Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by
LaSchunn Gonsalves
Doctor of Philosophy
Capella University
January 2010
UMI Number: 3402167
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Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the perspective of teachers
and their quest in effectively integrate technology in the curriculum to increase student
achievement after completing the approved technology competency course. During the
the thrust of technology in schools have emerged within the schools, teachers are
challenged with infusing technology into the classroom and curriculum to increase
student achievement. As a result of this infusion of technology, teachers are asked to alter
the way they deliver and teach students. Therefore, teachers in Georgia are required to
enhance their technology skills and demonstrate their competency for certification to
ensure teacher quality. One public school system in Georgia requires its teachers to
participate in a state approved district wide technology course or pass a state approved
test. Subsequently, teacher quality is the key to the end result of student achievement.
Hence, as these changes and demands are placed on teachers it is possible that their
perspectives on teaching might influence the way technology is delivered. Many teachers
embrace the idea of bridging 21st century technologies into their classroom and others are
not so welcoming to the thought. Therefore, since students are intrigue and now have
more access to computers than ever before, are teachers using this opportunity to increase
student achievement using these tools as leaders had hoped? This research will examine
the perceptions of teachers on technology integration, including the extent and value of
1999), and my brother Altonio Chatman (1961-2006) who journey home during my
quest. It is also dedicated to my loving mother Martha Winfrey Brown, my husband Troy
Gonsalves, my sweet daughters Ashley, Alexandria, and Amber, and my dear brother
Dinicious Chatman.
iii
Acknowledgments
No words cannot express the gratitude I feel for my family and friends who
supported and encouraged me through this process. I thank God for bringing four friends
into my life that share and believe in the same pursuit of happiness as I. Thank you, my
dear friends Keena Jenkins, Alicia Jordan, Iris Morgan, and Loretta Saunders for that
friendship, tag team support, and for encouraging me to pursue this path. If it was not for
you, completing this would have remained a dream and not have come a reality.
Thank you mom for your guidance, love, picking up, dropping off, and keeping
the kids as often as I needed you to; I Love you. Thank you Troy for understanding and
being patient through this process. Thanks LaVinicia “Angel” Harper, for being my
“drum major”, your words of encouragement is greatly appreciated. Thank you Rhonda
Jones Chatman, my best friend and cheerleader, for listening to me when I needed and
just being there along the way for whatever I needed. Many thanks to Susan Stegall for
thinking of me and passing along pertinent information. Dr. Joyce Morrow, thank you
for offering your assistance from the beginning. Knowing you were there for support if I
I would like to thank my committee: Dr. Carolyn Rogers, my mentor, Dr. Doug
Dewitt, and Dr. Keena Ryals-Jenkins for the guidance and support through this process. I
Thank you to the principals for allowing me in your school and the four
participating teachers for your time, honesty, and sharing of your experiences and
thoughts.
iv
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments iv
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1
Rationale 10
Research Questions 11
Definition of Terms 15
Assumptions 16
Limitations 17
Introduction 19
Technology Integration 28
v
Instructional Technology Courses 45
Summary 49
CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 51
Introduction 51
Research Questions 54
Research Methodology 55
Research Design 56
Sources of Data 59
Validity 59
Reliability 61
Ethical Considerations 65
Summary 66
Introduction 67
Descriptive Data 68
Data Analysis 71
Results 73
Summary 103
vi
CHAPTER 5. RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 105
Introduction 105
Recommendations 113
Implications 116
Summary 118
REFERENCES 121
vii
List of Tables
viii
Table 23. Technology Integration into Classroom Course Effectiveness 97
ix
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
As the world depends on the use of technology and computers for its daily operation it
only makes sense for teachers to prepare students to use technology so they can compete
globally. Nonetheless, the world today has become known as “techno-literate” and the
students in K-12 are known as the “net generation.” Furthermore, the former president of
the United States, George Bush, proclaims that American schools can use technology to
ensure that no child is left behind. The U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings
(2007) reminds educators in her remarks that technology is transforming the way children
and adults live and offers tremendous opportunities for education. Educators must realize
that our students are not growing up in the same way we grew up. Children of today take
advantage of IPods, TiVo, and cell phones and use them in ways beyond our imagination.
Therefore, educators must be flexible and agile, tailor instruction, and use more
innovative ways to enhance student achievement through the use of technology (U.S.
will result in academic achievement and reform. Whale (2006) found in his study on
technology and teacher evaluations that “it is more certain than ever that the appropriate
use of technology has a positive impact on student achievement” (p. 62). Yepes-Baraya
(2002) defined technology integration as the use of technology to support and enhance
1
achievement of specific teaching and learning goals. Thus, school systems in Georgia are
Moreover, Gradwell (2004) shares the findings of anxiety and uncertainty when
teachers are faced with change such as integration of technology. Many teachers are
accustomed to teacher-centered book worksheet style of teaching. Hall and Hord (2001)
because there are numerous innovations to learn and use. Teachers are faced with
utilizing technology innovations such as hardware and software and changing their
teaching style to effectively integrate technology (Fullan, 1991). Fullan also asserts that
teachers need support and efficient training to enable them to feel comfortable and
For eight years now, teachers were challenged to put all the No Child Left Behind
Act (2001) components together to increase student achievement so they can compete
globally upon completing high school. The NCLB act places immense emphasis on the
Georgia, student achievement is measured in high school by the Georgia High School
Graduation Test. Since 2004, Georgia uses the English Language Arts and Mathematics
scores of the test to measure Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the NCLB
To support the goal to have highly qualified teachers, in 2001 former Governor
Roy Barnes signed The A Plus Education Reform Act of 2000 which mandate Georgia
2
demonstrate competency in the ISTE (2000) standards through an alternative Professional
Standard Board approved program. This initiative was a catalyst to enhance student
achievement are integral parts of our education system, it is important to examine the
The U.S. Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, stated “Testing is part of life” (2004,
p. 1). The passing of No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) 2001 has elevated high- stakes
as a way to hold schools accountable for student achievement. Under NCLBA, the
federal government has mandated that states meet Adequate Year of Progress (AYP) as
an indicator of student achievement and the state of Georgia uses high-stakes test as part
of this measurement. In the state of Georgia the high-stake Georgia High School
Graduation Test (GHSGT) is an annual measurable objective for AYP. Thus, the Georgia
school systems are challenged to meet AYP so no sanctions will be placed on them for
In the 21st century, technology has also become part of life. The Commission on
Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) states that, “Nobody today can avoid technology; it
has penetrated every aspect of life from the home to the job. For those unable to use
technology effectively, it appears as if they will face a lifetime of menial work” (p. 13).
3
So as schools sought ways to help students increase academic achievement and to met
NCLBA required states to demonstrate that all students were technologically literate
(U.S. Department of Education, 2001). Therefore, teachers had to learn how to integrate
revealed that teacher professional development is a key factor in preparing teachers to use
educational technology (NCES, 2006). The data indicated that although 99% of public
school teachers have access to computers they need proper preparation and training.
Even though numerous studies report the positive impact instructional technology has on
student achievement, the U.S. Department of Education recognize that having access is
not enough to accomplish the goal of NCLB Title D program (Enhancing Education
teachers need to know how to integrate technology appropriately for technology to have
funds to states for professional development to fulfill the NCLB Title D program.
In the effort to leave no child behind, the federal government has funded billions
of dollars to support the integration of technology in schools to help meet the NCLB
goals. The State of Georgia has also invested billions into technology in education. For
Training Centers throughout the state to support the commitment to provide teachers with
4
Centers (ETT) is funded to promote appropriate use of technology integration in
The implementation of Georgia House Bill 1187, The A Plus Education Reform
Act of 2000, has also cost the state a huge amount of money. This bill requires all
part of formal education policy.” (1998, p. 1). Georgia is one of five states that require
this of teachers seeking certification. To support teachers in this effort, the Georgia
development course that meets the ISTE NETS and state expectation, for teachers to
Training Centers developed the Georgia Framework for Integrating Technology (InTech).
This award-winning professional development course, InTech, initially served as the only
requirement. However, a few years after its commencement two local school districts
adopted alternate professional development course to offer its teacher for state re-
America to improve student achievement (1996). In fact, educators are charged with
minimizing the menial work status for American children by providing them with an
Marshall (1998) teachers are the key to integration. Therefore, teachers are in need of
5
specialized training in technology. In addition, the effectiveness of technology in
(MacArthur & Malouf, 1991). Thus, using technology effectively is the key to making
technology effectively.
Technology has gain a significant role in education since the induction of NCLB
act of 2001. NCLB asserts that technology must be implemented and used to assist in
narrowing the achievement gap among all students and to prepare students to compete
globally in a technological society. With the strong expectations of the NCLB to integrate
technology, school districts are given the challenge to provide adequate training to
action for teachers to meet the new standards and contend with the needs of professional
development to do so. A local school district in Georgia offers Power To Teach and a
The NCLBA asserts that technology must be implemented and used to assist in
narrowing the achievement gap among all students and to prepare students to compete
It is not known the perspective of teachers as they integrate technology into the
curriculum to increase student achievement after completing the local school system state
6
in the classroom is vital in preparing students in this technological society. Teachers have
the opportunity to take advantage of using technology in their classroom to teach, learn,
and more importantly increase student achievement. Thus, choosing the right medium to
help teachers integrate technology in the classroom is more important than the technology
itself. Therefore, the professional development sessions that prepare teachers to integrate
informed decisions about the most effective models to use when training teachers how to
integrate technology. Thus, with NCLB accountability and AYP, educational leaders are
searching to find ways to promote and enhance student achievement in schools. One of
the greatest benefits of technology is its ability to transform the learning process to
Nowakowski, & Rasmussen, 1998). Therefore, the professional development choices that
dollars to states in 2007 to enhance education through technology. Schools and districts
into the curriculum so there can be increasing academic results. However, when teachers
technology to enhance academic achievement and the course is not designed for that
reason it becomes wasted money and time. States value their money and teachers value
their time.
7
According to the State of Georgia Technology Plan (2008), “the current emphasis
is ensuring that technology is used effectively to create new opportunities for learning
and to promote student achievement, few would argue we are not making progress” (p.
7). The State of Georgia has placed high emphasis and huge amounts of money into
teachers integrating technology and in return expects students to learn and demonstrate
achievement through high-stake test results. For that reason, the professional
development training models in Georgia that meet the certification requirements should
the effort to train all teachers by the end of 2005- 2006 school year many districts in
Georgia Framework InTech course. Therefore, with all the investments that have been
put into educational technology, it is worth investigating whether the local school system
adopted course meets ISTE NET standards, which would deem it appropriate, and if and
how teachers transfer the knowledge to produce technological enhanced lessons for
student achievement.
According to research, teachers have access to technology but have difficulty applying
is designed for adult learners (Barnett, 2003). However, the problem occurs even after
professional development teachers do not shift gears to integrate the newly learned
technology skills. The difficulty is that teachers cannot seem to change to a more
8
constructivist approach of teaching. Hall and Hord (2001) noted that teachers may feel a
sense of loss as they change their teaching style which they have became comfortable
with and show resistance when asked to learn a new style, or to change. Thus, the
learning of technology is not difficult for the teacher, rather, its implementation that
Technology PT³ grants to address the need to train teachers; it was found at the college of
Education at Arizona State that many teachers trained within their program were not
using technology in their classroom. If so, the teachers were using primarily for games,
and practice and drill activities instead of analytic and project-oriented lessons (Beckett et
al., 2003). Drill and practice drill activities alone does not lead to student achievement
and unused technologies are a waste of funds spent. Therefore, it is important to examine
appropriate support for teachers to fully integrate technology into the curriculum for
student achievement. The results of this study will contribute to the body of knowledge of
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand to the perspective of
teachers and their quest in effectively integrate technology in the curriculum to increase
9
Darling-Hammond and Berry (1998) note that the factor that matters the most is teacher
quality. For that reason, the key issue in effectively integrating technology is staff
The teacher environment under investigation is one rural high school where most
teachers have met the state technology requirement for 9-12th grade certification. The
study examine the way teachers use the knowledge gained within two months after
examined their use of technology as they transfer and transform what they learned in the
Power To Teach course to their classroom. This research will attempt to answer questions
staff development courses. Further, this research will examine the perceptions of teachers
on technology integration, including the value and transferability of the skills learned to
the classroom. Finally, this research examines the challenges in integrating technology
effectively in the classroom that enhance opportunities for learning and student
to address the constraints of the teachers may result from the findings.
