TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
Technology Integration Learning Plan
Jaime Messinger-Willman
School of Education, Liberty University
Technology Integration Learning Plan
Educational technology plays a basic and leading role in our education system, and it has
led to and will continue to lead to changes in it. Educational technology takes the role of the
student from being a passive learner to an active learner. With the development of new
technology, all-around changes are occurring in the field of educational technology and how
educators are integrating these technologies into the classroom. Facing the changing classroom
environment and considering the needs and abilities of the students, educators need to be
innovative, change their inherent thinking habits, and learn to apply new technologies (Lei,
2022). Integrating new technology can enhance students’ participation, engage and develop their
critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and allow students to be active agents in their
learning. Integrating different technological tools in the classroom allows students with different
learning styles to access, learn, and demonstrate their understanding.
When educators integrate technology into the classroom, it must be purposeful and
meaningful (Burch & Mohammed, 2019). The specific type of technology teachers use in the
classroom does not determine its successful integration, but how educators use it can influence
teaching and learning. Integrating technology in the classroom lends itself to different teaching
and student learning methods. Generally, when discussing classroom technology, we may think
of computers, laptops, tablets, social media, cell phones, the Internet, projects, software
applications, smart boards, and video-based learning multimedia tools (Burch & Mohammed,
2019).
Technology Integration Matrix
The Authentic Learning Characteristic of the Technology Integration Matrix emphasizes
connecting new learning with the world outside of the classroom through technology. Students
are using technology to connect learning activities in the classroom to the world outside of the
classroom (Florida Center for Instructional Technology, 2023). Using varying technologies in
the classroom enables students to create, consume, connect, share, and experience learning
authentically. In authentic learning experiences, ownership of learning is transferred from the
teachers to the students. Students use technology to help them conceptualize their learning
(Reich et al., 2021)
Students use technology tools flexibly at the transformative level to achieve specific
learning outcomes (Florida Center for Instructional Technology, 2023). Students have a general
understanding of how the different technology tools are used. With this knowledge, they are
pushed and encouraged to use the tools in a variety of unconventional ways, oftentimes
integrating tools to support their acquisition, access, and exploration of their learning process.
The teacher is a guide or a mentor to help, encourage, and support students as they embark on
their self-directed learning journeys (Florida Center for Instructional Technology, 2023). At this
level, students use technology to support their high-order thinking skills and activities that are
not possible or available within the classroom walls.
The ASSURE Model for Instructional Design
Heinrich and Molenda developed the ASSURE model in 1999. It is intended to be a
practical guide for planning and delivering instruction that allows teachers to integrate
technology and media into their teaching process (Lei, 2022). Within this model, teachers can
design and create learning environments most appropriate for learners. This model puts learners
at the forefront, and lessons are designed around the learner's accomplishment of the identified
learning objectives (Lei, 2022). The ASSURE model contains six steps that include analyzing
the learners, stating the lesson’s objectives, selecting the methods, materials, and media for the
lesson, utilizing technology, materials, and media in the lesson, identifying the requirement of
learners' participation, and finally, the evaluation and revision (Lei, 2022).
Analysis of Learners and Technology in the Local Setting
The learners for this lesson are 2nd-grade students who attend a school in a middle-class
neighborhood. The student population includes many ethnicities and cultures, including Middle
Eastern, African American, Asian, and Caucasian. Many students come from affluent families;
however, some come from lower socioeconomic families and receive free and reduced lunch.
