AbstractThe“languagearts”arethoselanguage-basedprocessesbywithwethink,learn,andcommunicate(Roybler,2009).Attheelementarylevel,instructioninthelanguageartsfocusesprimarilyondevelopingthefundamentalcomponentsofliteracy(e.g.,theskillsofreading,writing,listeningandspeaking).IfstudentsdonotreceiveafirmgroundinginlanguageartsfromwhichtoconnecttothebasicsofreadingitisbelievedtheymayhavesubsequenttroublewithgrammaticallycorrectwritingandspellingTheintentofthefollowingpaperistofirstexaminetheobjectivesandapproachtypicallytakenintheinstructionoflanguageartsattheelementarylevelandfromthatdevelopaplantointegratetheuseoftechnologytoallowstudentstoconnecttootherareasoftheschoolwidecurriculumtoimproveinstructionandensurethatthefoundationhasbeensetforstudentstoreachtheliteracystandardsforEnglish/LanguageArtsasproposedbytheNationalCouncilforTeachersofEnglish(NCTE)andtheInternationalReadingAssociation(IRA).TechnologyintegrationcurriculumandinstructioninTheLanguageArtsIdentifyingthefourkeycomponentsofthecurriculumandlanguageartsinstruction.ApreviouslynotedintheAbstractofthispaper,attheelementarylevelinstructioninlanguageartsfocusesprimarilyondevelopingthefourfundamentalcomponentsofliteracyergotheskillsofreading,writing,listeningandspeaking.ThestudyandmasteryoftheLanguageArtslaysthevitalfoundationforexploringandunderstandingofallothersubjectsi.e.Math,Science,SocialStudies,etal.AnevaluationofthecurriculumandtypicalmethodsusedintheinstructionofLanguageArtswithrespecttothetechnologyalreadyused.Theintegrationoftechnologyintoeducationmusttakeplaceacrossthespectrumofcurriculumandinstructioninordertobemosteffective.Creatinglastingchangewithinthecomplexsystemofeducationtodaythiswillrequireastrategythattargetsseveralcomponentssimultaneouslyoverasustainedperiodoftime.Fourkeypointsinthesystemarecurricula,instructionalmaterials,studenttesting,andstandards.Currently,fewcurriculaorinstructionalmaterialsattheK-12orundergraduatelevelintegratenon-technologysubjectswithtechnology-relatedcontentError!Hyperlinkreferencenotvalid.Error!Hyperlinkreferencenotvalid.Error!Hyperlinkreferencenotvalid.AsmadeclearbyprecedingquotefromTheNationalAcademies:AdvisorstotheNationonScience,Engineering,andMedicine,currentlywithinatypicalelementarycurriculumandsubsequentclassroominstructiontechnologyisnotwidelyimplementedifatall.ThefollowingphonicsbasedapproachtotheinstructionoftheLanguageArtsinatypicalelementarylevelclassroomfurtherhighlightsthelackoftheuseoftechnology.

·Instructionthatfocusesonwhatparticularlettersrepresentswhichsoundsandsymbols.

·Visualassociationviapicturecardsthatconnectphonemescontainedinthepicturewithwords.

·Teachersexplainanddemonstratehowtoblendindividualsoundsandletterstoformindividualwords.

·Students’viewandsortwordcardsonthebasisofcommonletterformsandestablishedspellingpatterns.

·Students’viewandrecitetextwithrepetitionsofbothhigh-frequencywordsanddifferentwordswithtoestablishcommonspellingpatternsanddevelopvisualrecognition.·Students’writedictatedwordsandsentencesthatcontainaforementionedspellingpatternsofhigh-frequencywords.Identifying(five)areasinthecurriculumunitwheretechnologyintegrationispossibleGiventhefinancialinfeasibilityofsoleinstructionintheuseoftechnology,theinclusionoftechnologyinotheracademicareasisoneofthesurestwaysofincreasingthevisibilityoftechnologyinschoolstoday.Traditionallymosttechnologyintegrationoccurswithinthestudyofmathandsciencebutitismybeliefthattechnologyneedstobeintegratedacrosstheentirespectrumofthecurriculumandclassroominstructionattheverybeginningofastudent’sschoolcareer.ThisconstructivistorientedapproachisusedinsupportofGardner’smultipleintelligencetheoriesanditaidsstudentsandteachersindiscoveringtheirrespectiveteachingandlearningstyles,byensuringthatstudentscantakeadvantageoftheuniquetoolsoftechnologysoastobecometechnologicallyliterateandabstractthatskillstootherareasofknowledge.Withoutthatopportunitythesizableinequitiesalreadypresentineducationwillcontinuetomountandaddtotheeverwidening“digitaldivide”.

ThereforeguidedbytheaforementionedthefollowingarethemostimportantandbroadareaswheretechnologycouldbeintegratedaspartofboththeschoolwidecurriculumandinsupportofinstructionintheLanguageArts.·InstructionalStrategiesandPlanning

·Evaluation/Assessment

·LanguageSkillsDevelopment

·LiteracyDevelopment

·TheProcessApproachtoWriting

Identifying(five)areas,strategies,tools,andrationalethatcanallowfortheintegrationoftechnologyintothecurriculumandinstructionintheLanguageArts.Thefollowingchart(Figure1)wascreatedtoshowthelinkagebetweentheidentifiedbroad(five)areas,strategies,tools,andrationaletointegratetechnologyintothecurriculumandinstructionintheLanguageArts.Thisgeneraloverviewwillserveasthebasisforaspecificplanofintegration.

AspecificplanbasedontheidentifiedstrategiesandtoolsforintegratingtechnologyintothecurriculumaninstructionofaunitoflanguageartsThestrategytointegratetechnologyintothecurriculumandtheLanguageArtsunitFortunatelythereareavarietyofestablishedtoolsthatcanfacilitatetheintegrationoftechnologyintothecurriculumandlanguageartsinstruction.Thestrategyandoverallapproachproposedhereistheadoptionofauniformplatformtoolthatutilizesablendedapproachbetweentraditionalclassroominstruction,instructionalsoftware,andonlineresources.AttheinstructionallevelitthatwillbeusedtoaddressthelanguageartsintheareasofLanguageSkillDevelopment,LiteracyDevelopment,andTheProcessApproachtoWriting.Furtherthistoolcanbeusedtolinktoothersubjectsthattraditionallyusetechnologymorereadilysuchasmath,science,andsocialstudies.Itisimportanttonotetheuseofthistechnologyandtechnologybasedtoolsaremeanttoaugmentthestudyoflanguageartsandotherareasofstudybyprovidingadditionalresourcesofstudy,offeringtheabilitytoengageincrossdisciplineprojects,andmonitoringstudentprogressdirectly,itisnotintendedtocompletelysupplantallofthetraditionalteachingmethodsbuttocomplimentthem.Thevariedandcosteffectivenatureofusingauniformplatformapproachthatutilizesavarietyofinterrelatedtoolsallowsschoolsandteachersthefreedomtodeterminewhatworksbestfortheirparticularplan.Ifaschoolcan’taffordsoftwaretheycanusetheonlinetoolsavailableasasupplementtotraditionalmethodsoralternativelymountaschoolwidetechnologyinitiativecompletewiththeopportunitytotakehomesoftwareandfurtherparticipateinonlineactivities.ThevitaladditionalpiecetothisstrategyistheestablishmentofanextendedinclusiveonlinelearningcommunitythatallowsbothteachersandparentstoparticipateinthelearningprocessinsupportofoverallinclusionoftechnologyacrosstheschoolcurriculumwithregardtoInstructionalStrategiesandEvaluations/Assessments.Ifschoolsarenotwillingtoincorporateanadditionalonlineresourceinsupportofinstructionacrossthespectrumoftheschoolthentheincorporationoftechnology,aspreviouslynoted,mayleavestudentswithadisjointedviewandabilitywheretechnologyisconcerned.Whattoolsaretobeusedfortechnologyintegrationacrosstheschool’scurriculumandtheinstructionofLanguageArts?Boost!TheLongmanIntegratedSkillSeriesisafullyintegratedskillsapproachthatcontainsageappropriatethemesandofferstheoptionofcross-curriculartopics.Boostfocusesontheuseofablendedapproachbetweeninstructionsoftwareandonlineresourcestoteachwriting,vocabulary,listeningskills,reading,speaking,andgrammar.Itisreadilyscalableandcanbeusedinelementarylevelsonthroughtojuniorhighschoollevelcurriculumandinstructionifdesired.ThroughtheuseofitsuniqueblendedapproachBoostutilizesafullyintegratedskillsmethodthatcanbetailoredtomeetand/oraddressalloftheNCTE/IRAStandardsforEnglish/

