Impact of Technology Essay

Students in the early on grades, from pre-K to grade 3, and in the diaphragm initiate grades appear to benefit intimately from DES applications for reading instruction, as do educatees with special reading require. In a 2000 study commissi wholenessd by the Softw be and In operateation constancy Association, Sivin-Kachala and Bialo (2000) re collected 311 research studies on the terminationiveness of engineering science on bookman breakment.Their fingerings revealed absolute and consistent patterns when learners were engaged in engineering-rich environments, including signifi nett gains and acquisition in entirely told prevail over aras, change magnitude achievement in pre drill with with(predicate) ut closely shoal for both regular and special deals scholarly persons, and repair attitudes toward eruditeness and add-ond self-esteem.ODwyer, Russell, Bebell, and Tucker-Seeley (2005) put in that, while controlling for both prior achievement and socioeconomi c status, fourth-grade students who reported greater frequency of engineering science drop at aim to edit papers were likely to carry higher(prenominal)(prenominal) lend English/language arts test scores and higher write scores on fourth grade test scores on the Massach roletts Comprehensive legal opinion System (MCAS) English/Language humanities test.Michigans Freedom to perk (FTL) initiative, an effort to show middle instruct students and instructors with entry to wireless laptop figurers, has been credited with improving grades, pauperism and discipline in classrooms crosswise the methodicalness, with one exemplary school visual perception reading proficiency scores on the Michigan precept sound judgement Program (MEAP) test, administered in January 2005, reportedly increasing from 29 portion to 41 percent for seventh graders and from 31 to 63 percent for eighth graders (eSchool News, 2005).In examining large-scale state and national studies, as tumesce as some (a) innovative smaller studies on new-fashioneder genteelnessal activityal technologies, Schacter (1999) found that students with approach shot to any of a number of technologies ( such(prenominal) as computer assisted instruction, commingled attainment systems, simulations and softw ar that teaches higher order echoing, collaborative neted technologies, or design and programing technologies) show absolute gains in achievement on researcher constructed tests, beatised tests, and national tests.Cavanaughs synthesis (2001) of 19 experimental and quasi-experimental studies of the strongness of synergetic distance preparation employ videoconferencing and telecommunications for K-12 academic achievement found a small positive effect in favor of distance education and much positive effect sizes for interactive distance education programs that liquify an individualized begin with traditionalistic classroom instruction.Boster, Meyer, Roberto, Inge (2002) cons rightfu l(a)d the integration of standards-based video clips into lessons genuine by classroom teachers and found increases student achievement. The study of more than 1,400 round-eyed and middle school students in three Virginia school districts showed an average increase in education for students ex perplexd to the video clip application comp ared to students who current traditional instruction alone. Wenglinsky (1998) noted that for fourth- and eighth-graders applied science has positive benefits on achievement as measured in NAEPs mathematics test.Interestingly, Wenglinsky found that exercising computers to teach low order idea skills, such as exercise and practice, had a negative impress on academic achievement, while riding habit computers to solve simulations saw their students math scores increase signifi squeeze outtly. Hiebert (1999) raised a similar point. When students over-practice procedures before they understand them, they have more difficulty do sense of them la ter however, they toilet learn new concepts and skills while they are firmness of purpose problems. In a study that examined relationship surrounded by computer substance ab theatrical role and students science achievement based on entropy from a standardized judicial decision,Papanastasiou, Zemblyas, & Vrasidas (2003) found it is not the computer use itself that has a positive or negative effect on achievement of students, that the air in which computers are apply. Researchers are likewise making progress on the more complicated task of investigating the clashing of applied science use on higher order sentiment skills as measured through with(predicate) with(predicate) substance separate than standardized tests. They are examining students ability to understand abstruse phenomena, privyvas and compound septuple sources of instruction, and build representations of their own k instanterledge.At the homogeneous time, some researchers are calling for newer stan dardized perspicacitys that emphasize the ability to access, interpret, and synthesize randomness. Research associates that computer engineering science mess patron corroboration encyclopedism and is especially useful in developing the higher-order skills of critical thinking, analysis, and scientific doubt by engaging students in authentic, complex tasks within collaborative cultivation con school texts (Roschelle, Pea, Hoadley, Gordin Means, 2000 Means, et. al. , 1993).While research linking applied science integration, inquiry-based teach, and accent on problem solving with student achievement is emergent, some research exists that suggests a connection. In a 2001 study of Enhancing Missouris Instructional Net charmed Teaching Strategies (eMints) program, a statewide