CHAPTER 1

Integrating Educational Technology into the Curriculum

Objectives:
After completing this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
■ Define curriculum-specific learning
■ Explain the difference between computer, information, and integration literacy
■ Explain the necessity of changing instructional strategies from traditional to new learning
environments
■ Describe the evolution of computers and digital media
■ Differentiate among the various categories of computers
■ Explain why computer technology and digital media are important for education
■ Explain why 21st century skills need to be incorporated in K-12 curriculum
■ Describe the characteristics of today’s digital students
■ Describe six categories of what today’s students need to know
■ Provide examples of how computers are changing the way people teach and learn
Introduction
Computer technology and digital media play an essential
role in how individuals work, live, play, and, more importantly,
learn. Organizations of all sizes — even the smallest schools and
businesses — rely on technology to help them operate more
efficiently and effectively. At home, work, and school, computers
help people work faster, more accurately, and, in some cases, in
ways that previously were not possible. People use computers
and other technologies at home for education, entertainment,
information management, and business purposes.
They also use computers as tools to access information and
to communicate with others around the world. In the classroom,
computers and computer-related technologies are having a
profound influence on the way teachers instruct and students
learn. Even the activities that are part of your daily routine —
typing a report, driving a car, paying for goods and services with a
credit card, sending e-mail on your smartphone, or using an ATM
— involve the use of computer technology.
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Curriculum-Specific Learning
which is when you are learning how to apply teaching principles, knowledge, and ideas to
authentic and practical classroom lessons and projects that can benefit your students.

Reflect on three ways you can use your newly acquired knowledge:

(1) for your own professional development,

(2) using technology as a productivity tool in your classroom, and, most importantly,
(3) extensively integrating technology and digital media in your instructional strategies, lessons,
student-based projects, and student assessments to improve student learning — in other
words, throughout the curriculum.

Traditional 20th century educational practices will no longer provide you with the skills you need to
teach your students effectively how to become productive citizens in today’s high-tech, global
workplace.

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Figure 1-1 lists characteristics representing traditional approaches to learning and corresponding
strategies associated with new learning environments for K-12 students.
Computer, Information, and Integration Literacy
Today, the vocabulary of computing is all around you. Before the advent of
computers, memory was an individual’s mental ability to recall previous experiences;
storage was a place for all your extra stuff; and communication was the act of
exchanging opinions and information through writing, speaking, or sign language.

Figure 1-2
Computer technology
and digital media are
present in every aspect
of daily living — in the
workplace, at home, in
the classroom, and for
entertainment.

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Information Literacy means knowing how to find, analyze,
use, and communicate information. It is the ability to gather
information from multiple sources, select relevant material, and
organize it into a form that will allow the user to make
decisions or take specific actions.
Internet, which is a global network of computers that contains
information on a multitude of subjects. Using Internet resources
to locate potential homes before you leave will make your drive
through the city more efficient and focused.

Integration Literacy, which is the ability to use computers, digital

media, and other technologies combined with a variety of teaching
and learning strategies to enhance students’ learning. Integration
literacy means that teachers understand how to match appropriate
technology to learning objectives, goals, and outcomes

Note: As an educator, technology will affect your work and

your life every day — and will continue to do so in the
future. Today, school administrators use technology to
access and manage information, and teachers use
computers to enhance teaching and learning.
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What Is a Computer and What Does It Do?
In basic or traditional terms, Computer processes input to create
Computer is an electronic device that operates under the output. A computer can hold data for future
control of instructions stored in its memory, accepts data, use in an area called storage. This cycle of
processes the data according to specified rules, produces input, process, output, and storage is
results, and stores the results for future use. In other words, called the Information Processing
a computer is a computational device. Cycle.
Data is a collection of unorganized facts. Computers
manipulate and process data to create information.
Data entered into a computer is called input. The
processed results are called output.

Information is data that is organized, has meaning, and

is useful. Examples are reports, newsletters, receipts,
pictures, invoices, or checks. As shown in Figure 1-3, for
example, computers process several data items to
provide a student grade report.

