Integrating Technology in the Classroom: Best Practices

Technology has been reshaping society throughout time. Long before ChatGPT came on the scene, digital technologies started changing the world of work and the skills required for success. As one proof point, the World Economic Forum says that new technologies will remain a key driver of business transformation through 2027.¹ The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides more proof in its projection of 23% job growth for computer and information research scientists from 2022-2032.² That's compared to 0.3% annual growth for jobs overall during the same time.³

The Importance of Technology in Education

Because our society and economy are so dependent on technology, school leaders and teachers must prioritize creating technology literacy as part of making sure students are ready for life beyond high school. Getting the best results from technology integrations may require new operating methods and problem-solving techniques but still relies on proven principles and goals for education and enhancing student learning experiences. This blog explores best practices for effectively using technology to create engaging, interactive, and inclusive learning environments. Discover how embracing technological advancements can prepare students for a tech-savvy future while supporting their diverse learning needs.

Building Modern Skills for Success

Developing technical skills such as digital literacy, coding, and data analysis are essential to prepare students for tech-driven careers and beyond. Basic technical skills are important for navigating online platforms, understanding digital tools, and making data-informed decisions.⁴

Soft skills like empathy and collaboration are equally vital because they help students communicate effectively, resolve conflicts, and work well in diverse, tech-rich environments. These skills ensure students can ethically and responsibly interact in digital spaces and contribute positively to online communities.⁵

Enhancing Learning Experiences

Gamified learning tools like Zearn, Amira, and Duolingo provide personalized learning platforms that adapt to each student's pace and skill level. Interactive digital technology like this can make learning fun, keeping students actively engaged to achieve better outcomes.⁴

While technology enhances learning, it's crucial to maintain balance. Over-reliance on tech can be counterproductive. Educators should integrate technology in moderation to ensure it complements traditional teaching methods, adding instructional value without overwhelming students.⁶

Supporting Diverse Learners

Technology supports diverse learning needs by enabling differentiated instruction. Tools like interactive quizzes and multimedia resources cater to various learning styles, helping every student grasp complex concepts effectively. Technology tools can also foster collaboration among students. Features that support group work and peer interaction help students learn from each other, promoting a more inclusive and supportive learning environment.

Digital Literacy: Preparing Students for a Tech-Savvy Future

Digital literacy involves using technology to learn, create, and participate in the digital world. It is essential for students to develop these skills to navigate and leverage technology effectively both inside and outside the classroom.⁷

Digital Citizenship

Teaching digital citizenship helps students understand the ethical use of technology and the responsibilities that come with interaction in virtual worlds.

Key areas to cover include:^{5, 6, 7}

• Plagiarism
• Privacy
• Misinformation and disinformation
• Balancing online and offline activities
• Mental health topics

A responsible use policy (RUP) is valuable for teaching digital citizenship. In addition to setting boundaries for acceptable behavior, it can help students focus on positive behaviors like giving credit to content creators, being kind online, and using technology to solve problems. An effective RUP includes clear purpose statements, desired behaviors, and plans for resolving issues.⁸

Essential Digital Skills

Coding, data analysis, and online research are digital skills that will help students thrive. These foundational skills enable students to use technology effectively and prepare them for future academic and career opportunities.

Considerations for Implementing Educational Technology

While there are many technical aspects to choosing instructional technology, it’s important to begin with a clear understanding of your goals and to assess and plan for the human considerations surrounding technology use.

Start with Clear Objectives

To successfully integrate technology in the classroom, start by identifying specific instructional goals. Focus on the learning activity and explore how the chosen technology aligns with lesson objectives and enhances the learning experience.⁹ Consider how class time will be spent and select learning technology tools that match the educational goals without requiring extensive time to learn. For young kindergarten and elementary school students, prioritize digital technologies that support fundamental skills without excessive screen time, ensuring that the time spent on devices is appropriate for their age and learning needs.

Foster a Growth Mindset

Teaching students to have a growth mindset, which holds that intelligence can be developed through effort and perseverance, is even more important than teaching students to use the tools. You can play a vital role as a teacher by emphasizing hard work and providing ample opportunities for practice and feedback. Supporting students through challenges and valuing learning over innate talent reinforces this mindset, creating a motivating classroom environment.¹⁰

Because digital technology is always evolving, teachers must also embrace a growth mindset in their work. By learning alongside them, you can encourage students and model the habits of a lifelong learner.¹¹

Teacher Professional Development Is Essential

New educational technologies can provide a wealth of data about student progress, but teachers need to be trained to understand what the data is telling them. Being more data literate helps teachers understand student needs better and adapt their teaching methods accordingly, driving improved student outcomes. That is one of the reasons the University of Iowa’s Online Master of Arts in Teaching, Leadership, and Cultural Competency core curriculum includes a choice of courses on technology integration or participatory learning and media, along with several STEM electives.

