Samantha
Nagengast
December 9, 2013
Dr. Chandler
Draft of
Research Paper
Question
What obstacles do teachers
face when trying to integrate technology into a classroom without district
support?
Teaching in a classroom is a demanding job. Most
people outside of the “education world” would probably agree that teachers
spend most of their time teaching, but in fact teachers are responsible for
much more than that. Not only do teachers have to teach, but they have to be
psychologists, counselors, entertainers, not to mention authoritative figures
towards their students. Children
in our society have grown tremendously in ways of education and with the
different ways students learn today, they are all pretty much based off of
simple technology. Unfortunately, districts do not support technology in the
classroom and also do not make it mandatory. Today, the majority of the main
streamed students are now of Special Education and require certain and more
attention from their teachers, teachers who need to be well educated with
technology in the classroom. It gives the teachers a chance to do their lesson
in other ways top allow every student in their classroom better understand.
Teaching
with technology keeps teachers up to speed as well as possible with the latest
technology out there. The only struggle is that teachers nowadays have to
experiment and sometimes spend their own time and money in finding the best
technology best suited for their students. It is to be said that technology is
a teacher’s liberator, since technology helps reestablish the role and value of
the individual classroom. It is in good conscious to incorporate technology
into the classroom in order to create a community that nurtures, encourages and
supports the learning process. In order to prove that teaching technology in
the classroom is beneficial for students, I will be looking closely at an
article called, Professional Development in Integrating Technology Into Teaching and
Learning: Knowns, Unknowns, and Ways to Pursue Better Questions and Answers, by Kimberly A. Lawless and James W.
Pellegrino. I will also be interviewing a teacher as well as observe both
regular education and special education students to see how technology works
for them and if there are differences.
Literature
Review (still a work in progress)
DR CHANDLER:
What do I look for specifically in this article?
DR CHANDLER:
What do I look for specifically in this article?
· Discussion of online article
Professional
Development in Integrating Technology Into Teaching and Learning: Knowns,
Unknowns, and Ways to Pursue Better Questions and Answers, by Kimberly A.
Lawless and James W. Pellegrino
Methods (can add more)
DR CHANDLER:
What can i add here? I feel like I can add a lot more.
DR CHANDLER:
What can i add here? I feel like I can add a lot more.
· How the data was collected? (Interview,
Questions asked, Observation)
The research I am conducting looks
at the obstacles teachers face when trying to integrate technology into the
classroom. In order to learn and find out more about my topic I have conducted
an interview with a classroom teacher who uses technology with her regular, as
well as, her special education students. This interview process served as a way
for me to understand what obstacles there were for teachers who use technology
in her district. I recorded and transcribed the conversation I had with the
head teacher in hopes of finding out what struggles, if any, the teacher faced
when integrating technology into the classroom. I also observed how technology
was integrated into the classroom and how the students responded to it and I
also observed a hand full of students using technology, hands on, in small
groups.
Data Analysis (still a work in progress)
· Analyzing transcript/interview
Results/Connections
(still a work in progress)
· Connections of observation and interview
to the article
Technology within a
classroom is not only beneficial for the teacher but for the students as well.
When students use technology, whether is be as an education tool or a ways of
communication, they are an active participant of the information given by the
other person. Technology allows students to think critically, as well as,
define their goals, make decisions and evaluate their progress. Also,
technology allows the teacher to become a facilitator by walking around the
classroom looking over shoulders, observing their students work, and
helping/assisting when needed. This allows students to learn for themselves while
following goals and guidelines set by the teacher. With technology integrated
into the classroom, the students become more engaged, motivated, and excited to
learn – they are now an essential part of the lesson because they take
ownership of their own education process.
