Developing My Technology Integration Plan

 Many studies show benefits of using technology with authentic learning approaches. Students gain more meaningful relationships with the content by practicing with authentic problems. It gives them real world experience with the problems in a controlled environment so when the question comes up whether they will use this in real life, they just did. Focusing on the “systems in our bodies” students used the internet to examine different perspectives and achieved academic permanency in their knowledge retention (Designer 2.5 ISTE). “Empowering students using technology leads to knowledge gains beyond traditional approaches” (Crompton, 2023 p.207). This practice gives the students more agency in their learning and engagement t with the technology and curriculum. The students who were part of the empowered technology program outperformed the traditional group and led to learning gains as technology was used to empower students (Crompton, 2023).

One challenge that technological integration faces in education is the rate of advancement of technology. “What are we going to do when we need to start replacing more and more laptops?” (Gonzales, 2019 p.702). The lifespan of technology before it reaches its end of life is becoming shorter as hard and softwares advance in complexity. Computers in the 1980’s lasted well into the 1990’s, new devices and programs are designed yearly and at a certain point new software will not be compatible with old hardware. One solution to this would be deciding which devices have the longest lifespan. Microsoft pushes out new OS’s every 3-6 years. If a school invests in Microsoft hardware then when the new OS comes out they may have to also invest in new software to stay competitive. Macintosh (Apple) hardware upgrades every 5-7years, and pushes out free OS updates annually. These devices have numerous functions and versatility to be vital in multiple lines of curriculum. This presents a way to remain competitive with curriculum and causing less budgetary strain. Microsoft software can be run on Macintosh as well. Sometimes the 1:1 problem can be simplified when deciding what to purchase as some machines have a longer usage period before it reaches end of life while saving on having to purchase operational upgrades.

My Technology Integration Plan would include a plea to convert our devices to Mac. The are more cost effective and have better value because of their versatility. They are also more secure in protecting the privacy of our students and educators. The annual software upgrades that come at no additional cost means that the same devices can be used well past that 5-7 year window when the next model comes out. I personally purchased a used iPad mini in 2017, which had some software and app limitations as the device was more than 5 years old but it still maintained the basic functions. It wasn’t until 2023 when the device was no longer able to be used. That is 11 years of use, and Mac computers and laptops las that long if not longer. 



Crompton, H. (2023). Evidence of the ISTE Standards for Educators leading to learning gains. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 39(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2023.2244089


Gonzales, M. M. (2019). School technology leadership vision and challenges. International Journal of Educational Management, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/ijem-02-2019-0075

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