Ashley Castellana

Article Critique
FRIT 7232 - Visionary Leadership in Instructional Technology
Fall 2014

Citation
Shapley, K., Sheehan, D., Maloney, C., & Caranikas-Walker, F. (2011). Effects of Technology
Immersion on Middle School Students' Learning Opportunities and Achievement.
Journal Of Educational Research, 104(5), 299-315. doi:10.1080/00220671003767615
Summary
This article revolves around a case study involving twenty-one middle schools that
received laptops for each teacher and student with provided instructional resources, professional
development, and technical support. This was analyzed to see what effects technological
Immersion had on students learning opportunities and student achievement. The article begins
with prior studies that state how instructional technology experiences are important because
research shows that students learn more when they are engaged in meaningful, relevant, and
intellectually stimulating work. It also helps with providing students with 21st century readiness.
From there, a model of technology Immersion was explained and what role it played in the
middle schools that were studied. Of course, technology use was increased due to the ratio of
students to computer access. With that capability, more independent work was able to be
completed and more use of technology was used at home for academic purposes. A strong shift
from teacher-centered instruction to student-centered instruction took place. More progress was
observed in the areas of technology proficiency, student engagement, and academic achievement.
The article clarifies each middle schools demographics and academic standing and further
explains how research was collected and analyzed. The conclusion of the authors research was
that the technological Immersion model was successful at preparing students for the 21st century,
opening them to world-wide cultures, expanding learning outside of school, as well as shifting
students towards a more productive and creative mindset and away from drill and practice for
tests.

Critique

I thought the authors provided good supporting evidence behind the benefits of more
instructional technology for todays students. Their research appeared to be in depth and
appropriate for the task at hand. They were also very thorough in providing results that were
deemed as valuable to the 21st century learner. In this article, the lack of emphasis on the
instructor seemed unfitting. I firmly believe that a good instructor or facilitator still makes one of
the biggest impacts on student achievement. Maybe this research was not the appropriate place to
incorporate this, but I feel as if a good facilitator is still the core of education with or without
technology. Perhaps an experienced educator in these control groups was implied, however I
think the study would have derived more interesting results if the variable was not only the
amount of technology in the classroom, but the educators abilities and experience using the
technology for instruction. Although there was technical support and professional development
offered, little emphasis was put on the educator as a whole. Overall, this was an informative read
and fitting for my future in education as I will begin to transform my middle school classroom to
a more paperless society with flipped classroom approaches.