Integrating Technology in the classroom in order to engage students and prepare them for their future.

MATC Synthesis Paper

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Teaching Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State Uni ersity

Al!ert "effrey #ilarides A$%%$&'&' (o em!er )*, )*'$

Throughout my time teaching, I ha e !een as+ed from parents and administrators ali+e ho, I incorporate technology into my classroom- I ha e !een reminded ho, important technology ,ill !e in this generation.s future- #o,e er, one thing that I ha e !een rarely as+ed !y peers, parents, and administration is ho, the incorporation of technology engages students and prepares them for their future- /ormer United States Senator (ancy 0asse!aum once said, 1There can !e infinite uses of the computer and ne, age technology, !ut if teachers themsel es are not a!le to !ring it into the classroom and ma+e it ,or+, then it fails-2 0asse!aum points out the fact that in order for technology to truly facilitate the curriculum, the teacher needs to +no, ho, to properly use the technology- Since there ha e !een schools, teachers ha e constantly had to follo, curriculum to ma+e sure students ,ere prepared for their future- Teachers ha e gone from one room schools to single classrooms !ut ,hat has not changed is the constant e olution of technology- 3e ha e gone from !lac+ !oards to ,hite !oards, glo!es to maps, an a!acus to using calculators in class- (o, ,e are to a point ,here technology isn.t 4ust readily a aila!le to students at home, !ut the technology is also at the students. fingertips ,hen they are in classTeachers should incorporate technology into their classrooms !ecause it promotes acti e engagement and hands on learning- It allo,s teachers to truly differentiate learning and !olster critical thin+ing- Throughout the classes I too+ in the MATC program at Michigan State Uni ersity, I ,as a!le to see that technology is a tool that must !e integrated in the classroom in order for our students to !e engaged, learn the content, and !e prepared for future education and careers5efore using ne, technology in the classroom ,e need to +no, ho, to effecti ely integrate it into the curriculum ,e ha e already !een ,or+ing ,ith- The most common theory that is used under technology curriculum is the TPAC0 6Technological Pedagogical and Content

0no,ledge7 theory frame,or+- This theory in a sense com!ines a teacher.s technology +no,ledge, pedagogical +no,ledge, and content +no,ledge so they can effecti ely integrate technology into their curriculum- #o,e er, this theory is not 4ust a!out using technology in the classroom8 for e9ample, if a teacher assigns a ,riting prompt ,here students 4ust use a computer for typing purposes, they is not really integrating technology effecti ely into that lesson- :eally using the TPAC0 theory means understanding different types of technology and ha ing the +no,ledge to use them to enhance student learning- This theory also stresses that teachers ha e a great grasp o er the curriculum that they are teaching- If teachers do not ha e the in;depth +no,ledge, then it ,ill !e practically impossi!le for student to gain that +no,ledge3hen using the TPAC0 theory in a classroom a teacher must put themsel es out there and assess ,here they are ,hen it comes to integrating technology into the classroom and their final goal- 5efore entering the MATC program, I came to the conclusion that it ,as important for me as a teacher to not only teach the curriculum !ut do it in a ,ay ,here students are acquiring s+ills they ,ill need to ha e in their future8 ho,e er, I did not come to the reali<ation that technology ,ould ha e such a !ig part in this until I entered the MATC program- Many 4o!s that students ,ill ,ant upon graduating high school or college are e9pecting applicants to ha e at least !asic technology s+ills8 ,ith time this trend ,ill most li+ely gro, to the point that students ,ill need to understand all different forms of technology in order to o!tain these careersTherefore, in my first fe, technology classes in the program I tried to push myself to include technology in my classroom- I found that technology and the use of the TPAC0 theory ,as a dri ing factor in the enhancement of student learning- This ,as apparent to me in TE =$' ,hen I had to change a lesson plan I currently taught to no, include technology- I too+ a polling lesson in my campaign unit curriculum and included a hands. on approach to the assignment- Students

used their cell phones to ta+e ma+e polling questions a!out possi!le presidential candidatesStudents ans,ered the questions and the data ,ent to polle ery,here-com ,here students ,ere a!le to access and analy<e the data- As stated in Artifact ', 1This unit I created ,as !ased off the TPAC0 model8 the content +no,ledge ,as there and I thought that I had a good !ase +no,ledge of the technology that I ,as using to implement this lesson in a ne, and successful ,ay2 6Artifact '7- 5ecause I ,ent into the lesson ,ith +no,ledge of the content I ,as teaching, the ,ay that I should !e teaching it, and the technology !eing used, the lesson ,as a success and the students ,ere a!le to learn the material in a ne, ,ay>ne reason for integrating technology is to engage students in the curriculum- I ha e found through my studies and my time in the field that the engagement of students in the lessons that you present is one of, if not the most important things a teacher needs for their students to !e successful- The term 1Acti e ?earning2 is the most apparent thing that comes to mind ,hen tal+ing a!out student engagement- Students need to not only !e in ol ed ,ith the lessons !ut they also need to !e hands on, ma+ing decisions, and critically thin+ing- In TE ='@, Technology and ?eadership, I loo+ed closer at ho, I could I create a more hands on e9perience for my students so that they ,ould gain a !etter understanding of ho, ci ics and economics is used in real life situations- The goal of the pro4ect ,as for students to create a school store that ,ould ensure that the students used these ci ics and economic s+ills in a more engaging ,ay- As stated in Artifact &, 1Students need to !e hands on in their education in order to get the most out of it and in most economicsAsocial studies classes students are remo ed from truly !eing hands onThis solution is going to get the students more engaged in the classroom !y teaching students ho, economics ,or+s in real life2 6Artifact &7- This idea of ma+ing lessons more engaging can also !e seen in Artifact ', the repurposed lesson plan- The original lesson required students to

