Curriculum Content Proposal for Integration of Technology in Education

This study focuses on the content of technology-related courses offered by teacher training institutions to determine the factors that will avoid technology integration in teacher education/training. Two methods are combined in the research. As a first step, the integration of technology in education/teaching models literature was analyzed, synthesized, and categories were created based on the critics. Next, technology-related courses in teacher training curricula were defined, the content of those courses was analyzed


Introduction
Integrating technology in education can only create an engagement between technology and the learning-teaching process.The teacher is critical for integrating technology in education/teaching, and the initial point is teacher-training institutions.Although teachers and teacher trainers must be technology literate to ensure technology integration in education/teaching, more is needed to be ICT literate to use this literacy effectively in teaching activities.It should be remembered that a person's technology qualifications and the ability to use technology in teaching require different competencies.Some research indicates that even though teachers have some ICT skills, they do not have specified skills to transfer those skills to educational settings (Kim, Kim, Lee, Spector & DeMeester, 2013;Llorens, Salanova, & Grau, 2002;Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Glazewski, Newby, & Ertmer, 2010).Other studies emphasize that pre-service teachers born in the digital age can use essential information technologies daily (Kennedy, Judd, Churchward, Gray, & Krause, 2008).However, their knowledge and skills could be more extensive in subjects that require higher level skills, such as blogs, wiki, and Web 2.0 technologies (Jones, Ramanau, Cross, & Healing, 2010;Marganyan, Littlejohn, & Vojt, 2011).Similarly, many studies report those teacher trainers, who already have basic technological skills and have a positive attitude toward using technology in teaching, have minimal technology experience and do not use technology enough in their lessons (Carroll & Morrell, 2006;Dinçer & Yeşilpınar-Uyar, 2016;Drent & Meelissen, 2008;Instefjord & Munthe, 2017;O'Brien, Aguinaga, Hines, & Hartshorne, 2011).
One of the many reasons to engage more with ICT training is the interchangeable usage of ICT in teaching and ICT integration in the teacher training curriculum.Even though there are several ICT literacy definitions and standards created by many organizations (ACER, 2008;ISTE, 2021;OECD, 2005;2013), these definitions and standards focus on the usage of ICT in instruction (ACER, 2008;ISTE, 2021;OECD, 2013).Dinçer (2021a) points out that using ICT in instruction is about using ICT technologies in the instruction process, and it does not include any detail-oriented activity.However, integrating technology in education/teaching sets up technology as the main component of instruction.Using a smartboard instead of a blackboard is a specific example of using ICT in instruction.It facilitates instruction.However, the aim of using the material could be more innovative; that is, using a blackboard instead of a smartboard does not create any significant change in the system.Considering smartboards as a part of the curricula, saving activities and making them available online through learning management systems can be considered ICT integration in education/teaching.Technology plays a critical role in this scenario as a well-defined part of curricula, supporting learning opportunities at out-of-school times; the absence of technology may result in a learning loss.
Teacher training curricula have some elements of the basic skills of ICT, such as introductory ICT literacy courses and the usage of ICT in instruction.However, as mentioned above, the usage of ICT in instruction and the technological pedagogical usage of ICT are very different concepts, and the second requires better-fitted curricula and models for integration.Mishra and Koehler (2006) underline the importance of the intersection of content knowledge and ICT literacy through their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge [TPACK] framework.Technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge are described as three individual components of teaching, and technology integration in education is possible only by creating an intersection among them.
In summary, the TPACK model is essential for integrating technology into education.However, there are gaps in the literature about how this model fits different content area teaching, how appropriate curricula will develop for the intersection of technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge, and how the model should be assessed.TPACK model requires a specific teacher training curriculum for different content areas to integrate technology so that teachers may use technology effectively for different content areas in their classroom practice.For example, the integration of technology in education/teaching may vary between content like social science or science teaching.However, how this integration will occur in those different content areas is still being determined.
Teacher qualifications should be revised according to the usage of technology and the technology-integrated instruction to apply the TPACK model and to have better technology integration to teacher training curricula (Drent & Meelissen, 2008;ISTE, 2021;Tondeur, Aesaert, Pynoo, van Braak, Fraeyman, & Erstad, 2017;Uerz et al., 2018).Like many other countries, Turkey has some technology-related courses in its teacher training curriculum; however, those courses are limited to basic ICT literacy skills.Having courses limited to ICT literacy skills is one of the most critical barriers to integrating technology into education.It is necessary to understand the other barriers to the integration of technology in education in the Turkey context and propose some courses to teacher training institutions.This research aims to suggest the content of technology-related courses in teacher training institutions by determining the factors preventing technology integration in education/training.For this purpose, answers to the following questions were sought: 1) What are the main factors hindering technology integration in education/training?2) What is the content of the technology-related courses of teacher training institutions in Turkey? 3) How can the curriculum be developed to fully integrate technology into education in teacher training institutions in Turkey?

