Since my first year of teaching in 1987, I have always been intrigued with organizational behavior, engaging students in and out of the classroom, and the way students learn. At that time, there was not a lot, if any, research on the legitimate benefits of technology integration and how it connected to pedagogy.
I applied for a grant and received ten PCs in my classroom. This is what I learned through observation: Gary in front of a computer was engaged. Gary in his seat without digital technology was a disruption. I could quickly see that digital technology was one of many engagement tools that could lend itself to Gary’s style of pedagogy. He learned from more of a constructivist approach.
Gary relied on his knowledge of early reality type digital learning that he had at home to connect to his subject matter at school. He was happy to facilitate to his classmates and teachers which totally engaged him.
Of course, as the years progressed, many research projects, including my dissertation and related publications provided evidence of the benefits and proper ways to handle integration of digital technology as one of many tools. Educators should always encourage classrooms that are inquiry-based, constructivist approaches as described in this AMLE article:
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