PICRAT for Effective Technology Integration in Teaching

When new technologies are invented,

they often provide many new ways of thinking and doing things.

For example,

how have smartphones changed the way we live

and work? Or tablets? Or even the internet?

However,

one problem we have as humans is that often we can't

imagine very well the new possibilities available from new technologies.

So, instead we use them just to do the same things we have always done before.

Teachers struggle with this too.

We often teach the way we were taught and struggle to think

of how we could teach better based on the technologies we have

that our teachers did not have.

Richard Cullata,

former director of the Office of Educational

Technology for the U.S. Department of Education,

shared the following concern.

Here's the issue.

If we are not careful,

if we are not super cautious about all the decisions

we make in a very short amount of time,

by the time the freshmen that are in this room have graduated,

we will have a complete digital replica of

the traditional practices that are not working today.

And we will have everything that we have now.

It will just be on a screen instead of on paper,

and it will be just as ineffective and it will

cost a whole lot of money and we'll be just

as stuck as we will and not have another ticket to play to be able to make a change.

Our goal is to help you think critically about the technology you'll

use in your classroom and to begin to see the potential technology has

to transform and engage students in the learning experience in new ways.

To begin,

we're going to show you a technology integration framework.

Frameworks are tools we use to begin conversations.

In this case,

conversations about how we should use technology to improve student learning.

Let me introduce the RAT model.

The first letter "R" represents replacement.

Replacement can mean the following: One,

changes the appearance or dressing of our practices,

but not the practice itself,

making digital copies of traditional practices,

recycling instruction.

Two:

It doesn't affect teaching or learning practices and behaviors.

Three:

Can still be a useful use of technology because it can increase access.

For example,

a digital worksheet won't get lost or eaten by your dog,

but it doesn't really impact or improve learning.

The "A" in RAT equals amplifying.

In other words,

technology improves the efficiency of tasks or

introduces new functions to original tasks.

The "T" in rat equals transforming.

It introduces new activities and learning

that are impossible without technology.

Take away the technology,

take away the learning too.

Next in our PICRAT model is the PIC portion.

"P" equals passive.

In other words,

students are observers,

bystanders in their learning.

The "I" equals interactive.

Students engage in material in an interactive way.

They are active learners.

The "C" equals creative.

Students are creating materials themselves.

They are creative learners instead of passive or active ones.

This is the apex of student engagement,

and students often learn deeper when they

have to create something using the content.

By combining PIC and RAT together,

we create a matrix of the many different

ways technology can influence teaching and learning.

You could use a technology that replaces a face-to-face conversation,

and where students are passive learners

(such as a video lecturer),

or where they get to interact back through technology

(such as a video conversation),

or where they get to learn by creating their own videos

in a way that completely transforms the way you typically teach.

The PICRAT model is a great tool for helping you to think about your teaching

and how you use technology in the classroom.

None of the squares on the matrix is necessarily a bad way to teach.

Sometimes it's good to be a passive learner,

for example,

and listen to others,

such as in this video.

But a good teacher will continually evaluate their

practice and think how they can improve.

Using the PICRAT model can help you think

about what kinds of ways you could use technology

that will help students be more active and creative as learners,

and ways that transform your teaching to levels you hadn't considered before.

So, when you hear about a new technology,

don't just ask what it can do for you that you already are doing anyway.

Think PICRAT, and see if there's a way this technology

can help you transform your teaching in positive ways.