Leaders' Edge
Topic: Teaching and Learning
Integrated or Automated?
I recently observed a classroom where students were using word processing to type essays they had drafted by hand. Is this really technology integration?
 It sounds as though you observed a classic example of 'automation versus information,' a phrase coined by Alan November.
As teachers learn to work with a technology that is new to them, they do go through a stage where they take a traditional activity such as writing an essay and simply automate the lesson. Doing this enables the teacher to initiate technology use in a safer environment. In this case, if the technology fails, the teacher can fall back on having students write the second draft by hand.
There are three critical factors in helping teachers move beyond this early stage of technology use: a supportive administrator; professional development; and adequate technical support. There are times when automation is appropriate; however, problems arise when the teacher stops there, thinking that technology use is now integrated.
Submitted by:
Susan Brooks-Young
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Leaders' Edge Coordinator: Susan Brooks-Young
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