Obstacles and Solutions for Integrating Technology in 3rd Grade ELA

When reflecting on my classroom experience so far this year, my first year in a 3rd Grade ELA classroom, I have noticed more obstacles than anything with technology integration. For the past 3 years, I have had the pleasure of teaching at the Middle School level in a technology-driven environment. When trying to implement technology into that curriculum, there were so many options in the app store and with sites on the internet that it was easy to get the students engaged and create lessons that were easy to scaffold. These lessons and projects were intriguing to students on every level of learning. There are so many educational resources on that high of a level. 

Also, students of this age are tech-savvy and privacy issues aren't necessarily a major issue. Students and parents sign the waiver promising to use the technology appropriately in school. With this, it is easy to get students on sites that allow project sharing and communication with the outside world.

Where I struggle with implementation on the 3rd Grade level is with the minimal number of resources available. Scholastic has a list of apps that teachers can use for free, but even looking through some today, they were already removed or just not what I needed to enhance my lessons. To do some of my projects for this class, I would have to search for hours trying to make some connections between sites and apps that would somehow become one cohesive lesson. That's not how technology integration should be. 

Solutions to this matter would be to think of the final assessments on a larger scale. Focusing on what the students should know will lead the designer back to how that can be accomplished with some creative searching. To create a project, I start with a general outline of the steps needed to get the all-encompassing idea of what the students should know. From there, I try to plug in the apps and sites that can be used as a possible resource. It may take shuffling and replacing, but teachers are adaptive creatures, we can make it work.

Privacy concerns also hinder the possible usage of some sites and apps within the classroom. If the site or app requires the students to sign up and put any information about themselves, including a valid name, it is not allowed in my district. If the site allows students to be labeled with a code name, that site is allowed. As a teacher, I am not even allowed to include location information when I sign up for a teacher account that can eventually lead to my students. This hinders a lot of possible options. 

For the privacy issues, I just have to be careful about which sites and apps I pick and choose. If I ask my district to purchase a license for me, I am free to use the student information, but those free sites are the ones to be careful about. I just have to sign up and design my class well before having my students even tinker with the sites. Having that planning and preparation will save a lot of time and hassle in the long run.