engineering integration initiative, eMINTS students scored consistently higher on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) than non-eMINTS students, including eMINTS students classified as having special needs. The higher MAP closures were found to be associated with the instructional practices (Evaluation Team Policy Brief, 2002).The eMINTS program suffers teachers with professional evolution to dish up integrate engineering so that they bath use inquiry-based line of reasoning and emphasize critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The program has since expanded to not only Missouri schools and districts but likewise different states as well. Currently, 232 Missouri districts, 10 Utah districts, 56 Maine districts, 2 Nevada districts, and 1 Illinois district, representing 1,000 classrooms and 22,500 students this instant make advantage of the eMINTS program offerings. assay results continue to show that, on most state tests, students enrolled in eMINTS classrooms scored higher than students enrolled in non-eMINTS classrooms and that low-income and special education students in eMINTS classes generally score higher than their non-eMINTS matess (eMINTS, 2005). Res ults from new(prenominal) studies (Perez-Prado and Thirunarayanan 2002 Cooper 2001 Smith, Ferguson and Caris 2001) also suggest that students place benefit from technology- put forwardd collaborative culture methods and the interactive encyclopedism do by.Roschelle, Pea, Hoadley, Gordin, & Means (2000) identify four profound characteristics of how technology can enhance both what and how children learn in the classroom (1) active booking, (2) participation in groups, (3) frequent interaction and feedback, and (4) connections to real-world contexts. They also indicate that use of technology is more effective as a tuition tool when embedded in a broader education reform crusade that includes improvements in teacher gentility, broadcast, student assessment, and a schools subject matter for change.Back To covert FACTORS TO CONSIDER Inclusion Reaching All Students A major concern of many a(prenominal) educators with regard to educational technology is its capability to exc lude those who whitethorn not have access to it, or whitethorn not be able to use it. Regardless of what research may indicate concerning positive effects of technology on student learning, technology testament be of limited use in achieving the goals of NCLB if is not functional to all students. Students at Risk.Research demonstrates that the argufy of economic aiding teachers and students achieve ICT literacy, and the challenge of establishing frameworks for assessing their skills, is most acute in schools serving low-socioeconomic, minority students (Becker, 2000b Becker Ravitz, 1997). While human race debate just nearly the digital divide centers on basic technology access, the gap is even wider when measured by the pedagogical practices associated with technology use in different schools. much than half (53%) of teachers in public schools who have computers use them or the internet for instruction during class.But in schools whose students are from higher-income fami lies, 61 percent of teachers with computers use them in class compared to 50 percent of those pedagogy in schools with lower-income students (Lenhart, Rainie Lewis, 2001). And as wired as many early people are, the comparable study that found 87 percent of spring chicken people use the Internet also found that 3 jillion remain without Internet access. Many of those without access come from financially disadvantage backgrounds, and a disproportionate number are black (eSchool News, 2005a).Schools serving students upkeep in poverty tend to use technology for more traditional memory-based and remedial activities, while schools serving wealthier communities are more likely to concentre on communication and expression. A nationwide study examining the relationship amidst socioeconomic status and teaching practices around technology found that teaching in low-SES schools correlated most strongly with victimization technology for wages of skills and remediation of skills, while teaching in higher-SES schools correlated most with analyzing instruction and presenting schooling to an audience (Becker, 2000b).At the same time, although less studied than other outcomes, demonstration efforts and anecdotal evidence suggest that teaching ICT literacy skills (specifically those related to multimedia literacy in nett, publishing and video mathematical production) can improve the economic prospects of at-risk spring chicken by giving them marketable skills (Lau Lazarus, 2002). Back To nobble Language Learners. Likewise, in teaching language learners, using technology has distinct advantages that relate not only to language education but preparing students for instantlys information society.Computer technologies and the Internet are powerful tools for assisting language teaching because Web technology is a part of todays companionable fabric, substance language learners can now learn thorough writing electronic mail and conducting online research (Wang, 20 05). In Oregon secondary schools, wirelessly networked note taking is used to put forward Hispanic migrant students who speak English as a second language (ESL).As part of the InTime project, ESL students attend regular high school classes along with a bilingual, note-taking/mentoring partner. Note takers and students communicate using a collaborative sacred scripture process and graphics package on wirelessly networked laptop computers. During class presentations, ESL students can read their note takers translation of lynchpin