create poll questions and ,al+ around to get data for their poll- The lesson had a good start !ut ,hen the technology piece ,as added, 1B students ,ere a!le to !e hands on ,ith their education ,hich I !elie e ta+es a lesson to the ne9t le el and enhances students learning across the !oard2 6Artifact '7- The original lesson had a good !ase !ut ,asn.t engaging the students enough- 5y allo,ing them to use a ne, +ind of technology that they hadn.t encountered !efore, the students ,ere a!le to really en4oy the lesson and ta+e ,hat they ,ere supposed to learn a,ay from itAnother e9ample of ma+ing a lesson more engaging through technology ,as the odcast pro4ect that students created for senior social studies- Senior Social Studies is the final social studies class that students are required to ta+e at the high school- >ne ma4or focus of the class is loo+ing closer at the campaign process and candidates for elections- 5efore ta+ing TE =$', the students ,ould create campaign posters for candidates to sho, their understanding of a past candidate or a candidate running for election- After ta+ing this class, I ,as a!le to create a ne, lesson for this unit that required the students to ma+e campaign ideo odcasts 6Artifact %7- The lesson !rought out the +no,ledge in students in a ,hole ne, ,ay- They ,ere e9cited to use a ne, type of technology and ,ere a!le to sho, more +no,ledge than they could !efore !ecause of the ne, format of the lesson- > erall, the use of technology I ha e incorporated into the curriculum has !een a success !ecause of ho, much it engages the students in their learningThrough the student engagement that technology !rings, students are a!le to ma+e a !etter connection ,ith ,hat they are learning and ha e a !etter understanding of the content for that reason- As stated !efore, in TE ='@, I came up ,ith the idea to create an engaging atmosphere for teaching economics- The goal of this lesson ,as not only to engage the students !ut more importantly, for students to learn the content and remem!er it past the lesson- Through

this lesson, 1Students are getting firsthand +no,ledge on ho, supply and demand ,or+ in our capitalist system- They are a!le to ta+e real figures, through e9cel documents, and hopefully !e a!le to turn them into a profit2 6Artifact &7- The understanding of the content that they can ta+e a,ay from this lesson is the most important partStudents can also use technology to access the information that they are learning in class on their o,n time- Access to technology is no longer a pri ilege to a fe, Americans8 it has !ecome the norm for students to ha e computers and cell phones ,ith internet access- This allo,s students to ta+e their education to the ne9t le el !y ha ing information constantly at their finger tips- This added technology is especially important ,hen students lea e the classroomMany times students ,ould li+e to access notes and additional resources outside of class in order to learn the content more effecti ely and creating an online presence is one ,ay that ,ill help students- In CEP =)* I ,as a!le to create a 3i+ispace for my Ci ics class that included lesson plans, notes presentations used in class, acti ities, and additional resources- This ,e!site ,as a great ,ay for the students to access information learned inside the classroom outside of the classroomAnother ,ay that technology allo,s students to access information outside of the classroom is through data from assignments !eing a aila!le outside of school- 3hen teachers create assignments ,here students participate together online, they are a!le to ta+e ,hat they did in class and e9pand upon it once they get home- 3hen doing the lesson using the online polling technology, students ,ere a!le to trac+ data that they gained outside of the class and they ,ere also a!le to use the data from other students- As stated in Artifact ', 1B!ecause the results ,ere online, all the students ,ere a!le to access the information and discuss as a group ,ith the information in front of e eryone- This ga e them the opportunity to !rainstorm ,hen ,or+ing on

