Overview
There are many advantages for the integration of technology in classroom instruction. You can do a quick search on the internet and find an abundant amount of resources available that can help enhance student learning. With so many of these resources available, it is important to know which resources are appropriate for the different curricular content areas. When selecting resources the focus of all technology in different content areas should be centered around engaging, relevant, and authentic learning experiences. For this blog I will discuss the content area of Science and Math.
Research
It is easy to see the connection between science, mathematics, and technology, based on their relationship with each other. “Technology supports science and science makes new technology possible. Technologies are an integral part of modern mathematics education and science education because they are essential to the fields themselves (Roblyer & Doering, 2012).
Technology based instruction in science and mathematics can facilitate learning experiences that extend beyond traditional lecture and text based instruction. “Learning research has shown that students learn best by actively constructing knowledge from a combination of experience, interpretation and structured interactions with peers and teachers (Roschelle, Pea, Hoadley, Gordin & Means, 2000). Technology integration in the science and mathematics content area provides many opportunities for students to build and construct knowledge in the science and mathematics curriculum.
Engaging, Relevant, and Authentic
Technology can be naturally engaging for many students as it is the common language in which they communicate. Through text, twitter, Facebook, games and many other forms of technology media, students are naturally drawn to technology applications. The challenge for instructors is to make their specific content engaging through the use of technology. Virtual labs, virtual manipulatives, simulations, graphing tools, and games can all enhance student engagement by providing interactive visual representations that may not otherwise be possible without the use of technology based instruction. These highly engaging forms of technology also need to be relevant to the student audience.
Technology is the vehicle for the future skills students will need, making it genuinely relevant. These future skills as stated by Roblyer and Doering (2012) include technological literacy, information literacy, and visual literacy. As young students are exposed to an ever increasing amount of these forms of literacy through technology, it will be essential for them to learn and apply them. In science and math these forms of literacy are essential in analyzing and producing a variety of information. For example, software can be used to easily generate concept maps, graphs, and diagrams to help students understand fundamental concepts (CTTE, 2005). The connection between digital literacy and the development of technology through science and math is also a very relevant topic for student interpretation and application of content. The digital skills students learn through science and math instruction can also have authentic applications.
As stated by Roblyer and Doering (2012), “Authentic science not only involves having students “do” science, it also includes connecting science to students lives and life experiences.” This idea is an important transference piece that students need to be exposed to. Students should conduct scientific investigations that incorporate mathematics skills in a relevant and applicable manner. The Globe program is an excellent example of this kind of relevant project. Students can take real world measurements and analysis techniques for a variety of current and relevant science topics. This authentic learning incorporates a variety of math skills naturally through their relationships with each other.
Roblyer and Doering (2012) provide excellent summaries for the integration strategies for science and mathematics instructions.
Science: Involving students in scientific inquiry through authentic online projects, support for specific processes in scientific inquiry, supporting science skills and concept learning, engaging students in engineering topics through robotics, and accessing science information and tools.
Mathematics: Bridging the gap between abstract and concrete with virtual manipulatives, allowing representation of mathematical principles, supporting mathematical problem solving, implementing data-driven curricula, supporting math related communications, and motivating skill building and practice.
References:
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2012). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th
ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Roschelle, J. M., Pea, R. D., Hoadley, C. M., Gordin, D. N., & Means, B. M. (2000). Changing how and what children learn in school with computer-based technologies. The future of children, 76-101.
Center for Technology and Teacher Education (CTTE). (2005) Content Areas. Retrived on April 9, 2014 from http://www.teacherlink.org/content/
Having been a struggling math student all of my learning career, I can say that technology use in math is a great thing. I tried to pass Calculus three times. The first two times was in the traditional classroom, once in high school, and once during my freshman year at BSU. I failed both those times. The third time was in my senior year. I had to pass the class in order to graduate, so I took it online, and we used a program called ALEKS. It gave examples and helped me through each new concept. I finally passed the class and felt like I actually understood what was going on. You've got some great information here!
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