words, allowing students to build both English and Spanish literacy skills as they advance academically (Knox and Anderson-Inman, 2001). Students with Disabilities. For several decades, the American educational system has taken a change view of special education, treating it as a mini-school within the school where teachers, largely cut off from the rest of the staff, faced a group of students with an fabulously wide put across of abilities and disabi lities and made the exceed of it. Today, that view of special education is giving way to a broader, more philosophical approachan approach designed to weave inclusive practices into the fabric of the whole-school environment. (MOSAIC, 2000a).The shift in recognizing the needs of students with disabilities in relationship to their general education peers began with the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Before the law, many children with disabilities who were not in schools at all because schools had chosen to exclude them (MOSAIC, 2000b). conception clearly established that all students with disabilities have the right to public education. More than 6 million children with disabilities ages 3 to 21 years old are served in federally supported programs (Snyder & Tan, 2005).However, students with disabilities frequently experience insufficient access to and success in the general education class. This is especially true for callow learners, even no n-disabled students, who must cope with the emphasis on learning from text (Biancarosa & Snow, 2004 Kamil, 2003). Universal Design for breeding (UDL) takes advantage of the opportunity brought by promptly evolving communication technologies to create flexible teaching methods and platform materials that can devil diverse learners and improve student access to the general education curriculum (Rose & Meyer, 2002).UDL assumes that students bring different needs and skills to the task of learning, and the learning environment should be designed to both accommodate, and demand use of, these differences (Bowe 2000 Rose & Meyer, 2002). To promote improved access to the general curriculum for all learners, including learners with disabilities, Rose & Meyer (2002) have determine three key principles or guidelines for UDL Presenting information in aggregate formats and fivefold media. Offering students with multiple ways to express and demonstrate what they have larn.Providing multi ple entry points to engage student interest and motivate learning. For example, printed reading materials pose dateable challenges to the learning of students with disabilities (J. Zorfass personal communication, October 2005). engineering can assist with such difficulties by enabling a shift from printed text to electronic text, which Anderson-Inman and Reinking (1998) preserve can be modified, enhanced, programmed, linked, searched, collapsed, and collaborative.Text styles and font sizes can be modified as require by readers with visual disabilities read aloud by a computer-based text-to-speech translators and integrated with illustrations, videos, and audio. Electronic text affords alternative formats for reading materials that can be customized to match learner needs, can be structured in ways that scaffold the learning process and expand both physiologic and cognitive access, and can foster new modes of expression through adjustment and multimedia (J.Zorfass personal com munication, October 2005). It represents one way that technology can support the achievement of students with disabilities. engineering science also has a role to looseness of the bowels in the testing of students with disabilities. A notable outgrowth of NCLB is the legislations required requirement that states ac press for individual subgroups, which has further challenged schools and districts to take students with disabilities (McLaughlin, S Embler, K Nagle, 2004 Nagle, 2005).State academic cognitive content and achievement standards now define the goals of education for all students, and most students with disabilities are now anticipate to reach the same level of proficiency as their non-disabled peers. In order to ensure that disabilities do not prevent students from participating in standardized assessments, students with disabilities are authorize to take these tests in the same way as their peers, with remunerations, or with an flick assessment (Thompson, Thurlow , Moore, 2003).These accommodations or alternatives must not alter the content standard being measured nor the achievement standard (McLaughlin, Embler Nagle, 2004). While technology can support such accommodations and alternatives, striking a balance between accommodation and standardization across all students testing experiences remains a subject of debate today (Murray, 2005). Back To Top educational Technology and entropy Driven Decision MakingThe effectiveness of educational technology on student learning depends not only on what outcomes are targeted and how the technology is integrated into instruction, but also on how teachers assess student movement in classrooms and adjust instruction correspondly. Technology offers teachers a broad icon of tools to collect and analyze information, and richer bewilders of student info to guide instructional decisions.NCLB has prompted educators to think much more systematically slightly educational decision-making and the use o f selective information to inform their decisions more or less everything from resource allocation to instructional practice. Schools are now anticipate to monitor their efforts to enable all students to achieve, and administrators and teachers are now judge to be prepared to use entropy to understand