Critical Issue:
Technology: A Catalyst for Teaching and Learning in the Classroom
This Critical Issue was researched and written by Gilbert Valdez, Ph.D.,
director of North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium and
codirector of North Central Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Consortium
(NCEMSC). Editorial guidance was provided by Barbara Youngren, director,
The Critical Issue team would like to acknowledge the following experts
for reviewing this article: Marla Davenport, director of Learning and Technology,
TIES; Kathleen Fulton, director for Reinventing Schools for the 21st Century
at the National Commission on Teaching and America's F and Robert Nelson,
Learning, Leading and Technology.
The interface between educational technology and science and mathematics
instruction is integral and symbiotic. Few of the examples noted in the Glenn
Commission report (,
2000) would be as advanced as they are without the use of technology:
Literacy in these areas [mathematics and science] affects the ability to
understand weather and stock reports, develop a personal financial plan, or
understand a doctor's advice. Taking advantage of mathematical and scientific
information does not generally require an expert's grasp of those disciplines.
But it does require a distinctive approach to analyzing information. We all
have to be able to make accurate observations, develop conjectures, and test
hypotheses: In short, we have to be familiar with a scientific approach. (p.
Educational technology, especially computers and computer-related peripherals,
have grown tremendously and have permeated all areas of our lives. It is incomprehensible
that anyone today would argue that banks, hospitals, or any industry should
use less technology. Most young people cannot understand arguments that schools
should limit technology use. For them, use of the Internet, for example, plays
a major role in their relationships with their friends, their families, and
their schools. Teens and their parents generally think use of the Internet
enhances the social life and academic work of teenagers:
The Internet is becoming an increasingly vital tool in our information society.
More Americans are going online to conduct such day-to-day activities as education,
business transactions, personal correspondence, research and information-gathering,
and job searches. Each year, being digitally connected becomes ever more critical
to economic and educational advancement and community participation. Now that
a large number of Americans regularly use the Internet to conduct daily activities,
people who lack access to these tools are at a growing disadvantage. Therefore,
raising the level of digital inclusion by increasing the number of Americans
using the technology tools of the digital age is a vitally important national
Economics and
Statistics Administration, & National Telecommunications and Information
Administration. (2000, p. xv)
The very concept of the Internet would not be possible without technology.
This is paralleled by the incredibly rapid growth of information that likely
would not be possible without this technology. Research centers with no computers
would arouse suspicion about the completeness, accuracy, and currency of their
information because science and mathematics information grows daily and much
of that new information can only be found through the use of technology. In
fact, very few would argue with the statement that computers are essential
to the work of professional scientists and mathematicians.
From the beginning of the computer age, educational researchers and practitioners
have told us that for technology use to be successful in our schools it needed
to be closely tied to school reform. Glennan and Melmed (1995) wrote: &Technology
without reform is likely to have little value: widespread reform without technology
is probably impossible& (pp. xix&xx.). The unavoidable conclusion
is that successful improvement of technology, science, and mathematics education
is of high importance to our future. In
high-tech executives met
with President Bush to discuss the future of technology: They indicated that
improving mathematics and science education ranked next to national security
and broadband Internet access was one of the most important considerations
for improving economic growth in their companies.
Given the vital role of technology in today's world, t his Critical Issue
will examine the value of effective technology use in classrooms with specific
references to mathematics and science instruction, programs, and curricula.
It will attempt to answer the following three questions that are essential
to making technology use more effective in instruction :
What prevents educational researchers from giving us definitive answers
about technology in the classroom that would satisfy both critics and advocates?
What does the best quantitative and qualitative research tell us about
educational technology's effectiveness and the conditions and factors necessary
for maximum effectiveness?
Why is educational technology important to the
teaching and learning of mathematics and science and what are the important
considerations and resources that make technology use more effective?
Teaching is changing and, in many ways, becoming a more difficult job because
of increasingly numerous contradictory expectations, including the following:
We are living in an age of information overload with the expectation that
students will learn high-level skills such as how to access, evaluate, analyze,
and synthesize vast quantities of information. At the same time, teachers
are evaluated by their ability to have students pass tests that often give
no value to these abilities.
