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Literature ReviewTechnology IntegrationLiberty UniversityCorinne BlakeAbstractTechnology is an increasingly important topic in the progress of education today. Educators are referring to students being able to learn through technology as a 21st century classroom. Throughout this literature review, the idea of integrating technology into classrooms was explored. Specifically the focus was on middle school level students and if the integration of technology is beneficial to increasing student understanding of curriculum. The literature revealed two common themes, teacher responsibility and student responsibility. Teacher’s responsibilities are to have knowledge of technology available, train to use technology properly, plan lessons accordingly, and integrate technology into the classroom. Student responsibilities included proper use of technology, knowledge of basic computing skills, being engaged in the process and achieving understanding of the curriculum. Through the review of the literature, it became known that there is a distinct correlation between student engagement and technology and with student understanding and technology. Technology was integrated into all core subject areas successfully, therefore, the idea that one subject area will benefit more than another is inconclusive. In addition, the best type of technology for student understanding was also unfounded.Keywords: technology, 21st century classroom, integration, middle school, understanding, curriculum, responsibility, engagement, cores subject areasIntroductionToday’s society is becoming increasingly reliant on technology. A child’s attention is stimulated often by television, music, and video games. New technology is not just for casual home entertainment. Many technologies are being used in education to enhance learning experiences. Though technology is not brand new to education, it has grown dramatically over the years. “In 1981, 18 percent of schools had computers; in 1991, 98 percent had them. In 1981, 16 percent of schools used computers for instructional purposes; by 1991, 98 percent did so” (Cuban, 1993, p. 186). This number has continued to grow and the inclusion of technology into classroom practices is now refereedreferred to as a 21st century learning environment. ”21st-century skills implementation requires the development of core academic subject knowledge and understanding among all students.” (The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2011, p. 12) Having technology in the classroom is still a goal as not every classroom has this capability yet.Some studies have looked to prior works to influence their research. Many studies discussed the background of the constructivist view. The constructivist view of teaching is, “a view of cognitive development as a process in which children actively build systems of meaning and understandings of reality through their experiences and interactions” (Slavin, 2012, p. 32). In addition, some studies pointed our reputable organizations in the subject fields that promote the use of technology in the classroom based on previous studies. For example, Huang (1996) pointed out several mathematic associations that all “recommended the implementation of calculators and computers in middle school mathematics.”A PBS survey, conducted by Melissa Mills (2012), concluded that 91% of teachers have access to computers but only 22% felt that they were equipped with the right level of technology (para. 1). Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to determine if integration of technology into a middle school level classroom is related to an increase in mastery of the curriculum. A related purpose is to identify which core subject technology excels in the most. The questions, “Does the integration of technology increase student understanding? If so, what type of technology and in which core subject area produces the highest achievement for the mastery of curriculum at a middle school level?” will be discussed throughout this paper along with definitions for common key terms involved with this topic. This research will hopefully help in determining what the best teaching strategies are in helping students achieve understanding using technology. Technology is a key component in the educational process of achieving understanding. Discussion of Key TermsTechnology is defined as the, “the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area” (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 2012). More specifically the articles explored during this literature review refers to technology as either an electrical tool used to teach such as a computer or a computerized program such as PowerPoint or Internet. Integration refers to the incorporation of materials that weren’t there before. A combination of technology and its integration into the classroom leads to the definition of a 21st century classroom. A 21st century classroom includes 21st century skills which are defined as, “certain core competencies such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving that advocates believe schools need to teach to help students thrive in today's world” (Education Week, 2010, p. 32). The idea of digital literacy is the focus of this review.Throughout the studies reviewed, most data was collected at a middle school level. Middle school generally refers to grades sixth through eighth and age levels 11 to 14 years. The understanding