Integrating Technology in Curriculum Essay

Integrating technology into the education system refers to; the application of technological advancements to foster learning among the students in the classroom thus, promoting a good learning experience. The various gadgets applied here are tablets, smartphones, and computers. The devices help students connect to virtual classrooms; through applications such as; zoom, Google meets, and Google classroom. It is an effective method that lures learners to be involved fully during online classes. However, implementing the technology bears several implications as the lecturers and learners strive to meet their classroom requirements. Besides the implications, the parents have raised concerns about its efficiency, as discussed below.

Integrating technology is succeeded by several legal implications. It entails teaching students about technology tools and assisting them with preventing the associated dilemmas that arise while using the technologies. Morales et al. (2021) state that issues associated with the integration of technology in education includes Freedom of speech and expression, access to content, privacy, harassment, special education, and copyrights. Many learning institutions may be discouraged to integrate technology into their system. Consequently, it is important to work on the implications above to ensure that the learners are equipped with the skills that they would employ in their daily interactions with the technology.

Scholars have also acknowledged that students may tend to copy-paste assignments in a quest to meet the deadlines without comprehending what the topic requires them to learn. It may occur when sharing their details with strangers and accepting popups on specific websites (Cain et al., 2019). In oral presentations through technological tools, policies need tabling to control how people express themselves to curb conflicts and defend against abusive language. Therefore, it is essential to train educators on how to deal with these issues once they emerge.

Integration of technology in the curriculum has received some concerns from parents and educators. The first concern is that; students tend to misuse technology by engaging in entertainment practices during times designated for virtual classes. The availability of unregulated internet services gives students the liberty to access social media that exposes them to explicit content (Nikolopoulou, 2020). Secondly, some of the teachers lack the technical know-how of using the technology. Alternatively, some teachers do not believe in the use of technology. Therefore, failing to cause the transformation needed in a class is contrary to the integration of technology into the curriculum. Thirdly, parents and educators are concerned about the safety of the students while engaging in online programs. Hence, teachers and parents should safeguard the students’ engagement in online content every time. It is essential to fully trained support staff on how to address the issues above. Otherwise, the next generation will be ill-prepared to handle a digital transition.

It is also recorded that students become vulnerable to the content posted on sites, especially when they engage online too much. They are targeted by scammers, cyber bullies, and exposed to pornography. It is controllable by integrating Smart alerts and blocking some keywords in the search engines (Huber et al., 2018). It is expensive to keep up with the changing technology because; parents or guardians have to frequently put in resources to catch up with the fast-evolving technologies. With each passing day, new technology is introduced to the education setting and thus, overwhelming the parents who are forced to spend a lot to keep up with the transitions.

Integrating technology in the classroom has affected ethical decision-making among administrators in several ways. Administrators have gained personal courage by working to cope with the challenges affecting the learning process (Erstad & Voogt, 2018). The coping mechanisms include disapproving policies that are useless to students and fighting against all interests as required. It is also taken into consideration that the administrators tend to develop employee-centeredness by pumping a teacher’s strength in IT with resources and thus attracting success among the learners (Chen, et al., 2020) Leaders can also spot the talents of some of the stakeholders in the education sector. They can identify a tutor’s ability as far as ICT is related and manage to nurture them effectively. Hence, they have a platform to specialize in a specific domain of technology.

Once teachers get a chance to specialize in their area of interest, usually in IT, they develop a principle of inclusiveness (Agasisti & Bowers, 2017). Here, the teacher enjoys a sense of belonging to the organization that promotes trust among the staff within the learning institution. Integrating technology into the curriculum fosters the principle of self-control, integrity, and self-discipline in that: leaders ought to show good traits that enhance respect and ethics between the followers and the leaders.

In conclusion, the use of technology in education has attracted many benefits such as: creating a wide field of research, creating a friendly learning environment, improving the interactions between tutors and learners, improving students’ grades, and helping to meet the objectives of a learning institution. The benefits are notable and appreciable. However, it is faced with some legal implications, and the stakeholders in this sector have raised a concern about: the safety protocols put in place to safeguard learners, insufficient knowledge among teachers on how to use them, misuse of the technology, and high cost of coping with the changes. Although, it has helped promote various ethical behavior of the education leaders that helps improve learning making it more interesting than face-to-face lectures.

References

Agasisti, T., & Bowers, A. J. (2017). Data analytics and decision making in education: towards the educational data scientist as a key actor in schools and higher education institutions. In Handbook of contemporary education economics. Edward Elgar Publishing, ISBN: 9781785369063, eISBN: 9781785369070, c 464.

Cain, T., Brindley, S., Brown, C., Jones, G., & Riga, F. (2019). Bounded decision‐making, teachers’ reflection and organisational learning: How research can inform teachers and teaching. British Educational Research Journal, 45(5), 1072-1087.

Chen, A., Treviño, L. K., & Humphrey, S. E. (2020). Ethical champions, emotions, framing, and team ethical decision making. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(3), 245.

Erstad, O., & Voogt, J. (2018). The twenty-first century curriculum: issues and challenges. Springer International Handbooks of Education, Chapter; AcceptedVersion; Peer reviewed, 19-36,

Huber, B., Highfield, K., & Kaufman, J. (2018). Detailing the digital experience: Parent reports of children’s media use in the home learning environment. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(5), 821-833.

Morales, M. P. E., Mercado, F. M., Palisoc, C. P., Palomar, B. C., Avilla, R. A., Sarmiento, C. P.,… & Ayuste, T. O. D. (2021). Teacher professional development program (TPDP) for teacher quality in steam education. International Journal of Research in Education and Science, 7(1), 188-206.

Nikolopoulou, K. (2020). Secondary education teachers’ perceptions of mobile phone and tablet use in classrooms: benefits, constraints and concerns. Journal of Computers in Education, 7(2), 257-275.