Module Four - Technology Integration

The Rubber meets the Road!




Before you can select and integrate the proper technology for a learning situation, you need to have some understanding about what will support specific learning experiences. It must be selected based upon pedagogical needs rather than the other way around.


Bloom's Taxonomy
Bloom's Taxonomy was first published in 1954 when Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues wanted to create a hierarchy of terms that they could use when they were describing various types of questions that they might use on a test. Since then, the taxonomy has taken on a broader meaning which educators used to also describe educational activities. In the 1990s, one of Bloom's students, Lorin Anderson, lead a group of cognitive psychologists who reconsidered Bloom's taxonomy and reworked it to reflect 21st century learning. You will notice that the new taxonomy has changed the static verbs to active verbs by adding "ing" to the end. They also removed Synthesis and placed Creating on the top.  

The basis of instructional differentiation is typically Bloom's Taxonomy. This hierarchy of thinking levels is what is used to identify Higher- and Lower-Order Thinking. 

There are many ways to "look at" Bloom's Taxonomy:

I, John M. Kennedy T. [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy

 

http://ilearntechnology.com

This tool has been aligned with 21st Century in many ways. 

Review Andrew Churches' wiki on Bloom's Taxonomy blooming digitally. He has so much here to help you in your teaching and learning. Spend some time here.


Kathy Schrock has also organized web and app resources into Bloom's groupings. http://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html she has her own graphics there. Another version is here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3138780/padwheel/assets/fallback/index.html
Here's another way to look at some of this (from Iowa State)... http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html  There ARE others...http://zaidlearn.blogspot.com/2009/07/use-blooms-taxonomy-wheel-for-writing.html and http://magellantech4u.wikispaces.com/Differentiated+Instruction
Don't skip over these... you will need these sites to provide a background for your later assignment. 


Of course, sorting tools and resources implies that they are inherently one level or another... this is a bit faulty. I can use a word processor to type words from a list or I can use it to write a branching novel... each of these examples would require very different levels of thinking. SO, is there any sense in classifying teaching strategies, questions, technological tools using an organizer like Bloom's Taxonomy? Can pedagogical activities actually be restricted to one of 6 classifications? Probably not. Grouping tools like these are designed to provide vocabulary for discussions between professionals. Using these classifications I can distinguish teaching for memorization or developing problem-solving skills.


Adding Technology to the Mix - 
Technology integration is more than just adding computers to a classroom. The ACOT (Apple Classroom Of Tomorrow) research from the 1990s did a great deal to identify the 5 stages of adoption and integration. While this is ancient research, the identification of levels of technology use is important as it gives us a way to discuss, compare, and improve teaching with technologies.
Download and read this article by Rein.

Edutopia has an interesting video which you can watch... look at it and think about the levels of technology integration on the ACOT scale and where things are.  http://www.edutopia.org/harrison-high-school-technology-integration-video


Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) - 
Using classification systems like Bloom's Taxonomy can help make sense of the world. The key to successful integration requires a system to integrate the research on Learning Environments with what has been learned about technology adoption. In 2005, the Florida Department of Education created their Technology Integration Matrix (TIM).  This is a matrix that uses a series of 5 steps in technology adoption that is similar to the ACOT set.  It also has a set of desired learning environment characteristics which include Active, Collaborative, Constructive, Authentic and Goal-Directed. 

Go see TIM and play around for a while to see what they have to offer.  You will find some cells with video examples of lessons in a variety of subjects.

You will also want to visit the Arizona flavor of this matrix. It is essentially the same but it also has video examples sorted by grade level. 

You will be using the Technology Integration Matrix with your assignment.


Assignment:
You have learned a great deal about technology integration. It has many faces. The Entry levels of adoption are not bad to use in the classroom. Sometimes slideshows are the most efficient way to convey information. The key is to move deftly along the continuum to ensure that your learners are engaging into their learning experiences.


Part ONE:
Find 3  instances of technology integration in your special field of interest. You may find these on videos or in real life or on paper or ???? The key is that you consider this important to your field of teaching and it is worth your time to evaluate.


NOTE: Do NOT emphasize a technology tool. This assignment asks you to find an actual teaching/learning experience where a technology tool is used as part of lesson. The tool is not the center of this activity but rather what can be done using that tool.  --> 

Here are some resources for your searching:
Edutopia - "dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process by providing innovative, replicable and evidence based strategies."
4Teachers.org - Teach with Technology. Offers online resources for teachers.
PBS Teachers - Resources that are contextualized within the grade-subject areas.
Ask your teacher colleagues and search the web.

Evaluate it by: 

1. Describe the example including context and process.
2. Identify the cell on the TIM into which it would be classified.
3. Explain why you classified it into that cell. What are the attributes that cause it to fit into that section?
4. Explain how this would fit into your world of teaching/learning. How would/could you use it in your classroom? If you don't have a classroom, then place it into a classroom where you could work or visit or imagine. 
5. Provide citation and/or links so others can find your examples.

Part TWO:
Extend your learning:

1. Select 2 of your examples from part one. 
2. Explain how you would reorganize/modify each to move it to another level on TIM.
3. Describe how your "reorganization/ modification" of the example will change the learning process.

Note:
The characteristics are not in any sequence, so how would you take it to another characteristic? The technology IS in a sequence so you will need to move it to the right. You ONLY have to move each example one block in the Characteristics OR the Technology areas. 
 
Remember, your explanations and reflections are the important things here.

Submission:
Part one will be completed and posted on your page of the class wiki. You will then submit a LIVE link to your page of the wiki to the appropriate place on BB (Module Four Part ONE Rubric and Submission) 

Part two will be completed in exactly the same way but to a different place on BB (Module Four Part TWO Rubric and Submission)

Submitting your work this way facilitates my sharing rubrics with you, having separate grades for each part of the assignment, and scoring your work within the BB system.  

As always, don't wait until the last moment to ask for help or ask questions!