of the curriculum for these students is what was measured. Understanding refers to the ability of the students to give correct information back to the instructor when probed for answers. One component to measuring understanding is engagement. “Engaged time, or time on task, the number of minutes actually spent learning, is the time measure that is most frequently found to contribute to learning” (Slavin, 2012, p. 317). Another component is questioning and questions can vary in levels of thinking from defining to evaluating each subject area’s concepts. These concepts being taught are entitled curriculum and vary depending on the subject matter being taught. Mathematics, Science, History/Social Studies, and Language Arts are the core subject areas mainly explored throughout the studies. The final key term that is referred to often throughout this paper is responsibility. Both teacher and student responsibility were identified through the literature reviewed. The concept of responsibility refers to the duties or roles of an individual in order to accomplish a goal. The specific responsibilities vary depending on the individual. For example, the duties of the teacher to plan are different from a student’s duty to stay on task. These responsibilities will be discussed further in the next section. Review of the LiteratureTeacher ResponsibilitiesThroughout the literature reviewed, there were several connections between what the teacher’s role is with the integration of technology. Teacher’s responsibilities included having knowledge of technology available, train to use technology properly, plan lessons accordingly, and integrate technology into the classroom. The first role is the idea of knowing what technology is available for use. All of the articles spoke about some sort of technology. Each study needed to have knowledge about the technology being discussed and the same idea applies to teachers. Teachers need to be aware of the types of technology available in order to keep their classes productive. Ulusoy (2012) conducted a study about using the Internet in history classes. He mentions that without new knowledge teachers could have a more difficult time keeping their students on task. He claims that teachers should receive this information through in-service trainings.In-service training is one type of method that can be used for teachers to become familiar with new technology. This leads to the second responsibility of teachers, to be properly trained in using new educational technologies. New technology is being discovered that can be utilized in the classroom. Huang (1996) concluded from his quantitative study of middle school math students that even with the availability of technology in the classroom it doesn’t mean anything for students unless the teachers are properly trained to use it. This highlights the importance of being trained on the equipment in order for integration of technology to even be possible in order to increase the understanding of students. Other forms of training for teachers are self-training, instruction from peers, professional development, and workshops. Once teachers are aware of the technology available to them and have the necessary training then the next responsibility of the teacher is to incorporate technology into their lesson plans. “In order to meet essential Language Arts learning standards, it is critical for educators to have an understanding of students’ affective needs, to plan technology-based activities with clear curricular objectives in mind, and to chose software that aligns with these objectives” (Maya and Marc, 2002, p. 43). In order for proper use of technology in the classroom, it is the teacher’s responsibility to take the time to plan thoughtful experiences for their students. Without proper planning, it is easy for students to get off track and waste time in the vast amount of resources available on the technology tool the Internet. However, not all planning needs to be where students directly use technology. Trotter (1992) found that many teachers use technology, once they are trained on how to use it, to produce their own materials that are used for instruction. Lastly, it is a teacher’s responsibility is to integrate the technology in the classroom. One quantitative study was conducted comparing a teacher-centered classroom that was infused with technology instruction with a student-centered classroom with no technology integrated. The results show that there was no significant difference the instructors’ knowledge and their engagement (p-value 0.2396) between the two types of instructional strategies. However, the results did identify that there was in fact a difference in understanding in favor of a teacher-centered classroom. The different categories that determined that a teacher-centered classroom was better were, “effectiveness of the presentation (p-value 0.0080), use of examples (p-value 0.0391), overall rating (p-value 0.0004) and confidence to write the quiz (p-value 0.0005)” (Giles, Ryan, Belliveau, De Freitas, & Casey, 2006, p. 217). This means that an increase in understanding was shown through the students even though there was no direct contact with technology. Overall, the teacher’s responsibilities help set the stage for student understanding. Without the willingness, preparation and understanding of technology from the teacher, a student’s understanding using technology is not an option. However, the teacher is not the only