Teachers are expected to teach students to solve complex problems that
require knowledge necessary across many subject areas even as they are held
accountable for the teaching and learning of isolated skills and information.
Teachers are expected to meet the needs of all students and move them toward
fulfillment of their individual potential even as they are pressured to prepare
students for maximum performance on high-stakes assessment tests that are
the primary measure of student and school success.
Technology can actually assist with some of these expectations and make teachers&and
their students&more successful. However, as the world becomes more complex&virtually
year-to-year instead of the generation-to-generation pace of most of the last
century&educational needs continue to shift from teaching and learning
isolated skills and information within each content area, to teaching skills
that enable students to solve complex problems across many areas. Educators
must prepare for a technology-rich future and keep up with change by adopting
effective strategies that infuse lessons with appropriate technologies. This
makes a uthentic assessment needs even more important: Assessments must keep
pace with effective instructional technology use. All this while educators
at every level, but teachers especially, actively pursue professional development
that enables a lifelong exploration of ways to enhance the teaching and learning
of science and mathematics and support science and mathematics education reform.
The National Center for Education Statistics reports that there are virtually
no differences in Internet access between poor schools and wealthier schools
any more, as Internet access has steadily been increasing in public schools
over time (Fox, 2005). Technology being infused into the schools is ongoing,
unstoppable, and necessary. Thus, school use and access to new and current
technologies is on the rise and more and more states have established technology
standards for students, teachers, and administrators (Fox, 2005). Teachers
have begun to use the Internet more frequently as a valuable tool in their
instruction:
Seventy-seven percent of public schools had a majority of teachers who
used the Internet for instruction during the 2003&04 school year, up from
54 percent in 1998-99 & with 73 percent of high-poverty schools and
71 percent of high-minority schools having a majority of their teachers using
the Internet for instruction. (Fox, 2005, p. 42)
On the other hand, the apparent growth of technology use is not always welcomed
by critics who argue that schools should use less technology. For example,
Oppenhimer (2003) in his book titled The Flickering Mind: The False Promise
of Technology in the Classroom concluded that placing computers in the
classroom has been almost &entirely wasteful.& Other critics have
written and spoken extensively of their beliefs that schools should not use
technology for a variety of reasons ranging from creating social isolation
to preventing students from learning critical basic skills.
This apparent paradox of technology use inexorably spreading across society&homes,
businesses large and small, libraries, government&as critics continue
to challenge its use in schools is even more puzzling when students are asked
how important they believe technology and especially the Internet is to their
lives and their schoolwork. The Pew Internet and American Life project (Levin & Arafeh,
2002) found that t eenagers use the Internet extensively. About 17 million
students, ages 12&17, use the Internet to finding information for school
that number represents 94 percent of the youth in that age bracket.
According to the study, students are very positive about the use of the Internet
to do their schoolwork:
[Students] complete their sch they are lesslikely
to get stymied by material they don' their papers and projects
are more likely to draw upon up-to-date sources and state-of-the-
and, they are better at juggling their school assignments and extracurricular
activities when they use the Internet. (Levin & Arafeh, 2002, p. ii)
However, student perceptions about the in-school uses of technology may be
less positive, depending on several factors. One factor revealed in this study
is student perception of insufficient teacher knowledge. Another factor students
revealed is their disappointment in the lack of quality access and presence
of excessive filtering systems that prevent them from accessing significant
sites, especially those related to medical topics. They noted that while there
were exceptions of positive and engaging uses of the Internet assigned by their
teachers, they stated that Internet-related assignments were often of poor
Students say that the not-so-engaging uses are the more typical of their
assignments. Students repeatedly told us that the quality of their Internet-based
assignments was poor and uninspiring. They want to be assigned more&and
more engaging&Internet activities that are relevant to their lives. Indeed,
many students assert that this would significantly improve their attitude toward
school and learning. (Levin & Arafeh, 2002, p. iv)
Out of school, students use the Internet and handheld devices as major tools
to maintain and enhance their social life and to communicate with friends locally
and even internationally.
Overall, managing the changes in teaching (which surround and permeate implementation
of technology use in schools) means dealing with student, parent, and institutional
high expectations in student learning of high-level skills and content specifics
as well as success on high-stakes assessments that tend to ignore many of those
otherwise valued skills.
