Effective technology integration in a typical classroom moves through the following stages:

• Stage 1 - Teachers start by getting comfortable with the technology and using it in their preparation and administrative work.
• Stage 2 - Teachers move into application in the classroom where the technology merely replaces a former method. For example, I would have my class word process an essay rather than handwrite it, or have my class search the Internet rather than look only at print material. The photojournalism lesson on taking pictures follows this model. The traditional activities of taking a picture and developing the film are replaced with taking the digital picture, downloading it, and editing it with image editing software.
• Stage 3 - As teachers become more comfortable, they move into trying projects that incorporate group work, a variety of technology and their curricular objectives. These projects have the best outcomes for student learning. They are effective as technology skill builders, but their focus is on the curricular objective, and the technology is the tool. For example, my curricular objective might be to have students use the writing process. In Stage 2, I would have students word process, and use the spell checker in the word processor. In Stage 3, I would have students use the built in tools like track changes and leave comments to edit, have them e-mail documents to each other, and save different drafts for comparison activities The writing project in the Code of Ethics lesson uses this approach. The group projects in Module 3 also follow this model. Focusing on the collaborative learning and the curriculum while using technology as a tool has better results for students than focusing on teaching the technology skill in isolation.
• Effective integration includes both Stage 2 and Stage 3 activities. See the Links for Learning page for additional background information on integration and tools for integration.

The Department of Learning has a series of checkpoints designed to allow teachers to assess if students have the desired level of technology literacy for their grade group. The ITC Checkpoints Page discusses these activities, compares them to a Module 3 project and provides a link to the checkpoints themselves.