Article Review 3: Use of Technology in the Classroom for Professional Development

Article Review 3

Use of Technology in the Classroom for Professional Development

In this article Sabzian states “In order for teachers to infuse teaching with technology, they need professional development opportunities to learn to use and implement technology in their classrooms”. The goal of any professional development program is to inform and change teacher behavior as a result of new information(Barnett, 2003).

One purpose for having technology in the schools is to integrate it with the curriculum.

Teachers are expected to use the equipment, instruct with the equipment, and integrate the equipment into their lessons. In order for this to occur, it is necessary for teachers to be educated in the use of technology. However, this article looked at a number of studies and reported that both new and veteran teachers feel inadequately prepared to use computers in their classroom. Sabzain revealed that only 11.3% of the nation’s teachers feel they have advanced skills integrating technology into their daily teaching. Sabzain also states” Many factors urge teachers to use computer technology in their classrooms. These factors include positive teaching attitudes, computer self-efficacy and beliefs in technology.” the research in this article suggest that computer use in the classroom has a positive effect on students only if there is a reliable educational look , main support, teacher cooperation and a positive onsite technology professional available for technology management.                                  Sabzain states” Professional development needs to be at the forefront in order to assure student learning and to change the attitude and beliefs of teachers unfamiliar with the benefits that technology has to offer and the technology plan must be closely aligned with the curriculum standards. Teachers need to know what instructional approach is the most effective when integrating computer-based technologies in the classroom.” 

   The research quoted in this article focuses on three important factors that need to be operational for

professional development  to occur with the use of technology: (a) access to hardware, software, and technical support; (b) teacher educators’  relationships with key technical players; and (c) positive instructional attitudes toward technology use emphasizing the institutional context in which technology occurs. Sabzain states” Constructivist teachers support their students’ use of technology as it helps them to make their own perception of information by integrating real experiences into task –based learning settings.” Just adding technology tools to a traditional teaching approach will not produce  a more effective instruction, in fact it can often times make the process harder and more

complex without providing any benefit. To effectively use technology in the classroom teachers need to make sure they are using the constructivist approach, having students actively engaged  in the activity. Again in this article Sabzian states” Technology is regarded as a part of the theory of learning and it is viewed as more of a tool; it becomes the methodology framework.”  After reading this article, I believe the best plan would be to integrate both constructivist theory and technology into the classroom,  together they prepare the tools that are necessary for teachers to plan a

teaching model that satisfies the learner and teacher.

                                                                      Reference

SABZIAN, F., GILAKJANI, A., SODOURI, S.. Use of Technology in Classroom for Professional Development. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, North America, 4, jul. 2013.