factor in this equation of success. Students also have responsibilities towards achieving understanding through technology.Student ResponsibilitiesStudent responsibilities included proper use of technology, knowledge of basic computing skills, being engaged in the process and achieving understanding of the curriculum. The first responsibility is the proper use of technology. “Although student engagement is a necessary ingredient for learning, computers will not be beneficial to the curriculum if the students view them exclusively as electronic jungle gyms and not also as powerful learning tools” (Maya and Marc, 2002, p. 38). Students need to use technology for its intended purposes in order to get the most on task time. Next, students are responsible for basic computing skills. Since the focus of this particular research was for middle school students the technology included in the studies were designed for students who had prior computer experience. The subject studied in Bergen’s (2000) research interview was age four when she started using the computer and was therefore able to complete tasks much easier in the computer lab when she reached middle school age. Having this ability can also increase the engagement of the student. “While students are investigating, I encourage them to share with one another sites that they think are particularly helpful, and all students are engaged in the activity rather than reading silently or round robin out loud” (Boles, 2011, p. 40). This refers back to the explanation of the key term engagement. If a student has the knowledge that they need to accomplish their learning goals, they can spend more on-task time and in turn have more opportunities for understanding to occur. Getting students interested in technology was not an issue in any of the studies. As Bergen (2000) concluded, “One thing that computer-experienced children bring to school is their willingness to try the latest technological innovations.” Several of the articles discuss how interactive and invigorating technology can be. Technology can be stimulating and this can also lead to student engagement. “Students stated that by using the Internet they easily reach at information, visual materials and various documents and sources that they never found in textbooks” (Ulusoy, 2012, p. 76). If students find the material interesting and worth their time, they are more inclined to stay on task, which increases the student’s chances to understand the curriculum. Finally, students have the responsibility for understanding the material being taught. However, all of the concepts discussed so far are critical features that aid this aspect. Understanding is the crucial part to answering the research question this literature review is based on. Several studies showed student understanding is related to the use of technology in instruction. One study was conducted by comparing a course that was integrated with technology with a traditional one however the curriculum being focused on was science and the study was qualitative in nature. Lee et. al (2010) concluded that students understood more of the science curriculum through the technology-integrated course (M = 0.28, SD = 1.23) than the traditional course (M = -0.18, SD = 1.52). This understanding was measured through testing using various questioning techniques. Another qualitative study performed by Minchi and Michael (2011) showed that in a science curriculums students showed understanding through technology scaffolding of the lesson. Technology scaffolds identified four inquiry patterns: context, metacognitive, processing, and communication. Evidence for these inquiry patterns were determined by data showing student use of technology for the following purposes: solving problems, planning, understanding, and communication were all done using technology. (Minchi & Michael) Though there were many parts of this study that involved technology the students were responsible for showing their understanding by directly using technology to take notes and produce brochures. Thirunarayanan and Perez-Prado performed the final quantitative study. This is not related to technology integration in the classroom but technology being the classroom. They experimented with the differences in student achievement in two language classes one that was conducted through traditional teaching strategies and the other a web-based course. Though the t-test involved in the study conducted by Thirunarayanan and Perez-Prado (2002) showed no significant relationship between student understanding and using a technology-based course those students did score an average of 2.02 points higher on the post-test. Therefore, one can conclude that with further investigation this experiment could prove that having a web-based course is more beneficial to student understanding. In a web-based course students are responsible for their own learning as there is not an instructor in the same room able to redirect students who are off task. Overall, the student’s responsibilities are crucial in the measureable aspect the research topic. These responsibilities show that not only do the teacher’s have to gain knowledge, plan and implement technology into the lessons; students have prior knowledge, take interest, and stay on task in order to promote their own understanding. In addition, students must be assessed in order to gauge their understanding of the curriculum whether or not it is technology-based. These