Rationale
There are many researchers who find that teacher preparedness is the key to
professional development is the answer to prepare teachers with the tools they need to
10
successfully transform. However, the research is very limited on examining what teachers
do with the skills once they have learned them. Many teachers make the conjecture if a
pedagogical practices in their class. Thus, school districts are interested in knowing how
to increase student achievement through the use of technology integration to meet the
The rationale for conducting this research was to contribute to the standing body
of knowledge. This research will increase the lore available to school districts, schools,
schools districts and student achievement in these school districts. The nature of this
research may aid in the development of new training strategies in the models to increase
its effectiveness on student achievement. It may also aid in assisting the school districts
in evaluating the strategies that are in place, or not, to excel the extent of technology
valuable feedback to the school and school district to evaluate the current and continuous
needs of teachers and to evaluate how the professional development course and school
Research Questions
This study brings together a connection of educational policy expectations and the
realities and experiences of high school teachers striving to transform didactic practices
11
to constructivist pedagogies using educational technology. The researcher sought to
better understand the realities and experiences of high school teachers in their quest to
curriculum?
curriculum?
5. What are some factors that influence the use or non use of technology to
Time, money and efforts are placed on teachers becoming “highly qualified”
“highly qualified.” It is expected for teachers to utilize this competency in their teaching
interdisciplinary, and intuitive learning experience (Barr, 1990). Investments have been
made in computers and software, training for teachers, text books to be rewritten, and in
12
school support staff to address these former barriers that existed. So, what is the problem
now? Why do teachers continue to have difficulty with adding and using technology with
the curriculum? There are existing studies that address teacher barriers with integrating
technology. However, very limited studies exist on the difficulties that persist after many
The struggle for teachers to integrate technology into the curriculum after they
have complete the staff development course warranted to provide qualitative data for
administrators, local school districts, and states. The data may aid administrators and
local school districts in developing realistic strategies to enhance the number of teachers
transferring the technology skills learned from professional development to their class.
Teachers in the course are given a suitcase packed with tools that assist them to use basic
technology tools (Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Publisher) and yet many teachers
leave the suitcase at the door on their way out. In other words, many teachers are not
taking the learned tools with them. This is significant because technology integration is a
tool that enhances the evaluation and creation of new ideas hence increases student
performance and academic achievement. As a result, since there is a need for more
specific research in this area; the researcher intends to add valuable data for other rural
and measure their success by high-stake test results of students. In Georgia, the GHSGT
is employed throughout all high schools to assess student achievement. Accordingly, the
13
members of the Georgia Department of Education began the quest to utilize technology
teachers must become technological literate and use technology seamlessly in their
utilize this competency in their teaching to ensure that American students receive an
experience (Barr, 1990). Thus, school districts seek instructional technology models that
is best to assist teachers in increasing student achievement in their district. Very limited
studies exist on approved computer competency skill courses in Georgia and its impact
on student achievement.
environment where teachers transfer attained technology skills and strategies into their
teaching. Additionally, the study will provide useful information for district leaders to
14
examine and compare the components of instructional technology professional
development courses and the how to better support teachers as they try to use technology
as a tool to increase student achievement. It will also be useful in making the best
meet their technology goals. This could potentially lead to enhanced instructional
student achievement.
Definition of Terms
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that was signed by President Bush on
January 8, 2002 to set national standards for accountability and student achievement
guidelines for states, school districts and schools in America (U.S. Department of
Education, 2002).
learning, and to measure proficiency in technology. These standards are adopted in the
United States and abroad (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).
school districts increase the impact of technology on student learning by training teachers
to focusing on the learning process and not software and hardware. It was designed to
15
accelerate the integration of technology into the curriculum seamlessly and to provide
refers to rigorous and relevant content, strategies, and organizational supports that ensure
the preparation and career-long development of teachers and others whose competence,
expectations and actions influence the teaching and learning” (U.S. Department of
Education, 2000).
resources and technology-based practices into the daily operation of the classroom. It is
Assumptions
The following list major assumptions that were presented in this study:
1. The participants will respond to the questions and questionnaire with honesty.
3. The participants will cooperate with the researcher until the end of case study.
4. All the participants received their initial technology training from the staff
5. Teachers in this case have not used technology in their classroom curriculum.
16
Limitations
1. The gathered data is only appropriate for other high schools that have the
same professional development structure as the high school used in this study.
This research study is a qualitative case study. The researcher conducted a case
study that detailed the perceptions of high school teachers that have completed the
technology competency course offered by the local school district and their quest to
integrate technology into their curriculum. The methods this research employed are
included interviews with four high school teachers with more than one year of teaching
experience. The interviews conducted were audio-tape by the researcher. Finally, a daily
journal was maintained throughout the study by the four participating teachers.
the study is divided up as follows: Chapter 2 will review literature that is relevant to
portrayal of the methodology that includes research design, population and sampling,
17
instrumentation, data collection, data analysis, and ethical considerations. Chapter 4 will
include presentation, data analysis, and summary. Chapter 5 will summarize the findings
and answers to the questions and recommendations. The estimated time to complete this
study will be one month from the approval date of this dissertation.
18
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
student academic performance and achievement. The sections addressed are a historical
development, and adopted instructional technology courses. The first section provided a
brief review of the evolution of earlier instructional technology in the classroom. The
second section reviewed what instructional technology is, its effect on student
correlates the use of technology to student achievement. The third section highlights
Section 4 explored the literature on the integration of technology and how it relates to
this chapter takes a close view of the technology standards and professional development
standards as guidelines for teacher technology competency and effective training courses.
Lastly, section 6 focused on the components of the course is adopted by the local school
districts for teachers to meet the teacher technology competency and assist teachers in
19
Historical Evolution of Computer Technology
In the 1890s, commercial films were used first used in schools. During the 1900s
education films were in production. In 1913, Thomas Edison predicted that books would
be obsolete. In 1922, Edison stated that within the near future, it is, “believed that the
motion picture was destined to revolutionize our educational system. Further, in a few
years, technology will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks” (Wise, 1939,
p. 1). Indeed, motion pictures did revolutionize our educational system. The filming
technologies help train our troops for World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, hundreds of
motion pictures and filmstrips were produced by U.S. Office of Education. In fact, such
technological advances led to radio broadcasting, sound recordings, and sound motion
pictures. In the 1920s, the Radio Division of the U.S. Department of Commerce licensed
education stations for classroom broadcasting. By the 1930s, more classrooms had excess
to radio receivers and NBC and CBS began sponsoring universities to air programs like
1950s-1980s Era
Television was introduced to education and the classroom. During the 1940s,
there was a shortage of teachers. So televisions were used to compensate for the shortage.
20
By the mid 1950s, The Ford Foundation endorsed the Fund for the Advancement of
cetera. Technology is more than the artifacts, it has been broaden to mean much more.
The United Nations Education, Social and Cultural Organization defines technology as
the “…know –how and creative process that may assist people to utilize tools, resources
and systems to solve problems and to enhance and control over the natural and made
is the application of knowledge and resources to produce processes and products that
meets the needs of people. Heinich, Molenda, Russell, and Smaldino (2005) identify
instructional technology as “the process of analyzing learning task and the products that
come from them” (p. 21). In education, technology is a “tool that helps every teacher and
every student master basic skills to develop critical thinking and problem-solving
abilities” (North Carolina Educational Technology Plan, 2004, p. 2). Technology can
help produce schools where every child has an opportunity to succeed (U.S. Department
developing ideas and techniques and taking action of them to produce products that meet
Thus, technology has become the thrust for educational reform and instructional
21
products that satisfy human needs. Even though technologies were found in schools, the
need for instructional technology in schools began in 1958. In 1958 the Russians
launched the first satellite, Sputnik, into orbit. The United States government was eager
to surpass the Russians so U.S. Congress quickly passed the National Defense Education
Act (NDEA). The NDEA was an initiative to improve math and science education in the
United States. The funding from the NDEA provided equipment to schools and
classrooms such as overhead projectors, film strip projectors (Cohen, 2005). By 1964,
school began receiving advanced technologies such as calculators, and television. The
idea was for teachers to use these technologies to create masterminds of larger
encompasses theory, practice, and evaluation of technology that construct resources for
students to achieve.
This idea hold true today. Teachers are expected to integrate technology into their
class to shape great problem solvers and critical thinkers that who would further advance
our technologies. The NCLBA requires schools to use technology to increase academic
student achievement gains in Language Arts and mathematics. According to the Southern
Regional Education Board (2003), two studies on the technology education program of
West Virginia revealed that technology can lead to academic improvements in writing,
student increase achievement. In a study conducted by Taylor, Castro, and Walls (2004),
22
on integrated technologies across the curriculum, a significant increase was found in the
test results of students that received technology integrated lessons oppose to students who
did not receive technology integrated lessons. Some teachers were given laptops, an
plans to use in the classroom. Other teachers were not given these tools to use with their
students. In addition to a significantly increase of their test scores, the students who
received the integrated lessons reported the lessons were motivating and the teachers who
used the tools increased their frequency use of technology (Taylor, Castro, & Walls,
2004).
California. The study investigated technology training for teachers and computers use and
the Internet use of students. This correlation and cross tabulation revealed that although
teacher computer usage increased student’s final grades did not. It also showed that
students did not use the computer at home for higher level thinking skills. However, there
was key evidence of student achievement among the twelve states that had state aligned
Plowden (2003) examined the results of the ITBS test (Iowa Test of Basic Skills)
to investigate the relationship of computer use and student achievement. The study took
place over a six year period from 1994-2000. During the launch of the study the schools
that were non- technological had higher reading and math scores in secondary schools
than computer technology schools. By the end of the study in 2004, results found that
computer technology schools exceed the scores of the non-technological schools. This
23
finding indicted a positive relationship between student achievement and use of
instructional technology.
In 1998, Wellinsky gathered data to analyze the relationship of fourth and eight
grade student mathematics achievement and computer use. The study also evaluated math
teachers’ preparedness of computers, ways the computer was used by the math teachers
and students, students’ access to computers at home and at school. Wellinsky used data
from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP; 1996) to gather the data.
The study reported one tenth of the test increase was related to computer use among
fourth graders and more than a third of grade level increase for eight graders was
modeling test to evaluate possible various characteristics that relate to the outcomes. He
reported that computer use correlated passively to student achievement if (a) teachers had
adequate training in computer technology; (b) computers were used to construct new
higher-order thinking ideas; and (c) students had adequate access to updated computer
technology.
using the Maryland State Performance Assessment of third, fifth, and eight graders. The
assessment consisted of the studies of mathematics, reading and writing, science, and
social studies. Across the board, teacher and student use were positive contributors of
achievement in all subject matters. Karpyn also controlled for pupil teacher ratio, students
receiving free and reduced lunch, geographic location, and percentage of enrolled
24
minorities. When Karpyn reviewed the findings of the control variables, the results
revealed something quite different. The results revealed that technology use in the
classroom by the students did not have the strongest relationship with student
achievement.
effectiveness, technology in schools has not been entirely accepted in education. In fact,
some critics suggest that the evidence and research that show computers are effective is
company. Supposedly, this would show some bias in the research to gain profit from
schools. There is no doubt that the investment in technology has been expensive. Some
critics believe that the cost of maintenance and upgrades of technology deduct from
programs like art and music that have been scientifically proven to be effective with
students. Surprisingly, parents and experts have reasons to believe that computers are a
plug in drug, and a wasted investment. Parents feel children spend too much time on
computers at school and at home and education policy makers rushed into spending on
Oppenheimer (1997) proclaims that “There is no good evidence that most uses of
computers significantly improve teaching and learning, yet school districts are cutting
programs that enrich children’s live to make room for this dubious nostrum with
credulous and costly enthusiasm” (p. 1). Armstrong and Casement also argue that it is
harmful when schools replace a music program to hire a technology coordinator or turn
25
an art room into a computer lab. Furthermore, some critics have shown that computers
are not helpful in children learning more effectively. In fact, computers have shown to be
harmful instead. Parents complain about children spending too much time at the
computers which can cause eye strain and other physical ailments. In addition, they may
fall prey to predators (Healy, 1998). Another harmful implication is that computers are
accused of dummy down our children. The computers and the Internet tend to promote
superficial thinking and do not encourage critical thinking. Healy (1998) discovered in
the classrooms she visited that the computers in the rooms were wasteful, damaging to
increase academic achievement has been broken after billions of dollars spent and only
marginal gains in achievement are shown. Yet, technologies in many places have
replaced physical education, art, and music which children need. Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer also makes an interesting claim that technology is not used as it was
intended to. In other words, neither creative nor critical thinking is allowed to happen
when students use technology for information and not for knowledge. Thus, schools do
not provide opportunity for students to build knowledge with technology. He contends
that computers are muffling teaching priorities such as teaching the fundamentals.
