I can say that I can split my technology background into two different pieces.
One side is my general knowledge about knowing how to operate computers and their most used programs such as microsoft word, excel, online surfing, emails, downloading, printing, formatting, converting etc and the other side is the usage of specific softwares and hardwares . As a musician I have an improvised home music studio that consists of a table , a computer, two speakers, a midi keyboard a sound card, a microphone , several usb-s. They are all connected and I have observed and read a lot in order to connect all these together and make them work. Other than that, I know about iphones, ipads, mp3 and similar electronic equipments which are considered as technological etc. This is pretty much most of my technology background.
I feel very comfortable about using technology as long as we take our time to learn about how to use it. It makes things much easier and accessible. Even though I personally find technology very helpful, I must say that it cannot replace 100% other ways of doing things. Sometimes it is worth to have a pen and a paper to write something instead of using technology. Sometimes it is better and really important to meet in person (to have a synchronous conversation) rather than use Skype or ichat. Technology is extremely helpful and necessary but not completely replaceable and also not completely reliable.
At the time hurricane Sandy happened, we all understood how fragile technology is. I am sure most of us appreciated the non technological side as much as we had been appreciating the technological side until then.
In one of the articles I read, there was a passage in which one of the teachers named Miss Jones made her students use the computers to create and edit pictures. The teacher did this because she thought it was very easy, fun and concrete at the same time to have students reflect what they learned; not only what they learned but also tried to be creative and reflective.So this way they build their own PLN inside their classroom and even expressed deeper their learning experiences. The point is that the usage of powerpoint or microsoft are a clear example of technology. The usage of a computer in a classroom during a class is simply a clear example of technology integration. I as a student am a witness of technology integration myself because in most of my classes, technological equipments are constantly in use in order to assist the professor to reflect a better lesson quality. The speakers, the projectors, the computers, the microphones etc. They make it much easier to communicate and also convey the learning material easier and faster.
Technology integration consists of several aspect and I will explain them by laying out several of them. At first, in my own words, the definition of technology integration would be the welcoming of technology in our daily lives. The fact that we rely on electronic sources to expand our knowledge, to answer a question with confidence, to gain information or to provide information is purely technology integration. We witness this every day. When the professor uses a projector to show the syllabus on the board so the whole class could see it is technology integration. The professor could make it brighter, darker, with bigger letters, smaller letters etc. All these elements are part of technology integration. I must say that integrating technology into a classroom or anywhere we can is very helpful.