where students are academically and to establish targeted, responsive, and flexible ways to improve this academic standing (Mitchell, Lee, & Herman, 2000, p. 2). However, condescension encouragement at the policy level, there is growing consensus that schools are not adequately prepared for the task of routinely thinking critically about the relationships between instructional practices and student outcomes (Confrey & Makar, 2005 Olsen, 2003 Hammerman & Rubin, 2002 Herman & Gribbons, 2001 Kearns & Harvey, 2000).Recent research conducted by EDCs Center for Children and Technology has found that educators working at different levels of a school system have distinctive intuitive app roaches to the process, despite the absence seizure of systematic training in a particular approach to data-driven decision-making. For example, school administrators use high-stakes test data to allocate resources and designing professional teaching and other kinds of targeted intervention activities by identifying general patterns of performance, class-, grade-, and school-wide strengths and weaknesses.Teachers tend to use multiple sources of datahomework assignments, in-class tests, classroom performances, and experiential informationto inform their thinking about their students strengths and weaknesses (Brunner, Fasca, Heinze, Honey, Light, Mandinach Wexler, 2005 Light, Wexler Heinze, 2004 Honey, Brunner, Light, Kim, McDermott, Heinze, Bereiter Mandinach, 2002).While drawing on varied sources of data to form opinions about students competencies is not new behavior for teachers, significant research (Mandinach, Honey, Light, Heinze, & Rivas, 2005 Confrey & Makar, 2002, 2005 Hammerman, & Rubin, 2002, 2003) suggests that teachers examine work outs that contribute to individual patterns of behavior and think case-by-case, rather than identify patterns in data at different levels of aggregation, from student-to-student, class-to-class, and year-to-year, and systematically analyze the relationship between student performance and instructional strategies and materials.Data literacythe ability of instructional leaders and teachers to work individually and collectively to examine outcomes-based achievement data, formative assessment measures of student performance, and students work products, and to develop strategies for improvement based on these datais now widely recognized as a critical schema in the academic performance of schools (Fullan, 1999 Haycock, 2001 Johnson, 1996 Love, 2004 Schmoker, 1999 Zalles, 2005).A key concept of data literacy is generating only the data that are needed and making full use of whats collected. The National Research Council (1996) notes that, far too often, more educational data are collected and analyzed than are used to make decisions or take action (p. 90). Those resources become meaningful to educators only when they are transformed into information, and ultimately into usable or actionable noesis (Mandinach & Honey, 2005).interpreted as a whole, the emerging research in this area suggests that what is needed is a comprehensive and purposeful approach to the use of data that not only informs the practices of individual teachers, but is supported as an essential and strategic part of school-wide improvement strategies. New professional phylogeny programs are now training teachers and school leaders in how to make use of data in systematic and rigorous ways to continuously improve student performance.For example, TERC has created Using Data, a professional development model that introduces teachers to a process through which they learn to frame questions, collect data, formulate hypotheses, draw c onclusions, take action, and monitor results (Love, 2002). Preliminary studies have indicated that this model has had an impact on teacher classroom behavior and on their approach to data analysis and reading (Love, 2004), and has also improved student learning as indicated by state and formative assessments (Zuman, 2005).Results from outside(a) paygrades of the intervention conducted in various locations have shown substantial gains in student performance on state accountability measures in the areas of math and language arts. Technology has a vital role to play in enabling data-driven decision-making. Web-based test data reporting systems provide an port wine to the state and city testing results by organizing raw data into information that is aligned with state standards and mobile computing devices, such as take holds, provide teachers with a platform to administer and analyze the data of classroom-based assessments.For example, according to the 2004 step Education Data, 55 percent of the nations public school districts used PDAs or handheld PCs in the 2002-2003 school year with an redundant 8 percent expected to purchase them for use during the 2003-2004 school year. The rime released by Wireless Generation, a for-profit company that designs educational assessment applications for handheld devices, suggests an even greater increase. During the fall of 2005, Wireless estimates that roughly 80,000 teachers, working in 48 states allow be using their software to collect and analyze data for up to one million students in pre-K through 6th grade.The company currently has contracts with ten Reading First states, as well as with some of the largest school districts in the nation, including the New York City display panel of Education and Chicago Public Schools. While using PDAs to administer assessments and view data are becoming increasingly popular, few studies have examined the effect they have on teacher practice and student achievement (Brunner Honey, 2001 Hupert, Martin, Heinze, Kanaya, Perez, 