Meaningful integration of technology and education will manifest in many ways:. Some of these may include: 

a) learning outcomes are enabled by technology in a seamless manner

b) There is a change in behavior of the learners aided by technology,

c) Learners are enthusiastic about the usage of technology 

d) There is an enhancement in Learners knowledge level, skill levels and attitudes

Dear Robin,

Technology supplements teaching in the classroom. Attached are my papers that will add to your literature.

Regards

Article Malaysian ESL Students’ Perceptions on the Usability of a Mo...

Data The Effects of Using Multimodal Approaches in Meaning-Making...

Article Tertiary Students’ Learning Practices using Information and ...

Dear Robin:

I think when students show an application of the knowledge and skills learnt that included some use of technology (e.g., videos and websites), we can say that the integration of the technology was significant. In addition, there is now a shift toward more flexible learning environments that requires much use of digital resources for learning outside the walls of the classroom, so if technology is used to accommodate such flexibility and is shown to be successful in students achieving their educational goals, then it can be significant in this way. The attached help to explain such flexibility further.

Many thanks,

Debra

Data Flexible Learning Environments-Theories-Trends-Issues

Meaningful integration of technology and education will manifest in many ways:. Some of these may include: 

a) learning outcomes are enabled by technology in a seamless manner

b) There is a change in behavior of the learners aided by technology,

c) Learners are enthusiastic about the usage of technology 

d) There is an enhancement in Learners knowledge level, skill levels and attitudes

Dear Robin Holding Kay,

Indubitably, the integration of technology into education has turned into a matter of great controversy over the past two decades. In point of fact, the drastic swinging of the pendulum of fashion created an incentive for  concerned researchers  to  try to examine the merits of applying technology in education in order to substantiate the place of technology in the process  and examine to what extent it may be beneficial. Although much of  research focused on measuring the pedagogical utility of technology and its integration into education has considerably been positive, some reports have come up with contentious results. On the one hand, many  writers contend  that integration of technology into education cannot lead to any  appreciable benefits (Franklin, 2003). On the other hand,  there are some like Edison  (cited in Saettler, 1990) who strongly believe that technology will most likely alter the educational landscape tremendously because it has a significant bearing on  learners' quality of performance. Finally, there are also a few (e.g., Lee & Thompson, 2003) who adopt a middle of the road approach calling for adoption of proper measures for actualizing the potential merits of technology in the educational contexts making  classroom environment  more conducive for enhanced teaching and learning opportunities.

Best regards,

R. Biria

The use of ICT has been prominent in educational environments in recent years. However, for its use to promote meaningful learning (Ausubel Theory), planning the use of ICT and choosing the best communication media is necessary.

According to the theory of cognitive load, the use of multimedia can promote an overload without producing knowledge, thus, it is necessary to consider a series of principles to minimize the overload, and to potentiate the process of teaching and learning mediated by technologies.

@Debra So I just want to understand.  What you are saying in your first few sentences is, if the students simply use the technology, it is significant?  Am I understanding that correctly?

 @Malini I have looked at your papers, but I don't see criteria or characteristics that would distinguish good integration of technology vs. simply using technology.  I guess what I want to know is what are the essential elements that need to be present for technology to effective in supporting learning.  Otherwise, are we simply using technology for the sake of using it - does it really make any difference?  Is it worth the time and effort spent by teachers?  For example, a PowerPoint lecture is still a lecture - maybe helps the instructor remember what he/she is going to say, but probably does not have a significant impact on student learning.  

@S G Deshmukh I think you have provided a good starting list, although enthusiasm about using technology seems a little weak.  Having fun with technology does not necessarily equate to meaningful learning and can be distracting.  However, it seems to me that technology is REALLY expensive in terms of time and money and so it should add something more meaningful that simply achieving our intended learning goals.  I feel that technology must add something that no other teaching approach can add - offer perspective, opportunity that could not otherwise be achieved without technology. 

@Reza - Yes, I am aware that there is a fair bit of evidence to suggest that technology (like radio, television, and microcomputers) has done very little to change the practices and outcomes in education.  I am also aware of some amazing and highly productive uses of technology, albeit on an ad hoc basis.  That is why I asked the question - what distinguishes good tech use from weak or ineffective tech use? Or do most teacher simply use the technology to do what they have always done, like lecture, in a slightly different way (e.g., Powerpoint instead of transparencies or Smartboards instead of Whiteboards )

@Claudia - I assume you are referring to the design of e-learning modules and Mayer and Clark's work.  My current observation of e-learning modules is that they are not that different from computer-assisted instruction in the 1990's - Visually sexier, more bells and whistles, but essentially as drill and kill passive approach to learning content.  I suppose the videos are helpful, but nothing new is happening.  Mind you, the learning is being taken out of the classroom, so perhaps there is something there.  

This is a question which was at the core of UK education policy between 1997 and 2008.

