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Technology Statement

The University of Alaska Southeast, Alaska College of Education states that candidates

use technology effectively, creatively and wisely. To show that I have met this goal, I will refer

to an assignment I wrote for ED 230 Educational Technology spring 2014. The following

framing statement reflects on my past understanding and on my current use of integrating

technology in the classroom.

The assignment for the artifact was to answer why teachers should integrate technology

into the classroom. I state that I did not grow up with computer technology. Grades were written

in grade books, movies were show from a reel to reel projector, and the classroom telephones

were used to call teachers instead of texting them. Use technology in the classroom was new to

me when I wrote my artifact, and it made me a bit nervous because I had so much to learn.

However, new technology was changing the world, therefore changing the classroom and how

we teach. To meet this standard, I will reflect on my artifact, then show how I use technology

effectively, creatively, and wisely in the classroom today.

Using Technology Effectively

When I wrote my artifact five years ago, technology in the classroom meant using cell

phones, desktop computers and laptops. Prior to 2015, I had not seen nor had I learned how to

project lessons and other images from a laptop to a whiteboard in the elementary classroom.

During a practicum class that spring, a teacher showed me how she used her computer and the

projector to project lessons. Without having my own classroom computer and without a lot of

practice, I found it difficult to learn. “Before technology can effect changes in the classroom,

those ultimately responsible for the classroom must be considered. Teachers must learn to use

technology and must allow it to change their present teaching paradigm” (Bitter & Bitter, 2002,
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p.97). Once teaching, learning to use the projector made teaching easier. Currently, I project high

frequency words, vocabulary words, math lessons, and sometimes teaching videos. Research by

Lui states, “Teacher confidence and comfort using technology was positively influenced by the

number of years teaching experience with technology and school technology support” (2017, p.

806). After two years of practice, not only am I using the projecting system effectively, but I can

also get it running much quicker and more confidently than I used to.

Using Technology Creatively

According to my artifact, I had just learned how Google Drive, Gmail, and YouTube were

related. (Although creative, our class did not learn how to use Voice Thread until later in the

semester of ED 230, which is why I did not write about it in my artifact.) It was when I started

student teaching that I learned from other teachers about creative technology like Remind,

Planbook and Kahoot. The Remind app allows me to send group or private text messages and

photos to the families of my students. Planbook is an online lesson planning program I use to

document my daily lessons. Kahoot is a free game-based learning platform that makes learning

fun. Students using laptops in groups, or individually, sign on to a game, which I have projected

on the whiteboard. While suspenseful music plays, students have a short amount of time to

answer the question using their computer. Kahoot contributes to a boisterous and exciting

learning environment.

Using Technology Wisely

Teaching students and teachers how to use technology wisely was just as important in

2014 and as it is now in 2019. I refer to the importance of teaching students how to keep their

information private in the artifact. Privacy is still an issue. The Anchorage School District (ASD)

provided cyber-crime training spring 2019 for all ASD employees. The training stated that the
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major cyber-attacks in Alaska began with a state or local employee opening a malicious email or

unknowingly clicking on a link that gave away usernames and information. The online training

was called KnowBe4, a company that provides cyber security training along with assessments. I

was not happy about having to take the time to do the training. However, it was the best cyber-

crime training I have ever participated in because of the practice assessments after each topic. On

three different occasions after the training, I recognized emails that looked like they were from

an ASD employee, but were not. Because of the training, I knew not to open the emails.

As a teacher, it is also my responsibility to teach students about being a “positive on-line

presence”. My school has a Common Sense Education coordinator who provides teachers with

the online training and resources. Although I have not in the past, I plan to learn and use

Common Sense Education this next school year.

Conclusion

Research by Pittman and Gaines stated, “Comparing high-level and low-level technology

integrators, the researchers found that teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about the importance of

technology integration and direct student access to computers within the classroom indicated

significant positive correlations with high-level technology usage, with attitude presenting the

strongest correlation (2015, p. 550). Technology training is my professional development focus

for this coming school year— Common Sense Education for my students and understanding

Google Drive for myself.

References

Bitner, N. & Bitner, J. (2002). Integrating technology into the classroom: Keys to success. JI. Of

technology and teacher education 10(1), 95-100. Hammond, LA: Southeast Louisiana

University.
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Common Sense Education [Home page]. Retrieved July 8, 2019 from

https://www.commonsense.org/education/training

Google Drive [Home page]. (2019). Retrieved July 8, 2019 from https://www.google.com/drive/

Kahoot! [Home page]. (2019). Retrieved July 8, 2019 from https://kahoot.com/

KnowBe4: Security awareness training [Home page]. Retrieved July 8, 2019 from

https://www.knowbe4.com/

Liu, F., Ritzhaupt, A., Dawson, K., & Barron, A. (2017). Explaining technology integration in K-

12 classrooms: a multilevel path analysis model. Educational technology research &

development, 65(4), 795-813. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/10.1007/s11423-

016-9487-9

Pittman, T. & Gaines, T. (2015). Technology integration in third, fourth and fifth grade

Classrooms in a Florida school district. Educational technology research & development,

63(4), 539-554. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/10.1007/s11423-015-9391-8

Planbook.com [Home page]. (2019). Retrieved July 8, 2019 from

https://www.planbook.com/welcome.html

Voice Thread [Home page]. (2019). Retrieved July 8, 2019 from https://voicethread.com/