Pairing Technology with Effective Literacy Strategies

School districts and policy makers have pushed schools toward tomorrow, without preparing them for today. Regardless of whether a district decides to spend thousands of dollars becoming a 1-1 school (i.e. one device per one student), or save money by instituting a bring your own device policy (B.Y.O.D), the results are the same. Students and teachers have been thrown into a digital world without first receiving training on personal and professional use of technology. Though I originally set out to combine literacy strategies and technology, I realized I needed to first build own my personal knowledge based on education technologies and digital literacy. I explored my own digital comprehension and organization strategies in order to better understand the learning process of adapting new technologies in the secondary classroom. Additionally, I utilized my student teaching placement— a bring your own device school— to survey students and teachers about their own technological learning curve. Thus, my project was reborn. A semester-long research process about educational technologies and digital literacies began. Along the way, I decided to create a digital text using iBooks Author, a free application available on Apple products. Based on academic research, personal experience, and surveys from both students and teachers at Westerly High School, The Beginners Guide to Technology Integration offers two unique perspectives: the student and the teacher. This combined approach will inform teachers about their students’ digital needs and habits as well as educational technologies to transform their classroom into a 21st century digital learning environment