This artilce:
Staples, A., Pugach, M., & Himes. D. (2005). Rethinking the technology integration challenge: Cases from three urban schools. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 37 (3), 285-311.
was fairly long, so I am going to try to be as concise as possible when summarizing. I chose it because , as I have mentioned time and time again, all of my experience is in urban settings with a limited amount of technology available. In this case the researchers observed the outcome for three different schools in their efforts to infuse technology into their curriculum. They were looking to answer the following questions:
- How do schools use fiscal and human resources to support technology use?
- How does the existing culture or ecosystem of the school impact technology implementation?
- What factors mediate decisions regarding technology integration in schools?
Qualitative data was collected to conduct the three case studies.
First of all, each school was given 32,000 dollars to hire a 1/2 time technolgy specialist. The school also received support from a university-employed instructional technology specialist once a week. These specialists were provided with an opportunity to network once a month. Each school used these funds in different ways within the parameters of these expectations.
Case #1- Rosa Parks This school believes in project-based learning. The principal defined the role of the principal by setting the expectation that each teacher would use technology to support these projects.
Case #2- Central Elementary The computer lab became a place to do project rather than a drop off point. All teachers varied in their technology usage.
Case #3- Again, the computer lab became a place to do projects, not a drop off place where students work was unconnected to classroom learning. This school focused on developing online report cards. They didn't focus on tying technology in with curriculum in a lasting way.
Conclusions-
* Factors in technology integration-
1. Alignment with school's curriculum and mission
2. Teacher leadership
3. Public/private roles for technology recognition
Considering this article was 27 pages or something like that, I am obviously paring down the information quite a bit. I do feel that the conclusions that these researchers came to would be useful to a school that was trying to integrate technology into their curriculum. These factors could be identified in their individual school and adjustments could be made to make the integration more successful and long-lasting.
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Excellent choice --- the conclusions are right on target with other studies that I have read. Interesting read and documentation of what was found. We can go to the article to read more specifics! Perfect!
ReplyDeleteI think that the first conclusion, alignment with school's curriculum and mission, is by far the most important. While I think and have learned even more that technology plays such a key role in education and learning, I also see the issue with teachers using technology just for the simple fact of using it.
ReplyDeleteI like how the idea that all the schools seems to in some way integrate technology into the curriculum. As we have seen in many of the readings of the course, that is the most effective way in making the time worth while.
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