The IRA Standards for Reading Professionals (2010) suggests that Reading Specialists should “provide opportunities for teachers to see, experience, and practice using a variety of effective classroom routines that incorporate the effective use of technology at the classroom, school, and district levels”(p.28).
Technology has generally been embraced by the masses without us being aware. Our world has become technologically dependent, as all areas of life are in one way or the other controlled by technology. The way we do business, our banking, the way we travel, our recreational activities, the way we communicate just to name a few, are all driven by technology. As such it would be expected that as professionals we would readily integrate technology into our daily practice. But this is not always the case.
The International Society for Technology in Education defines technology integration as the use of “technology as a tool to enhance the learning [process] in a content area or multidisciplinary setting”( [ISTE], 2000a, p. 6).
Integration of any kind is a process that requires rethinking the way things are normally done. In short it requires change. Change is good but not necessarily received well especially when we ourselves have to be the agents of change. It’s fine when change is trussed upon us and we have no choice. But when we have to make a concerted effort to embrace new concepts and methodology we have reservations. We must appreciate technology and the impact that its integration would have on the teaching learning process.
Technology integration would not just enhance the teaching/learning process itself but can also supplement other areas such as research and planning, evaluation and record keeping.
It is our responsibility as Reading Professionals to persuade educators to incorporate technology in the classroom, but we must first do so ourselves. There must be an exploration of the technological advances that have been made and the tools that are available through computer programs and the internet. We must investigate how these tools can be utilizes to enhance all areas. Only that can we be able to persuade others.
The integration of technology is one in which many educators will have many concerns about. We whom are now being exposed to these web 2.0 tools were first resistant to the idea of technology being part of the established "teaching culture" of chalk and talk, white boards and the teacher as the expert. Technology is now asking our fellow “Kings and Queens" to step down from their throne and allow their pupils to be equal participants in their learning. George stout (2010) a teacher in Port-of-Spain commented recently in the Daily Express, that “Most teachers in Trinidad and Tobago not ready to involve technology in the classroom yet.” Some may agree with him from the standpoint that classrooms are not equipped to satisfy the requirements of technology. To me it resonate "fear", the fear of being replaced. The responsibility of sounding the "horns" and educating our fellow teachers on the benefits of "free technology' is our responsibility, if not our destiny. However if we don't hold firmly to our own beliefs on the many possibilities of technology, the battle would never be won.
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