Stoll, a computer guru, has also argued that computers have no place in the
classroom and that simulation of skills is no replacement of real life encounters. Stoll
(1999) raise the concern that computers alter the thinking processes and a lost of thinking
patterns. He notes that if students become dependent on computers for information when
26
they are faced with a problem, students would not be able to recognize the solutions to
other problems on their own. In other words, computers degrade or dummy down
students’ thinking. He further argues that students do not need to be wired in schools to
become successful in the workplace. Adults can learn all the computer skills they need in
two weeks. Stoll (1999) adds that ten to twenty years from now there will still be jobs
that require no computing skills such as gardeners and surgeons. The skeptic’s grand
argument is that schools could spend more money on hiring teachers to reduce class size
instead of on computers.
There are also teachers who are skeptical about using technology in the
classroom. Teachers, like others, are suspicious of new innovations and initiatives and
resistant to change. Usually teachers are skeptical because new innovations are
introduced without proof that it will work. In addition, new trends come in and out of
style and before teachers catch on to the new fad education is on to something new.
Sometimes this skepticism from teachers is fear which can close their mind to new ideas.
However, it is also noted that teachers will adopt technologies when it helps them to do
what they are already doing better in spite of the skepticism they may have (Cuban,
2001).
Although there is some skepticism on the use of computers in the classroom, there
are many arguments that computer makes a positive impact in education. Furthermore,
technology in schools has accelerated over the past decade and because of our
technological societal change it has not slowed down. More so, federal and state policy
makers in education are apparently convinced that computers in schools are worth the
hoopla and investment because they continue to enormously fund technology in schools
27
which also includes professional development despite the criticisms. Hence, teachers
remain with the charge to support the technology initiatives that are set by “No Child Left
Behind” and other state and local requirements. Regardless, of the fears and other
criticisms, certified teachers are encouraged to integrate technology into the classroom. It
provide appropriate technology integration support to teachers who may share similar
skepticism.
Technology Integration
were introduced to schools during the 1970s. By the early 1980s, desktop computers
began to emerge in schools. However, during the past ten years, there has been a thrust
were placed in separate labs instead of the classroom for student use during the 1980s,
and 1990s. In 1983, there were only an estimated number of 250,000 computers in
classrooms in 50% of schools in the United States. By 2000, computers increased; the
average public school had approximately 110 computers (National Center for Education
Statistics, 2002). The availability of the Internet has also increased. Ninety-nine percent
of schools in the United States were connected to the Internet by 2001. Today, the
Education and local administrator began to focus more on integrating computers into the
28
technology integration as “the incorporation of technology resources and technology –
based practices into daily routines, work and management of schools” (p. 1).
As the world depends on the use of technology and computers for its daily operation it
only makes sense for teachers to prepare students to use technology so they can compete
globally. Nonetheless, the world today has become known as techno-literat” and the
students in K-12 are known as the net generation. Therefore, schools need to be on board
with integrating technology into the classroom. Yet, many are still investigating reasons
to integrate technology instead of how to (Leu, 2000). Further, Meyer, Steuck, Miller,
Pesthy, and Redmon (1999) found that it is not enough to simply provide schools and
teachers with technology to ensure that technology will be utilized and properly
implemented in the classroom. In addition, the former president of the United States,
We cannot assume that our schools will naturally drift toward using technology
effectively. We must commit ourselves to staying the course and making the
changes necessary to reach our goals of educating every child. Together, we can
use technology to ensure that no child is left behind. (p. 1)
will result in academic achievement and reform. According to Grisham and Wolsey
collaboration and exploration are important for students to construct meaning. Hillocks
(2006) found that teacher-centered classrooms are a thing of the past and today’s
classroom should be student-centered where they are able to explore, make choices, and
29
work cooperatively and collaboratively in order to share their knowledge. Thus,
technology is the tool for all of these to come together for students in the classroom. In
1996, Bernauer found that technology integration is a way to transform the school and
system by making a positive change of the role of the teacher, and the way curriculum is
planned and decided. Laborde (2007) declared from a study that integrating technology
During the 1970s, there was a great concern of the effectiveness of professional
development (Sparks & Loucks-Horsley, 1989). By the late seventies there were few
research found on staff development because most of the literature was descriptive and
few years later in the 1980s, professional development became the spotlight of
Initially, professional development courses were stand alone courses that taught computer
hardware. This posed a problem because teachers were not able to infuse the training of
computers into their teaching. Then during the mid 1990s, courses began to teach of
software applications to teachers. This was also problematic because different schools
had different software installed, and or the software did not relate to their subject matter
(Reinen & Plomp, 1993). In 1999, the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics)
30
surveyed public school teachers and reported only 10% of teachers felt “very well
prepared” (NCES, 2000, p.2). Today, schools are finding ways to integrate technology
into their curriculum to enhance student learning and increase student test scores
teaching with technology and not about technology (Schaffer & Richardson). The need
and curriculum development with research-based practices. In fact, states could lose
federal funding if technology plans does not include opportunities for professional
certification and recertification to teach. The Georgia Technology plan includes avenues
to meet this computer competency through professional development which also meets
opportunities and is not an end in itself. Its value is when one knows how to utilize it to
teach and learn. The Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001 states that
the purpose and goal is “to enhance the ongoing professional development of teachers,
research in teaching and learning through electronic means” (p. 1). Ansell and Park
(2003) recognize that students’ computer use is increasing while teachers need training.
Moreover, “training will help teachers to use technology more efficiently in the
31
classroom” (Ansell & Park, p. 44). Apparently, the 25% of funds allocated for technology
went towards programs and software and not professional development. Furthermore, the
article of Ansell and Park revealed that teachers now realize how important the need for
computer technology training and may require more time and support to acquire the
required computer skills than novice teachers. Furthermore, computer technology is used
in isolated activities rather than in curriculum (Lippman, 1997). Teachers are the key in
integration and they are in need of specialized training in technology (Marshall, 1988).
Therefore, teacher attitude and opportunity are important in the success of integration of
technology in the curriculum. It is imperative for teachers to learn how to use computer
technology and the school systems to make every effort to plan for training and support.
Additionally, if technology is to have a lasting impact upon our society and the teaching
of students, pre and post staff development is necessary to support the level of technology
among teachers and administrators. Thus, the NCLB act financially supports this effort.
American parents and educators understand that teachers who are knowledgeable,
caring, and have a repertoire of strategies and skills are essential to schools of excellence.
“What teachers know and do is the most important influence on what students learn”
(What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future, 1996, p. 6). Moreover, students
cannot elevate their level of academic achievement until teacher’s skills become more
32
teachers to learn how to facilitate student learning in order to improve the quality of
academic in schools.
development to learn current trends, new innovative strategies, and methods to add to
their repertoire. Sparks states that professional development is “a means to an end rather
than an end itself; it helps educators close the gap between current practices and practices
needed to achieve the desired outcomes” (A New Vision for Staff Development, 1997).
According to the 1996 report, “What Matters Most: Teaching For America’s Future”
frameworks and analyze what is important to be learned and develop strategies that will
effectively help teachers learn to teach what is needed. This helps prepare teachers to
meet standards that are set and meet the need if students.
Some important known facts about professional development are; teachers need to
teacher knowledge and improves student learning, and it is crucial to the positive
usually disconnected from what is needed for school, state or national standards (Rollins,
achievement, teachers must learn when to use technology, which tools to use, and the
purpose of using that technology inclusive with theories of learning, instruction, and
assessment.
33
Nonetheless, with the height of recognition of the importance of professional
development, there have been numerous of studies that show that teacher professional
development is inadequate (Ansell & Park, 2003). Some yield that the deficiency is due
to too little hours of professional development. Subsequently, some school systems have
increased its number of in-service opportunities but have not evaluated the quality of
them (Fishman, Best, Marx & Tal, 2001). There is a correlation between student
achievement and high quality professional development. Sparks (2002) states that high
quality professional development opportunities are those that are meaningful and
addition, high quality professional development opportunities are that which afford
teachers access to new technologies to teach, learn, and support collaboration among
goals that are measurable and aligned with school district goals (Sparks, 1994). Picciano
development has an impact in the classroom is found in the study by Ray (2001), where
34
he investigated teachers who participated in technology training at the learning center.
The study was to find out if the teachers would integrate technology after completing the
training. The training was reported as effective and had exemplifying characteristics.
Twelve secondary teachers were selected for the study. After interviews, surveys, and
observations the study revealed that all twelve teachers used the skills they learned from
the training one way or another in their class. However, only ten of the twelve used the
Teacher Preparedness
Technologies are not meaningful and being used to its full potential because
teachers do not know how to incorporate it into the lesson. “Too many educators lack the
teaching and learning” (NCREL, 2000, p. 1). Teachers realize computers can serve as a
baby sitting tool while they themselves work on other school related duties and
responsibilities. Teachers are inundated with demands with little time to complete task.
Teachers are overwhelmed with having to prepare for more than one subject,
communicate with parents, are required to learn new instructional strategies, to deal with
The National Center for Education Statistics indicated from a study conducted by
the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS, 1999) that one third of teachers feel prepared
and new teachers felt more comfortable using technology than veteran teachers (Smerdon
et. Al, 2000). Parsad and Jones (2005) reported from another nationwide survey that
again one third of teachers felt well prepared to integrate educational technology. Thus,
35
this survey indicated that 38% of schools that offered professional development only had
1% to 25% of their teachers attend sessions within 12 months of the survey. Yet, in 2003
student to computer ratio increased from 12.1:1 to 4.4:1 (Parsad & Jones, 2005).
Therefore, it is important for school systems to recognize the need for teachers to know
and understand how to integrate technology as a tool for instruction and not just as a
Furthermore, school districts are challenged with veteran teachers who have
taught without the reference of information technologies throughout their career, who are
frustrated of integrating technology in the classroom, and who are just trying to avoid and
hang on for a few more years. Likewise, many new and seasoned teachers in Georgia
have skated through a basic technology requirement course to meet the criteria for
students’ reading and math scores were directly related to teacher expertise. In addition,
in a separate study, Darling-Hammond et al, (2005) found that certified teachers were
more effective in student achievement than non-certified teachers. Thus, their work
suggest that certified and non-certified teachers would benefit from effective professional
presented among teachers as to why they are not embracing technology. Funding from
many initiatives and NCLB has minimized the barriers of infrastructure, software,
36
hardware, and assess. However, the proficiency of teacher use of technology has not been
successfully reduced to bridge the gap (Ertmer). The layer that is necessary to uncover is
the proficiency of the teacher. Once a teacher feels competent in technology they will be
more willing to embrace technology in their pedagogical practices and increase self-
efficacy. Thus, the inability to assimilate to the integration of technology pedagogies fails
efficacy is the sum of perceived beliefs that people hold about their ability to behave in
productive ways, to have a beneficial influence in their life” (Schmidt, 2006, p. 3). Thus,
student’s in which they serve in the classroom. Orstein (1995) asserts that teachers’
ability to integrate technology in their instruction is dependent upon the teacher’s comfort
level, technologies ability, and is highly dependent upon teachers’ self-efficacy. Bandura
(1996) indicates four ways to strengthen self-efficacy: (a) mastery of experiences, (b)
explicit modeling, (c) social persuasion, and (d) physical and emotional arousal.
There are technology staff development courses in many school districts that are
offered because of the NCLB technology plan. However, the courses generally teach
software skills rather than concepts and lack scaffolding which leaves the application of
how to integrate technology up to the learner. In addition, many of the courses do not
adhere to the idea that novice adult learners need as much attention and assistance as
children does from competent instructors (Vygotsky, 1978). Carrier and Glenn (1991)
felt that novice teachers need individualized instruction based on experience with
37
computers. They suggest a two-level approach for instructional technology courses; a
real world structure that promotes proficiency and self-efficacy. Additionally, Firek
Cory (1990) attributes the gap of technology literate and non-literate teachers to
17). Rogers (1995) clearly points out that teachers may have access to technology and
even high levels of proficiency using technology, but unless they believe that technology
use can enhance practice, they are unlikely to act and may even actively resist an
innovation.
Accordingly, studies have shown that majority of teachers feel that technology
improve standardized test, yet also feel that they are not adequately trained to maximize
Government Inc. in 2004 surveyed 1,012 teachers from elementary, middle, and high
schools. The findings from the survey revealed three priority concerns from teachers that
interviews, the top three concerns were (a) additional training for teachers, (b) added
38
computer access for their students, and (c) advance technology that is appropriate for the
classroom. Eight out of ten teachers stated that they wanted more technology training.