2004 kinky Risko, 2003 Sharp, 2004).Studies that have begun to examine this trend suggest that that these tools assist teachers in thinking more substantively about students progress. As a whole, the research indicates that the single most powerful affordance of the technology is its ability to support teachers in using assessments to acquire information about students thinking and learning, and to use the understanding gained to further invent their instructional practice (Brunner Honey, 2001 Hupert et al. , 2004 Sharp Risko, 2003).Such a strategy places assessment squarely in the center of the classroom where it can potentially count the most. Back To Top The Complex Nature of Change Another factor influencing the impact of technology on student achievement is that changes in classroom technologies correlate to changes in other educational factors as well. Originally the purpose of student achievement was based on tradition al methods of social scientific investigation it asked whether there was a specific, causal relationship between one thingtechnologyand anotherstudent achievement.Because schools are complex social environments, however, it is unimaginable to change just one thing at a time (Glennan Melmed, 1996 Hawkins, Panush, Spielvogel, 1996 Newman, 1990). If a new technology is introduced into a classroom, other things also change. For example, teachers perceptions of their students capabilities can shift dramatically when technology is integrated into the classroom (Honey, Chang, Light, Moeller, in press). Also, teachers frequently find themselves acting more as coaches and less as lecturers (Henriquez Riconscente, 1998).Another example is that use of technology tends to foster collaboration among students, which in turn may have a positive effect on student achievement (Tinzmann, 1998). Because the technology becomes part of a complex network of changes, its impact cannot be reduced to a s imple cause-and-effect model that would provide a definitive answer to how it has improved student achievement. Back To Top IMPLICATIONS These findings have implications for every district and school using or be later on to use technology.Research on successfully developing, evaluating, studying, and implementing a wide range of technology-based educational programs suggests that the value of technology for students go out not be recognize unless attention is paid to several authorized considerations that support the effective use of technology (ISTE, 2002 Byrom Bingham, 2001 Chang, Henriquez, Honey, Light, Moeller, Ross, 1998 Cradler, 1997 Frederiksen White, 1997 Hawkins, Panush, Spielvogel, 1996 Honey, McMillan, Tsikalas, Light, 1996 National Foundation for the Improvement of Education, 1996 Pea Gomez, 1992).These considerations are unique(predicate) educational goals and a vision of learning through technology current professional development Structural changes in th e school day A ample technical infrastructure and technical support on-going military rank Back To Top 1. Educational Goals and a Vision of Learning through Technology Before technology is purchased or teachers participate in their foremost professional development session, the educational goals for students should be determined. What do students need to learn, and how can technology promote those learning goals?To answer these questions, the school can call a technology planning team comprising administrators, teachers, other instructional staff, technology coordinators, students, parents, and representatives of the biotic community. This team first develops a clear set of goals, expectations, and criteria for student learning based on national and state standards, the student population, and community concerns. Next, it determines the types of technology that will outflank support efforts to meet those goals. The viewpoints of parents and community members are implementa l in presenting a broader perspective of skills that students need to succeed after(prenominal) school.In fact, communitywide positment in determining the schools technology goals benefits the inherent educational process (Byrom & Bingham, 2001 Panel on Educational Technology, 1997). Rather than using technology for technologys sake, the planning team ensures that particular educational objectives are achieved more efficiently, in more depth, or with more tractableness through technology. Cuban (cited in Trotter, 1998) states, The obligation is for educators, practitioners, and educational policymakers to think about what they are after.Only with clear goals can educators be intelligent about how much they want to spend for what purpose and under what conditions. If there is a clear understanding of the purpose of and type of technology used, evaluating the impact is easier and more valuable. According to Hawkins, Panush, and Spielvogel (1996) and Byrom Bingham (2001), school districts that successfully integrate technology show a clear and meaningful connection between technology and larger educational goals. Next, the planning team develops a vision of how technology can improve teaching and learning.Without a vision, farthesting school improvement is almost impossible (Byrom Bingham, 2001). Team members come to consensus in answering the question How Will You office Technology to bind Your Vision of Learning? Essential to this vision is an emphasis on meaningful, engaged learning with technology, in which students are actively affect in the learning process. Educational technology is less effective when the learning objectives are unclear and the focus of the technology use is diffuse (Schacter, 1999).The schools vision of learning