LanguageArtsandEnglishLanguageLearning.TheuseofBoost’sblendedapproachinherentlyexcelsataddressingthefollowingstandardsdirectly,3.Studentsapplyawiderangeofstrategiestocomprehend,interpret,evaluate,andappreciatetexts.Theydrawontheirpriorexperience,theirinteractionswithotherreadersandwriters,theirknowledgeofwordmeaningandofothertexts,theirwordidentificationstrategies,andtheirunderstandingoftextualfeatures(e.g.,sound-lettercorrespondence,sentencestructure,context,graphics).4.Studentsadjusttheiruseofspoken,written,andvisuallanguage(e.g.,conventions,style,vocabulary)tocommunicateeffectivelywithavarietyofaudiencesandfordifferentpurposes.5.Studentsemployawiderangeofstrategiesastheywriteandusedifferentwritingprocesselementsappropriatelytocommunicatewithdifferentaudiencesforavarietyofpurposes.6.Studentsapplyknowledgeoflanguagestructure,languageconventions(e.g.,spellingandpunctuation),mediatechniques,figurativelanguage,andgenretocreate,critique,anddiscussprintandnon-printtexts.12.Studentsusespoken,written,andvisuallanguagetoaccomplishtheirownpurposes(e.g.,forlearning,enjoyment,persuasion,andtheexchangeofinformation)(http://www.ncte.org/standards)OnthewholetheuseoftheBoostsystemisheldinhighregardandisinusebyseveralschooldistrictacrossthenation,perhapsmostnotablyandextensivelyinCalifornia.ClearlybyitsinteractivenatureBoostcanbeusedinsupportofconstructivistlearningtheoriesbybothteachersandstudents.Boost’smainadvantageisitsintegratedapproachthatusesvisualreferencesandonlinebasedinteractivemediatoenhancethelearningprocessandindoingsoaidsinaddressingthevariedintelligences(assuggestedbyGardnerandothers)ofthelearningcommunity.Howwilltheschool/teacherimplementtechnologyintothecurriculum?Therearemanyfactorstoconsiderwhenconsideringtheintegrationoftechnologyintothecurriculumandinstructionoflanguagearts.Firstandforemostschoolsand“teachersneedtounderstandtheimportanceofexpandingthedefinitionsofliteracy,exploringnewinstructionalpractices,makingdecisionsonkeyboardinginstructions,creatingsociallearningenvironments,workingwithdiverselearners,motivatingstudents,(Roblyer,2009)andhowallofthatwillbereflectedinthechoicesforintegratingtechnologynowaninthefuture.Asnotedtheuseoftechnologycanonlybetrulyeffectiveifitisimplementedacrossthebreadthandwidthofthelearningcommunity.Learningtoreadisanexcitingtimeforchildrenandtheirfamilies.Forteachersandparents

alike,helpingchildreninlearningtoreadestablishesandimportantfoundationfortheirfutureacademiceducation.Learningtoreadrequiresthatthestudentbeguidedthroughaseriesofinitialstepsthatwillformthegroundingthatwillbeappliedtohigherorderedtasksandultimatelyreading.Tryingtoteachthestepsoutofsequencecaninadvertentlyfrustratechildren(andfirsttimereaders)soitisimportanttousetechniquesthathelpstudentsconnectwiththeinformation.StudentstodaytypicallystartwiththefoundationoflearningtoreadinKindergartenusingaPhonicsbasedmethod.PhonicsisthemethodmostcommonlyusedintheinstructionoftheLanguageArtswherebystudentsareshownhowtoconnectthesoundsofspokenEnglishwithlettersorgroupsofletters(e.g.,thatthesound/k/canberepresentedbyc,k,ckorchspellings)whichinturnteachesthemtoblendthesoundsofletterstogethertoproduceapproximatepronunciationsofunknownwords.TeachingstudentstoreadEnglishusingphonicsrequiresstudentstolearntheconnectionsbetweenletterpatternsandthesoundstheyrepresent.PhonicsinstructionattheKindergartenlevelrequirestheteachertoprovidestudentswithacorebodyofinformationaboutphonicsrules,orpatterns.Attheelementaryschoolleveltheuseofwhatistermed“embeddedphonics”isincorporatedasacontinuationofPhonicsinstruction.Embeddedphonicsisthetypeofphonicsinstructionusedinwholelanguageprograms.Althoughphonicsskillsarede-emphasizedinwholelanguageprograms,someteachersincludephonics"mini-lessons"inthecontextofliterature.Shortlessonsareincludedbasedonphonicselementsthatstudentsarehavingtroublewith,oronanewordifficultphonicspatternthatappearsinaclassreadingassignment.Thefocusonmeaningisgenerallymaintained,butthemini-lessonprovidessometimeforfocusonindividualsoundsandthesymbolsthatrepresentthem.Embeddedphonicsdiffersfromothermethodsinthattheinstructionisalwaysinthecontextofliteratureratherthaninseparatelessons,andtheskillstobetaughtareidentifiedopportunisticallyratherthansystematically(Wikipedia,2009).Clearlyduetotheaudio/visualnaturealreadyusedinthestudyofphonicsandtheextendedinstructionofembeddedphonicstechnologyisuniquelysuitedtobenefitthisareaofinstruction.Boostusesavarietyoftoolsforbothteachersandstudentsthatoffersconsistentsupportandrepetitionthatpromotesasteadyprogressioninthelanguageartsforthebeginnertotheintermediatelevelstudentandbeyondusingwhatitterms“GraphicGrammar”.GraphicGrammarmakesuseofasystemofvisualsandgraphicscoupledwithadditionalaudiocuestoreinforcethememorizationanduseofgrammaticalconcepts.Itisdesignedtobesimpleandclearandperhapsmostimportantlyflexibleenoughtoincludedifferentlevelsofabilityandinterestusingculturaltopicsandmedia,projectbasedproblemsolving,andrealtimerevisionandevaluationcapabilities.TeachersarefreetoincorporatethevariedtoolsofBoosthowevertheyseefit,eitheronlineoninclassviasoftware,orboth.Additionally,throughtheadoptionofBoostschoolsandteachersareaffordedreadymadecurriculumsuggestionsandprojectsthatcanbetailoredtomeetaparticularLanguageArtstandard.Boostiswhatisreferredtoas“tightly-leveled“inthateachareaofinstruction

