What is good technology integration and bad technology integration?
Let us explore the good first. If we consider the 'Linking Technology' article, we see that William (the teacher) was really passionate about teaching his students ecology. He and his students would explore the rich diversity of the grounds surrounding the school. That was great, but he wanted to help his students acquire a greater understanding of the subject and it was with the help of Karen, the school's educational technologist, that he realized his goal. He was able to enlarge the amount of resources available to the students through use of the Internet. In their weekly computer class, for example, the students would work to search for online science references and explore ecology simulations.
Bad technology integration would be the use of technology just for the sake of using it. If the lesson becomes too complicated or for example, you end up reading a PowerPoint presentation word for word, you'd be better off distributing a handout.
One of the biggest barriers to technology integration in the classroom is funding. If a school doesn't have a lot of money, chances are they're not going to be able to afford a smart board. Another barrier is the lack of experience a lot of the older teachers have in regards to technology. It evolves very quickly and can be very difficult to keep up with. It would be wonderful if every school could employ an educational technologist, but that is just not the case.
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I like how you put it., "bad technology is using technology just for the sake of using it." I can't even tell you how many teachers I have had that did exactly that: read off of a powerpoint! Made me feel kind of dumb, because I can read it myself easily, and also made me only view my teacher as lazy, because everyone knew that there were better ways to present the information.
And as for the financial side of technology, I think it's really too bad. All students deserve the same opportunity to learn and develop tech skills, especially the way that society is advancing today. Essentially, it breaks my heart to see that some students don't have the opportunity to even word-process an assignment because their school doesn't have enough computer to support a class. Where is that going to get them when it is time to apply for a job, go to post-seconday, take an online class, etc.??
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