What Prevents Educational Researchers from Giving Us Definitive Answers
About Technology in the Classroom That Would Satisfy Both Critics and Advocates?
There are several reasons K&12 educational organizations continue to
agonize about how much and in what ways technology use in schools is appropriate.
Their concerns include the following:
Some uses of technology may add value while some may become a distraction
for students.
Technology is only one variable among many others that also need to be
addressed.
Teacher competency in the use of technology is often problematic.
Students and teachers have unclear, and often inconsistent, expectations
of technology use.
In considering research on technology, Fulton (1998) in an essay titled &A
Framework for Considering Technology Effectiveness& noted that the following
caveats must be taken into account:
The techn as hardware and software evolve, new educational
opportunities appear.
Educational technologies are used in classroom settings, which rarely provide
optimal conditions for their use.
Research findings and results are often inappropriately generalized across
grade levels, students, subject matter, types of technologies, and applications.
The teacher is a key variable in technology implementation and effectiveness.
Technology's impact on teachers and their practice should be considered
as important as student effects because students move on but teachers remain
to influence many generations of students (p. 1).
Meanwhile, the usually high value-added effects of classroom technology use
have received more critical review than other educational tools. But too often
both the praise and criticism of such technology use fails to consider the
large and varied range of contexts found in classrooms. As Fulton (1998) also
In other words, to ask if technology works is almost the equivalent of saying &Do
textbooks work?& Yes, some textbooks &work,& in some conditions,
with some teachers, with some students, but these same textbooks may not &work& in
another educational context. Clearly, the question of technology effectiveness
requires us to be clear in what results we seek, how we measure success,
and how we define effectiveness. (p. 1)
Painter (2001) noted similar concerns regarding results, measures of success,
and an effectiveness definition when developing technology evaluation instruments
and protocols. She wrote:
&What observable behaviors will indicate that technology integration
is successful in this setting?& This discussion is likely to surface
complexities that appear to be uniquely problematic to the area of technology
integration. These issues relate to the complexity of technology integration,
the confounding of teacher quality and philosophy with integration, the difficulty
of inferring important information about complex cognitive processes from
direct observation, and the rate of technology development that challenges
evaluators' abilities to keep pace. (p. 22)
Indeed, many researchers believe that using paper-and-pencil tests to assess
student learning after students had been taught content through the use of
technology is the wrong thing to do and the wrong focus of technology use.
Russell and Haney (1997) studied the effects of test administration mode to
see whether tests administered on computer versus paper-and-pencil have an
effect on student performance on multiple-choice and written test questions.
The study found that significantly higher cognitive-level responses are written
on computers than those written by hand:
The size of the effects was found to be 0.94 on the extended writing task
and .99 and 1.25 for the NAEP language arts and science short answer items.
Effect sizes of this magnitude are unusually large and of sufficient size
to be of not just statistical, but also practical significance (Cohen, 1977;
Wolf, 1986). (Russell & Haney, 1997)
Such findings suggest that the medium of instruction makes a difference in
the accuracy and value of assessment in the classroom. Russell (2000) claims
that technologies used during learning activities should also be used during
testing. Further, he contends that student assessment methods should match
the medium in which students typically work and that advocates for state and
local assessment programs should ensure students have access to the same technology
in the assessment process as they have in the learning process. Rose and Meyer
(2002) believe that selecting appropriate testing accommodations for students
on an individualized basis is a very complex endeavor involving the following
factors that can confound assessment results:
Individual student learning differences.
Media characteristics of the testing technology.
Type and amount of student supports.
Poor alignment between curriculum and the test used to measure achievement.
In their study, Russell and Haney (1997) concluded that, &As more and
more students in schools and colleges do their work with spreadsheets and word
processors, the traditional paper-and- pencil modes of assessment may fail
to measure what they have learned.& The study suggests that more and more
paper-based assessments of today are becoming a thing of the past. Media characteristics
of the technology used to administer the test also can present factors confounding
test results when students are more apt in one medium (i.e., paper-and-pencil
tests) than another medium (i.e., computerized tests that require keyboarding
skills). This is a concern that will continue to grow as more assessments become
technology based. Companies that develop these tests increasingly design their
tests to be taken on computers. However, Rubin (Fulton, Feldman, Wasser, Spitzer,
Rubin, & McNamara et al., 1996) believes that a more important outcome
than raising test scores is the potential of technology to create communities
of learners that do the following:
Open the classroom to more communication opportunities.