relatestooneanotherensuringasmoothandsteadyprogressionforstudentsandteachers.ThefollowingchartisanexampleofthisconceptfromtheBoostwebsite.Notehowthelessonsarecorrelatedtoworkonalloftheareasthatfosterliteracysimultaneously.

TheadaptabilityofBoostfostersamoreautonomousapproachtolearningandelevatesthecumbersomeneedforinterfaceinstructionorsoftwareinstallationforbothstudentandteacher.Thisaddressesthoseteachersandschoolswhomaynothaveahighleveloftechnologicalproficiency.Boost’sinterfaceisengagingwithoutbechallengingorintimidatingandallowsthestudentsandteacherstohaveacommondialoguefromwhichtostudyitandallowsstudentstolearnattheirownpacewiththeabilitytocontinueorreviewtheclassroomworkathome.WiththatinmindinconjunctionwiththeuseofBoostschoolsandteachersmustbewillingtocreateanonlineresourceintandemwiththeuseofBoostinclassinstruction.Thiscouldbeaccomplishedinavarietyofwaysdependingontheresourcesoftheschool.ThemostcommonwaybeingthroughtheuseofBlackboardoraliketoolsorbyaninteractivecomponentontheschool’sownwebsite.ThekeyissueisthattheonlinecommunityisofferedasasupportmechanismforInstructionalStrategiesandEvaluation/Assessmentsthatcreatesaninclusiveculturearoundtheuseoftechnologynotcenteredonit.Forinstructionalstrategiesandplanningteacherscanusetechnologytoplantheirlessonsandsharethatthemwithparentsforcontinuedoradditionalstudyathomeandadditionallyofferhomeworkthatprovideslinkstomoreinformation.Thisimportantadvantageoftechnology

allowsforthedevelopmentandfosteringofalearningcommunitythatgoesbeyondtraditionaldefinitions.Anotherimportantaspectofcreatinganinclusivecommunityisparentsandstudentscanseehowtheyarebeingassessedandevaluated.Today,dueinnosmallparttoNCLB,assessmentisofutmostimportanceatalllevelsofeducation.Inthiscaseparentsareaffordedtheopportunitytoseewhattheschoolhasestablishedasitsbenchmarksforstudents.Italsooffersopportunitiesforparentstoseethemethodusedtoevaluateandassesstheirchildrenandthescopeoflearningthatistakingplaceinpursuitofestablishedoutcomesatvariousstagesandcanexpeditecommunicationifconcernsarise.AblueprintofhowtheuseoftechnologycanbeintegratedintotheinstructionoftheLanguageArts.ThefollowinggraphicwascreatedtoshowhowtechnologycouldbeusedintheinstructionofLanguageArtsusingBoostforLanguageSkillsDevelopment,LiteracyDevelopment,andProcessapproachtowritingandalsofeaturedistheadjoiningsupportthatcouldbeintegratedintotheclassfromtheschoolusingBlackboardforInstructionStrategiesandPlanningandEvaluationandAssessment.

