This document discusses reasons why technology should be integrated into classrooms. It provides a list of educational websites for reading, math, science and social studies. It then lists 3 main reasons why technology is important: 1) It allows teachers to create individualized lessons for students, 2) It allows students to collaborate, and 3) It engages students and helps them retain information. Examples are given of how technology can be used, such as interactive whiteboards, online games, and educational videos. Data from websites like Lexia is used to track student progress. Potential concerns about screen time and access to technology are also addressed.

1. Lexia
IXL
Imagine Learning
ABCya.com
i-Ready
IXL
Prodigy
Dreambox
BrainPOP Jr.
PBS Kids
PebbleGo
Discovery Education
Reading:
Math:
Science and Social
Studies:
Websites to Support
Individual learning
By Ella King
Technology is something in today's society that is
always changing. One way to make sure we are
preparing our students for the future is to integrate it
into the classrooms today. I am a strong believer and
supporter of integrating technology into the
classroom. Here are my top 3 reasons why it should
be included in every classroom:
1. Teachers can easily integrate it into lessons, or
subjects, they are teaching. Using some of the
different websites (listed to the left), teachers can set
up individualized lessons to meet the needs of their
students. Also, using technology allows for easier
access to information to enhance the learning
happening around them.
2. It allows students to be able to collaborate with
one another. American University (2020) states that
"students can share their thoughts and ideas and
support each other". Within this, students are able to
bring different skills they have learned into the groups
they are in.
Why Technology
Should be
Integrated into
the Classroom
Monthly Fun Facts and Tidbits for
Parents and Teachers
Classroom News
"Through the use of technology inside and outside the classroom, students can gain 21st-
century technical skills necessary for future occupations" (American University, 2020)
3. It allows for teachers to create more engaging lessons. Lessons that are engaging, cause
students to retain more information that they learn. One of the best ways to do this is by adding
youtube videos with catchy songs (example: Jack Hartmann Videos) that relate to the topic being
taught. Fendler (2014) states, that "we remember unique occurrences, and sometimes we remember
them because they are unique" (p. 192). Play those songs, while you sing and dance along because
students are going to remember those experiences and associate it back to what they are learning.

2. interactive boards
follow along lessons through Nearpods
playing videos
educational review games
Google (slides and docs) or
Microsoft (powerpoint and word)
Technology is something that can be easily
incorporated into the classroom. This can be through
whole group lessons or even individual lessons.
When adding it into whole group lessons, you can do it
many different ways. Here are a few of my favorites:
One way you can use it is through a SmartBoard
(which is an interactive board). Smartboards allow you
to present information, pause the screen, and turn the
screen off. Being able to pause the screen allows for
students or the teacher, to be able to write on the
screen like it was a whiteboard or a chalkboard.
Another way to use technology in the whole group
setting is through different websites to play
educational games. One of my all time favorite
websites to use is kahoot.com. This website allows you
to make or find review games to play with your
students. This is a great way to review instead of using
a worksheet. Students love it and it's free to use!
Here is a video to check out how to use Kahoot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAfnia7-rMk
One last way to use technology in the whole group
setting is through playing educational videos. One of
my favorite websites to use it flocabulary,com.
Flocabulary is a website full of educational hip-hop
videos. They have topics from reading, math, science,
and social studies. They are super catchy videos that
students love to listen and singalong to.
Examples of it
being used in the
Classroom
A student using a SmartBoard in the
classroom to show his work to his classmates
"The effective use of digital learning tools in classrooms can increase student engagement"
(American University, 2020)

3. One way that we can see this working is through the
data that we are able to collect on it daily, weekly,
monthly, and yearly. One example of the data we can
collect is through the reading website, Lexia. On this
website, students take a pretest at the beginning of the
year which allows the website and the teacher to be
able to see exactly where the student is at. This then
allows for students to be able to work on their exact
level. It also shows data for how long they are spending
on the website each day and weekly. For students who
are struggling, it will give the teacher an individual
lesson plan tailored to the student. This is one of the
many great websites that teachers use to incorporate to
meet the individual needs of each student.
Go to the following link to see how and why Lexia is so
important for your students reading growth :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qniBoekxRo
References:
American University. (2020, June 25).How Important Is Technology in Education? Benefits,
Challenges, and Impact on Students. https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/technology-in-education
Fendler, L. (2014). Teaching theories. In Making a Difference in Theory: The theory question in
education and the education question in theory, Gert Biesta, Julie Allan, and Richard Edwards
(eds), 180-197. Routledge, New York.
How we know
it's working
Concerns you
might have
How much screen time will my student have?
This will depend on the day, but on average,
your student will not have more then 1.5 hours
of screen time during school hours. What if my student struggles with online learning?
By incorporating technology into your students
everyday learning, it will set them up for success if
they ever need to take part in online learning again.
By teaching your student skills on how to type, find
resources, locate where their online homework and
tests will be, and even just how to use a computer,
will allow them to build up so much confidence in
themselves while they navigate through this ever
changing technology society.
Will my student have access to all the newest
technology out there?
It has been reported that "less than 10 percent
of schools have these tools in their classrooms"
(American University, 2020). We use whatever
technology that the school and district have
provided for us to use.