The study also revealed that approximately half of teachers in America rely on traditional
that enhance lessons and not lessons about technology. In 1998 the Panel on Educational
throughout the education arena. The panel looked for models of technology integration
that were significant, effective, and useful to the community of education. Within theses
criteria of the models the panel sought to find products or lessons that fostered student-
centered learning, project-based learning, and integrate real world issues and practice
(Panel on Educational Technology, 2000). Visualize this fun math unit plan as an
example. The teacher uses a PowerPoint presentation to introduce and discuss what
communicating mathematically means. The students are then asked to choreograph dance
moves to demonstrate linear equations. The students use graph calculators to create
corresponding figures and graphs. The students are to put nine linear choreographed
poses to music for videotape. The students finally place the screen shots of the equations,
graphs, and dance together for a visual electronic presentation. “Technology enables
users to explore topics more in-depth and in more interactive ways” (Garofalo, Drier,
Harper & Timmerman, 2000, p. 1). Technology that is infused appropriately is more
meaningful; thus, students in this lesson would most likely remember what they learned
about linear equations. Most importantly, teachers must be properly trained on how to
39
The National Education Technology Plan (2005) provided action steps for states
and school districts to improve teacher training. The plans recommend states and districts
to: (a) improve the preparation of new teachers in the use of technology; (b) ensure that
every teacher has the opportunity to take online learning courses; (c) improve the quality
technology resources; (d) ensure that every teacher knows how to use data to personalize
instruction. This is marked by the ability to interpret data to understand student progress
and challenges, drive daily decisions, and design instructional interventions to customize
elementary schools and secondary schools” (p. 1). The National Education Technology
Plan has seven action steps to achieve the primary goal. The third action step is to
Through Technology awards grants for technology and requires recipients to utilize 25%
of these funds for professional development. Thus, the federal funding for professional
training because there were no set comprehensive criteria to decipher. Therefore, the U.S.
Education (ISTE).
40
In the late 1990s there remained a lack of guidelines and standards that guided
inclusion of technology within the education programs for teachers. The International
and established the most esteemed standards for technology. Forty-nine of fifty-one states
(NETS). In 1996, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
indicators became the NCATE standards for initial teacher preparation programs. The
standards are used in educational programs that endorse computer literacy, master
programs of computing and technology, and computer science programs. The NETS
standards describe skills that are necessary for all teachers to successfully infuse
literate.
teachers to define what teachers should know about technology and able to do with it.
Texas, ISTE unveiled the second edition of National Educational Technology Standards
(NETS) technology standards for teachers. The first edition of standards introduced in
2000, focused on what teachers should know about technology and how to use
41
compare and contrast the instructional technology models currently used by two local
school districts.
The new 2008 set of standards second edition address what the teachers should
know about technology and what they should be able to do with it to enhance students’
ability to learn and live in an increasing digital society. Both sets of standards are
reviewed due to the fact that existing educational programs continue to operate using the
first edition of NETs-T introduced in 2000. The adoption of the new standards has not yet
filtered the in-service and educational programs because the standards are very new and
require time to rejuvenate programs using the second edition. The new set of standards
adopted only a few months ago are briefly reviewed to understand the progressive
movement of technology and the new direction and expectations of teachers and students
NETS Standards
There are six ISTE NETS (2000) standards in the first edition that all teachers
seeking certification and classroom teachers should be competent. Thus, technology in-
service programs that endorse certification must meet these standards. The NETS
standards are important for review in this paper as it provides criteria for the instructional
and critique components of technology programs and models. The first NETS standard is
42
the ISTE National Education Technology Standards for Students), and demonstrate
continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and
emerging technologies.
and Experiences where teachers plan and design effective learning environments and
to support the diverse needs of learners; apply current research on teaching and learning
with technology when planning learning environments and experiences; identify and
locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability; plan for the
management of technology resources within the context of learning activities; and plan
standard, teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice.
and lifelong learning; continually evaluate and reflect on professional practice to make
informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of student learning; apply
with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning.
curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for applying technology to
that address content standards and student technology standards; use technology to
43
support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of students; apply
technology to develop students' higher order skills and creativity; and manage student
effective assessment and evaluation strategies. Teachers are suppose to apply technology
use technology resources to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate
findings to improve instructional practice and maximize student learning; and apply
ethical, legal, and human issues. Teachers understand the social, ethical, cultural, human
and legal issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools and apply those
principles in practice. Teachers are to model and teach legal and ethical practice related
to technology use; apply technology resources to enable and empower learners with
diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities; identify and use technology resources
that affirm diversity; promote safe and healthy use of technology resources; and facilitate
There are five new NETS (2009) standards that all teachers seeking certification
and classroom teachers should be competent. In the near future, technology in-service
programs that endorse certification must meet these standards. The first NETS (2009)
standard is to Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. NETS Standard 2 is
44
their lessons to locate information, analyze information, and to evaluate the information
found (ISTE, 2009). In Standard 4 of the new standards teachers proficiently “advocate,
model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of technology and information, including
copyright, privacy issues, and security, data, and information” (NETS, 2009). The last
new NETS (2009) Standard 5 supports professional development. In the growing digital
society, ISTE find that it is important for teachers to continue to build their skills in
communities and local communities to share ideas, and infuse appropriate technologies to
sustaining a local and global learning community in their building, promote the
technological skills in other educators, and evaluate current research of technology tools
The NETS standards are important for review in this paper as it provides criteria
for the instructional models which educational organizations adopt. It also provides a
guideline to evaluate and critique components of technology programs and models. The
one key in preparing teachers to integrate technology in the classroom is the course
content; but more importantly, it is the instructional methodology (NCATE, 1997). The
technology courses include (a) course instructor modeling the use of the computer in a
classroom, (b) providing instructional strategies for integration of technology into the
lesson plans, and (d) providing opportunities for teachers to observe and work hands on
45
Instructional Technology Courses
Given all the demands teachers are faced with daily, teachers want guidance on
how to integrate. According to Johnson and Liu (2000), few teachers know how to
expand integration of technology in the classroom. In addition, Johnson and Liu suggest
that teachers are lacking a model that they can use to guide them through the necessary
conducted by Ingram (1992) revealed that most teacher education programs focus on
integrate computer technology into the curricular. Accordingly, there is a need to provide
teachers with adequate technology in-service (staff development) preparation courses that
include modeling. Research has also shown that stand alone courses without ongoing
support often fail the needs of teachers. However, modeling and on going mentoring
states and educators to ensure education programs are adequate. Georgia State Board of
meets the NETS first edition standards. This researched and constructivist- based
technology training program was a state wide initiative in 1998 (Georgia Department of
2000).
46
None the less, as exemplary as InTech, many school districts in Georgia choose to
technology. These courses are approved by the professional standards commission and
are aligned with the ISTE standards (Georgia Technology Standards for Educators,
2009). One school district employs Power To Teach (School District A) and a nearby
school district employs Models for Integrating Technology (MIT) (School District B).
The next section will closely review these instructional technology courses to analyze its
components. The research is limited on these delivery methods and there is limited
achievement. Therefore, this study will review the facts that are found.
Power To Teach
The Power To Teach course is an in-service course that the school district offers
to teachers to meet the state requirement. In 1998, the formerly known BellSouth
Foundation, gathered together with the Institute of Computer Technology and Hewlett-
Packard to develop curriculum and materials to support the project. In 1999, the
BellSouth Foundation initiated a $10 million dollar grant program, edu3pwr. Power To
Teach was the one component of three that was for teachers to learn technology to use in
the classroom (BellSouth Foundation, 1999). This curriculum was designed to train
student’s learning and achievement. Teachers completing the course were expected to be
more comfortable with technology and equipped with the tools to effectively integrate
technology. School District A participated in this two-year initiative and received grant
47
monies to offer this course to teachers. Subsequently in 2000, the district bought the
rights to the content of the program and gained approval from the state to use as an
alternate to InTech for teacher certification. Since, the curriculum has been used in
Georgia Technology Plan 2002-2007, this program is researched based and has been
Technology (TAGLIT) tool was used to collect data. The data revealed that teachers
trained in the course Power To Teach showed a significant gain in technology skills and
development. Additionally, from 2000 to 2002 the number of high school and middle
school teachers integrating technology in the classroom increased from 49% to 79%
(BellSouth, 2003).
The Power To Teach course is a 10-day or 5-day course that requires 40 hours of
addition to attending each session, teachers are required to create a lesson/unit plan that
integrates the Microsoft programs into their curriculum. During each session, class
activities are planned to allow practice and teacher observation. In addition, pedagogical
topics are discussed throughout the sessions. Teachers’ unit plan must include teacher
and student focused assignments. Unlike the MIT design, this course does not provide
any displayable artifact for alignment with the State or Federal Technology plan.
48
In Power To Teach, each participant creates a technology-connected lesson plan.
The lesson plans created are based on the software and instructional focus that is
introduced in that particular module. Participating teachers must also include student
samples with each module and implemented lesson plan. This serves as an On the Job
Performance assessment. In addition, teachers are required to keep these portfolios for a
period of three years. Lastly, for each module there is an On The Job Performance Self
Assessment check off sheet. This assessment clearly displays the alignment of the State
introduces teachers to the basic usage of computers and trouble shooting. In addition, this
module allows teachers to participate in a pre/post assessment of basic skills. The Power
To Teach Course does not include a pre-assessment of skills. The goal of Module 1 is to
demonstrate a continual growth in technology knowledge and basic skills (MIT, 2009).
Students learn best when they are actively engaged regardless of the subject
matter (Goodsell, Maher, Tinto, & Associates, 1992). Power To Teach, although it was
adopted from a two-year initiative, lacks modeling and the inclusion of techniques that
are proven to be effective in the classroom such as cooperative learning, and self-
reflection. Power to Teach also lacks follow-up support. Other known courses such as
MIT require teachers to implement the lessons between modules to reflect on outcomes
and receive support from the facilitator. Such courses have cooperative and collaborative
practices which are modeled through the activities and expected to be part of their
Power To Teach course does not allow these experiences. Teachers in the Power To
49
Teacher course create a lesson plan that is expected to be use after they complete the
course.
Summary
The technology integration literature indicated that teachers’ perceptions and self
efficacy influence their decisions to use and adopt technology in the classroom. If
teachers lack self efficacy they are less likely to infuse technology in the curriculum. The
literature reflected that technology requires from teachers extra time to plan and a
Thus, professional development can identify and address the negative perceptions and
barriers teachers may have that would hinder them from using technology.
The literature review also revealed that for students to garner the benefits of
technology usage in the classroom and curriculum teachers must become computer
literate. Teachers must be supported in their efforts to integrate technology into the
curriculum by the federal, state, local school systems and building leaders. Furthermore,
studies show that when teachers are given the proper technology training they infuse
teachers are not adequately trained there is a greater change that the machines sit idle in
and that teachers are using technology for various reasons. None the less, many teachers
implementing what they have learned in professional development into their classroom is
50
difficult for many teachers. Even after all the millions that have been spent on technology
integration, teachers find it difficult for many reasons; inadequate training, lack of
planning time, hardware, and technical support. If teachers are to use technology as it was
intended (enhance higher level thinking skills), then they must receive support on all
levels of leadership.
51
CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This study utilized a qualitative research methodology. The process was outlined
to describe the methodology used to collect, analyze, and interpret data. The data
collected was analyzed in an effort to understand to what extent teachers transfer skills
the selected design used for this study in an effort to study the daily activity on the quest
that provided answers that illustrate the barriers the participants encountered attempting
It was not known to what extent teachers integrated technology into the
curriculum to increase student achievement after completing the local school system’s
technology in the classroom was vital in preparing students in this technological society.
Teachers had the opportunity to take advantage of technology usage in their classroom to
teach, learn, and more importantly increase student achievement. Thus, choosing the right
medium to help teachers integrate technology in the classroom was more important than
the technology itself. Therefore, the professional development sessions that prepared
52
teachers to integrate technology in the classroom should have been effective. Educational
leaders needed to make informed decisions about the most effective models to use when
training teachers how to integrate technology. Thus, with NCLB accountability and AYP,
educational leaders were searching to find ways to promote and enhance student
achievement in schools. One of the greatest benefits of technology was its ability to
dollars to states in 2007 to enhance education through technology. Schools and districts
into the curriculum so there would be increasing academic results. However, when
teachers participated in the staff development courses to learn how to effectively integrate
technology to enhance academic achievement and the course was not designed for that
reason it became wasted money and time. It became evident that states valued their
According to the state of Georgia technology plan (2008), “the current emphasis
was ensuring that technology was used effectively to create new opportunities for
learning and to promote student achievement. As such, few would argue we were not
making progress” (p. 7). The state of Georgia placed high emphasis and huge amounts of
money into teachers integrating technology and in return expected students to learn and
53
demonstrate achievement through high-stake test results. For that reason, Georgia’s
professional development training models that met the certification requirements trained
effort to train all teachers by the end of 2005- 2006 school year, many districts in Georgia
Framework InTech course. Therefore, with all the investments that had been put into
knowledge from the competency course to produce technological enhanced lessons for
student achievement.
