Sample: Analysis of an Article

Analysis of the Article: Bitner, N., & Bitner, J. (2002). Integrating technology into the classroom: Eight keys to success. Journal of technology and teacher education, 10(1), 95-100.

In this article, the authors identify eight key areas to focus in order to enable teachers to successfully integrate technology in to curriculum. Like any other changes, introduction of technology into classroom is also a change which brings anxiety, fear and concerns into teachers’ mind and these fears and concerns must be addressed through grooming of teachers before exposing them to these changes. Training in the very basic use of computers is necessary for teachers to use technology in class rooms. Teachers must be equipped with personal productivity skills in order to help them reduce their fear and increase their interest in the technology use. Teachers must be provided with teaching models of technology use in the curriculum in order to familiar them with the process. Traditional teaching must be replaced with learning based teaching where students are taught to use technology resources to gain knowledge and develop skills themselves. An environment for teachers should be created to help them learn new technologies without the fear of failure so that they can self-learn through trial and error. Extrinsic as well as intrinsic motivations as well as continuous support must be given to teachers to comfortably go through the tough change process and increase their acceptability of the change.

The authors have provided a very solid list of points to focus on in order to successfully integrate technology into curriculum. Although all the points are valid and critical to consider, but in my view, the most important one is the fear and anxiety related to the change that the teachers will be exposed to. Because traditional teachers, with no initial training in new technologies will first need to learn these new technologies and then will have to use those technology not only themselves, but also will have to facilitate their students to use them. Teaching something to students which the teacher him/herself is learning is harder and teachers must feel fear of being unable to teach such new things. Eliminating such fear and anxiety to face these changes in the class rooms are crucial to improve the teaching and learning process with the integration of technology, otherwise, these worries and fear will not allow teachers to confidently teach the new ways to learn. The second most important point in my view that the authors identified is providing teaching models for new technologies. I strongly agree with this point and I give it more importance because for teaching different concepts, there are always established guidelines and lesson plans but there is lack of model lessons for teaching students on how to use technology effectively in the class room. Teachers may know about how to use a new technology themselves, but when it comes to teach someone about how to use it in their own learning, then it becomes a challenge. So, the teachers must be trained through model lessons and methodologies by experts so that they can effectively incorporate technology based learning into their classrooms. No doubt, other points are also important and each one need to be addressed carefully. For example, motivation is crucial to work on new things. Without support from administration and their active involvement can never be ignored. Most of the teachers may not be familiar with the basics of new technologies, so their ignorance to a new technology must be understood and taken care of.

The study is very significant for researchers focusing on integration of technology into education. The strong point of the study is that it identifies a list of very significant areas to consider in order to facilitate teachers to effectively integrate technology into curriculum. Teachers have always been considered as the major actor in the learning process in any educational setting. That is why, the authors have focused all key areas around this major role in the learning achievement of the students. A very strong point that the text has focused is the need for identification of teaching models for technology learning. The authors have very pointed out very basic elements for researchers and educators to focus and work on, in order to help technology based learning. However, the text has been kept to a very basic level and the solutions have not been presented in details. For example, the paper explains that changes in curriculum and use of new technologies will cause anxiety and worries among teachers, but it does not provide any details on how to overcome these anxieties and fears. In my view, it would require an in-depth research to find the sources of anxiety and fear and how to overcome them.

Based on this reading, I feel that I would go for more research on what kinds of fears and anxieties commonly exist among teachers regarding learning new technologies to use in the curriculum and then actually teaching the students how to use those technologies. Secondly, I will be very much concerned about how these anxieties and worries can be overcome effectively. Strength of this article in my view is the identification of complete list of considerations and being an education research student, all these considerations are related to my field of study and I will be focusing on to study and come up with possible solutions through literature reviews, and research on these considerations.

References

Bitner, N., & Bitner, J. (2002). Integrating technology into the classroom: Eight keys to success. Journal of technology and teacher education, 10(1), 95-100.