Running head: TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA RESOURCES 1

Integration of Technology and Media Resources

Victoria Sandridge

Regent University

In partial fulfilment of UED 596 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2019

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Introduction

The integration of technology in the educational system is an important part of student

learning. Technology has become a large part of everyday life in our society as well as in the job

force. Almost every job now requires you to have some sort of understanding of technology.

Teaching students how to use technology now by integrating it into the classroom will help

students to grasp the skills they need in that manor. Teaching with technology also opens the

door to many more opportunities for the students in how they can be active in their learning.

With so many different educational websites and programs that they students can use, they are

able to take a more active role in their learning. Aside from just that, students enjoy every chance

they get to use technology. Studies have shown that, “students prefer to learn while using

technology” (Rafool, Sullivan, & Al-Bataineh, 2012). Being in the classroom, I have been able

to see first-hand how engaged students are when they are able to learn alongside technology.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

This past week, I have done a lot of work with my students in reading through an

application called Achieve 3000. “The Achieve3000 programs are designed to improve students’

reading and writing skills by differentiated online instruction” (Borman, 2015). Before starting

the program, the students have to take a level set test which determines their reading level. The

artifict attached is a copy of student scores from the level set. From there, the website sets all of

the articles in the database at their level. Once they are read the article, they take a short quiz

after to measure how well they were able to retain the information. What I love so much about

this website is how specific it is to each student. One day, assigned an article to them. Even

though I assigned the same article to all of my students, they were all slightly different. The

article will have the same core information in it, but will adjust to the students reading level. The
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application will be used mainly for independent practice during small groups, but can also be

used for whole group instruction.

The second artifact that I would like to discuss is Flipgrid. Flipgrid is a website where

students can record themselves talking and share it with their classmates. I had students spend 20

minutes reading a book to themselves. When they were done, I had them open up Flipgrids on

their Chromebooks. My assignment to them was to have them record themselves talking for 1

minutes explaining the book they were reading and why they choose that book. For future

assignments, I will have them answer more content specific questions, but this was just to get

them used to the website. After they were finished, they could view their other student’s videos.

This website is a great resource for helping the student get more comfortable speaking as well as

give them a new way to share information.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Technology use in the classroom has become a large part in how we teach our students.

They respond well to technology, and it is able to keep the students engaged. Through my classes

at Regent, I have learned to integrate technology all throughout the classroom. A lot of my

professors used technology in our classrooms to both keep us engaged, as well as to show us

different uses for technology in our future classrooms. Specifically, the technology class taught

me how to use many different types of websites and applications that are beneficial to

elementary aged students.

Teaching in the Virginia Beach School System definitely seems like where I want to be

because of one to one. This means that every student in the district gets a Chromebook to use

throughout the day. This opens the doors to more learning opportunities than ever before!

However, there always has to be a careful balance. Teachers have to be able to look at data and
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see what is beneficial for their students. “If teachers see students producing more and higher

quality work when using the computer, then they will be more likely to adopt technology” (Dias,

1999). Meaning, if your using technology effectively, you will see it through student work. If

not, the teacher needs to reevaluate how they are using technology and how they can change it to

fit the needs of their students.

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Resources:

Borman, G. D. (2015). The District-wide Effectiveness of the Achieve3000 Program. Retrieved

from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED558845.pdf

Dias, L. B. (1999). Integrating Technology. Learning & Leading with Technology, 27(3), 1–5.

Rafool, B., Sullivan, E., & Al-Bataineh, A. (2012). Integrating Technology into the Classroom.

International Journal of Technology, Knowledge & Society, 8(1), 57–71.