According to research, teachers had access to technology but had difficulty applying the
designed for adult learners (Barnett, 2003). However, the problem occurred even after
not shift gears to integrate the newly learned technology skills. The difficulty was that
teachers could not seem to change to a more constructivist approach of teaching. Hall and
Hord (2001) noted that teachers may feel a sense of loss as they changed their teaching
style. A style in which they had became comfortable with and showed resistance when
asked to learn a new style, or to change. Thus, the learning of technology was not
difficult for the teacher. Rather, the implementation simply required altering to a more
54
address the need to train teachers. It was found at the College of Education at Arizona
State that many teachers trained within their program were not using technology in their
classroom. As such, it was determined that teachers primarily used games, and practice
and drill activities instead of analytic and project-oriented lessons (Beckett et al., 2003).
Drill and practice drill activities alone did not lead to student achievement and unused
appropriate support for teachers to fully integrate technology into the curriculum for
evidence of is impact and insight for decision making of educational leaders in promoting
technology integration.
Research Questions
the realities and experiences of high school teachers who strived to transform didactic
sought to better understand the realities and experiences of high school teachers in their
quest to integrate technology in the curriculum; thus, qualitative methods were engaged.
curriculum?
55
2. Do the participants integrate technology in the curriculum after completing the
curriculum?
5. What are some factors that influence the use or non use of technology to
Research Methodology
development course that met the state technology competency requirement. The
inquiry that explore a social or human problem. The researcher builds a complex,
holistic picture, analyzes words, report detailed views of informants, and conducts
56
Charles and Mertler (2002) described qualitative research as to provide vivid
descriptions, explanations and evaluation. They further conveyed that a case study
This was the methods employed that guided the research in examining the social
Research Design
This was a case study research design. Yin (2009) defined a case study as a
“preferred strategy when how or why questions are being posed, the investigator has little
control over events, and when the focus is on contemporary phenomenon within some
real-life context” (p. 2). Additionally, case study referenced either a single case or
multiple case studies. This was a multiple-case study with confirmatory cases. Further,
Yin (2009) provided five components to guide the case study design, that is, study
questions, propositions, if any, units of analysis, the logic linking the data to the
proposition, and the criteria for interpreting the findings (p. 27).
Case study was a viable method for educational research (Yin, 2009). Case
studies provided vivid descriptions, explanations, and/or evaluations (Charles & Mertler,
2002). According to Yin, 2009, this case study aligned to the criteria to examine a case in
its natural context. Yin explains that there were usually two reasons to employ case
studies. One reason was to address a descriptive question of (what happened?) or address
an explanatory question (how or why something happen?). The second reason was to
highlight a situation to get a better understanding. Nonetheless, case study methods were
57
“best applied when research addresses descriptive or explanatory questions and aims to
produce a first-hand understanding of people and events” (Yin, 2009, p. 3). In this
research case study was a technique used to closely investigate selected teachers as he or
she attempted to integrate technology. Behaviors, events, artifacts, customs, and peoples’
or postpositive research was a multiple method approach that involved interpretive and
naturalistic ways to address the subject (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003). According to Strauss
and Corbin, 1990, qualitative method was utilized to gain a better understanding of any
phenomenon of which little is yet known. Qualitative method was also applied to gain
new perspectives on things of which much was already known. Hence, qualitative
method was appropriate for studies in which the researcher determined that quantitative
measures cannot adequately portray or interpret a situation. The research problems were
information.
select informants that will best answer the research questions” (p. 148). In 1998, Creswell
further added that participants should share insight to the specific phenomena. Therefore,
the sampling of this research used a nonrandom and purposeful approach. The sampling
was purposeful to provide a rich vivid detailed case that the researcher feels would be
58
beneficial to the reader. The researcher selected the participants based on specific
characteristics and criteria of the population. The case study would be a secondary high
school where teachers who completed Power To Teach were expected to transfer learned
throughout the year. There were four certified teachers selected for this study that
completed this technology competency course. There were four cases selected to study
for comparison and to explore patterns or themes that was found in other locations.
Hence, this study did not explore a phenomenon analyzing whether Power To Teach was
transferring knowledge learned from the course into their classroom. Therefore, it was
number of participants rather than a less in-depth analysis from a large number of
1. Each teacher has completed the Power To Teach Course to meet the
certification.
3. The researcher had access to the school and teachers because the researcher is
an employee of the local school district, and able to gain permission to access
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Sources of Data
According to Patton (2002), there were three means of collecting data in a case
study. The three means are interviews, observation, and documents. This case study used
for this study to obtain background information, opinions, and skills gained on the
participating four teachers. A questionnaire was developed and used for this research, and
piloted by two high school assistant administrators. The two assistant principals had
responsibilities for teacher professional learning in their school building and able to
disseminate to the course participants. The questionnaire referenced data that pertained to
expectations of the professional learning course and how the expectations related to the
classroom. In addition, personal dialogues were available to clarify any questions. The
Validity
Creswell and Miller (2000) discussed that validity was affected by the
researcher’s perception of validity of the case study and was the researcher choice of
of validity and utilized acceptable terms such as quality, rigor, and trustworthiness
(Davies & Dodd, 2002). Thus, Guba and Lincoln (1985) proposed the four criteria for
judging validity in qualitative research for (a) credibility, (b) transferability, (c)
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Credibility in this case study was obtained through triangulation. Triangulation of
the participants’ data and perspectives ensured accuracy, usability and a possibility of
replication of the methods and findings. Yin (2009) affirmed that analyzing multiple
sources of evidence that gave multiple measures of the same observable fact addresses
validity and its probable problems. He described construct validity that fits the criteria of
this research. Construct validity was the use of multiple sources of evidence, establish
chain of evidence, have key informants review draft case study report. According to
naturalistic and qualitative approaches to evaluation [in order to] control bias and
researcher provided a rich thick description of the case to allow readers to make decisions
to view the end result to verify that the quoted information is accurate. The researcher
described any changes that occur and how these changes affect the research approach of
the study. During the case study, the researcher repeatedly examined whether the research
the data collection and procedures for bias or distortion. Merriam (1998) asserted that
validity was concerned with internal and external validity. Internal validity was concern
with how the research finding compare to reality. External validity was concerned with
how the findings could transfer to other situations (Merriam, 1998). Thus, an audit in this
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study was conducted to examine whether the findings, interpretations, and conclusions
were supported by the collected data. Aldo, an audit trail and journal were maintained.
To find validity in this case study the researcher followed the six guidance points
1. Continuously referred back to personal notes kept from the beginning to see if
recorded.
4. Utilized other research data such as video and audio recording and archival
data. Some classroom and teacher planning observations were video recorded
and all classrooms and teacher planning was audio recorded for transcription
purposes.
5. Involved more than one person in the research of the participants studied.
6. Conducted a member check at the end of the study by verifying with the
the constructs.
Reliability
Reliability was the extent in which the results of an experiment yield the same
results over a number of trails. In this study, reliability was addressed through using four
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participants in the case study and looking for replication in the descriptions of the
participants. Reliability was ensured by viewing video tapings multiple times, listening to
the audio tapes numerous times and transcribed audio tape multiple times as well.
Furthermore, the gathered data was categorized and coded to understand the findings and
conclusions. In addition, the categorizing and coding findings will provide meaning and
technology in the curriculums of their schools. The repetitive observations within the
same investigation provided opportunity for reliability check points. Merriam (1998)
stated “ the logic relies on repetition for the establishment of truth; but everyone knows
measurement, observations, and people can be repeatedly wrong; however, all reports of
personal experiences are not necessarily unreliable” (p. 206). Yin explained that
reliability was the last test to make sure that if a researcher repeated the same research the
observations, documents, and questionnaires were used in the data collection process.
The data gathered from the study will be presented as a description of the process of the
teachers experiencing integrating technology into their classroom. This case study was an
inductive research in that identified patterns and or trends in the experience of integrating
The four participants of this case study attended the Power To Teach professional
Development course for certification. Teachers from across the school system enroll in
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this course through Professional Development office via the web. Teachers were selected
study (Patton, 1990). The purpose of selecting the four informants was based on the
criteria of their participation in the Power To Teach Course and being a non first year
and access (Yin, 2009). The teachers for this study will consist of four teachers at one
Audio taped interviews were conducted during the study. According to Yin
(2009), interviews keep the focus on the topic, and provide insight, explanations, and
perceived causal assumptions. In this case study, teachers were asked to describe their
perspectives about technology integration, skills they acquired, if they feel prepared, and
the factors that influence or not influence the use of such as their motivations, fears, and
struggles with technology. The questions were open-ended questions so that the
participants can describe their perceptions and experiences. During the sessions, notes
were written and some observations were video-taped. The video tape will assist in
notating the teachers’ instructional methods and to accurately document the events that
will take place during the session. The questionnaire requested data pertaining to
technology use and integration in the classroom. Documents such as lesson plans and e-
mails will be reviewed for stability and exactness of details and events that take place in
a topic being studied” (Yin, 2009, p. 110). To further understand the problems
encountered, or none, with integrating technology into the curriculum after completing
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the staff development course, classroom observations will be done. Observations were
direct formal and direct informal, such as that from above mentioned interviews, and
classroom visits. The participating teachers were encouraged to maintain dialogue with
the researcher via e-mail throughout the case study. The dialogues were included into the
journal and aided in recording the teacher’s feelings or questions. Additionally, e-mail
The analysis of the qualitative data consisted of identifying themes from the raw
data to determine what is to be learned and patterns. The researcher broke the raw data
down into parts and synthesizes each to find patterns that exist. This analysis was
referred to as “open coding” (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). During “open coding”, the
researcher identified conceptual categories and temporarily named them for the observed
group phenomena.
In case study research, Yin (2009) discussed analysis of qualitative data. Yin
prescribed pattern- matching, explanation building, logic models, cross case synthesis
and time-series analysis. For the most part, the analysis relied on the theoretical
propositions and a developed descriptive framework that led to case study. The analysis
of the data was the result of higher level synthesis of the information. The beginning
codes was generated from the research questions and examined to fit the data as it was
analyzed.
The data coding was organized to depict patterns or themes to transcribe from the
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grouping categories of data together, recoding data if needed, and of course reading the
transcriptions to gain a sense of the whole. The codes related to each other. Exclusively,
the researcher examined the data for descriptors that identified the teacher’s perspectives
about technology integration skills they acquired, i.e., preparation, motivations, fears, and
management, access, and support. In a research study conducted by Gersten and Baker
(2000), clustering techniques to recognize patterns that emerged in their study was also
used.
Ethical Considerations
Ethical issues were considered when conducting research and analyzing data.
Qualitative research was observational and required interaction with groups. Therefore,
certain ethical issues could have arisen that did not occur. To consider ethical concerns,
the researcher secured all necessary Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval to
conduct the research. The participants signed an appropriate informed consent forms that
addresses code of conduct. The school principal granted permission to conduct the study
in their school and a copy of the IRB was provided to them. The participants were
volunteers and could have withdrawn from the study at any time. The participants were
anonymous and pseudonyms were used throughout the study. The researcher was truthful
in presenting data. At the conclusion of the study, the researcher presented each
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Summary
For this study, technology novice teachers were selected who met the technology
state requirement by attending the Power To Teach course offered by the school system.
methodology using one public school in one school district in the state of Georgia. The
data were gathered from interviews, observations, dialogues, and archival documents and
analyzed with the intent to provide information and recommendations that may positively
influence the process of technology integration in high school curriculums. Every effort
was made to ensure rigor and generalization of the findings of the study.
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CHAPTER 4. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Introduction
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the perspective of
teachers and their quest in effectively integrating technology in the curriculum to increase
course. The purpose of this chapter is to present all of the data analysis findings in order
curriculum?
curriculum?
5. What are some factors that influence the use or non use of technology to
were integrated in order to address the research questions. This chapter outlines the data
analysis procedures that were utilized, provides a summary of the participants’ individual
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characteristics, provides the results for each research question and concludes with an
Descriptive Data
individual characteristics such as number of years since they took the approved
technology competency course, grade level taught, use of technology prior to course
Table 1 shows the number of years since the participants in this study took the
approved technology competency course. The results indicate that the number of years
since taking the course ranged from one year to five years or longer.
1 year 1
2 years 1
3 years 1
4 years 1
5 years or longer 1
The grade levels taught by the participants in this study are presented in Table 2.
The summarized results indicate that some of the teachers taught more than one grade
level given that the total frequency exceeds the total number of participants. In fact, one
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of the teachers taught both 9th and 10th grade and another teacher taught both 11th and 12th
9th grade 2
10th grade 2
11th grade 2
12th grade 1
summarized in Table 3. The results indicate that the amount of experience ranged from
five years to 36 years with three teachers having between 10 and 15 years of experience.
