Module 3 - Technology Integration
The aim of this module is to prepare VET educators to integrate digital tools into lessons to help create interactive and dynamic learning experiences, enhancing comprehension and retention among students.
Learning Outcomes
After completing this SDL module, you will have gained the following knowledge, skills and attitudes:
- Able to analyse your current teaching practices and improve them to enhance the learner’s engagement with the topic.
- Understand how to integrate technology effectively and why.
- Recognise useful tools to achieve your learning goals and gain skills in implementing these tools and applying them to your lesson plans.
- Feel motivated to update your lesson plans by integrating technology and developing innovative educational materials.
- Feel enthusiastic about keeping up to date with the relevant technology updates, putting it into practice and sharing it with your colleagues.
Before integrating technology into your teaching practices, it is important to understand why you are doing it and how it benefits the learners.
You will gain knowledge on a PICRAT model, which explains different ways of using technology and its impact on the learners. It will be a helpful tool to make the technology integration more impactful.
We will look at some easy-to-use and free tools and programs for integrating technology, these will include lesson planners, video creators, content creators and so on.
You will reflect on your own experience with ChatGPT and technology integration in general based on a case study where ChatGPT is being used as a tool to create a lesson plan for teaching purposes. During the self-directed activities, you get to analyse an existing lesson plan and improve it based on the PICRAT model as well as create a new lesson plan using all the information and suggestions from this model.
Activity 1 Review an existing Lesson Plan
To determine the current level of technology integration you will review an existing lesson plan, which you have used before and evaluate it based on the PICRAT Model (Kimmons et al., 2020).
- Step 1. Watch this video and/or read this article on how to apply the model to your lesson plan.
- Step 2. Create the table for the PICRAT model using the Canva tool or any other preferred program.
- Step 3. Place all activities in your lesson plan into the relevant box in the PICRAT Model.
- Step 4. Think of all aspects of the lesson, starting from the pre-task assessment of the learner’s level, your presentation on the subject, the task they had to carry out, the assessment of learning outcomes at the end of the lesson etc.
- Step 5. Have a reflection on how you could have improved your lesson plan by integrating some technology further based on the PICRAT Model.
- The activity should take approximately 60 minutes.
Useful programs
Using ChatGPT to Create a Lesson Plan
Please watch this YouTube video of an educator testing out the ChatGPT to create a lesson plan. After watching the video, you will reflect on the information provided to determine whether this tool could be useful for improving your lesson plans or for the way you deliver your lessons to increase engagement with your learners and therefore the impact of the topic.
In this case study you were subjected to some great benefits of using ChatGPT like saving educators time by carrying out some tasks, creating activities and lesson plans, getting the learners to debate the information received from the bot, creating personalised learning experiences, generating prompts and questions to facilitate discussions and many more.
However, there are also potential challenges associated with using chatbots, such as the ChatGPT being an AI search engine that acts as a recommender system and can understand and answer questions but does not provide the sources for its answers. As well as the ageing information provided by the program.
While analysing the information in the video take a few minutes and reflect on the topic by using the following questions as a guide:
- What are the possible benefits of ChatGPT to your teaching practice?
- Did you consider any negative aspects of ChatGPT use for educators or learners?
- How could you use ChatGPT to improve your current teaching and engagement with the students?
- Do you feel motivated to learn more about ChatGPT? If so, what are the ways you could expand your usage?
- Do you feel empowered to share your knowledge of ChatGPT with your colleagues and students for further impact?
Activity 2 Improving a Lesson Plan by integrating technology
For the second activity of this self-directed learning model, you are going to create a lesson plan that will be integrated with the earlier discussed programs while keeping in mind the PICRAT model. After this activity you will be able to skillfully leverage technology to design comprehensive learning experiences, effectively meeting learning goals and create a blended learning module that combines face-to-face instruction with online interactive components.
Activity Improving a Lesson Plan by integrating technology
Let’s create an interactive lesson plan (on any relevant topic that you can use in your teaching practice) that will be exciting to make and fun to deliver and will assure that the learners will be engaged with the topic throughout and will achieve the learning goals set for the lesson plan.