through technology also emphasizes the sizeableness of all students having equitable access and use of technologyfemales, special-needs students, minority students, single out students, students at risk of educationa l failure, rural and inner-city students. All students need opportunities to use technology in meaningful, authentic tasks that develop higher-order thinking skills. (For further information, refer to the Critical stretch forth Ensuring Equitable Use of Education Technology. ) Back To Top 2. master key Development After the educational goals and vision of learning through technology have been determined, it is important to provide professional development to teachers to ease them choose the most permit technologies and instructional strategies to meet these goals. Students cannot be expected to benefit from technology if their teachers are neither familiar nor comfortable with it. Teachers need to be supported in their efforts to use technology.The primary reason teachers do not use technology in their classrooms is a lack of experience with the technology (Wenglinsky, 1998 Rosen & Weil, 1995). Wenglinsky (cited in Archer, 1998) found that teachers who had received professional development with computers during the last five years were more likely to use computers in effective ways than those who had not participated in such training. Yet teacher generalization programs too often focus narrowly on helping new teachers survive the initial year (Fulton, Yoon, & Lee, 2005).Ongoing professional development is prerequisite to help teachers learn not only how to use new technology but also how to provide meaningful instruction and activities using technology in the classroom (Ringstaff & Kelley, 2002). Teachers must be offered training in using computers, notes Sulla (1999), but their training must go beyond that to the instructional strategies needed to infuse technological skills into the learning process. In successful projects, teachers are provided with ongoing professional development on practical applications of technology.Teachers cannot be expected to learn how to use educational technology in their teaching after a one-time workshop. Teachers need i n-depth, sustained assistance not only in the use of the technology but in their efforts to integrate technology into the curriculum (Kanaya & Light, 2005). Teachers also need embedded opportunities for professional learning and collaborating with colleagues in order to overcome the barrier of time and teachers quotidian schedules (The National Council of staff Development, 2001 Kanaya Light, 2005).Skills training becomes peripheral to alternative forms of ongoing support that addresses a range of issues, including teachers ever-changing practices and curricula, new technologies and other new resources, and changing assessment practices. This time worn-out(a) ensuring that teachers are using technology to enrich their students learning experiences is an important fix in determining the value of technology to their students. According to Soloway (cited in Archer, 1998), teachers forever have been the key to determining the impact of innovations, and this situation also is true of technology.Besides pedagogical support to help students use technology to reach learning goals, teachers also need time to become familiar with useable products, software, and online resources. They also need time to discuss technology use with other teachers. Transforming schools into 21st century learning communities means recognizing that teachers must become members of a growing network of dual-lane expertise (Fulton, Yoon, Lee, 2005). Professional collaboration includes communicating with educators in similar situations and others who have experience with technology (Panel on Educational Technology, 1997).This activity can be done in face-to-face meetings or by using technology such as e-mail or videoconferencing. The effects of introducing technology on teacher professionalization include increase collaboration among teachers within a school and increased interaction with external collaborators and resources. Back To Top 3. Structural Changes in the School Day It is impor tant to build time into the daily schedule allowing teachers time to collaborate and to work with their students.Engaged learning through technology is best supported by changes in the structure of the school day, including longer class periods and more allowance for team teaching and interdisciplinary work. For example, when students are working on long-run research projects for which they are making use of online resources (such as artwork, scientific data sets, or historical documents), they may need more than a daily 30- or 40-minute period to find, explore, and synthesize these materials for their research.As schools continue to acquire more technology for student use and as teachers are able to find more ways to incorporate technology into their instruction, the problem will no longer be not complete computers but not enough time (Becker, 1994). Back To Top 4. Technical Infrastructure and Support increase use of technology in the school requires a robust technical infrastruc ture and adequate technical support. If teachers are working with a technology infrastructure that realistically cannot support the work they are trying to do, they will become frustrated.School districts have a responsibility to create not only nominal access to computers and electronic networks but access that is robust enough to support the kinds of use that can make a real difference in the classroom. Teachers also must have access to on-the-scene(prenominal) technical support personnel who