Four Ways to Incorporate Technology into Common Core Standards

For countless educators and school districts, incorporating the technology utilized in the classroom into the Common Core State Standards is proving to be a challenging task. New technologies continue to play an ever-broadening role in enhancing reading, writing, listening, speaking and language use among students and, as technology changes, students must be capable of adapting quickly in response.

Integrating technology is a key aspect of a standards-based curriculum. The following explores the best ways teachers can integrate technology tools and resources into their learning plans and leverage these technologies to best benefit their students.

Defining Common Core Standards

According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative’s mission statement, Common Core standards “provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them.” These standards address common core subjects and valuable skills students need to succeed, starting with conceptual understandings and procedures in the early grades. A majority of states, four territories and the District of Columbia have adopted these standards.

The end goal of Common Core standards is to prepare students not just for college and a future career, but also for life in an increasingly technological society. Thanks to the proliferation of the iPad and other influential mobile devices, students must be prepared to interact with the world at large and take advantage of the technological opportunities presented by these very devices. The integration of technology into the Common Core standards also allows teachers to reorient their educational processes toward genuine learning, as opposed to rote memorization.

Incorporating technology into Common Core Standards

The following details methods in which teachers can successfully incorporate technology into Common Core standards:

Encourage the use of digital tools to produce and publish writing to a global audience.

A growing number of school districts are issuing laptops and touch-screen tablets in lieu of schoolbooks and other traditional educational media. Education technology will allow students to remain connected and develop skills that will prove useful as they progress through their education and toward their careers.

Promote the use of the Internet and other technologies to interact and collaborate with others.

Engaging in collaboration with other peers in a supervised manner helps students gain a command of sharing ideas and cooperating with others.

Encourage the strategic use of digital media in presentations.

Print, video, digital text and other multimedia are becoming extremely popular in the educational environment. For example, a student can use an infographic or a video to convey complex topics and ideas.

Allow students to integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media and formats.

Teachers can also leverage current technologies in creating lesson plans and other education material. Lesson planning apps like LearnBoost can help educators create successful lesson plans, align those plans to standards and add rich media with relative ease.

Technology driven by learning

The integration of technology into lessons lets teachers encourage students to become more involved in their studies through technological relevance. Students are able to master core concepts and procedures within a comfortable time frame and a sturdy foundation of knowledge while preparing to succeed in college and the modern workplace environment.

Nevertheless, educators should be careful not to let the technology dictate learning; instead, the learning process should be what drives technology. Technology should be considered a powerful aid when it comes to Common Core standards, but it should not be the end-all be-all to the education experience.