their campaign ads 6,hich is the final product of the unit72 6Artifact'7- 3hen this lesson ,as used ,ithout the technology aspect, student discussion ended ,hen class ended- 5ecause of s,itching to this ne, technology, discussion can continue ,hene er they ha e access to the technology- It also has opened the doors for students to complete group home,or+ ,ithout ha ing to !e in the same room ,ith each other- Through Coogle docs, Padlet, and many other ,e!sites students are a!le to ,or+ together to get engaged and colla!orate li+e ne er !efore- It also has opened the doors to the possi!ility of more online classes- I ha e disco ered in my time in the MATC program that it is important for students to ha e access to online learning- This !ecame apparent to me ,hen ta+ing CEP =)* and de eloping a ,e!site and online curriculum/inally, integrating technology into the classroom is necessary in order to prepare students for the technology they may encounter in their future college plans andAor career- The e olution of technology has made great changes on ho, college courses are taught no,- These classes are no longer 4ust required to teach students the curriculum !ut ,e are trying to gi e them technology s+ills that they are going to ha e to use in their future endea ors- Students are no, going to encounter an online presence in almost e ery college class they ta+e- 5ecause this change has happened, it is important that students are prepared to encounter those types of classesIt ,as !ecause of the facts that I listed a!o e that during my CEP =)* class ,hen I ,as creating a 3i+ispace ,e!site 6Artifact @7 for my Ci ics and Economics class, that I tried to ma+e the site as interacti e and college li+e as I could- Almost all of the courses that I ha e ta+en at Michigan State ha e had some type of online presence, ,hether it is 4ust a drop !o9 and discussion posts all the ,ay to a fully technologically integrated class- Cetting students used to this early in their educational careers is essential for this generation- 3ithin this 3i+ispace,

students are a!le to hold group discussions through the discussion !oards, turn in ,or+, get help from others, and ha e countless resources at their finger tipsIt also teaches students to critically thin+ and use pro!lem sol ing s+ills, ,hich ha e !een t,o qualities that I ha e seen diminish at the secondary le el- 5y using a ,e!site li+e my 3i+ispace it allo,s the instructor to do much more creati e things that encourages students to thin+ outside of the !o9 and critically thin+- /or instance, !y gi ing a group of students open ended questions to discuss ia the discussion post tool ,ithin 3i+ispace, I ha e !een a!le to promote self;a,areness and critical thin+ing- 5y ha ing a completely online course students are forced to depend on themsel es more than if they are in a regular classroom, ,hich ,ill prepare them for college courses and possi!le future 4o!s3e as teachers should also integrate types of technology that are already !eing used in the ,or+ force8 technology as simple as e9cel documents could !e !eneficial for students to learn at a young age- Since many of our students are most li+ely going to go into the !usiness sector of our economy, students need to +no, ho, to ,or+ ,ithin the sector efficiently- In TE ='@ I had to find a pro!lem ,ithin my school and come up ,ith a technology solution for it- The pro!lem that I sa, ,as that the !usiness classes had no real hands on training for their class li+e many other high schools do- Therefore, I proposed the creation of a school store called 1The 5ea er Den2 6Artifact &7- The !usiness classes ,ould then !e gi ing their students hands on training running this store- Students ,ould ha e to use e9cel documents to !alance !udgets and +eep trac+ of in entory#o,e er, I also pointed out in my TE ='@ final assignment that, 1(ot only could you use these e9cel documents ,hen it comes to the store !ut it can !e used in other economic areas

students ,ill !e learning as ,ell2 6Artifact &7- It is important to teach the practical uses for these types of technology as ,ell for the a erage adult- Some of these students may not go into the !usiness sector of our economy or e en if they did they may not !e in charge of in entory or +eeping a !udget- E en though they ,on.t !e going into !usiness, they ,ill need to !e a!le to +eep a family andAor personal !udget in their future- Students ,ithin a personal economics class or a family li ing class ,ill !e a!le to ta+e technology li+e an e9cel document or Mint-com and create an interacti e !udget for themsel es- 3e teachers need to ma+e sure that ,e are not only trying to prepare our students for their possi!le futures in the 4o! mar+et !ut ,e need to not forget their futures at home and ,ith their future families as ,ell/inally, a s+ill that needs to !e addressed at the secondary le el is leadership- 5ecause leadership is such an important attri!ute to ha e, it is important that ,e teach students s+ills to use ,hen spea+ing to large audiences- Students are going to need to !e a!le to tal+ to larger groups of people and !ecause of that, they need to +no, ho, to +eep an audience engaged8 the more engaging your presentation is, the more effecti e it ,ill !e- That !eing said, using a more interacti e presentation tool, li+e Pre<i, ,ould allo, students to not only add te9t and pictures !ut audio and ideos as ,ell- This ,ould allo, students to go into more depth into their presentations and teach them ho, to present in front of a large group of people- I ha e encouraged the use of Pre<i ,ithin my classroom through current e ent presentations- In my senior le el course that I teach students are required to create a presentation once during the semester that they ha e the class and it is mandatory for students to use Pre<i to create their presentation- The reason ,hy Pre<i is required !ecause of ,hat I pointed out earlier in the paragraph- Students are a!le to add ideo, audio, and pictures to their presentations in order to present a more in depth analysis of the su!4ect matter they ha e- This also !uilds their

confidence in pu!lic spea+ing !ecause this type of presentation requires them to use multiple different sources for their presentationMa+ing sure that students are engaged in their learning is the most important thing a teacher needs to stress in their classroom- That !eing said putting technology into a teachers tool !o9 that is ,illing to do this can !e e9tremely successful- 5y ma+ing sure that teachers are trained ,ith ho, to use technology in the classroom efficiently our students are going to ha e more hands on time ,ith their education, ,e ,ill !e a!le to create lessons that reach out to all learners, and ,e ,ill !etter prepare them for their futures-