5 years 1
10 years 1
14 years 1
15 years 1
36 years 1
in their lesson plans prior to taking the approved technology competency course. The
results in Table 4 indicate that two out of the five teachers had not used technology prior
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to taking the course. Of the three that did use technology prior to the course, two
teachers used it once a week and one teacher used it only once a month.
Teachers were also asked if they had received any additional training on
course. The results in Table 5 indicate that only one teacher received additional training
course.
No 4
Yes 1
were asked to describe their teaching philosophy. Four out of the five participants
specifically stated that they believe all children can learn or master the material. The fifth
participant indicated that teachers must address and therefore teach to the whole child and
consider his/her background. Other comments pertained to teachers needing to find ways
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to be flexible and find ways to teach children who learn in different ways, teachers need
to be able to relate to the students and vice versa, and teachers need to be able to relate
content so that he can make the connection of the lesson to the real world and he always
tries to differentiate his instructional strategies to best teach each student. Participant 2
described himself as a great teacher who makes sure that the students understand the
material and who keeps them motivated about learning. Participant 3 indicated that he is
still learning himself and he is an exceptional teacher who tries his best and takes
students’ failures personally. Participant 4 perceived herself as a teacher who cares about
children and who is not their friend but rather their leader and a source of guidance.
teach kids and make them want to learn and to strive for continuous improvement.
research sample with regard to their individual characteristics, their use of technology
prior to the approved technology competency course and the training they received since
Data Analysis
The three data sources in this study reflected five distinct content areas and the
integration of technology into those curricular areas. The five content or curricular areas
examined in this study include English Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics, Science
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and Social Studies. The data sources and their alignment to the research questions are
outlined in Table 6. The information in Table 6 indicates that the different data sources
were linked to specific research questions and that some of the data sources were linked
to more than one research question. Also, since Research Question 2 focused on the
actual integration of technology into the classroom, all three data sources were utilized in
order to address that research question. Finally, since the observation data focused
specifically on the use of technology in the classroom, the observation data were used to
Observations Question 2
The interview data were analyzed through the process of open-coding, in which
response and only responses germane to the research questions were coded. Each
response was initially identified as relating to a specific research question and then all of
the responses relating to a given research question were coded. This open-coding process
assists in the identification of themes whereby the researcher decomposes the raw data
down into parts and then synthesizes each part in order to find emergent patterns (Strauss
and Corbin, 1990). The same analysis process was used for the two qualitative items at
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The observation data were coded similarly, but instead of coding responses,
actions and activities were coded and then categorized. The observation data was
classroom and the phenomenon of the integration. Therefore, the physical and emotional
atmosphere of the classroom was considered, the dynamics in the classroom were
considered, the interactions between students and the teacher were considered and the
teaching methods and styles were considered. Although the process of coding was the
same, the process of interpretation was different in the observation data codes.
Finally, the quantitative questionnaire data were entered into SPSS (version 16.0)
frequency distributions were created for nominal or categorical questionnaire items and
Likert scale items were analyzed by computing descriptive statistics such as means,
modes, minimum values and maximum values. The summarized questionnaire data
provided a source of verification regarding the use of technology in the classroom and the
barriers associated with the integration of technology in the classroom. The questionnaire
also provided information relative to the extent to which school teachers perceive that
Results
This section of the chapter provides the data analysis results for each research
question. The data analysis results are presented in their entirety for each research
question. Therefore, the findings from multiple data sources may be presented
simultaneously, if applicable. However, when presenting findings from the same data
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source across different research questions, only the information or findings specific to the
Research Question 1
technology in the curriculum. In order to address this research question, several of the
interview questions were examined. One of the interview questions that relates to
Research Question 1 asked the participants to describe their ideal technology integrated
classroom. The participants’ responses are outlined in Table 7. The results in Table 7
indicate that the most common theme was that the ideal integrated classroom would have
Another theme that emerged, but based on multiple examples given by Participant
5 only, was that concept of students having access to each other from outside of the
school where they can do research from home and communicate with other students and
the teacher remotely. In addition to the above mentioned themes, many of the responses
represented actual outcomes whereby the use of technology was discussed as a means to
an end. For example, one of the participants explained “I think the ideal technology
integrated classroom is students and teachers using computers and tech tools to make
teacher is able to use the technologies in the class to deliver lessons and build meaning
for the students.” Therefore using technology for the facilitation and advancement of
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Table 7. Profile of Ideal Technology Integrated Classroom
Ideal technology integrated classroom P1 P2 P3 P4 P5
how they feel about using technology in their classroom. The participants’ responses are
outlined in Table 8. The results in Table 8 indicate that no dominant themes emerged but
two participants indicated that they love to teach using technology and two participants
indicated that the use of technology in the classroom may be limited due to equipment
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Table 8. Perceptions Regarding the Use of Technology in the Classroom
Perceptions on use of technology in classroom P1 P2 P3 P4 P5
Kids love it X
certain areas in technology such as trouble shooting, software issues, use of the Internet,
etc. The participants’ outlined responses in Table 9 indicate that the only theme that
emerged was that teachers did not feel competent in trouble shooting. Participant 3 was
not asked the question in the interview and therefore no responses are noted for that
participant. Although participants tended to identify a specific area in which they lacked
competency, they were not likely to pick out specific areas of competency with the
exception of Participant 2 who indicated that he is competent in the use of technology for
developing lesson plans, creating PowerPoint presentations and searching the Internet.
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Table 9. Perceived Technological Competency
Perceived technological competency P1 P2 P3 P4 P5
Incompetent in podcasting X
Incompetent in telecommunication X
Incompetent in software X
The last interview item associated with Research Question 1 asked participants if
they think that there is a difference between integrating technology in the classroom and
Table 10. The results indicate that two of the participants specifically mentioned how
having technology in the classroom may result in students using computers for checking
e-mails, doing research, etc. However, if technology is used in the curriculum, then the
were the same two who indicated that they love to use technology.
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The results in Table 10 also indicate that two participants felt that there is a slight
difference between the two types of integration, which depends on the teacher. For
example, one of the participants explained that if the technology is integrated into the
curriculum, then all teachers would have to use it regardless of their ability or comfort
level.
The overall themes for Research Question 1 are summarized in Table 11. The
results in Table 11 indicate that an ideal integrated classroom is viewed as one with
enough of functional computers and technological resources at all times, and students
having the ability to use technology to do academic work and to communicate with
classmates and teacher outside of school. When technology is used in the classroom it is
used for the facilitation and advancement of student knowledge and competency.
Although the teachers had varying levels of perceived competency in the use of
technology in the classroom, trouble shooting was a perceived weakness for teachers.
Finally, the two teachers who specifically indicated a love for the use of technology in the
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classroom specifically indicated that they integrate technology into the curriculum as a
means to an end, as a vehicle for increasing student interest, knowledge and performance.
Ideal if have ability to use technology to do work and communicate outside of class
Use of technology for the facilitation & advancement of student knowledge &
competency
Research Question 2
The second research question asked if the participants in the study integrate
course offered by the school system. In order to address this research question, all three
data sources were examined. The questionnaire results are presented first followed by the
use of technology in the classroom. Each of these questions was based on a six point
Likert scale ranging from never to more than once a day. The coding scheme used was
never (0), once a year (1), once a month (2), once a week (3), once a day (4) and more
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Question 9 asked participants how often they use a set of listed technological
tools and resources as part of their instructional lesson. The participants’ summarized
responses to the tools and resources listed on the survey are provided in Table 12.
Internet 3 5 3.60 3
E-mail 0 5 2.00 0
Blackboard 0 2 0.40 0
The results indicate that on average, participants were most likely to use the Internet
(mean = 3.60) followed by video tapes (mean = 3.00). Therefore, participants use the
Internet between once a week and once a day and use video tapes once a week, on
average. Conversely, none of the participants reporting using hand held devices, Wiki,
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Twitter, pod casting or media streaming. However, one of the participants indicated in
the interview that he used pod casting at another school and enjoyed it. Finally, in some
cases participants were very different with their reported uses of technology with some
Internet 2 4 3.20 3, 4
E-mail 0 5 1.60 0
Blackboard 0 1 0.20 0
The next question related to Research Question 2 asked participants how often
their students use the list of technology tools in their classroom. The summarized
responses in Table 13 indicate that the participants’ students were most likely to use the
Internet in the classroom (mean = 3.20) and that they used it between once a week and
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once a day. The variability with regard to the students’ use of technology in the
classroom was greatest with regard to e-mail. Finally, in general, students were not likely
to use the listed forms of technology on a regular basis, with the exception of the Internet.
questions 9 and 10, but they were not based on a list of technological tools and resources.
Question 11 asked participants how often their students use technological tools in their
referred to the use of technology for the sole purpose of increasing content knowledge
versus question 10 which referred to the general use of technology in the classroom.
were likely to use at least one type of technological tool in the classroom in order to
increase content knowledge. In fact, the responses ranged from once a month to once a
day, with the mean being 3.20, or between once a week and once a day. Also, the
distribution was bimodal with two participants saying once a week (value = 3) and two
Question 12 asked participants how often technological tools and resources are
used in their classroom for higher-order thinking skills such as evaluating, analyzing and
creating. The summarized responses in Table 15 indicate that the participants’ responses
ranged from once a year to every day with the most common response being once a week
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(mode = 3). Therefore all of the participants reported using technology tools for higher-
The last questionnaire item relating to Research Question 2 was question 13,
which asked participants how often their students connect real-life problems and issues
and use technological tools such as collaborative tools to find solutions in class. The
summarized responses in Table 16 indicate that the range was from students never
connecting real-life problems and issues and using technological tools such as
collaborative tools to find solutions in class to doing it as often as once a day. The mean
was only 1.80 (between once a year and once a month) and the most common response
was once a year (mode = 1). Therefore the participants in this study tended not to have
students connecting real-life problems and issues and using technological tools such as
The interview data findings are presented next. The participants were asked
during the interview if they use technology in their classroom and why. The participants’
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summarized responses in Table 17 indicate that all five participants use technology in the
classroom and the most common reason was to help kids connect to the content or
academic knowledge being conveyed through the lesson. Another, but less common
knowledge X X X
Kids love it X X
instruction X
The second and last interview question that relates to Research Question 2 asked
participants “How would I have seen technology used this year in your classroom had I
followed you from the first day of school?” The participants tended to have varying
interpretations of this question with some giving specific curricular uses and others
providing the specific technological tool used. The summarized responses are provided
in Table 18. The results indicate that three participants specifically mentioned using the
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Internet and using PowerPoint presentations. Other less common themes included using
technology for student projects, using videos and having students visit the computer labs.
Student projects X X
Videos X X
PowerPoint X X X
Audio recorders X
IPODs X
Calculator X
Diagnostics X
One of the participants explained that audio recorders were used for students to
improve their speaking and oral presentation abilities. Students would use audio tapes
and IPODs to listen to their selves speak and work on improving their communication
abilities. The same participant indicated that her students are required in the syllabus to
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work on a test preparation on-line to prepare for the End of Course Test. Also, the math
teacher indicated that he and his students have used technology in the classroom to solve
several themes emerged. The themes indicate that technology is used because it
helps to connect children to the academic material because they love technology
and it therefore motivates them to learn. Students visit the computer labs and they
tend to use the Internet to conduct research for student projects and then use
PowerPoint for presenting their projects. Teachers tend to use the Internet to
prepare lesson plans, but tend to use videos and PowerPoint presentations to
communicate course material. The themes that emerged for Research Question 2
are
it motivates them
The observation results are provided next. Five observations were recorded,
although one of the observations was more of a dialogue between the teacher and the
researcher and therefore no actual observation of technology being used in the classroom
was conducted. Therefore, the results of the observations are based on the five
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observations in which a classroom was observed. Also, each observation is discussed in
its entirety prior to discussing any of the other observations. The first observation
context for a video that the students were preparing to watch. The content being covered
was Greek mythology and Iliad in particular. The observation began with students
making comments about the room being too hot and so the temperature was manipulated
The teachers’ initial instruction discussed the characters that would be seen in the
video and discussed with the students some of the dynamics of the relationships between
the characters, etc. During this initial instructional period, the teacher asked students to
assume roles of characters and asked questions of the students that required not only
knowledge level thinking, but analysis and evaluation thinking skills as well, such as,
attempted to relate the content of Greek mythology to the students’ lives today by making
analogies between the characters and events in the movie and the students’ own lives.
