Tech Integration Guide at a Glance
With a little help from the NETS, the Ignatian
Pedagogical Paradigm works for technology
integration as well as it does for the education
of students. Here is an abbreviated outline
of my tech integration variation on the IPP:
Context
n Assess current technology infrastructure.
n Assess history of technology resistance or
successful implementation in the past.
n Assess educational objectives, including
paradigms, state academic standards,
data goals, and mission statements.
Experience
n Brainstorm alignments between your
educational objectives and the NETS.
n Gather a small group of supportive teachers
and start integrating existing or free
technologies into their learning activities.
n Introduce the NETS vocabulary (model,
facilitate, engage, real-world problem solving,
digital age learning experiences, etc.)
to discussions with staff.
Reflection
n Survey students and faculty using online or
paper surveys, focus groups, or interviews.
Action
n Implement resources, policies, and workshops
to take integration successes to the broader
community.
n Intentionally integrate the vocabulary
of the NETS.
Evaluation
n Create next strategic plan for growth,
paying close attention to language of
NETS framed within specific learning
objectives unique to institution.
the educational paradigm with the ed
tech framework. (See “Ed Tech Strategic Plan” on page 26 for an excerpt.)
This plan was my compass for the next
three years of intentional integration
experiences.
Armed with all my charts and ed
tech objectives, I was ready to start
integrating. This proved easy! After
I approached a few teachers with the
offer of tool development, team teaching, and help with grading, the rest of
them came to me. By taking on some
of their workload, IT was able to alleviate the stress of integration. You
can find specific, detailed integration
activities in my PBS/ISTE Capstone
Portfolio (see Resources on page 27).
One of the best collaborations was
with Linda Smoot, a social studies
teacher. Each year, her AP U.S. Government students filled three-ring
binders with definitions, laws, and
other factual information necessary
for study. She and I collaborated on a
wiki where students created, shared,
and accessed information online 24/7.
The wiki had a password to protect
students’ privacy but was left up so
that Brebeuf graduates could continue
to access the content.
Beginning with Smoot, I started intentionally using the NETS∙T vocabulary in my conversations with teachers.
When the next teacher came to me
asking about a wiki as a tool for collaborative book discussions in an English
class, I said, “Oh, you want a digital age
learning environment?” She laughed.
Yet slowly but surely I started to hear
the terms model, facilitate, and even
digital age learning environment around
the school in casual conversation.
Reflection: What Works, What Doesn’t
By March 2010, many of my goals from
the ed tech strategic plan were becoming reality. All teachers were using a
new learning management system,
Edline. We were using Skype to web
conference with former students in El
Salvador and sustainability groups in
California, USA. Students were using
wikis and blogs in a multitude of environments to reflect on course material. You Tube was off the filter list, and
students and faculty were using video
to differentiate instruction. I advised
teachers to model digital age tools for
educational purposes so that the students would begin seeing technology
as a tool rather than a toy.
But before I could celebrate the
might of my integration powers, I
knew I could not forget the next,
crucial step in the IPP: reflection. I
looked over the accomplishments and
failures of the past 18 months. The
IT team created a survey in Edline to
gauge the attitudes toward, concerns
about, and successes of our attempts at
technology integration. We held town
hall meetings for students to voice
their opinions about the state of technology. In classroom collaborations, I
asked students to evaluate their experiences with technology in school. The
IT team analyzed all this data to discern the areas of capital growth, policy
reconsiderations, and trainings that
we would need to implement.
Action: Take It to the People
It was time to take initiatives proven
in the Experience phase to the broader school community. The first step
was bringing in enough computers to
