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Chasatie Strickler
EDU 225: Instructional Technology
July 19, 2015
Randal Yard

Comprehensive Technology Plan

In the classroom, it is of vital importance that educators integrate multiple methods of
learning to accommodate and reach all students when providing them with an education. In the
society in which students are engaged in, the integration of technology into the curriculum allows
for easy access for communication, enhanced learning opportunities, differentiation to allow for
the students to access the information being taught, and ease of formative and summative
assessments. The following is going to explain how technology can be integrated into the
classroom through a classroom website, such as http://myawesomeaces.weebly.com/ to ensure the
students are able to become successful and independent learners.
As an educator, it is important that one has a mission and vision for his/her classroom to
ensure the students and classroom succeeds both individually and as a group, not only in the
present time but in the future as well. Developing learning opportunities based off of a solid
mission and vision, will ensure the teacher is incorporating appropriate communications, learning
opportunities, differentiation, and assessments. With the integration of technology, success is
easily attainable. In the Awesome Aces classroom, the mission of the teacher is to integrate
technology and learning into a lifetime love of learning for all students, thus setting one up for
success! While the vision of the Awesome Aces classroom is to create engaged learners that can
integrate learning and technology to become a student destined for success! In order to meet the

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goals set forth in a mission and vision statement, one must ensure they have an adequate
comprehensive technology plan in place.
When creating a communication plan for a classroom, the incorporation of technology
helps to overcome the obstacles that may be presented when communicating various types of
information to students, parents, and others in the educational community. The incorporation of
classroom websites, wiki blogs, Remind 101, and one-call will create an effective means of
communicating with parents, as well as providing a trail in the realm of notifications, reminders,
and updates; thus encouraging active parent participation (Olmstead, 2013). As one incorporates
various technologies into their educational experience, they are often provided easier access to
educators in other districts, professional development opportunities, and collaborative efforts to
utilize the most advanced and up-to-date learning opportunities for students. An easy method of
integrating communication and collaborative efforts between parents, teachers, students, and
others in the educational community is the creation of a classroom website, blog, or wiki. This
allows the teacher to incorporate a class calendar with upcoming assignments, an area for blogs to
provide encouragement to the students, as well as a parent/student page to provide helpful tips
and information. This also allows for easy access to the teachers email for parents and/or students
to communicate concerns or reinforcements. As with any kind of new integration into the
classroom, it is of utmost importance that educators ensure that the students are utilizing
appropriate internet safety and etiquette when communicating and working on the internet. As the
teacher integrates safety rules and etiquette through awareness and agreements, students will have
a firm understanding of what is acceptable when participating on the internet in the classroom
(Gunter & Gunter, 2015, p. 84).
With the introduction of technology into the classroom comes additional learning
resources, environments, and tools that are accessible to the students, giving them the opportunity

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to access multiple skills. Technology can be of great benefit in the realm of traditional classroom
instruction, as it encourages student involvement, engagement, and organization of data.
According to Owen (2013), the integration of technology allows for students to learn in a fun
and authentic manner, thus storing the information they have learned into long-term memory.
With the future of technology being an ever-changing demand, students must learn to become
somewhat independent learners. The integration of technology into the daily lesson plan can be of
great benefit to encourage students to become proficient at using technology to conduct research
and various web applications. However, it is of utmost importance that educators ensure they are
still encouraging the basic skills of reading, writing, mathematical computations, and appropriate
spelling and language skills. With the advancements of technology, students can get lazy with
their spelling and grammar skills, making it extremely important to continue the instruction of
basic reading, writing, and mathematics using pencil and paper (VanSlyke-Briggs, Hogan, Waffle,
& Samplaski, 2014).
As educators incorporate technology, it is imperative that educators are enforcing internet
safety and etiquette, as well as monitoring students online activities while in the classroom. Due
to the increase in wireless internet and technology, students are able to connect to the internet
without having to actually plug something into the wall (wireless technology) using their own
devices. This can inhibit their learning as they may be doing activities other than what is asked of
them. Whereas a wired classroom actually requires a hard plug in which the student has to use a
hard plug in the wall, making it easier for teachers to monitor students access.
In the classroom, it is important to be cognizant of the different learning styles and needs
represented. When looking at meeting the needs of all of the students, one can look to the use of
technology to help meet those needs. With the advancements of technology, teachers and students
are now better able to communicate and express needs, concerns, or wants. As the integration of

