As one who advocates for integration of technology into all curriculum areas, it was difficult for me at first to think of some obstacles, as I am usually only thinking of the advantages. After doing some research, and finding an article title, “National Survey of Literacy Teachers Examines Obstacles to Bringing More Technology into Language Arts,” I thought I had hit the jackpot. However, the obstacles described in this article include “not enough time within a class period, lack of access to technology, lack of technical support, not enough time to plan for integrating ICTs into instruction, insufficient time to teach basic computing skills, lack of incentives to integrate technology, inadequate professional development for integrating technology, and time demands of high stakes testing” (“National Survey,” 2011). While these obstacles are legitimate obstacles, these are obstacles that can be found in any content area, not Language Arts specifically.
When thinking specifically Language Arts, I can think of a few obstacles that I have encountered. One of those being plagiarism. Young children, who do not know or understand what plagiarism is, believe that they can simple take whatever they find on the internet and put it into their piece of work word for word. It is crucial that teachers not only explain what plagiarism is, but take the time to teach it, teach how to restate information, and then give credit to the original piece of work through references. This is not something that should start in high school…it should start at a young age, before they ever begin finding information on the internet.
Another major obstacle I have encountered through using technology with Language Arts, and specifically writing, is typing skills. In “Integrating Technology Across the Curriculum” by M.D. Roblyer, he discusses how there are opposing views on the importance of teaching keyboarding to students. I am on the “side” that believes in teaching keyboard skills. However, I do not think it should be a prerequisite before a student is allowed to do any kind of typing. I think it is something that can be taught in conjunction with other activities, because there is simply not enough time in the day to take multiple days out of instruction to teach and work on strictly typing skills.
Lastly, students struggle to know where to go on the internet to find information. I have seen students do a Google search, scroll down the page, and say they can’t find any information, without even clicking on a link and reading what is offered. I loved something that Gavin Dudeney said in his article, “No Place in the Classroom for Digital Illiterates.” He said, “To be literate today involves more than the “three Rs” of reading, writing and arithmetic. It requires skills to navigate a connected world, a world that is both much smaller geographically and – at the same time – much bigger, in pure information terms, than the one we knew BG (Before Google)” (Dudeney, 2011). Students must be taught how to navigate the internet and how to do research on the internet, and not just set loose.
There will always be obstacles when it comes to integrating technology into any content area. We just need to be willing to find the solutions to those obstacles for the sake of ourselves and our students.
References
Dudeney, G. (2011). No Place in the Classroom for Digital Illiterates. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/dec/06/teaching-digital-literacy
(2011, October 30). National Survey of Literacy Teachers Examines Obstacles to Bringing More Technology into Language Arts [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.ernweb.com/educational-research-articles/technology-integration-classrooms-literacy-professional-development-obstacles-survey/
Roblyer, M.D. & Doering, A. (2013). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. Boston: Pearson.
Meagan Dye: EDTECH Learning Log 
I always enjoy reading your entries because we teach the same subject. I hadn’t considering typing at all when thinking about advantages or disadvantages of technology integration. I guess I just took it for granted. But I wonder if typing skills are becoming less and less necessary? Will tablets and smartphones eventually become the primary means of learning? They are the primary means of consuming content on the internet, and it seems as though whatever trends dictate casual technology use eventually made their way into professional and academic circles. For some of my students, using a separate, mechanical keyboard is an oddity. And none of that even addresses speech-to-text capabilities. I’m interested to see the role of typing skills in the classroom and how they change in the next few years as a result of your post.
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Meagan,
Plagiarism and copyright are issues that not only plague k-12 but higher education as well. Our institution provides software programs to review students papers for plagiarism. As a student use Grammarly to ensure that my thoughts and ideas are original.
I found a comprehensive resource on copyright and plagiarism for students accessible from http://www.whoishostingthis.com/resources/student-copyright/
I am not sure what grade level you teach, but there are several links and videos. The article extensively addresses the internet and reviews the DMCA addendum to copyright.
Amy
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Dear Meagan,
When I think about language arts I think about typing as a problem. I have a daughter in 7th grade. She does the hunt-and-peck style of typing and it drives me crazy. I asked it the schools was going to teach her how to type, she said they expected her to know already on her own. Do schools not having typing classes any more? I would think those would be more important than ever.
I was wondering if you have ever used blogs in your teaching of language arts. Roblyer discusses using blogs in the textbook as a great tool to use when teaching language arts (2016, p. 262). I have always enjoyed the blogs as learning tools in my classes. I was wondering if you had any experience in using them.
Cindy
Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
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Hi Cindy,
I honestly don’t know if they teach typing anymore or not! I remember taking a typing class in middle school, but anymore, students need to know those skills sooner, and I know here in the state of Wyoming, it is not required, but is recommended. That’s difficult, because often times those things get put on the back burner to complete the things that are required. I have not used any blogs before, but would be interested in doing one for sure!
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Hello Meagan,
I teach in a middle schools and I laughed when I read your comments about scrolling past multiple pages of information and saying they cannot find any information. That exact same thing is an issue in my classroom as well! Either that or students will type in a question verbatim and then when they fail to find exactly what they typed, they say that it doesn’t exist. I tell them that if I can find it in under 30 seconds that they have to buy me lunch and they usually go sit back down and I hear them proclaim a few minutes later, “Oh here it is!” For whatever reason they also think that Google is a resource despite me telling them countless times that it is not. I definitely agree that more time needs to be spent teaching kids how to research. Excellent post!
Mark Harmon
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Hey Maegan,
I love reading your post and can absolutely relate to it. Typing skills appear to be a dying art! I am a business teacher and can honestly say I have seen it. With the introduction of technology in elementary students begin learning things the incorrect way. So some people believe it is useless to try and correct by the time they are in middle or high school. I am of the belief that it is never too late….
Jaci Prance
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