Method Research Model
Developing a model for instruction goes far beginning of the teaching act.It progresses by either revising the former model or proposing a model from scratch.For example, Halloun (2007) states that developing a model can occur by "analyzing the data from the field" or "doing a critical review of the literature and creating a synthesis." In this study, both methods are combined.As a first step, the literature about the integration of technology in education/teaching models literature was analyzed, synthesized, and categories were created based on the critics.Next, technology-related courses in teacher training curricula were defined, the content of those courses was analyzed, and some content and suggestions were proposed for better technology-integrated courses.

Data Collection and Analysis
There were two steps for data collection.First, the literature about technology integration in education/teaching models (2016-2020) was coded for synthesis by the document analysis method.Second, technology-related courses in teacher training curricula were examined, and the course's aims and content were coded.
There were 42 studies as a result of a search with the keywords of "integration of technology in education/teaching," "technology integration in education/teaching," "education/teaching with technology," and "barriers/limitations."In parallel with the research question, the results of the studies in the literature were grouped and coded according to the main factors that prevent technology integration in education/training.

Results
The categories of barriers to technology integration in education are summarized below in Table 1.As Table 1 indicates, the significant barrier to integrating technology in education is the lack of infrastructure, such as computers, and the internet connection pace (f=43).The other barriers, by order, are teachers' and students' ICT literacy level (f=42), insufficient content (f=17), and teachers' and students' literacy level of integration of technology in education/teaching (f=4).
Literature regarding technology integration in education/teaching indicates that studies focus on TPACK Model for technology integration.There was no critical perspective toward the TPACK model; however, there are limitations due to ambiguous knowledge about integrating pedagogical content knowledge with technology.
The studies focus on teachers' and pre-services teachers' ICT usage, or integration, which has severe critics and points out some significant limitations.Those limitations and critics can summarize as "the inappropriate assessment tools" (f=22), "the ambiguous models especially for different content areas' specific nature" (f=15), and "the lack of prescription about applying technology in specific content knowledge" (f=13).Most studies are based on self-report tools and measure attitudes, neither knowledge nor skills.
Table 1.The barriers to technology integration in education are mentioned in the literature.

Categories f
The lack of the infrastructure 43 Teachers' ICT literacy level 24 Students' ICT literacy level 18

Insufficient content 17
Teachers' literacy level of integration of technology in education/teaching 2 Students ' literacy level of integration of technology in education/teaching 2 Turkish Higher Education Council's (YÖK, 2018) curriculum for the faculty of education is examined to review to what extent teacher training curricula are adapted to technologyintegrated teaching.There are two standard courses in all teacher training curricula.One of those courses is three hours per week, and the other is two hours per week courses (ICT, instructional technologies).Those courses' content is described below: Information Technologies: Information and communication technologies and computational thinking; the concepts and approaches to problem-solving; algorithms and flow diagrams; computer systems; the basic concepts about the hardware and the software; the basics of operating systems; up-to-date operating systems; file management; utility programs (third party software); word-processing software; computing/tabling/graphic software; presentation software; desktop publishing; database management systems; web design; the usage of internet in education; communication and cooperation technologies; internet security; communication and technology ethics and copyright issues; the effects of computer and internet on children/teenagers.
Instructional Technologies: Information technologies in education; the teaching process and the classification of instructional technologies; the theoretical approaches towards instructional technologies; the instructional technologies as a tool and a material; the instructional technology design; to design a thematic instructional technology; to create an object warehouse to the specific subject area; the criteria to assess an instructional material.