Those students from affluent, middle-higher socioeconomic families have various technology
tools outside of the classroom, including laptops, tablets, gaming devices, computers, robots, and
cell phones. While some students come from lower socioeconomic families, these families have
access to technology tools, such as cell phones, tablets, and laptops. The teachers use various
technology tools, materials, and media to support students’ learning. Teachers use smart boards,
laptops, games, cell phones, video-based learning applications, the Internet, and other
educational applications. The students in this classroom have reading levels above grade level,
on grade level, and below grade level. This classroom has various learning styles, ranging from
visual, auditory, verbal, logical/mathematical, and kinesthetic. There are students in this
classroom who have been identified as having a Specific Learning Disability, Autism, ADHD,
and Speech Impairment. The students reading above and on grade level have strong abilities in
decoding words, reading fluency skills, and literal and inferential comprehension of texts they
read. The students below grade level have mixed reading difficulties, including decoding,
fluency, and comprehension weaknesses. Reading for this group of students is challenging and a
non-preferred academic subject. In reading, the students have been taught lessons about fiction
books, important characteristics in fiction books, story elements of fiction books, and retelling
fiction books.
In 2018, a bond was passed that made it possible for all students in the district to have
internet-connecte4d devices available to them. At all elementary campuses, elementary students
either have Chromebooks or iPads. At elementary schools, students use Clever, Epic, Seesaw,
Google Meet, and Google Classroom. Students can access their Clever accounts at home, and
their Clever apps are the housing sites where they can access Seesaw, Epic, Google Classroom,
and Google Meet. Each classroom is equipped with a smart board. The school has also invested
in several classroom sets of Dot and Dash Robots that students can use for different coding
activities.
Standards and Objectives
The state of Texas does not utilize the Common Core. Instead, the state has developed
and adopted its own state standards. The current lesson will target the following Texas Essential
Skills (TEKS) Reading and Technology standards: reading comprehension skills, reading
response skills, and technology knowledge and skills. As a world, we recognize that in this ever-
evolving, changing, and technologically advancing world, students need to be able to thrive and
survive in this day and age. The ISTE standards have been designed to empower students to use
their voices in a student-driven learning environment (ISTE, 2024). The current lesson will focus
on the following student ISTE standards: knowledge creator, innovative designer, computational
thinker, and creative communicator.
TEKS: Comprehension skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking
using multiple texts. The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and
deepen comprehension of increasingly complex texts. The student is expected to:
o(G) Evaluate details read to determine key ideas.
o(H) Synthesize information to create new understanding.
o(I) Monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using
background knowledge, checking for visual cues, and asking questions when
understanding breaks down (Texas Education Agency, 2022)
TEKS: Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using
multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of read,
heard, or viewed sources. The student is expected to:
o(C) Use text evidence to support an appropriate response.
o(D) Retell and paraphrase texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical
order.
o(E) Interact with sources in meaningful ways such as illustrating or writing
(Texas Education Agency, 2022).
TEKS: Technology: Knowledge and Skills
o(B) Create original products using a variety of resources.
o(C) Explore virtual environments, simulations, models, and programming
languages to enhance learning.
o(D) Create and execute steps to accomplish a task.
o(E) Evaluate and modify steps to accomplish a task (Texas Education Agency,
2022).
ISTE Standards (ISTE, 2024)
o1.3 Knowledge Creator
Students will use a variety of technological/digital tools to construct
knowledge and produce a final project.
o1.4 Innovative Designer
Students will use their selected digital tools to help them solve a
problem using new and innovative ways to come up with a solution.
o1.5 Computational Thinker
Students will need to identify and problem-solve when a coding series
does not work on identifying, solving, and correcting the problem.
o1.6 Creative Communicator
Students will be able to communicate and clearly articulate their
knowledge through their final product.
The objectives of this lesson are:
Learners will construct a planning guide outline identifying the following elements
of a story: the beginning (setting and characters), rising action, climax, resolution,
and theme.
Learners will construct a digital retelling of a fiction story from their planning
outline using digital voice recording
Learners will code a Robot to move along the story plotline, moving to the student’s
voice recording.
Selection of Strategies, Technology, Media, and Materials
The focus of this lesson will be for students to develop their skills in retelling by
incorporating the following story elements: the beginning (setting and characters), rising action,
climax, resolution, and theme, using a variety of digital tools to demonstrate their knowledge and
understanding. To begin, the teacher will provide a whole group lesson, reviewing retelling and
the different story elements using a class read-aloud that the class read together the previous day.
