When I first returned to teaching after having my family leave of 8 years, I was blown away with the technology that surrounded me.  I was working at a Navigator School and the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was expected, applauded and supported.  That was great for me because I loved using technology and wasn’t afraid to ask hundreds of questions.

At that time (year 2000) I made many attempts to integrate ICT into my lessons.  I would get kids to publish their work in Word or PowerPoint, use Excel to create graphs for Maths and create pictures and slideshows in KidPix.

However, was I integrating ICT or making it integral to learning?

Over the years I planned for more uses of ICT for learning, such as using Kidspiration for brainstorming ideas, Comic Life for recounts of excursions or camps, claymation and movie making for story telling, information projects and making short ads, and so on.  I was thinking about reaching outcomes, as well as taking into account the students’ learning styles, their backgrounds and linking all this to the thinking curriculum.

Over time the students became more proficient users of a range of technology tools and I became less focused on thinking of ways to use it.  We were finding that the tools were just there – laptops, cameras, video cameras, iPods, microphones, a range of software such as Comic Life, iStopMotion, iMovie, GarageBand, EdCube and so on.  The Internet was always available to us.

We began to naturally use the technology just as we would a pen and paper.  It started to become integral to our learning. If we began a new inquiry topic the technology was used.  As we got into our inquiry we used it some more. When we sorted and shared our new understanding and skills the technology was there again.  Not to mention reflecting in our digital portfolios and using iPods and iSight cameras on the go.

No longer did we have to ‘think’ of ways to integrate ICT.  ICT was just a part of the classroom, part of the norm and part of the pedagogy.

However, with Web2.0 I feel I’m back on the merry-go-round.  I am consciously thinking about ways to use the new tools.  I am reading, exploring, thinking, devising and trying wikis, blogs, avatars, RSS feeds, book marking and a plethora of free apps.

This is an exciting time for me and hopefully for the teachers and students I will be supporting in their journey, where ever they may be on that merry-go-round.

If you get a chance, read – “Engaging with the transforming possibilities of ICT: a discussion paper by Sarah Prestridge, Griffith University. Published in Australian Educational Computing Vol. 22, No 2.

What are your thoughts?  Integrated or Integral?  Or does it just mean the same thing?