portnoy, 2018). The acronym SAMR stands for Substitution,

Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. While substituting technology for tasks that

could just as easily and as effectively be taught with paper and pencil or the whiteboard does not

change the nature of teaching or learning, augmentation of technology involves an improvement

on the understanding or application of student knowledge. Modification of the educational

experience through the use of technology involves a redesign of the task by creating real-time

interactive experiences that might be impossible without technology. Redefining education with
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technology makes new tasks possible that were previously unattainable without the integration of

technology.

Using an interactive SMARTboard for my lesson on hyperbole and limericks, I was able

to create the collective experience of analyzing and annotating examples of poetry together in a

way that would have been very cumbersome to do without the technology. Technology allowed

me to project poetry for a shared reading experience, and also allowed my students to identify

and experiment with literary devices and poetic structure collectively. To accomplish this

learning experience without technological tools would have been extremely time-consuming in

both preparing for the lesson and teaching the lesson. My use of technology modified

instructional content to make it accessible to all students at the same time and share their

knowledge and understandings with each other through example. It also redefined how students

in my class had previously experienced reading poetry and identifying the structures and

elements of poetry.

Technology can transform the learning experience for students so that they are

accustomed to being dynamic and responsive to the technological world around them.

Integrating technology simply for the sake of including it in the classroom is a waste of resources

and time. Something that is boring and ineffective on paper is probably still boring and

ineffective on a laptop or tablet. Relying on technology to drill and promote rote memorization

isn’t promoting critical thinking, problem solving, or creative application. (Reissman, 2017). In

order for technology to be anything more than “overpriced distractions”, it needs to be more than

convenient and self-directed (Lynch, 2016).


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There is also a potential down side to the techno-hype buzzing in the educational world.

What kinds of messages are we sending to students with our preferences for punchy, quick, and

exciting tools to teach concepts that in and of themselves should be engaging enough to captivate

them? Are we perpetuating the need for instant gratification? Learning doesn’t always have an

entertainment element; sometimes it’s just plain challenging, and the sense of accomplishment is

the reward. How does the use of technology impact intrinsic motivation to learn?

A great deal of responsibility rests on educators to ensure that learning and healthy life

skills are not being sacrificed for the sake of technology in classrooms. Pedagogical

considerations need to include equity of access, the academic dishonesty that can accompany the

open content that technology offers, how to best use assistive technology to accommodate

students with learning disabilities, approaching assessment of learning via technology and

assessing with technology, and how best to use analytical data provided through technology

(Lynch, 2017).

It’s an exciting time in the intersection of technology and education. The potential of

using technology to enhance and transform educational experiences runs the gamut from

communication and differentiation, to collaboration and inclusion. While access to devices and

connectivity to the internet has steadily increased for schools and students, we must remain

vigilant and abreast of the potential dangers of relying on the technology in our pedagogical tool

box. Using technology in our classrooms in responsible and efficient ways means integrating it

to enhance participation, communication, and curiosity without diminishing the importance of

building life traits like passion, perseverance, empathy, and community.


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References

Hicks, T. (2009). The digital writing workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Lynch, M. (2016). The dark side of educational technology. The Edvocate, Oct. 15, 2016.

Retrieved on April 11, 2019 from https://www.theedadvocate.org/dark-side-educational-

technology/.

Lynch, M. (2017). 10 more educational technology concepts every teacher should know about.

The Tech Edvocate, March 8, 2017. Retrieved on April 11, 2019 from https://

www.thetechedvocate.org/10-more-educational-technology-concepts-every-teacher-

should-know-about/.

Portnoy, L. (2018). How SAMR and tech can help teachers truly transform assessment. EdSurge,

Feb. 1, 2018. Retrieved on April 11, 2019 from https://www.edsurge.com/news/

2018-02-01-how-samr-and-tech-can-help-teachers-truly-transform-assessment.

Reissman, H. (2017). 7 smart ways to use technology in classrooms. ideas.TED.com, Sept. 13,

2017. Retrieved on April 11, 2019 from https://ideas.ted.com/7-smart-ways-to-use-

technology-in-classrooms/.

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