Assessing Technology Integration

It is fantastic that more schools are taking the initiative and implementing technology in several different facets of school life. However, it is also equally important that there be some type of guidelines that will assist teachers and administrators in determining the best way to go about integrating technology and how to assess that integration once it is in place. A rubric is a good fit for this task due to its straightforward guidelines and stated expectations. The Technology Integration Assessment Rubric measures the effectiveness of technology integration based on four main criteria: (1) Curriculum Goals & Technologies, (2) Instructional Strategies & Technologies, (3) Technology Selection(s), and (4) "Fit." It is possible to achieve a score between 1 and 4 for each criteria, with 4 being the most aligned with the stated expectations and 1 being least aligned. A score of 4 in the first criteria, Curriculum Goals & Technologies, indicates that the technology that is being implemented is "strongly aligned" with at least one indicated curriculum goal. I think this is highly important because the goal of technology integration is to enable teachers and students to reach their learning goals more efficiently. For the second criteria, Instructional Strategies & Technologies, a score of 4 indicates that the technology being integrated "optimally supports" the instructional strategies being implemented by the teacher. This is important because technology use is meant to enhance the instructional strategies used by the teacher, not entirely replace them. A score of 4 in the third criteria, Technology Selection(s), indicates that the technology that has been selected is best aligned with the learning goals and instructional strategies being implemented in the classroom. Because there seems to be an almost endless number of technological resources available to teachers today for use in their classrooms, it is important that the time is taken to select the ones that would be most beneficial and useful in each individual classroom. For the fourth criteria, "Fit," a score of 4 indicates that the technology as well as the instructional strategies and content all "fit" together well with the determined instructional plan. It is important that the bigger picture is examined to ensure that the technology used is aligned with not only the teacher's instructional strategies but that it is appropriate for the content as well, because different types of instructional technologies are sometimes designed to work best with a certain content area and might not work as effectively in others.

Overall, I think this rubric would be effective in determining the effectiveness of technology integration in the classroom. It aims to ensure that the technology being used is best suited to the individual needs of the teacher and their classroom. However, I found that there to be similarities between some of the different criteria that seemed to be repetitive in what they were trying to achieve. For example, Criteria 3 seemed to be a combination of Criteria 1 and 2. I also believe that there may be additional criteria upon which teachers or administrators might want to determine the effectiveness of technology integration on such as ease of use by the students or ability to hold student attention, so teachers should take things like that into account in addition to the criteria listed here. But overall I found this rubric to be an effective starting point for assessing technology integration while still leaving room for individualized assessment needs.