- Step 1. You can create the lesson plan on any preferred program, use a ready-made lesson plan template on Canva or create one specific for your lesson.
- Step 2. When creating your lesson plan, include all relevant details like the aim of the lesson, learning outcomes, duration, topics covered, training methods used for each step, resources required, step-by-step instructions for the activities, if any handout sheets are required all other information that is relevant to your lesson plan.
- Step 3. Review your lesson plan against the PICRAT model to make sure that all your activities engage the learners, and that they will be able to participate in the learning process interactively.
- Step 4. At this stage of the activity, we have a great lesson plan on a relevant topic, and we have integrated some of the programs/tools we have learnt about during this module, we are positive that our learners will benefit greatly from it. Let’s see if we can improve it even further by using an AI-powered tool.
- Step 5. Open the chosen AI program ChatGPT or MS Copilot or any other preferable one. Give it directions based on the aims and learning outcomes of your lesson plan and mention that you want to make the lesson engaging by integrating technology where possible.
- Step 6. By using your critical thinking skills analyse the lesson plan created by the AI program and see if further improvements could be made to the lesson plan you created earlier. Reflect on the usage of the AI tools for other aspects of your teaching practice as well.
- The activity should take approximately 60 minutes
Tips for VET Educators
Make sure that you’re intentional about how you use technology in class. Choose apps and activities that require collaboration (both during the face-to-face and self-directed learning), creativity, and higher-order thinking and that generate meaningful products.
Choose technology tools and resources that are suitable for achieving the set learning outcomes. This could include interactive writing platforms, quizzes, polls, WebQuests, digital escape rooms, collaborative tools, online reading resources and many more.
Begin by using technology tools that both you and your students are familiar with. This reduces the learning curve and allows everyone to focus on the content rather than grappling with unfamiliar technology. Start small, do it well, and then grow your range of resources.
The use of devices shouldn’t replace meaningful non-tech activities. Students still need time for face-to-face discussion, hands-on creativity and building, journaling, and many other “analogue” classroom activities. Varying your activities in this way will engage students and help keep them more focused when they’re using technology.
While some learners drive on reading articles and writing essays, others might benefit from watching videos and answering questions in a quiz format. Some might need to be encouraged to work in a group and work on their communication skills while others benefit more from self-directed format. Technology can make it easier to create and assess the material to suit differentiated learning outcomes.
Evaluate the effectiveness of technology integration by gathering feedback from students, reviewing student work, and reflecting on the impact of technology on learning outcomes, and as you do, apply adjustments where needed. Always keep in mind that technology is changing every day and we as educators should always look for ways to improve our teaching practices for the benefit of the learners.
YouTube video explaining differences between different AI-s available, recommendations for the current best one and some suggestions on how to improve your prompts to get the best value out of it.
An interesting article about AI integration in teaching and how teachers and learners can benefit from it as well as the pitfalls to watch out for.
Great article on why it is so important to integrate technology into adult learning, especially from a career transition point of view.
An informative article about different ways how to blend face-to-face learning with self-directed learning for your students.
Assessment: Effective communication
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have gained invaluable knowledge on how to research new ways to integrate technology into your teaching practice, enhancing your learners’ engagement with the topic and expanding their relevant skills. You now know that the only thing stopping you from elevating your teaching to the next level is yourself. So, enjoy the journey and remember to review and update existing tools while always ensuring that the materials you create have a purpose to achieve the pre-set outcome. As you improve, don’t forget to share your enthusiasm with your colleagues too!
References
Kimmons, R., Graham, C., & West, R. (2020). The PICRAT Model for Technology Integration in Teacher Preparation. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 20(1). https://citejournal.org/volume-20/issue-1-20/general/the-picrat-model-for-technology-integration-in-teacher-preparation
Samala, A., Zhai, X., Aoki, K., Bojic, L., & Zikic, S. (2024). An In-Depth Review of ChatGPT’s Pros and Cons for Learning and Teaching in Education. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377716164_An_In-Depth_Review_of_ChatGPT’s_Pros_and_Cons_for_Learning_and_Teaching_in_Education
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Project Number:2022-2-IE01-KA220-VET-
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