are responsible for troubleshooting and assistance after the technology and lessons are in place. Back To Top 5. Evaluation Ongoing evaluation of technology applications and student achievement, based on the overall educational goals that were decided on, helps to ensure that he technology is fascinate, adaptable, and useful. Such evaluation also facilitates change if learning goals are not being met. Administrators can acknowledge and recognize incremental improvements in student outcomes as well as changes in teachers curricula and practices. Gradual progress, rather than sudden transformation, is more likely to result in long-term change. Baker (1999) emphasizes that besides being a means to collect, interpret, and document findings, evaluation is a planning tool that should be considered at the beginning of any technology innovation.She adds that the overall focus of evaluation is student learning. Heinecke, Blasi, Milman, and Washington (1999) note that multiple quantitative and qualitative evaluation measures may be necessary to document student learning outcomes. To ensure that evaluation procedures are adequately designed and carried out, administrators and teachers may wish to consult evaluation sources such as An Educators Guide to Evaluating the Use of Technology in Schools and Classrooms. All of these issues are important in using technology to improve student achievement.Educational technology is not, and never will be, transformative on its own. But when decisions are made strategically with these factors in mind, technology can play a critical role in creating new stack and opportunities for learning that can be rich and exciting. At its best, technology can facilitate deep exploration and integration of information, high-level thinking, and profound engagement by allowing students to design, explore, experiment, access information, and model complex phenomena, note Goldman, Cole, and Syer (1999).These new passel and opportunitiesnot the technology on its owncan have a direct and meaningful impact on student achievement. When educators use the accumulating knowledge regarding the circumstances under which technology supports the broad definition of student achievement, they will be able to make informed choices about what technologies will best meet the particular needs of specific schools or districts. They also will be able to ensure that teachers, parents, students, and community members nderstand what role technology is act ing in a school or district and how its impact is being measured. Finally, they will be able to justify the investments made in technology. To help states, school districts, and school personnel plan ways to measure the impact that technology is having on classroom practices and academic achievement, Dirr (2004) in partnership with the Appalachian Technology in Education Consortium and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Technology in Education Consortium, identified the following evaluation strategiesEncourage SEAs and LEAs to set aside 10 percent to 15 percent of funds to evaluate their technology grants. Provide a model comprehensive plan for states and districts to consider as they design their own evaluation plans to include a statement of purpose, identifies clear objectives, demonstrates valid approaches to research design, and specifies prehend time frames for analysis and reporting. Support efforts to develop shared instruments and sets of common data elements.Develop a database of best practices for technology programs and applications that have shown to support student achievement in scientifically based research studies. Develop a list of passing equal researchers and evaluators from whom SEAs and LEAs can obtain guidance. Explore the development of validated instruments that could be shared across states. Back To Top ACTION OPTIONS Administrators, the technology planning team, and teachers can take the following steps to improve student achievement through technology.Administrators and the Planning Team (comprising teacher representatives, technology coordinator, students, parents, and interested community members) round a range of national and state educational standards for student learning (such as those listed in Developing Educational Standards). Seek out content standards that articulate the goals for students to achieve. Determine key aspects of national and state student learning standards for the school or district to focus on as educational g oals. Involve teachers in this process to ensure that their expertise and opinions are considered. commission cross-disciplinary groups of teachers and technology coordinators with finding new ways that technology can help students to achieve those learning goals. Collaborate to create a technology plan for the school. (Refer to the Critical Issue Developing a School or territory Technology Plan. ) Set one-, three-, and five-year goals for improving student learning through technology. nominate specific curricula, practices, skills, attitudes, and policies that can be enhanced through the use of technology to foster significant improvement in the character and quality of student learning. For example, if the district is interested in improving students writing performance, word processing with an emphasis on revision and editing should become a large part of the curriculum across disciplines. ) Identify classrooms in the district where students are already producing exemplary wor k using technology or lambast virtual classrooms by viewing CD-ROMs (such as the Captured Wisdom CD-ROM program library produced by the North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium), videotapes