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Hardware - the electronic and mechanical Software is the series of instructions that tell
equipment that makes up a computer is called the hardware how to perform tasks.
hardware.

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Figure 1-3 A computer processes data into information. In this simplified example, the student
identification number, semester, course codes, and course grades all represent data. The computer
processes the data to produce the grade report (information).
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The Evolution of Computers and Digital Media

The evolution of modern technologies started over 100 years ago, first with the telegraph, then
telephones, radios, television, early computers, large and bulky mainframe computers, and, finally, the
development of the personal computer in the early 1980s. The enormous popularity of the Internet, in
particular the World Wide Web, has resulted in a computer that is more than a simple computational
device.

Age of Convergence the merging of these forms into personal computers is still evolving, the first
decade of the 21st century.

This age of convergence will continue to evolve in new, exciting, and yet to be determined ways as
we live, teach, learn, and work in the second decade of this century. This merging of technologies is
possible because significantly faster processors and high-speed networks have been able to capitalize on
the advancements made in the areas of digital graphics, video, animation, audio, and online media.

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Figure 1-4 above shows the components of a typical digital media computer system that allows the
average person to use multiple senses when working and communicating.
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WHAT IS DIGITAL MEDIA?
Digital Media is defined in a variety of ways; however, for the purposes of this book, digital media
is defined as those technologies that allow users to create new forms of interaction,
expression, communication, and entertainment in a digital format.

Categories of Computers
Computers can be organized in these general categories: personal computers; mobile computers
and mobile devices; game consoles; and servers, supercomputers, and embedded computers.
A. Personal Computer, or PC, is a computer that performs all of its input, processing, output, and
storage activities by itself. A personal computer contains a processor, memory, and one or more
input, output, and storage devices.

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Personal computers shown in Figure 1-7 also are called desktop computers because they are designed
so the system unit, input devices, output devices, and any other devices fit entirely on a desk.

A mobile computer is a personal computer that you can carry from place to place. The most popular
type of mobile computer is the notebook computer. Others include Tablet PCs and netbooks. A mobile
device is a computing device small enough to hold in your hand and usually does not have disk
drives.
Popular mobile devices include handheld computers, PDAs, and smartphones.
Notebook computer, also called a laptop computer, is a portable, personal computer small
enough to fit on your lap.

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TABLET PCS Resembling a letter-sized slate,
HANDHELD COMPUTERS A handheld computer is
the Tablet PC is a special type of notebook
a computer small enough to fit in one hand while you
computer that allows you to write on the screen
operate it with the other hand.
using a digital pen (Figure 1-9).
PDAS A personal digital assistant, or PDA, provides
personal organizer functions, such as a calendar, a
digital camera, an appointment book, an address book, a
calculator, and a notepad (Figure 1-10).

MOBILE DEVICES
Many mobile devices are Internet enabled, meaning
they can connect to the Internet wirelessly. Mobile
devices usually store programs and data permanently
in memory chips inside the system unit or in small
storage media such as memory cards.
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SMARTPHONES Offering the convenience of one-handed
operation, a smartphone is an Internet-enabled telephone
that usually provides PDA capabilities, too. In addition
to basic telephone capabilities, smartphones allow you to
send and receive e-mail and access the Internet for an
additional fee.

A Game Console is a mobile computing device

designed for single player or multiplayer video games.
Standard game consoles use a handheld controller(s) as
an input device: a television screen as an output device;
and hard disks, CDs, DVDs, and or memory cards for
storage. Popular models include Nintendo DS Series,
Sony PlayStation, and Microsoft Xbox.

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Servers, Supercomputers, and Embedded Computers
A server manages the resources on a network
and provides a centralized storage area for
software programs and data.

A supercomputer is the fastest, most powerful

computer — and the most expensive. The fastest
supercomputers are capable of processing
trillions and trillions of instructions in a single
second. Supercomputers are used for tasks such
as analyzing weather patterns, tracking
hurricanes, and identifying safety
issues regarding the space shuttle.

An embedded computer is a special purpose

computer that functions as one component in a
larger product. Embedded computers are
everywhere — at home, in your car, at work, and at
school.

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