However, only a fraction of teachers have learned to analyze data in their preparation programs, highlighting the need for ongoing professional development. School districts must support teachers in their efforts to become more adept at analyzing data, as well as helping them keep up with developments in educational technology.⁷

Make the Technology Accessible

Ensuring accessibility in instructional technology involves both effective communication and thoughtful choice of technology. Teachers and school administrators should eliminate jargon and clearly explain the technology's use and data to make new technology non-threatening for students and their families.⁷

Providing clear communication and resources to families helps them understand classroom technology and fosters trust and collaboration. Establishing a two-way communication channel with families through your school's learning management system or another digital platform can also extend the classroom, empowering caregivers to support and reinforce positive technology use at home.⁶

Additionally, it's crucial to consider how students access lessons outside of school. Frequently, lower-income students have greater access to smartphones than high-speed internet, so being aware of which digital devices can support your educational content is essential.⁷

Protect Student Privacy

Student privacy is an important and multifaceted issue. It includes protecting information about and from students, their families, and schools. Two major federal laws, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), outline protections for student data.

While there's a lot to understand, begin by consulting school and district policies for guidelines. Also, consider incorporating lessons into classwork that educate students on privacy risks and strategies to protect their own information.^{6, 7}

Choose the Right Tools

To effectively incorporate technology into the classroom, begin with how the tool(s) support achieving instructional goals and enhance learning experiences. Good reasons to use technology in education include encouraging engagement, differentiating and personalizing instruction, and increasing digital fluency.⁴

Consider the following:

1. Purpose and Goals:

   • Start by asking questions: Identify the specific learning activity and explore how assistive technology can help your students achieve the desired results
   • Instructional alignment: Choose tools that match your instructional goals, such as screencasting software for making student presentations, or AI-assisted tutoring programs that allow students to progress at their own pace¹²
     

2. Quality and Engagement:

   • Interactive over passive: to increase student engagement, prioritize tools that offer interactive opportunities over passive consumption
   • Task monitoring: Select platforms that allow you to track the students' learning process and provide timely feedback. Also consider whether there are integrations with other instructional technology such as your school's learning management system

3. Student Perspective:

   • Ease of use: Evaluate the tool from a student's perspective to ensure it’s user-friendly
   • Free vs. paid versions: Consider the impact of ads and age-appropriateness in free versions, and regularly check for updates¹³ 
     

4. Engagement Features:

   • Motivational elements: Be mindful of features like streaks and rewards, which can encourage engagement but may also lead to compulsive behaviors

Monitor and Evaluate

Ensure the success of technology integrations by regularly monitoring the results and comparing them to desired learning outcomes. One approach is to use the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework. The PDSA model involves planning a change, implementing it, studying the results, and acting on what is learned.¹⁴

Base the study phase on technology-generated data, combined with feedback from students and, if relevant, family members or other stakeholders. To borrow a phrase from the technology field, consider designing your program to "fail fast" to get to success. With this approach, you implement limited-scope pilot programs and short evaluation cycles, iterating quickly to refine your approach for the best results.^{4, 5}

Effective Use of Educational Technology

Research indicates you can achieve the best results by using digital technology in the classroom with a blended learning approach. A recent meta-study of higher education results published by the Brookings Institution also has implications for best practices in using technology in K-12 settings. Blended learning combines traditional in-class instruction with online and digital learning experiences. This approach allows students to engage with course material both inside and outside the classroom, enhancing their overall learning experience. In addition, using a blended learning approach can be easier for teachers, particularly those who are learning to use the technology, to implement.¹⁵

What is a Flipped Classroom?

The flipped classroom is a popular method of implementing blended learning. In this model, students watch digitized or online classes as homework, freeing up face-to-face class time for active learning activities such as discussions, peer teaching, projects, and problem-solving. ¹⁵

Theoretical Benefits

According to constructivist theory, this active learning approach enables students to build upon their pre-existing knowledge, resulting in deeper understanding. It also reduces cognitive load during class, allowing students to form more complex ideas.¹⁵

Effectiveness in Practice

Research has shown that students in flipped classrooms perform better academically compared to traditional lecture-based settings, particularly in language, technology, and health science courses. Smaller gains in student outcomes were found in math and engineering courses. The Brookings study also showed that "In addition to confirming that flipped learning has a positive impact on foundational knowledge (the most common outcome in prior reviews of the research), we found that flipped pedagogies had a modest positive effect on higher-order thinking. Flipped learning was particularly effective at helping students learn professional and academic skills."¹⁵

Practical Considerations

Teachers can use various platforms, such as the school's learning management systems, class blogs, or shared documents, to help students access online courses, creating authentic learning experiences both at home and in school.⁶

How Educational Technology Supports Student Engagement

Classroom technology and specific approaches to using assistive technology in lesson plans can support student engagement in several ways. Interactive learning through technologies ranging from interactive smartboards and online quizzes to educational apps can make the learning experience more dynamic and engaging.¹⁶

In addition to the benefits mentioned above, the flipped classroom can provide meaningful opportunities for student interactions, and well-designed lessons can provide valuable support for developing students' intra- and interpersonal skills.¹⁵

Project-based learning can be a powerful approach to technology-aided education. ISTE.org, an association of K-12 and university educators "dedicated to making teaching and learning more meaningful for educators and learners around the globe,"¹⁷ has suggested using project-based, creative assessments to supplement traditional assessments at least once a semester.

