Journal Response: Integrated Elementary Technology Education

Integrated Elementary Technology Education

     After our class discussion about SAMR and reading an article about a fourth grade 1:1 classroom and the tasks that they were accomplishing using technology, I began to wonder when the students began to develop these skills or if they were all taught during their fourth grade year. The article, Integrated Elementary Technology Education explains how direct technology education can be incorporated into what classroom teachers are already doing in the classroom rather easily. The added responsibilities of the classroom teacher would simply be planning technology activities, instructing students on the safe use of tools, devices and materials, and acting as a facilitator and resource to help guide students. 
     The article goes on to say that the teacher will need to incorporate technology into their lessons with one of the two categories of technology activities; technology learning experiences and technology design problems. Technology learning experiences provide the students with understanding of technology and develop their technological awareness. Students are directly taught about technology and its uses. For instance, students could watch film, read literature, or go on a field trip to learn about technology and how it is used in areas. This could also be a lesson where students are directly taught how to use a certain type of tech device or program. In the second type of lesson, technology design problems, students are posed with a problem and given parameters outlining how and with what tools they can use to come up with a solution. This type of technology lesson would allow students to improve their problem solving skills while also learning how technology can assist them in the process. 
     
     As a primary elementary teacher, I'm beginning to realize that I may be letting down the intermediate elementary teachers in regards to preparing my students with the skills they need to effectively use technology to problem solve, communicate, record and present information. A conscious effort needs to be made by primary elementary teachers to modify their existing lessons and when planning new lessons to use the SAMR framework to incorporate technology into my lessons. Many times in primary elementary classrooms, the only use of technology occurs when the teacher is using it to present information to the students. Students need direct instruction on how to use the available tech devices. Once the students have been taught how to use these devices and programs, an effort needs to be made to allow time for the students to use the devices themselves to gather information, solve problems and present their findings. 

Ortega, C., & Ortega, R. (1995). Integrated elementary technology education. Technology Teacher, 54(5), 11.