User:FabiolaUNO

COVID-19 and Technology Integration
COVID-19 changed the perspective of many teachers that had to adapt to the online world when face-to-face interaction became impossible during the COVID-19 pandemic. It caused a huge disruption in schools, colleges, and universities around the world and affected the way traditional education was held. Emergency teaching differs from online teaching where teachers are prepared and apt to teach because they have the knowledge and the right tools such as computer literacy and digital literacy. It is important to highlight the importance of schools providing the tools for teachers, some schools lack the proper pieces of equipment which prevents many teachers to become technologically literate. Lack of funds is one of the first challenges for the implementation of technology integration. Teachers that were forced to teach online had to not only have pedagogy knowledge, but technical knowledge as well. Many times it was necessary to have the advanced technical knowledge to solve problems that would arouse in a virtual environment.

Information Communication and Technology (ICT) is an application where teachers gain competencies to increase their teaching methods to enhance the learning process of students. Studies show that technology integration can be accomplished at any given time, regardless of age, experience, and teaching knowledge. Consequently, teachers that are more technologically literate are more likely to have positive attitudes toward technology integration than teachers that don't feel comfortable with technology. The benefits of technology integration in school include engagement, enhanced skills, and collaborative learning. Teachers are usually responsible to coordinate the technology integration in classrooms, they have to know how to create a great technological environment for their students. Studies show that students have better academic performance when technological integration is involved if compared with traditional teaching.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers were forced to implement (ICT) and many challenges arouse from this moment in time. COVID-19 training for teachers was made to prepare them to survive the emergency teaching needs because of the pandemic. Teachers had to implement applications such as Microsoft Team, Google Workplace, Microsoft Office, Canva, Youtube, Kahoot!, and Zoom and they were some of the most used technologies by teachers in the new virtual environment. Researchers found out that some universities offered email addresses that can be used to acquire education tools but other universities didn't even provide Helpdesk to support them during COVID-19. The student engagement and interaction diminished were many students didn't want to turn the video camera on during virtual sessions. Reflection on one of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as anxiety creates during the pandemic. Communication between students and between teachers and school staff was less frequent than in face-to-face interaction.

PCK and TRACK
In 1986, Lee Shulman worked on his theory about pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) that identified two areas in which teachers had to be proficient that were: content knowledge that would be passed on to students and pedagogical knowledge which refers to techniques that teachers can use to ensure the learning of students. "Shulman (1986, 1987) states that teachers’ competencies should involve content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, knowledge of learners’ characteristics, educational context knowledge, educational outcomes, objectives, values, and philosophical and historical foundations."The TRACK (technological pedagogical content knowledge) model was created to access online teaching competence to teachers and to add technological content knowledge as another proficiency skill that teachers had to have to succeed in the new digital world. "The benefits of technology integration in school include engagement, enhanced skills, and collaborative learning. Teachers are usually responsible to coordinate the technology integration in classrooms, they have to know how to create a great technological environment for their students. Studies show that students have better academic performance when technological integration is involved if compared with traditional teaching."