Encourage more teacher-student and student-student discussion.
Share the authority as more resources are brought into the classroom.
Create opportunities for tasks that are complex and authentic and connected
to projects which may be multidisciplinary and long term.
Give students more opportunities for multiple ways of discovering, creating,
and communicating information in various formats and voices. (p. xviii)
In their studies, Haertel and Means (2003) provided guidance on the evaluation
of technology and thereby provided ways to determine the effectiveness of educational
technology. They noted as follows:
Multiple and complementary research strategies are needed to measure the
impact of technology.
Three promising general strategies for research design are contextualized
evaluations, multilevel longitudinal research, and random-assigned experiments.
Clustered studies that link to prior research and other interrelated studies
offer a means for influences that affect student outcomes in &a myriad
of relevant contexts.&
Common measures of contextual variables need to be used so that uniform
results can be aggregated.
Methods must be matched to purpose and not insistence on one methodology
for all studies.
Because of multiple intervention and practices present in every classroom,
research on naturally occurring practices that are primarily descriptive
need to be valued if they have longitudinal, carefully delineating and measuring
variables, and use analytic techniques that help understand uses and frequencies.
(pp. 257&268)
What Do the Best Quantitative and Qualitative Research Tell Us About
Educational Technology's Effectiveness and the Conditions and Factors Necessary
for Maximum Effectiveness?
Most educational researchers, especially those who have examined large numbers
of controlled studies (meta-analyses) that were neutral and independent, agree
that if used appropriately, technology can improve education in the effect-size
range between 0.30 and 0.40 (Kulik, 2002; Waxman, Connell, & Gray, 2002).
In order to make effect size more meaningful for nonstatisticians, Kulik (2002),
in a section on methodology, stated the following:
An effect size specifies the number of standard deviation units separating
outcome scores of an experimental and control group. Effect sizes are positive
when the experimental group outperforms the control group and negative when
the control group comes out on top. Slavin, an expert in educational evaluation,
considers effect size above 0.25 large enough to be educationally significant.
Cohen, a pioneer in the use of effect size in the social sciences, classifies
effect sizes of around 0.2 as small, 0.5 as moderate in size and 0.8 as large.
To achieve statistically significant effect sizes, schools must make certain
that the following occur:
There is sufficiently available technology support and maintenance, as
well as appropriate software.
The uses of technology have linkages to important educational learning
expectations.
Most important of all&teachers have the necessary skills and knowledge
to effectively model and teach exemplary uses of technology.
Based on the effect size of 0.30 to 0.40, Kulik's (2002) conclusions were
as follows:
Computer tutorials can produce very favorable results in natural and social
science instruction. Effects of tutorials on test scores in most studies
were large enough to be considered educationally meaningful and were also
unusually large for field studies in education. Tutoring effects on student
attitudes toward instruction and science were also large. Evaluation studies
suggest that student attitudes go up dramatically when students receive some
of their instruction from computer tutorials&. Evaluation results from simulations
and MBLs [microcomputer-based laboratories], however, were weaker and less
consistent than were the results from tutorial programs. Although simulation
programs sometimes improved the effectiveness of science teaching, & results
from MBLs were usually small, and they were negative as often as positive.
But, as cannot be overemphasized, one factor that increases maximum effectives
of technology use is good teacher preparation and skills. To be effective when
using technology, teachers need to be highly involved by interacting and providing
feedback to students. Researchers indicate that appropriate technology use
can be very beneficial to increase educational productivity (Byrom & Bingham,
2001; Clements & Sarama, 2003; Kulik, 2002; Mann, Shakeshaft, Becker, & Kottkamp,
1999; Valdez, McNabb, Foertsch, Anderson, Hawkes, & Raack, 1999; Waxman,
Connell, & Gray, 2002;Wenglinsky, 1998). Research studies
(Chang, Henriquez, Honey, Light, Moeller, & Ross, 1998; Mann et al., 1999)
indicate that technology may be most effective in science when technology is
used to access information, especially from the Internet, and that information
is used to communicate findings to others by using graphs, illustrations, and
animations as well as to simulate and solve real problems. This seems to be
especially true when scientific probes and other technology tools are used
to assist with laboratory experiments. Teachers' views can help explain what
research studies confirm.