Discussion, Conclusion, and Implications
With the development of technology, teaching materials change, which requires the revision of teacher competencies (Drent & Meelissen, 2008;ISTE, 2016;2017;Tondeur et al., 2017;Uerz et al., 2018).For integrating technology in education/teaching, technology literacy and the use of technology in education must be taught in teacher education.There are many studies in the literature on the technology literacy of teachers and pre-service teachers (Aldunate & Nussbaum, 2013;Uerz et al., 2018;Webb & Cox, 2004).However, only some of these studies examine the variables of technology integration in education (Drent & Meelissen, 2008;Groth et al., 2007;Mishra & Koehler, 2006;Uerz et al., 2018).Most of the studies focus on the instruction-technologies relationship with different variables to investigate the effect of instructional material on students' achievement; the skills of teachers or prospective teachers need to be examined in depth.It is a fact that teachers must first be technology literate in order to use them, especially technology-related materials.Dinçer (2021b) indicates that ICT literacy is insufficient to use those technologies as material or for any other purpose in the instruction process.ICT literacy does not necessarily mean teachers have the skill set to use technology in instruction.Teachers should have the skills to use these technologies in their teaching activities as well as the skills to use these technologies in their teaching activities.
In order to fully understand the situation, as mentioned earlier, it is necessary to understand the difference between technology use and integration in education/training.The use of technology in education or teaching and integrating technology in education/teaching represent two different situations.The use of technology in education/teaching refers to the direct use of the elements/factors expressed by technology in education or teaching activities; in other words, there is no complicated situation regarding the use of these technologies.However, it states that integrating technology in education/teaching has become one of the teaching activities' main factors/elements.For example, using the interactive whiteboard instead of the blackboard in teaching activities is the use of technology.It provides convenience in teaching activities but will not provide any innovation or severe convenience in terms of its intended use.In other words, bringing the blackboard instead of removing the interactive whiteboard from the teaching environment will not make a meaningful difference.They are learning management systems by including the interactive whiteboard in the curriculum and recording their use.Making it accessible to students with applications can be an example of integrating technology in education/teaching.The critical role here is for the learners to use this element in their extracurricular activities by clearly specifying the material in the curriculum; Using the interactive whiteboard may help the teaching activities.
Table 1 indicates that at first sight, the most critical barrier is hardware and infrastructure; however, the underlying barriers are teachers' limited technology usage and low literacy in using ICT.Dotong, De Castro, Dolot, and Prenda's (2016) study support this perspective, especially in under-developed and developing countries.As a result, teacher-training curricula should be updated to facilitate teachers' technology usage in instruction and their ICTintegrated teaching.Those updated curricula should include three dimensions ICT literacy, the usage of technology in education, and the integration of technology in education/teaching.Research indicates that even ICT-literate teachers may not use technology in educational settings (Georgina & Olson, 2008;Uerz, etc., 2018).As a result, having these three dimensions is the bare minimum for technology integration in education.
In Turkey, teacher training curriculum, there are only two courses related to technology, and their content is so limited.As a piece of evidence, the Turkish Higher Education Council (YOK, 2018) announced that those two courses' syllabi' are the same for all different content areas, which is contrasted with the perspective of the recently discussed technology integration model, TPACK.The TPACK model indicates that different content areas use different pedagogical methods and technologies."The Methods and Principles of Teaching" course in the teaching training curriculum can be considered as creating an intersection for different content areas, pedagogy, and technology integration.However, this course also has a standard description, aim, and content for all content areas, suggesting otherwise.
The discussions so far can be summarized as the teacher training curriculum in Turkey requires an update on technology-related courses from both the number and the content perspective.This update may constitute as such: After taking "The information and Communication Technologies" course, there can be a course for three credits (Theory: 2 hours, Practice: 1 hour) "The usage of technology in education and instruction."This course should focus on the relationship between the related content area and its pedagogical practices instead of broad and narrow content related to technology.The proposed courses' goals and content are described below: The information and communication technologies content: The up-to-date operating systems; file management; internet search; ICT security and ethics; social media literacy; wordprocessing software; computing/tabling/graphic software; presentation software; database management systems.

The information and communication technologies goals:
Students, • be able to describe operating systems and software, • be able to achieve files based on a system, • be able to open different file types with appropriate software, • be able to use advanced search engines to reach out for specific information, • be able to question the information source and use reliable sources, • willing to follow up on ethical codes about information and communication technologies, • be able to create a formatted document with word-processing software, • be able to create a formula by computing/tabling/graphic software, • be able to create a presentation with presentation software.

The usage of technology in education and instruction content:
Teaching management systems, cloud services, searching information, communication technologies, digital typography, the practice of third-party digital tools (projection, smart board), the necessity of technology in education.

The usage of technology in education and instruction goals:
Students; • be able to list learning management systems' goals, • be able to use learning management systems, • be able to share the file through cloud systems, • be able to use the proper sources to reach out for information, • be able to create and manage groups through communication technologies (forum, email, mobile phone applications) • be able to typeset by word-processing software, • be able to set up third-party digital tools, • be able to use third-party digital tools in education, • be able to use proper technology, • be able to assess a chosen technology from a cost-effective perspective.
The content of the instructional technologies course should be changed for the pre-service teachers who have gained basic literacy on the use of technology, and it should be added to the content of technology integration in education.However, these contents are different in all fields.The ones related to the use and integration of field-specific technology are added to the curriculum as a five-hours (Theory: 3 hours, Practice: 2 hours) practical course.In this context, it is suggested to determine the course content and achievements as follows: Instructional technologies course content: Teaching process and classification of instructional technologies; theoretical approaches to instructional technologies; the relationship between pedagogy and technology; application of instructional technologies in instructional design; material design processes; designing site-specific materials; technology integration in education/training; domain-specific measurement and evaluation using technology.

Instructional technologies course goals:
Students, • be able to classify instructional technology, • be able to explain theoretical approaches related to instructional technologies, • be able to List the material design processes, • be able to design material specific to the field, • be able to use instructional strategies that combine content, technologies, and instruction • be able to develop course content (instructional software, educational games) by using technology in teaching; • be able to develop assessment tools through technology.

Conclusion and Suggestions
Even though literature indicates the most critical barriers to technology integration in education are hardware problems and the lack of technical infrastructure, one of the underlying factors is the teachers' inadequacy in ICT, the usage of technology in education, and technology integration literacy.These inadequacies are the result of the teacher training curriculum's deficiency.

It is suggested,
• To add courses and contents to the teacher training curriculum as discussed in interpretation and discussion.
• Instructional technology courses should have specific content related to the content area.The syllabus should be developed with the cooperation of the content area teacher trainer for each subject area.
• As a part of curriculum development, these proposed courses and their content should be reevaluated for further studies.