Prior to the introduction of this project, students will have already been taught how to access
books on Epic, complete interactive planning sheets on Canva, record using Voice Recorder, and
develop codes for their Robots. After the teacher reviews the overarching lesson’s goal –
retelling- she will post the lesson’s goals and questions on the smart board that students must
think through as they embark on these independent learning journeys. Students will use
Chromebooks to access the Epic reading site, Canva, the Voice Recorder App, and the Dot and
Dash coding app. The students will read Epic books, create their planning outlines using Canva,
and record their retellings using the Voice Record app. After completing these components,
students will use the Dot and Dash app to code their Robot.
Utilization of Materials
Students will begin by reading a self-selected fiction book using the Epic app on their
Chromebooks. Each student can select a fiction book based on their reading level. Having the
students use Epic to access their books allows them to either read the stories by themselves or
select the story to be read to them using this app; Epic allows all students to access and
participate in this activity. After the students have read their self-selected book, they will use a
digital graphic organizer to help them outline the different story elements. Students will use a
teacher-created digital graphic organizer on Canva. Students will have the capability to type in
their own answers, or those students who have difficulty with spelling or writing can use speech-
text software, where they can speak, and the computer will type out what they want to say. As
students work on their planning outlines, the teacher will circulate around the room, providing
assistance and support, answering questions, and guiding students through any problems they
may experience.
Once students are done with reading and creating their digital outlines, they will use the
Voice Recorder app on their Chromebooks to record their retellings. After recording their
retelling, each student will create a code for their Dot and Dash robot to move along their
plotline while playing the voice recording. The Robot will stop at designated places along the
plotline that coincide with the student’s voice recording of the retelling. As students work on
creating their codes, when they encounter coding errors or problems, they will need to think
through and problem-solve the issue and identify a solution. Once the students have created the
coding, the end product will be their Dot and Dash Robot, moving along the story plotline
independently during the entire retelling of the story. At the end of this project, students will
have the opportunity to share their final product with their peers during a class exhibit showcase,
and they will be able to showcase their project to their parents at the Annual Parents Curriculum
Night.
Requirement of Learner Participation
Students will be active agents in their own learning from the start of the lesson till the
end. While each student will be working on the same activity, and their end products will be the
same, they will be different simultaneously. Each student can select their own books, creating
buy-in to the activity from the beginning. Each story has different story elements and a different
story map, creating different codes that each robot will follow. Students will be active throughout
the entire lesson. They will start by picking out their own stories, reading or listening to stories
through Epic, developing their own story maps on Canva, recording their own voices, and
creating codes for each of their Robots. Students will engage with a variety of digital tools and
applications throughout this lesson.
Formative Questions
Can you explain each of the different story elements?
Can you explain the purpose of retelling a story?
What factors contributed to your success in completing this project?
What factors contributed to the challenges that you had completing this project?
Using the code you created, how can you identify where the errors are, and how to
correct those errors?
Evaluation and Revisions
For this lesson, I will use observational data, student work samples, and student
interviews to collect data to assess each student’s learning. I will use a rubric to grade the
students' planning outline sheets and evaluate their understanding of retellings. I will use another
rubric to evaluate their final product—a robot moving independently along the story plotline to
the student’s voice recording. I will use observational data and rubrics to assess each student’s
learning against this lesson's identified TEKS and ISTE standards. Student interviews will be
used to assess the effectiveness of the lesson, challenges they had, celebrations, and overall, their
learning experiences. Student interviews are valuable in the sense that being able to see, from the
students’ perspectives, how the lesson went can inform me, as an educator, on how I may need to
adjust this lesson in the future or how I can take different components of this lesson and integrate
into other academic content areas.