Immediately prior to beginning the video, the teacher reminded the class of the
behavioral expectations and therefore set the expectations in advance for classroom
management. During the presentation of the video, the teacher would interject at key
points and invoke a brief discussion with the class to make sure that the connections were
being made and that the students were actually engaged. The students’ responses were
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positive and they showed interest. Students asked questions and brief examples or
multiple intelligences are tapped (bodily-kinesthetic, verbal, visual) and where higher
levels of critical thinking skills can be encouraged. Also, student behavior can be
maintained by setting the expectations up front and student interest can be invoked and
maintained through question and answer dialogue and through making connections
Mathematics Observation
The math observation was not interactive due to the fact that students were using
technology, such as graphing calculators, to complete a final exam in Algebra II. The
observer had some discussions with the teacher to understand the dynamics taking place
in the classroom. The classroom was quiet throughout the entire observation and the
teacher explained that the students were reviewing for the final exam and were able to
check their review answers quietly with their peers, which is evidence of collaborative
learning. In general, the math observation indicated that technology can be used quietly
the Supreme Court jury process in U.S. government. The students watched the film while
the teacher interjected at critical points of the film to ask questions, answer questions and
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relate the material to the students’ own lives. Although many of the questions posed by
the teacher were at the knowledge level, several higher levels of critical thinking were
invoked such as analysis and evaluation. The teacher asked students to analyze the
situation and evaluate the situation in terms of how they would react or respond. The
teacher also tried to reinforce the difference between responding and reacting by
providing an analogy to the students’ own lives and then asking students to reflect on it.
questions. All of the students’ questions were directly related to the lesson plan and
therefore facilitated further learning. Also, the students were expected to write a summary
of the film as a homework assignment whereby the content delivered in class could be
reinforced. The social studies observation provided evidence of technology being used in
contexts where higher levels of critical thinking skills can be encouraged and student
interest can be invoked and maintained through question and answer dialogue. Finally,
technology can be combined with lecture and discussion to help the student make
connections between the content being viewed and their own lives.
Science Observation
The science observation took place in the science lab. There were no computers
in class other than the teacher’s county issued laptop. There were science posters hung
everywhere on the walls. The overhead projector and TV monitor was positioned in the
front of the class. During the passing of the bell, students came into the science lab
classroom and continued their outside conversations while the teacher stood outside the
classroom door until the tardy bell rang. After the tardy bell, the teacher came inside the
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class and led the students into their sponge activity on Double Displacement Reactions.
There were seven questions such as “Will the following reaction occur (__NaOH + __
CaBr2 → ___)? Therefore students were using analysis level though processing.
After about 10 minutes, the teacher went into the lesson on Isotopes and Nuclear
Reactions. On the white erase board, she wrote the words alpha and beta and went into
detail as to what these words mean in science and to reactions. She then used the
overhead projector to show some vibrant colorful illustrations as examples. She then
went back to the white board and wrote five equations for the class to work on together
aloud. Therefore the teacher utilized multiple teaching strategies such as visual, auditory
and collaborative learning. As a consequence, the students were very involved and
engaged. Some students asked questions and the teacher answered the questions. After
the class solved the five problems, she gave them a work sheet and wrote on the board
assignments individually. About 15 minutes later the bell rang for the next class. The
students took their worksheets home to finish for homework thereby reinforcing the
Although the language arts and social studies teachers used videos as their
primary source of technology while the science teacher utilized a science lab, the science
observation resembled both the language arts and social studies observations in that the
teachers were able to tap into multiple learning styles and utilized multiple teaching
strategies through the integration of technology into the curriculum. Students were
interactive and engaged through the collaborative learning efforts and through the ability
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Based on the observation results, the themes that emerged are outlined in
observational themes include the use of technology to encourage higher levels of critical
thinking, collaborative learning, and content related discussions and as a tool to achieve
learning outcomes (e.g. student mastery and competency). In addition, technology can be
combined with discussion and examples or analogies can be used whereby the lesson
plans can be related to the students’ own lives. Therefore, technological tools such as
videos can be used as supplemental material to engage students. The observation themes
are
3. Collaborative learning
The results for Research Question 2 can be categorized into three major
outcomes, which include specific types of technologies used, reasons for using
technology and dynamics or outcomes associated with the use of technology. The most
presentations, the Internet, word processors and to a lesser degree, audio devices.
Reasons for using technology include (a) teachers presenting instructional material; (b)
students presenting projects; (c) connecting the students to the material; (d) students
presentation on tape recorder). Finally, the outcomes associated with the use of
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technology include student engagement through discussion, collaborative learning, and
higher levels of critical thinking, real world applications and uses of multiple
intelligences.
Research Question 3
The third research question examined the extent to which the high school teachers
in this study perceive that their professional development experience prepared them to
integrate technology into their curriculum. In order to address this research question,
some of the questionnaire responses were examined and two of the interview questions
were examined. The results from the questionnaire are provided first followed by the
interview results.
proficiency and knowledge since taking the approved technology competency course. In
competency course met their expectations. These questionnaire items are examined
The first question asked participants to rate their level of proficiency using the
technology tools and resources that were previously listed and discussed in Research
Question 2. The coding scheme used was not comfortable (1), somewhat comfortable
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Table 19. Level of Proficiency Using Technology Tools and Resources
Level of proficiency Minimum Maximum Mean Mode
Internet 4 4 4.00 4
E-mail 4 4 4.00 4
Blackboard 1 4 1.80 1
The participants’ summarized responses in Table 19 indicate that all five of the
participants feel very comfortable using Word processing, the Internet and e-mail (means
= 4.00). In addition, participants felt more than comfortable but not very comfortable
with desk top publishing (mean = 3.20) and using video tapes (mean = 3.60). However,
participants tended to indicate that they were not comfortable using spreadsheets (2.20),
web page authoring (mean = 1.80), hand held devices (mean = 2.20), interactive or smart
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boards (mean = 1.40), Wiki or Twitter (mean = 1.60), pod casting or media streaming
The next question asked participants to rate their knowledge level with using the
technology tools in their lessons. The summarized responses in Table 20 indicate that
participants rated themselves most knowledgeable with regard to the Internet (mean =
4.00) followed by Word processing (mean = 3.80) and video tapes (3.60).
Internet 4 4 4.00 4
E-mail 2 4 3.00 2, 4
Blackboard 1 4 1.60 1
All three of technology tools had mean ratings above 3.00, which reflect a mean
average, with regard to desk top publishing (mean = 3.00) and e-mail (mean = 3.00). All
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other ratings fell below a value of 3.00 (e.g. less than knowledgeable). However, the
lowest rating was for interactive or smart boards (mean = 1.40). Finally, although some
of the mean ratings were below knowledgeable, all of the technology tools had at least
one participant who indicated being at least knowledgeable with regard to the tool.
The last item on the questionnaire that relates to Research Question 3 was open-
ended and asked participants if the technology competency course met their expectations.
The summarized responses in Table 21 indicate that all of the participants felt as if the
course met their expectations. Some of the positive outcomes associated with the course
directly addressed Research Question 3. During the interview, participants were asked to
participants learned a lot, although two participants had some frustration because they
were not moving as quickly as their peers. Also, two of the participants specifically
mentioned the fact that the teacher was good and/or patient, which helped. Finally, one of
the participants indicated that although the course was good, it was difficult to attend
because the course was long and scheduled after work hours.
Learned a lot X X X
Long X
The second and last interview question relating to Research Question 3 asked
participants if they feel that the course adequately prepared them to integrate technology
into the curriculum and/or how effectively was the course in teaching them to integrate
indicate that although the course provided some helpful information and some benefits,
such as increased confidence or a good foundation, participants still need more training.
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Three of the five participants who were asked this question indicated a need for more
knowledge and/or more formal training. However, as previously mentioned, the course
specifically X
Somewhat effective X
The results for Research Question 3 indicate that although the course was
the participants would like to have had exposure to technology other than a computer and
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software other than PowerPoint and Publisher. Also, the participants tended to view their
proficiency and knowledge levels differently; although on average the participants tended
to be less proficient and knowledgeable than more when considering a wide spectrum of
technological tools and resources. Finally, the course did meet participants’ expectations
and therefore appears to have served its purpose, which was to provide basic information
Research Question 4
address this research question, one of the interview questions was examined.
Table 24 provides the participants’ summarized responses, which indicate that all
five of the participants need greater access to computers and/or technological resources
such as printers, copiers and LCDs. Three of the five participants indicated a need for
with the technology while using it. Also, two participants indicated that they need more
resources specific to their content area and two indicated a need for more class time.
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Table 24. Assistance for Successful Integration of Technology
Assistance needed for successful integration P1 P2 P3 P4 P5
More time X X
In sum, the results for Research Question 4 indicate that participants need more
access to technology tools and resources than anything, and having real time
technological assistance available, having more class time and having more content
Research Question 5
The fifth and final research question asked participants about the factors that
influence the use or non use of technology to enhance the curriculum, such as motivation,
strategies and barriers. In order to address this research question, two interview questions
any barriers in their attempt to integrate technology into their lessons. The summarized
responses in Table 25 indicate that the most common barrier was having access to
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computers and/or having enough computers for students. Other barriers include not
having the technical support needed while attempting to integrate technology into the
curriculum, having class sizes that are too large to effectively use technology and not
Large class sizes were found to create two barriers which include potentially not
having enough computers and not being able to monitor and assist all students in need.
In addition, not having enough class time can also be a consequence of having very large
class sizes where the likelihood of user ID and password problems increase and where
technological problems may eat up a large portion of instructional time. Therefore many
of the listed barriers may actually interact with each other and simply reducing class size
equipment X
Outdated technology X
were examined under Research Question 5. The first interview question asked about the
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challenges that participants encounter when integrating technology into the curriculum.
The participants’ summarized responses in Table 26 indicate that the biggest challenges
include not having access to computers or not having access to working and/or functional
technological equipment and time constraints. Another less dominant theme was not
having technical assistance from someone other than the students themselves.
Time X X X
The second and final interview question relating to Research Question 5 asked
participants if there were any factors that influence the use or non use of technology to
enhance the curriculum, such as motivation, strategies, fears and barriers. The
participants’ responses are summarized in Table 27. The results indicate that the
participants had varying responses. However, a lack of resources was listed as a barrier
by two of the participants, which is consistent with previous responses. In general, many
of the responses pertained to the role of the school in providing some sort of assistance or
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support, either through advocating for such integration or providing specific training
technology X
grades X
life X
The results for Research Question 5 indicate that the factors influencing the use or
non-use of technology to enhance the curriculum are diverse. However, the most
common factors that prohibit the use of technology include simply not having access to
computers and/or working computers for all students, large class sizes, time constraints
and school level support for the integration of technology into the curriculum. The factors
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that encourage the use of technology into the curriculum include the need to motivate
student interest and the need to prepare students for the real world so that they may be
Summary
The results of this study indicate that participants have the desire to integrate
technology into the curriculum and they see the importance of integrating technology into
the curriculum. However, in order to have an ideal situation for the integration of
technological resources at all times for all students and students should have the ability to
use technology to do academic work and to communicate with classmates and teacher
outside of school. When technology is used in the classroom, it should be used for the
teachers recognize the importance of integrating technology into the classroom, their
perceptions of their competency, proficiency and knowledge are diverse with some
teachers not feeling competent at all. Therefore teacher competency must also be
considered. In general, teachers feel most competent and knowledgeable using Word
processing, PowerPoint presentations, desk top publishing, e-mail, video tapes and the
Internet.
The results of this study also indicate that teachers use technology for presenting
instructional material, for students to present projects, to connect the student to the
material, for students to accomplish school work such as projects or assignments, for
testing purposes (diagnostic, summative assessment, test preparation), and for student
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improvement (listening to presentation on tape recorder). Furthermore, the outcomes
associated with the use of technology include student engagement through discussion,
collaborative learning, and higher levels of critical thinking, real world applications and
the results indicate that although the course was successful at providing basic information
and teaching simple technological applications, the participants would like to have
exposure to technology other than a computer and software other than PowerPoint and
Publisher. Also, the participants tended to view their proficiency and knowledge levels
Finally, the course did meet participants’ expectations and therefore appears to have
served its purpose, which was to provide basic information and to teach basic integration
techniques.
In addition, the results of this study indicate that participants need more access to
technology tools and resources than anything. Furthermore, having real time
technological assistance available, having more class time and having more content
specific resources and ideas for integration, having smaller class sizes and having more
school level support for the integration of technology into the curriculum would be
helpful. Finally, the results of this study indicate that the teachers integrate technology
into the curriculum in order to motivate student interest, make connections between the
material and the students’ lives and to prepare students for the real world so that they may
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CHAPTER 5. RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
This chapter of this investigation recapitulates the research design and discusses
the findings. As presented in chapter 4, this chapter recounts high school teachers’ quest
to integrate technology in the curriculum. The chapter is organized by presenting the five
research questions first followed by the summary of findings. In addition, this final
Technology, whether big or small, have consumed much of our children’s time. Yet,
many teachers are not taking advantage of this tool in the classroom to increase academic
federal government, in recent years, has had a strong thrust of technology in our schools
on its pursuit to produce globally competitive students to fortify the future of America’s
workforce. The federal government has invested money in computers in schools hoping
to bridge the gap in student achievement and not to leave children behind. In 2005, the
and Communication Technologies can provide a powerful platform to help transform and
strengthen education to meet the workforce needs of the 21st century” (p. 1). Thus,
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teachers seek to find ways to use computers in their classroom to meet this expectation.
