I’ve had a binary view of Technology introduction. I was introduced to this way of thinking through the Ed Techs at The School at Columbia University. (@fpgina, @KarenBlumberg, and @DylanMRyder). When we discussed how teachers integrated technology, we talked about 2 ideas: Layering and Meaningful / Purposeful Integration.
Layering
I came to understand layering as using technology as a quick replacement for what we have been doing. @DylanMRyder often talked about digitizing writing projects as a prime example of layering. Layering technology and integrating in this way is quick, and requires the tools that are available to implement.
Meaningful / Purposeful Integration
This is where things get more interesting. Through conversations that I’ve had with various Ed Techs, my simple understanding of this idea is using technology to enhance the students’ learning experience or providing the students with a learning experience that cannot be had without the use of technology. Thus, without the technology, the content or experience cannot stand alone.
I was pretty happy with this understanding. It allowed me to think either I’m doing A or I’m doing B when I use technology in the classroom. Then, I started reading about the TPACK and SAMR framework…
(Thoughts continue here!)
Musings 