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technology increases to aid in differentiation, the better the chances the student will be able to
access the information. Technology can provide audio readings, visual learning, or encourage
active learning. As technology is used to differentiate instruction, the students (especially those
with special needs) will be able to better access and understand the information being conveyed as
well as show improved proficiency with the use of technology. While technology is beneficial at
differentiating instruction on many levels, it is also beneficial to differentiate instruction through
hands-on, engaging, and meaningful activities to support and enhance instruction; allowing
students to place the information into long-term memory (VanSciver, 2005).
As students advance through the grades, they will need to be proficient at researching and
verifying accurate information on the web. This makes introducing and providing differentiation
opportunities for learning at a younger age through the use of technology extremely important.
The more they are exposed to the appropriate use of technology in the academic setting the more
proficient they will be, as well as showing marked improvement in their achievement levels.
According to Delen & Bulut (2011), the integration of engaging activities via technology has
shown marked improvement in math and science scores. In order to ensure that students are able
to succeed in the future academic setting, it is critical that they learn how to be independent
learners and thinkers. Allowing the students to have the opportunity to be the central focus of the
instructional method will encourage independence, critical thinking, and more applicable learning
opportunities to enhance their learning (Wu & Huang, 2007).
Just as technology is used to enhance instruction and support differentiation, it is also
beneficial at assessing students learning; which is a critical element of the entire learning process.
As an educator, one must utilize on-going formative assessment to guide, enhance, and modify
instruction (Schneider & Andrade, 2013). Formative assessments can be done through journal
writing, discussions, and observations. However, integrating the use of technology to perform

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on-going assessments can allow the teacher to have access to live results, modify the assessment
to each individual students needs, and provide scoring data as a class and for each individual
student. Formative assessments allow for the teacher to provide remedial instruction when it is
needed, as well as capitalizing on a students strengths (Tomlinson, 2007). Just as with formative
assessments, students can be summatively assessed via technology through standardized testing,
end of unit tests, or written summaries. Again, this is something that can link directly to the
teacher, allowing for easy monitoring. As one integrates technology, it is important that teachers
perform the assessments that are aligned to both Common Core and International Society for
Technology in Education (ISTE) standards. As the assessments are aligned with the standards,
educators will be ensured that the students have mastered the standards set forth for their grade
level. When looking at the advantages and disadvantages of using technology to perform
assessments, one must look at the socioeconomic status of students and their level of
technological knowledge. One of the most profound disadvantages is the limited amount of
technological resources that some students may have access to at home. When this happens, a
student may not be very proficient at the use of technology, causing a learning curve when
performing the assessment. The advantages of utilizing technology to perform assessments is that
the teacher can modify instruction and assessment to meet the needs of the student.
In conclusion, the integration of technology to aid in instruction, differentiation, and
assessment of student knowledge provides many learning opportunities and growth for students
to succeed. As educators become more familiar with the various aspects of technology, the
integration into the curriculum will become easier the more it is done. As the educators use
technology to guide instruction, the level of productivity will increase as students can complete
assignments on their own, complete group work outside of the classroom, improve on their skills
through practice, and teacher access to assessments. The integration of classroom websites,

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Remind 101, or wiki blogs allows for teachers to provide prior notification of assignments, easy
communication with parents, and aid in professional development. This is a comprehensive
technology plan that can be of great benefit when used appropriately in the classroom.

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References
Delen, E., & Bulut, O. (2011). The relationship between students' exposure to technology and
their achievement in science and math. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology
- TOJET, 10(3), 311-317.
Gunter, G. & Gunter, R. (2015). Teachers discovering computers: Integrating technology in a
changing world (8th ed.). Boston, MA. Cengage Learning.
Olmstead, C. (2013). Using technology to increase parent involvement in schools. Techtrends:
Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 57(6), 28-37. doi:10.1007/s11528013-0699-0.
Owen, D. (2013). Another "C" for learning. Teacher Librarian, 40(5), 38-42.
Schneider, M. C., & Andrade, H. (2013). Teachers' and administrators' use of evidence of student
learning to take action: Conclusions drawn from a special issue on formative assessment.
Applied Measurement In Education, 26(3), 159-162.
doi:10.1080/08957347.2013.793189.
Tomlinson, C. A. (2007). Learning to love assessment. Educational Leadership, 65(4), 8-13.
VanSciver, J. H. (2005). Motherhood, apple pie, and differentiated instruction. Phi Delta Kappan,
86(7), 534-535.
VanSlyke-Briggs, K., Hogan, M., Waffle, J., & Samplaski, J. (2014). School Partnerships:
Technology Rich Classrooms and the Student Teaching Experience. Journal of
Educational Technology Systems, 43(2), 121-141. doi:10.2190/ET.43.2.b.
Wu, H., & Huang, Y. (2007). Ninth-grade student engagement in teacher-centered and studentcentered technology-enhanced learning environments. Science Education, 91(5), 727-749.