Teachers are provided computers, a curriculum, and students. They are asked to make
them all work together to increase student achievement. In this research, the researcher
This section will construe the findings of this study and explain the significance
of the themes that emerged throughout the study. Interpreting and explaining the themes
the curriculum?
There were several interview questions that addressed question one. All the participants
spoke of technology integration with enthusiasm. During the interview, participants were
asked to describe their ideal technology integrated classroom. This question did not
administrative duties via use of the computer. Overall, each participant thought of
According to Beach (1994), teachers are the ones actually in the classrooms trying
to enhance student achievement so they know what works and what would not work.
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These findings indicate that the teachers embrace technology and have the desire to do
more but are limited by the barriers of not having enough availability to technology and
not having enough computers for the student they serve and lack of technological options.
It does not appear that much of the $5,000,000 from NCLB was allocated to this rural
high school.
system?
their lessons after the course. The data clearly suggest that teachers do use technology in
their lessons following participation of the technology course to help students connected
to the content. The results were analyzed from interviews, questions 9 through 13 of the
teachers how often they use a set of technological tools and resources as part of their
instructional lesson. The most common response to this question was the use of the
Internet once a week and the use of video tapes once a week.
development course teacher may feel loss in transitioning teaching styles such as moving
was not true. The findings of this question indicate that yes they do integrate technology
into their lessons. Each teacher at one time or another integrated technology into their
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lessons. However, none of the teachers found ways to infuse technology into their lessons
Research Question 3. This question examine the extent to which the participants felt that
the technology course that they attended help them to integrate technology into the
curriculum. Questionnaire responses and two interview questions were viewed to answer
this question.
Through several questions on the questionnaire the high school teachers were
asked about their level of proficiency and knowledge since taking the approved
technology competency course. The results of this question indicated that all of the five
teacher participants were very comfortable with Word processing, the Internet, and e-
mail. Participants felt not very comfortable with desk top publishing and using video
tapes. Additionally, participants indicated that they did not feel comfortable using
Overall the results revealed that the participants rated themselves most
knowledgeable with incorporating the Internet into their lessons. Word processing
followed along with desk top publishing and e-mail. The teacher participants felt less
Wiki/Twitter, podcasting, Blackboard. The least knowledgeable tool to use in their lesson
Further, even though the skill levels were different as they began the course, the
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providing the basic computers skills needed for simple technological applications.
Although, a common theme was that they wanted more training and exposure to other
technologies other than a computer, and software other than PowerPoint and Publisher.
This indicates that the explicit modeling and continued support that the course lacked is
partial responsible for this feeling. If indeed more modeling and ongoing support after the
course would have taken place they might not feel this way. Nevertheless, the course met
each of their expectations and served its purpose in providing them with a foundation to
Research Question 4. What are the perceived needs identified by the participants to
technology. All the participants expressed a need for more access and more computer
availability. Three of the five participating teachers said they needed technological
assistance while using the technology. Two of the five participants expressed a need for
more class time to use the computers. The results of Research Question 4 clearly indicate
that the teachers need access to technological tool and resources more than anything.
They also are in need of technology support on campus to assist with integration needs as
well as troubleshooting, more class time and specific resources and ideas for integration.
Removal of these barriers is an issue that school leaders should evaluate. This
particular school has technology specialist. However, they are there primary for trouble
shooting issues. There is not a lead person that teachers can go to for educational or
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barrier for a teacher who has ideas but can’t implement them. More so, leaders should
evaluate options to give teachers more class time to conduct meaningful rich
Research Question 5. What are some factors that influence the use or non use of
The ending question asked about influences to use technology or not to use
technology. In some schools administrators demand all teachers to use technology. Some
schools employ a fear tactic to get teachers to use technology and some schools simply
directly or indirectly nicely encourage teachers to integrate technology. The reason for
this question was to determine if any of the participating teachers were forced to use
technology if they were using it, offered incentives to use it, or had roadblocks that
prevented them from using it. One open-ended questionnaire item and two interview
The most common factors that prohibit the use of technology was not having
access to the computers or working computers. The factors that motivated the use of
technology were the need to stimulate student’s interest and to motivate them. In
addition, participants felt they needed to prepare the students to compete in the world
after high school. In addition, from this question there were no participants who reported
force to use technology in their lesson. It appeared that all the participants have the intent
to use the technology even when there are barriers present. Nonetheless, the participants
also indicated that they would use technology more if these barriers did not exist.
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These concerns should be address to promote technology integration and as
Teachers felt that the school did not motivate them to use or not use technology. They
each indicate the intrinsic desire to prepare their student for the 21st century using
technology. If teachers are not provided the resources and support they need they are
Finally, classroom observations were conducted for support of the interviews and
questionnaire. Moreover, the use of technology was very evident. However, it was the
very basic use of technology. Teachers used videos and stop at check points to connect to
the students, overhead projector to illustrate connections, and assigned websites for help
with homework. Although the technological tools were basic, all the participating
teachers in this research were able to encourage higher levels of critical thinking, engage
in collaborative learning and content-related discussions with the use of these tools.
Conclusions
In summary, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the
technology competency course. The results show that the participants want to integrate
technology into their lessons. Even though the literature research demonstrated some
faults in the district’s approved technology competency course, the teachers are using
technology after taken the course. They understand that they use very simple
technologies but yearn to learn of more tools. Moreover, the participants want to have the
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ideal classroom for technology integration. They desire to have enough functioning
computers and technological resources at all times for students to work and
student knowledge and competency. Even though the teachers realize the importance of
proficiency and knowledge are diverse. Some teachers feel that they are not competent at
Overall, teachers were more competent and knowledgeable with using Word processing,
PowerPoint, desk top publishing, e-mail, video tapes and the Internet for research.
The results of this study also indicate that teachers use technology for presenting
instructional material, for students to present projects, to connect the student to the
material, for students to accomplish school work such as projects or assignments, for
testing purposes (diagnostic, summative assessment, test preparation), and for student
associated with the use of technology include student engagement through discussion,
collaborative learning, and higher levels of critical thinking, real world applications and
the results indicate that although the course was successful at providing basic information
and teaching simple technological applications, the participants would like to have
exposure to technology other than a computer, and software other than PowerPoint and
Microsoft Publisher. Also, the participants tended to view their proficiency and
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knowledge and proficiency when considering a wide spectrum of technological tools and
resources. Finally, the course did meet participants’ expectations and therefore appears
to have served its purpose, which was to provide basic information and to teach basic
integration techniques.
In addition, the results of this study indicate that participants need more access to
technology tools and resources than anything. Furthermore, having real time
technological assistance available, having more class time and having more content
specific resources and ideas for integration, having smaller class sizes and having more
school level support for the integration of technology into the curriculum would be
helpful. Finally, the results of this study indicate that the teachers integrate technology
into the curriculum in order to motivate student interest, make connections between the
material and the students’ lives and to prepare students for the real world.
Recommendations
examine from an array of viewpoints. Thus, this topic is not limited to one study.
Therefore, other situations and conditions that have not been examined can be possibly
considered for future research. Recommendations that are drawn from this study can be
useful to the local school system as well as the entire educational system.
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand to the perspective of
teachers and their quest in effectively integrate technology in the curriculum to increase
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student achievement after completing the district’s approved technology competency
course. In addition, the barriers or other influential factors that encourage or discourage
integration of technology in the curriculum were also discussed. This study specifically
examined high school teachers in a suburban high school. Therefore, there are several
generalization of the results from this study. The results from a larger group of
the school system to see if the results differ. This study is from teachers of a
suburban school. Teachers from a rural or urban school may have different
perspectives.
4. Another possibility for further research is to study teachers who did not take
the required technology course and choose to opt out by taking the computer
competency online assessment test. These teachers may also have different
found different.
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5. A future research could be conducted to study the students’ perspectives and
school. After all, the students are the ones who are measured for academic
instructional strategies.
2. The school system should also make an effort to identify ways in which
teachers are allotted more time to integrate technology in the curriculum and
able to plan lessons; such as reexamining the short length of class times. Some
districts have block scheduling which allows the teachers and students more
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provide training of current trends in educational technologies and techniques
4. The local school system should consider the idea of providing a bank of
technology resources for teachers to use as they are planning daily lessons.
The bank could be a link on the local systems website for all teachers to use
and for easy excess from school and home. The bank could reduce planning
time which would encourage more teachers to integrate technology into their
lessons.
Implications
Computers has become an everyday tool for life and increasingly becoming an
everyday tool for learning. The results of this study will add to the body of evidence of
how and if teachers integrate technology in the classroom. The teachers’ perspectives in
this study demonstrate that technology is integrated in the classrooms after they have
completed the state required technology competency course. The purpose of this case
study was to understand the perspective of teachers and their quest in effectively integrate
technology in the classroom was a common theme among the participants. However,
using technology for higher level- thinking skills that are found in connecting students to
real-life problems and issues to find solutions were not employed regularly. In fact the
mode of theses skills using technology with students were only used once a year. Future
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research can be used to study the level of technology integration that takes place in this or
similar setting.
learning. Although schools have more computers today than a few years ago, there
continue to be a challenge for teachers to find time for students to access computers and
how to connect the subject matter using computers. The power that lies within computers
in the classroom is explosive when teachers understand and use computers to support a
constructivist paradigm for instruction. Subsequently, time management for computer use
becomes natural during this process. Lemke and Coughlin, 1998 maintain that
settings that enrich and extend their learning goals. Students use contemporary
These characteristics are an example of what people expect from schools. Thus, this can
serve as a course of direction. According to these characteristics, the five teachers in this
study are heading toward the right direction in meeting the above expectations. Each
participant admits using technology and enjoys having computers in their school. Further,
they indicated that they needed assistance in transferring their knowledge to construct
addition, the teachers repeatedly indicated that assistance in integrating technology was
need on campus.
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The results of this study suggest that teachers embrace the ideal of using
technology. It can be noted that the money invested in technology at this school is well
spent as demonstrated by the participants. It also suggests that teachers could improve
their application of technology integration in the classroom. Even though they completed
research on the Internet, prepare PowerPoint presentations, and embrace technology, the
data of this research suggest that many of the participants welcome additional training.
Therefore, this study can be used as an indicator as to what the curriculum of additional
Additionally, the result of this research implies that teachers do not have time to
plan nor implement technology rich lessons to enhance student achievement. Playing
games on the computer and basic Internet research is the most common assignment given
because of time limits. This research could encourage policy makers and school
administrators to reexamine the school schedule to consider the time students are in a
class on a daily basis. The result of this research is a reminder to teachers that technology
is a tool that can assist teachers in meeting NCLB and improve standardized test score.
Summary
component to increase academic achievement for all students. Millions of dollars have
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been spent for the sake of student achievement. This does not appear to be a bad
investment if the usage and teaching equates to student learning. But all the pieces did not
fit. More and more money is invested to remove the barriers that hinder teachers from
using technology as a vehicle to increase test scores and meet AYP. It was evident that
some of the money earmarked for technology hardware and software in not consistently
being used for that purpose. In fact, little research has been done to rather the technology
use is always implemented with the intent on increasing student achievement as measured
by standardized test scores. Some schools have too much hardware and software and
some schools not enough. Furthermore, money is invested in staff development for
teachers that does not adequately prepare teachers to implement technology into their
curriculum. None the less, some research studies have shown how some schools and
This case study was significant because it presented a realistic idea of teachers’
research and evaluation, the professional development course that each of participants
attended did not meet all of NETS criteria. The districts selected technology course
Power To Teach lacks explicit modeling and the inclusion of techniques that are proven
up support. From this, it could be concluded that the teachers in this case study was not
contrary, the teacher participants of this study feel that they were adequately trained.
Teachers of this qualitative case study feel that they transferred the skills they learned in
staff development to lessons prepared for their student. Each participate also enjoys using
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technology in their lessons and classroom. Some gained confidence from attending the
staff development course. Overall, teachers got what they wanted and expected from the
class; however, expressed the need for additional support in implementing and preparing
technological lessons. These teachers would be better served if the school system leaders
connected support. Furthermore, a point to emphasize is that teachers knows what works
in the classroom, but are often left out of the decision making that impacts growth and
change (Beach, 1994; and Collinson, 1996). Therefore, this study provided a volume of
beliefs and point of views of teachers who are actually trying to make the pieces fit. Most
importantly, this study provided the data that supports the importance of teachers’
guide local school districts in selecting staff development courses for preparing teachers
to integrate technology into the curriculum and which is expected to enhance the student
achievement.
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