There was a belief that digital technologies could not only ‘enhance’ classroom learning but could “transform the way we learn”. In pursuit of this transformation and indeed in the construction of a “classroom of the future” the government spent in the region of £4bn. Policy levers addressed several strands including the funding of equipment, software, the training of teachers and the requirement of all subjects to use ICT to support learning. The results were rather disappointing.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279927229_E-Learning_policy_and_the_transformation_of_schooling_a_UK_case_study

Through a range of evaluations and impact studies several issues began to emerge.

1. Technology is too often “thrown over the walls” into schools by politicians or tech companies and the impact on learning is either small or negative. In such cases much is promised in terms of “transformation” but the causal narrative between the presence of a piece of technology and an educational outcome is almost always absent. For example early commentators offered that the Internet was effectively giving every child “access to a vast library”. The assumption here is that education is the assimilation of “information” or “content”.

2. The technology of schooling and digital technologies are like a loosely coupled system where the dominant technology (the school) shapes the affordances of the weaker technology in such a way that they act to reinforce processes and structures already in place. The “acceptable” role of technology in such a case is to:

a) Automate processes.

b) Monitor “performance” of staff and pupils.

c) Reduce costs.

3. Conceptions of barriers to technology “integration” were rooted in several factors. Firstly the notion of “teacher resistance”. The “kit poverty model” where the element missing was sufficient equipment. The “training poverty model” where the missing factor was the skills of the teacher. The UK’s national grid for learning provided vast quantities of equipment, all staff were trained and teachers showed a generally positive view of technology. The impact was not as expected http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/1572/

The “meaningful integration of technology and education” seems require us to look at two perspectives:

Enhancement - where technology is used to support current processes by providing tools to present information, assess attainment, distribute resources, reduce costs, automate communication and data-processing.

Transformation - where the processes, roles, structures, institutions and aims of schooling change to make use of the affordances of digital technologies as they have done in such areas as entertainment and finance.

Article E-Learning policy and the “transformation” of schooling: a U...

Adrian - Thank you so much for your detailed reply - I will read the attached article with interest!

Hello, several good points in Adrian's answer where the in 1. and 2. described  top-down approach could be sen as the university or the government perspective. Technology enhanced learning must in my opinion be, as most other projects, implemented with a multi-stakeholder approach.

There have in many cases been few incentives for the teachers which often results in what Adrian mention under 3. as 'teacher resistance'. Beside the teacher perspective there must also be a learner perspective with the basic idea of that technology enhancement only is meaningful when it adds value that doesn't already exist in traditional F2F activities.

I've recently conducted two studies on 'Barriers to Blended Learning' that are not yet published, but accepted for publication in a journal. Since they are not public yet I'll send them to you as attachments in a private message. Would be valuable with your comments if you have time.

Bests,

/Peter   

Many educators make bad choices about technology, because the choose a technology firs and then try to figure out how to use it.

My attache paper presents a more beneficial process for identifying needed learning activities and THEN choosing technology which can facilitate those learning activities.

Chapter Educational Engineering for CALL and MALL

 Good Morning Sir

The significant difference by meaningful integration of technology is related to 'outcome' of the teaching-learning system (eg., grades, ranks, career placements, knowledge, skill enhancement, understanding, etc.).

The system components, i.e., 'course', 'general environment', 'human factors', 'teaching-learning interfaces' influences the teaching-learning interactions in a technology-enabled classroom. Within 'human factors', psychological and social barriers, the skill and learning abilities of human elements influences the technology integration. Therefore, a flexible learning environment (compatible with human elements or human-centered) is the way forward. This requires a 'soft system' that would make the teaching-learning interfaces smart and extend the functionalities of the teacher and aid the learner according to his need.

Well, the four system component must align with the 'outcomes' for meaningful integration to bring about a significant difference.

Some of these points are brought from "A review on worksystem interactions in a technology-enabled classroom".  http://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJTEL.2015.072026

The thread was useful. Thank you. Best wishes.

Rajesh

Hi Rajesh - Thanks for your detailed response.  I agree that attaining expected learning outcome is a big component of meaningful technology use, however, efficiency needs to be considered.  If you can teach without technology just as effectively, then why use it?  Using technology typically takes considerable time and sometimes money.  And you are quite right to consider the use of technology as a systematic endeavour with many factors influencing success.  That is another good question - What factors are most important when integrating technology into the classroom?

Good Evening Sir

Putting technology into classrooms without serious thought about users (teachers-students) is not the right way forward. If black board is the best tool for all users and all courses then technology need not be deployed. So I agree there. 

Technology (software, soft systems, internet, mobile, smart interfaces, IoTs, VRs) around our lives challenges us to use them in our environment. Further, administrators appear to think dumping latest technology into classrooms would lead to great teaching-learning experience. Herein, we have 'need' and 'enforcement', but what is missing is 'ability'. Hence, technology deployment needs serious thought and considerable effort in tuning this 'ability'. We can call it 'integration', the 'common ground' or 'user centered'. The whole idea is to focus on the 'user'.

So what are the key factors? Human factors (age, gender, experience, skill, motivation, background, ...), Classroom (layout, displays, controls, soft systems, environment,...), Course (curriculum, pedagogy, schedule, assessment,...), Organization (policy, HR, finance, operations, ...). 

Rajesh