AsampleofhowtheuseoftechnologycanbeusedacrossthecurriculumandbeintegratedintotheinstructionoftheLanguageArts.Thefollowinggraphicwascreatedtoshowhowtheuseoftechnologycouldlinkalanguageartsclasswithmath,science,andsocialstudiestocompleteaninterdisciplinaryproject.TheprojectentitledProjectMexicocouldbestarted/introducedintheLanguageArtsclassviatheexplorationofanotherlanguage,inthiscaseSpanish.UsingembeddedphonicstoseehowSpanishwordsconnectwithEnglishwordsstudentscanstarttoexploreMexicanculture.FromthatintheMathclassstudentscanusetheschoolwebsitetodeterminetheMexicanpopulationwithintheirschoolandmakeachart,thentheycanbeledtoexaminethecustomsofMexicoinSocialStudies,fromtheretheycanexplorethewildlifepresentinthatareaoftheworldinScienceclassanddevelopanalphabetizedlistofindigenousanimals.AllofthisinformationcouldthenbesynthesizedtoprepareareportonMexicoallwiththeuseoftechnology.

Thekeytodevelopingthissortofprojectisagaintheadjoiningtechnologicalcommunitycomponentasstudents,teachers,andparentscanseehowallofthesepiecesfitwithinthegreaterwholeofthestudyofMexicoanditsculturebyallowingthemmultiplevantagepointsfromwhichtoexperiencetheinformation.Theprocesshasareciprocalnaturethatisattheveryheartoftheconstructivistapproach. ThegoalsoftheproposedintegrationoftechnologyplanThegoalofthisinitiativeistoimprovetheoverallcurriculumbyincludingtheuseoftechnologyasbothcreativelearningtoolandthetoolofcommunication.ThisisinsupportoftheNETSTechnologyFoundationStandardsforallStudentsthataredesignedtoenrichtheireducationalexperienceandtheirprofessionalproductivity.1.Basicoperationsandconceptsareusedandsupportedviatheadjoiningcomputerscienceclass.2.Humanissuesareexploredinthesensethatstudentsbeginto“developapositiveattitudetowardtechnologyusesthatsupportlifelonglearning,collaboration,personalpursuits,andproductivity.“

3.Thisprojectallowsstudentstoexploretheircreativityandpromotesenhancedgrouplearning.

4.Studentswouldberequiredtoprovidemewithbi-weeklyprogressreportsthatdemonstratetheyarecommunicatingandparticipatingwitheachotherviatechnology.5.Technologywouldbetheprimaryresearchtool.6.Studentshavebeguntoemploytechnologyinthedevelopmentofstrategiesforsolvingproblemsintherealworld.SummaryInthefinalanalysis,asthispaperhassuggested,technologyissimplyonetoolthatismeanttoaddtotheeducationalprocessnotsupplantit.Technologysurelyhashadanimmenseimpactonourcollectivesocietyithasthepotentialtobeusedinwaysthatarebothpositiveandnegativeineducationandinlife.Regardlessofthescopeofimplementationschools,teachers,andparentsmustallbewillingtoparticipateinthebuildingandmonitoringofalearningcommunitythatisformedaroundtheuseoftechnologynotcompletelyandblindlycenteredonitastheendallbeall.Thoughmoderntechnologybasedinstructionandcomputinghavefundamentallychangedthewayinwhichinstructionisdeliveredtostudents;ithasnotchangedthefundamentalneedsandaimsofeducationitself.Educationneedstoembracetechnologyinpursuitofitsoverarchinggoaltoprepareourstudentsforthefuture,thatistrue,butitisalsoourdutytomakesureweremindourselvesandourstudentsintheenditisjustatool,nothingmore,nothingless.

ReferencesNationalEducationTechnologyStandards.ConnectingCurriculumandTechnology.RetrievedonNovember21,2009fromError!Hyperlinkreferencenotvalid.Roblyer,M.D.(2006).IntegratingEducationalTechnologyintoTeaching(4thed.).NewJersey/Ohio:PearsonMerrillPrenticeHall.TheNationalAcademies.EducationandEngineering.RetrievedonNovember29,2009fromError!Hyperlinkreferencenotvalid.Error!Hyperlinkreferencenotvalid.Error!Hyperlinkreferencenotvalid.TheNationalCouncilforTeachersofEnglish.Standards.RetrievedonNovember21,2009fromError!Hyperlinkreferencenotvalid.WikipediaOnline.(2009).EmbeddedPhonics.RetrievedonDec3,2009,fromError!Hyperlinkreferencenotvalid.* Please note that all content here in is protected by US and international copyright laws, and any misuse or unauthorized reproduction will result in legal action. No part of this site may be distributed, reproduced, and / or copied for any commercial purpose or pursuit of financial gain without the express written consent of Kirk Widra. All intellectual property rights in relation to this website are reserved and owned by Kirk Widra. Copyright © 2018