Kristin Sak, a fourth-grade teacher and first-year
science teacher at Bertha Vos Elementary School in Traverse City, Michigan,
attests to the fact that technology can eliminate a lot of barriers of understanding&both
in the classroom and among teachers&and . [Video: 1:00]
Research clearly indicates that the single most important factor in the effective
use of technology is the quality of the teacher knowledge of effective technology
uses in instruction. Coppola (2004) noted that:
The effect of technology on students' access to knowledge is determined by
the pedagogical knowledge and skill of teachers. Technology enables teachers
with well-developed working theories of student learning to extend the reach
and pow in the absence of these powerful theories, technology
enables mediocrity. (p. xii)
Coppola (2004) was even more direct in her conclusions, stating that without
strong teacher knowledge of ways to use educational technology, a lot of precious
instruction time can be wasted:
Whether computers are used well depends on the pedagogical knowledge and
skill of the teacher, their use in the classroom. While it is possible to
use computer in the powerful ways, & it is also possible to use them
in ways that waste time or [are] actually detrimental to learning. (p. 4)
. He notes that technology
may often offer better and more accurate tools for students to search for solutions
than regular probes and manipulatives. [Video: 1:15]
Chickering and Ehrmann (1996) considered the research findings of good practice
in innovative technology-enhanced and technology-delivered education. They
determined that there were at least seven factors as follows that were critical
in manifesting effective good practice of technology use:
Encouraged contacts between students and faculty, especially those students
who were unwilling to speak out in face-to-face classroom settings.
reciprocity and cooperation among students allowing for the benefits of
peer learning.
Used active learning techniques that made students active learners.
prompt feedback.
Emphasized time on task.
Communicated high expectations.
Respected diverse talents and ways of learning.
(pp.144&145)
There can be little doubt that technology is very import
moreover, it can be critical for students in various subgroups, such as limited-English
proficiency and students with special needs (Padr&n & Waxman, 1996;
Lee, 2000; Edyburn, Higgins, & Boone, 2005). As a caveat, one needs to
differentiate between two types of technology, educational and assistive, as
Assistive technologies support students with disabilities. They can be
virtually any device that increases, maintains, or improves the functional
capability of a student with a disability.
Educational technologies are learning tools that can increase virtually
all students' learning opportunities.
Although researchers' degree of agreement fluctuates, instructional technology
is generally recognized as a powerful means to boost student achievement (Kulik,
2002; Waxman, Connell, & Gray, 2002). But for technology to work, curriculum
and instructional methods need to be expanded to match the variety and rich
learning options that these technologies are making possible. Educators also
understand that technology itself has created tools that can assist. They realize
that assistive technology is about using simple implements like a pen grip
or overhead projector as well as sophisticated software and adaptive hardware,
so each learner has an opportunity to achieve. They recognize that technology
integration means using many technologies to enhance teaching, learning, and
multisensory experiences, providing &a range of pathways for students
at varying levels& (Ficklen & Muscara, 2001, p. 26). For more detailed
information on technology uses with LEP students and students with special
needs, see
Why is Educational Technology Important to the Teaching and Learning
of Mathematics and Science and What are the Important Considerations and
Resources That Make Technology Use More Effective?
Mathematics and science have suffered from the stereotype that only a few
people can and in fact need to be highly proficient in science and mathematics.
