Tech+Integration

Technology Integration Essay

For this assignment I chose to watch the video titled: Tech-Fueled Differentiated Instruction Engages Elementary School Students. The video focuses on an elementary school in South Carolina that has partnered with NASA in offering a heavily science and mathematics-based curriculum that is augmented by extensive technological adaptation and integration in the classroom. One of the primary lessons I took away from the short film was a quote from one of the educators employed at the school, who said: “They are learning the subject matter we assign, but expressing it in different ways.” I took this statement to be indicative of the fact that the instructor’s students were, in fact, learning and retaining curriculum material, but had the differentiation and resources to express what they had learned in ways that were functional and appropriate, and also chosen by the student.

As a teacher in the field of special education, technology integration – I feel – will be especially relevant to the varied and differing ways I will need to meet the needs of students with a wide range of capabilities. One of my favorite, and seemingly easily adaptable, tools for meeting a wide variety of needs and capabilities is the integration of SMARTboard technology. For students who may have motor control issues that make writing with a pencil and paper difficult, and writing on a whiteboard messy and frustrating, the SMARTboard’s touchscreen capability seems well-suited to addressing such needs. Also, when connected through a computer, videos and assignments can be projected in a manner that is engaging and easily accessed by most students. Lastly, for students who have deficits in attention modulating capacity, the nature of the SMARTboard technology itself would seem to be highly advantageous in maintaining engagement.


 * Reflection -** When I entered the field of special education, I was aware that many students with special needs require assistive technologies that are not utilized in a typical classroom. I was under the impression that using such technologies would require an enhanced knowledge of many different programs and mediums of presentation. Thankfully, this class has provided me with the tools to utilize a wide variety of different technologies (SMARTboard, podcasting, digital story-telling) to meet the needs of students with a vast array of abilities.