The integration of a variety of digital tools significantly increased student engagement in
the activity. Students were invested in their own authentic learning experiences. By the end of
the lesson, students had a deeper understanding of the purpose of writing their retelling (in
order); in addition, there was a positive impact on being able to have a visual representation of
their robot moving along the designated path that correlated with their story planning outline.
This activity turned retelling into an engaging challenge where students practiced reading skills,
engaged in computational and problem-solving skills as they troubleshot and created their codes,
and visualized the plot map of fiction stories
When looking at the Triple E Evaluation rubric, under the “Engagement in Learning”
section, this project received a “yes” for all three statements. This project did increase students’
motivation and engagement in the learning process. They were in charge of their own learning
journeys. They had a say in what book they wanted to read to create their story maps and code
their robots. Students were social learners throughout this activity. The teacher, initially, was the
leader in the lesson, as information for the lesson’s concepts was reviewed with the class, and the
lesson’s objectives were reviewed with the students. After that, the teacher shifted to being a
passive guide while the students took the lead and took an active role in their own learning. The
technology used in this project allowed students to focus on their own lesson and not worry
about what other students were doing because everyone’s project, in the end, would be alike, yet
different, because each student did a different book.
Under the second section, titled “Enhancement of the learning goals,” each statement
received a “yes.” The different technology tools and apps allowed students to understand better
the importance of restating and retelling a story's details in order. The coding part of this
assignment and pairing it with the student’s voice recording required students to engage in
higher-order thinking to problem solve through coding errors, identify the problem, and develop
a solution. The assignment did allow students to personalize their assignments because their
individual voice recordings created personalized and individualized codes for their robots. The
technology allowed students to identify the importance of writing a thorough, detailed, and
sequential retelling of the story to ensure that their robot could follow the specific story map,
following the student’s voice recording. If a student’s retelling was out of order, the robot would
not follow the map correctly, which would identify the student’s lack of understanding of how to
develop and create a sequential retelling.
When looking at the final section titled “Extending the learning goals,” the first statement
did receive a “somewhat.” The students, if needed, could continue to work on their story maps
and voice recordings outside of the classroom in the home setting. However, they would not be
able to work on the coding piece of the project at home. The second statement received a score
of “yes.” I gave this statement this rating because telling does promote literacy and vocabulary
development, which are essential tools for students to have in their everyday lives. The coding
piece of this project is a skill that students can use in their everyday lives if they want to create
video games or other types of media (i.e., animation). In the last statement, I also gave a rating of
“yes.” The ability to develop literacy, comprehension, and vocabulary are soft skills that students
will need to have and use throughout their academic, personal, and professional lives. Coding is
another skill that students can take, use, and continue to learn and develop and ultimately use
these skills in future job opportunities. This project scored 17, which fell in the Exceptional
Potential area. Scores that fall in the Exceptional Potential area indicate that there is strong
learning potential through the use of technology tools. Students are active and social learners
who can take what they have learned in the classroom and connect with their everyday lives.
References
Burch, Z.A. & Mohammed, S. (2019). Exploring faculty perceptions about classroom technology
integration and acceptance: A literature review. International Journal of Research in
Education and Science (IJRES), 5(2), 722-729.
Florida Center for Instructional Technology (2023). Authentic Learning. Retrieved
fromRhttps://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/project/authentic-learning/
Florida Center for Instructional Technology (2023). Transformation level text slide. Retrieved
fromRhttps://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/project/transformation-level-text-slide/
ISTE. (2024). ISTE standards: For students. Retrieved fromRhttps://iste.org/standards/students
Lei, G., & Lei, G. (2023).RInfluence of ASSURE model in enhancing educational technology.
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Reich, A., Reich, A., Rooney, D., & Lizier, A. L. (2021).RUsing technology integration
frameworks in vocational education and training. Wagga Wagga, N.S.W.] : Charles Sturt
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Texas Education Agency. (2022). Texas essential knowledge and skills. Retrieved
fromRhttps://tea.texas.gov/academics/curriculum-standards/teks-review/texas-essential-
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