The technology integration specialist must wear many hats and work with multiple members of the school community.
The connection between pedagogy and technology integration is that teachers must be able to think reflectively about how they are using technology and if it is meaningful. Is the technology really integrated or merely used as a tool to carry out a task."Bazeli asserts that when students participate in the planning and implementation stages of technology integration “the burden is lifted from the teachers and the learning process becomes collaborative, with the teacher assuming the role of facilitator rather than a disseminator of information. Further, as students are actively involved in planning and implementing technology production, they gain critical thinking and problem-solving skills along with curricular learning.” She maintains that “unfortunately, the computer is often perceived as a separate entity, not an integrated part of the curricular areas of the school” (Okojie, Olinzock, Okojie-Boulder) I believe the reason for this is the lack of technologies available in the classroom. Students must have technology available to them so that they can utilize in comfortable meaningful ways. I think this is also the issue for teachers. If technology use requires a lot of planning it doesn't make sense to use it if it will be forced or too planned out by the teacher. Students should recognize the need for it and be able to access it if it truly going to be utilized in a natural way.
Teachers are busy keeping up with what needs to be taught, assessed, reported, etc. They need someone to even begin to explain the technology available. Teachers must know what is available and how it can be used in their classroom and then assess whether or not it is making their lesson better or if it is just utilizing technology for its own sake. The challenge for the integration specialist is that the administration many times have concerns that make using technology difficult. The integration specialist will many times have to convince the administration of what is safe, usable, and appropriate. They also are challenged by the variety of tasks of their job. For example, they have to communicate with all of the teachers many times trouble shooting problems during their planning periods. They must also teach classes and are many times called upon to perform other technological needs throughout the school. They are responsible for selecting software for school use.
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