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Technology Applications for Learning
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Measuring More than Technology Use

Link: http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/WCE/archives/bbassess.htm

Since every teacher and classroom is unique, teachers' lessons and examples of student work may differ for teachers at the same grade levels or subject areas. Schools that align the standards to the curriculum coordinate what is learned for each subject and grade. With the emphasis on standardized tests, it is a challenge to teach a subject in the depth that is suggested in the standards. The lessons that teach to these tests generally reach the first two categories in Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge and Comprehension. At these levels, the learning objectives may include defining a term or identifying parts of something. Teaching with technology tends to transform the learning environment to be more student-centered and project-based, which incorporates higher levels of the taxonomy: Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Students at these levels involve learning objectives that may demonstrate, design, and summarize what they learned. To be successful learners in the 21st century, students will need information literacy skills that incorporate all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (Bloom, 1996).Technology integration goes beyond using educational games or accessing computers for reward; it involves reviewing, selecting, and evaluating the appropriate resources for the curriculum to support the learning objectives. Integration can range from one lesson where students use a word processor to write a persuasive essay to using technology for brainstorming, planning, capturing data and images, designing, presenting and assessment. Comfort and attitude are a big consideration when you design one lesson that uses technology or a project-based learning activity that uses multiple resources. For an effective professional development program, it is important to measure proficiency issues as well as types of integration, the available resources and support, curriculum and learning objectives, instructional strategies, classroom setups, and management techniques.

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