Reading Review Part C

I find it ironic that my topic focuses on finding ways to make the use of technology authentic and deeply meaningful for students and here I am trying to make it meaningful for myself! What I have realized during this research process is that I do prefer resources that give me something that I can use right away. For example, I found an article online from the University of Wollongong (it's Australian) by Herrington and Kervin (2007) that gives "10 suggestions and cases of integration in classrooms". I was immediately compelled to read this because I felt that I would walk away from it with something I could try tomorrow. I read it in less than ten minutes and didn't have to sort through a lot of extraneous information and data to get to the good stuff. Instant gratification? Sounds familiar...it's what we accuse our students of when we are met with resistance to our carefully planned lessons! That could be another topic of research relevant to using technology in the classroom. I also found that I tended to be more likely to select articles that were less than 3-5 years old. I am clearly biased in terms of thinking that since technology changes so quickly, it is more likely that I will glean something practical from a more recent article. I did force myself to read some of the older articles in an effort to develop my understanding of the pedagogy behind using technology in the classroom. I have to admit that I did find this a useful and interesting endeavor.
The research phase of this project has definitely been inspiring, not just because of the information I have found in the literature but more so because of the thinking that I am doing - the "side topics" so to speak. In my research, I have found that the idea of integrating technology in meaningful (authentic) ways is certainly not "new" with what seems like a boom in research in this area in the early '90s. Most of what I found in reading these articles was relate more to the theory behind the importance of ensuring that the use of technology in the classroom was indeed meaningful; however, I am having to continue to search more creatively for literature that offers concrete, practical, feasible opportunities for authentic uses of technology in the classroom. Thankfully, every time I sit down to do a little more research, I am instantly rewarded with more information and something new to think about.

1. Authentic learning supported by technology: 10 suggestions and cases of integration in classrooms. Herrington & Kervin, (2007). International Council for Educational Media.