of echnology use in schools (such as the Learning With Technology videotapes), or Internet sites relating to technology integration in content areas (such as lessons using the dire Picture Machine and the handbook of Engaged Learning Projects). Build a database or other resource that allows the school to share these best practices with school staff and the community in general. Be aware of state technology plans, district technology plans, and related policies. Ensure that the school is in compliance. scram familiar with factors that affect the effective use of technology for teaching and learning. Learn about research studies conducted in real school settings that describe how technology use is influenced by teachers experience with technology, adequacy of release time, prof essional development opportunities, and length of class periods. Ensure that teachers are aware of the value of technology for all students, especially those considered at risk of educational failure. (Refer to the Critical Issue Using Technology to Enhance Engaged Learning for At-Risk Students. )Ensure that all students have equitable access to effective uses of technology. Develop strategies for addressing access inequities, strategies for addressing type-of-use inequities, and strategies for addressing curriculum inequities. Provide ongoing, extensive, and research-based professional development opportunities and technical support to help teachers use technology to develop meaningful instructional strategies for students. (Refer to the Critical Issues Realizing New Learning for All Students Through Professional Development and Finding Time for Professional Development. ) Ensure that new, research-based approaches to professional development are consistent with the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) standards for staff development. Provide incentives, structures, and time for teachers to participate in highly effective staff development (such as study groups and action research) to help them integrate technology into their teaching and learning. Find ways to make appropriate structural changes in the school day and class scheduling to support engaged learning with technology. Consider block scheduling as a possibility.Educate parents about new assessment methods that enable teachers and administrators to make judgments about the effectiveness of technology in supporting student learning. Use appropriate evaluation procedures and tools to determine the impact of technology use on student achievement based on the learning goals that were set. Consult evaluation sources such as An Educators Guide to Evaluating the Use of Technology in Schools and Classrooms. Share findings with the community. Teachers Determine the purpose of using technology in the clas sroom, as determined by the specified educational goals.Is it used to support inquiry, enhance communication, extend access to resources, guide students to analyze and visualize data, enable product development, or encourage expression of ideas? After the purpose is determined, select the appropriate technology and develop the curricula. Create a plan for evaluating students work and assessing the impact of the technology. Coordinate technology implementation efforts with core learning goals, such as improving students writing skills, reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, and problem-solving skills.Collaborate with colleagues to design curricula that involve students in meaningful learning activities in which technology is used for research, data analysis, synthesis, and communication. Promote the use of learning circles, which offer opportunities for students to exchange ideas with other students, teachers, and professionals across the world. Encourage students to broaden their horizons with technology by means of global connections, electronic visualization, electronic field trips, and online research and publishing.Ensure that students have equitable access to various technologies (such as presentation software, video production, Web page production, word processing, modeling software, and desktop publishing software) to produce projects that demonstrate what they have learned in particular areas of the curriculum. Encourage students to collaborate on projects and to use peer assessment to critique each others work. In attachment to standardized tests, use alternative assessment strategies that are based on students performance of authentic tasks.One strategy is to help students develop electronic portfolios of their work to be used for assessment purposes. Ensure that technology-rich student products can be evaluated directly in relation to the goals for student outcomes, rather than according to students level of skill with the technology. Creat e opportunities for students to share their work publiclythrough performances, public service, open houses, science fairs, and videos. Use these occasions to inform parents and community members of the kinds of learning outcomes the school is providing for students.Learn how various technologies are used today in the world of work, and help students see the value of technology applications. (Pertinent online information can be found in the 1998-99 Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Career Information. ) Participate in professional development activities to gain experience with various types of educational technology and learn how to integrate this technology into the curriculum. Use technology (such as an e-mail list) to connect with other teachers outside the school or district and compare successful strategies for teaching with technology.