In these assessments, "The teacher poses a question, tells students what the standards are and asks them to demonstrate their knowledge through a creative project." The project could take many different forms, depending on your subject, grade level, available technology, and educational goals. Students build problem-solving skills along with deepening their mastery of the subject while working through the assessments.¹⁸

What Tech Do You Need in the Classroom?

Instructional technology can be divided into four categories: learning management systems, content creation and presentation, application software, and collaborative tools.

The potential benefits of a learning management system (LMS) begin with making it easier to store and update lesson plans, but go much further. Depending on the specific system and its integrations, your LMS can store lesson resources, accept student assignments and administer assessments, help students and teachers monitor progress, record grades, and report aggregate performance data.

Content creation and presentation tools include interactive whiteboards (smartboards), laptop computers and tablets. In addition to offering many ways to "write" on the board, a smartboard can typically display rich media, offer interactive activities for students to engage with, and connect to the internet. Some can even save lessons and send them to students who have missed a class session.¹⁹ Education technology is dynamic, with new apps and software being developed regularly. Online resources, including ISTE, Edutopia, and Commonsense, frequently publish roundups of popular apps and software. Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom are popular tools for collaboration and online education.

Embracing AI's Potential in Modern Education

AI is poised to change work and society in ways we can hardly begin to anticipate. By embracing its potential, schools help prepare students for future careers and societal roles. Additionally, AI is already providing educational benefits, including personalized learning and intelligent tutoring, through its integration with popular tools like Amira and Duolingo.

Critical Thinking and Responsibility

Teach students to think critically and act responsibly when working with AI. This includes understanding AI's capabilities and limitations and recognizing ethical considerations.²⁰

Process-Focused Learning

Design lesson plans that focus on the learning process. Use AI as a launching pad for students' creativity or critical thought rather than as an end in itself. Emphasize the importance of developing ideas and continual improvement.²¹

Specific Tips for Teachers

Teachers can incorporate the following tips, cleverly developed around the acronym “ChatGPT” by Jack Dougall, a secondary school humanities and business teacher in Spain, into their project instructions to help students effectively use AI tools:²²

• Converse: Engage in dialogue with AI; it's not a simple search engine
• Hypothesize: Predict possible responses to identify errors
• Adapt: Reframe questions or dive deeper if initial responses aren't sufficient
• Think: Reflect on AI responses for accuracy and bias
• Gather: Cross-verify AI-generated information with other sources
• Probe: Ask follow-up questions for deeper understanding
• Train: Continually refine interactions with AI for effective use 

A Technology Case Study with Real-World Inspiration

You don’t need a hefty technology budget to start integrating technology tools into your classroom as long as you approach it creatively. Mary Howard, a sixth-grade teacher in Grand Island, New York, capitalized on the popularity of escape rooms to create an interactive digital exercise with built-in engagement mechanisms.²³ In Howard's escape room lesson, student teams created their own escape room activities by developing narratives, designing puzzles, and embedding clues using digital tools like QR codes. They then presented their challenges to their classmates. This process encouraged students to engage deeply with the material, apply problem-solving skills, and collaborate effectively.

The attraction for students is based on four principles: narrative-based challenges, a time element, solution or reward focus, and the inclusion of clues, riddles, or puzzles. Exercises like these can be adapted with tools like Klikaklu or GooseChase for various subjects and grade levels.²³

Embrace the Technology Integration Journey with the University of Iowa

Integrating technology in the classroom can enhance learning experiences, support diverse learners, and prepare students for a tech-driven future. Educators can create engaging and effective learning environments by focusing on digital literacy, fostering a growth mindset, and using innovative tools and methods like AI and flipped classrooms. Being open to new ideas and cultivating a growth mindset are keys to your professional development and providing a model for students to follow.

If you're ready to deepen your understanding of how technology can support student success, consider the University of Iowa's affordable, part-time Online MA in Teaching, Leadership, and Cultural Competency (MATLCC). The program equips you with conceptual frameworks, strategies, and tactics that can empower students for 21st-century success and fuel your growth as an educational professional. You can keep teaching while you learn and immediately apply your new skills. Contact an admissions outreach advisor to learn more.