assessments, like the ones shown in the studies discussed, will lead to proof that the integration of technology yields better understanding of the curriculum with middle school children.Summary/ConclusionTechnology is an important concept in today’s society. “Since computers began appearing in schools three decades ago, the road to successful instructional technology integration has been rocky” (Lu and Overbaugh, 2009, p. 89). In order to keep students engaged technology must be integrated into the classroom. Through searching literature based on the concept of technology integration in classes, one can deduce that technology integration can improve student engagement and understanding. Most articles explored this concept either qualitatively or quantitatively. One gap in the literature is a direct correlation in technology between different subject fields. Though articles can be found referring to information about technology integration in specific subject areas, a study incorporating all core subject areas for analysis was not founded. Another gap in the literature was for comparison between technology tools. All of the studies dealt with computers as their main form of technology, though the programs used within varied. Some program examples include: PowerPoint, the Internet, Microsoft Office, and SmartBoard technology. There was not a study performed that compared the understanding levels within the different technology programs. Both of these aspects can be included in future research for this topic. Other further research includes looking at what factors influence the integration of technology in a classroom. For example, time constraints may limit the type of technology lessons that can be performed in a class period. In addition, Ulusoy (2012) discussed that technology can be visual. Future research could determine if visualization makes a difference in the understanding of students. Larger classroom sizes and extended time to conduct studies will also help in aiding the research in this field. Further studies should be conducted in order to determine if moving towards a 21st century classroom would be truly beneficial for students. Both teacher and student responsibilities are needed for the integration of technology and in turn the understanding of subject curriculum. Overall, through the review of the literature, it became known that there is a distinct correlation between student engagement and technology and with student understanding and technology. Neither the type of technology nor the best subject area was founded throughout the studies reviewed. ReferencesBergen, D. (2000). Technology in the classroom. Childhood Education, 76(2), 116-118. Retrieved from ; Boles, S. R. (2011). Using technology in the classroom. Science Scope, 34(9), 39-43. Retrieved from , L. (1993). Computer meet classroom: Classroom wins. Teachers College Record, 95(2), 185-210. Retrieved from Classroom.pdfDils, A. (2000). Using technology in a middle school social studies classroom. International Journal Of Social Education, 15(1), 102-112. Education Week. (2010). How do you define 21st-century learning?. Education Week, 4(1), 32. Retrieved from , J., Ryan, D., Belliveau, G., De Freitas, E., & Casey, R. (2006). Teaching style and learning in a quantitative classroom. Active Learning in Higher Education, 7, 213-225. doi: Sage PublicationHuang, S. L. (1996) Classroom observations of middle school students' technology. (1996). School Science and Mathematics, 96(1), 28-28. Retrieved from , H.-S., Linn, M. C., Varma, K. and Liu, O. L. (2010), How do technology-enhanced inquiry science units impact classroom learning?. J. Res. Sci. Teach., 47:?71–90. doi:?10.1002/tea.20304Lu, R., & Overbaugh, R. (2009). School environment and technology implementation in k-12 classrooms. Computers in the Schools, 26(2), 89-106. Maya, B. E., & Marc, D. H. (2002). Using technology to address language arts standards. New England Reading Association Journal, 38(1), 38-38. Retrieved from , M. (2012, Jan 23). National pbs survey finds teachers want more access to classroom tech, Retrieved from , C. K., & Michael, J. H. (2011). Scaffolding 6th graders' problem solving in technology-enhanced science classrooms: A qualitative case study. Instructional Science, 39(3), 255-282. doi: Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2011). A critical combination. ASCA School Counselor, 49(2), 12. Retrieved from Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology, theory and practice. (10 ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.technology. 2012. In Merriam-. Retrieved October 17, 2012, from , M. O., & Perez-Prado, A. (2002). Comparing web-based and classroom-based learning: A quantitative study. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(2), 131-137. Retrieved from , A. (1992). Technology in classrooms: "That's edutainment!". The Education Digest, 57(5), 2-2. Retrieved from , K. (2012). A study about using internet in history lessons. Educational research and reviews, 7(4), 72. Retrieved from HYPERLINK "" , Overall you did a nice job on your review as your paper contained all of the necessary requirements from the rubric. You were able to identify the unifying themes surrounding technology integration that were discovered from your research. For the most part, your APA formatting was well done. Please let me know if you have any questions. Dr. Woodward ................
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