An equally unfortunate and false stereotype is that primarily white males have
the capability to become scientists and mathematicians. Barton (2002) provides
compelling statistics about why those perceptions need to be changed:
While the number of 18- to 24-year-olds will grow by 3 million by 2010 and
offer possibilities of a fresh supply of scientists and engineers from our
colleges and graduate schools, there is one striking fact about that population
increase: only 3 in 10 will be White. (Among all 18- to 24-year-olds, the
percentage of those who are White will decline from 66 to 62 percent). White
students currently represent [a] disproportionately large share of degree
recipients. Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians&who are currently underrepresented
in college and graduate school programs&will constitute almost 60 percent
of the population increase over the next decade. And as pointed out above,
only 3 or 4 percent of high school seniors from these subgroups currently reach
the &proficient& level in mathematics. While the growth in the
proportion of these minorities in the 18- to 24-year-old population is not
dramatic, it does point toward need for greater effort to improve their educational
achievement. Together these facts make it clear that meeting our nation's
future economic needs will not be possible without improving the math and
science achievement of underrepresented minorities . ( p. 4)
Meanwhile, the educational role of technology has grown tremendously in several
ways proving that technology use is undeniably capable of, and important for,
helping teach content. As noted in NCTM (Suydam, 1990, as cited in Jarrett,
Today's technology can offer adolescents a bridge from concrete to abstract
thinking, enabling them to observe and create multiple representations of
mathematical ideas: numerically, graphically, and symbolically. For example,
students can use geometric construction software to investigate the relationship
between the circumference and diameter of a circle. They can measure several
round objects and record the circumference and diameter (numerical representation).
They can plot the values and estimate a &best fit& (graphical representation).
Students can then determine the best fit equation (symbolic representation).
Technology can also help teachers respond to students' diverse learning styles
by creating rich environments that engage students' tactile, visual, and auditory
senses. Finally, information technologies such as word processing, calculators,
spreadsheet tools, and the Internet can enable middle-grade students to begin
learning higher communication and problem solving skills&abilities that
are essential to mathematical thinking. (pp. 4&5)
Educational technology is now widely valued for its ability to enhance one
of the most significant intellectual developments for students: their emerging
ability to think abstractly (Jarrett, 1998, p. 4).
. [Video 1:20]
One of the necessary characteristics of the effective use of technology is
that it be used for authentic tasks. According to Means and Olson (1997, as
cited in Jarrett, 1998), there are the following important considerations for
fostering the authentic uses of technology:
The technology supports student performance of complex tasks that are similar
to those performed by adult professionals and/or fill a genuine need of the
The technology is integrated into activities that are a core part of the
classroom curriculum.
Technology is treated as a tool to help accomplish complex tasks (rather
than as a subject of study for its own sake) that engage students in extended
and cooperative learning experiences that involve multiple disciplines. (p. 14)
Technology has been proved to accommodate learning styles and to be an effective
motivator for students with specific learning needs. Furthermore, students
working in collaborative-team-learning settings appear to function better when
learning events are accompanied by technology use. In addition, technology
also is important when used to provide distance-learning opportunities to students
who otherwise would not have access to course offerings. Distance education
is especially important to students in rural settings because many high school
courses that are necessary prerequisites in universities, such as higher mathematics
and science offerings, are less available because of the fewer numbers of students
in smaller schools.
In contrast to the statement above supported by The National Center for Education
Statistics (Fox, 2005) that there are virtually no differences in Internet
access between poor schools and wealthier schools, equal access to technology&especially
in families of high poverty&continues to be a problem. The National Center
for Education Statistics (DeBell & Chapman, 2003) study reported that among
the group of children and adolescents who access the Internet at only one location,
52 percent of those from families in poverty and 59 percent of those whose
parents have not earned at least a high school credential do so at school.
In comparison, 26 percent of those from families not in poverty and 39 percent
of those with more highly educated parents do so only at school. This illustrates
the role of schools in bridging the digital divide.
A reasonable conclusion is that classroom computers and other technology can
play many instructional roles, from personal tutor and information source to
data organizer and communication tool. So, it is important for teachers to
consider how computers and other electronic technologies can enhance the learning
experiences of students and increase their productivity. The primary conclusion
of much of the research is that t echnology has considerable potential for
increasing interest in, and improving the quality of, learning in science and
mathematics classrooms. However, effective use of instructional technology
is possible only if sufficient attention is given to the following:
Curriculum uses.
Instructional pedagogy used.
Assessments used.
Sufficiency of technology and access to the Internet.
Ability of the teacher, especially, to model uses of technology.
Educators and key stakeholders will develop a technology vision (See ?)
to support learning goals that are focused on improved student learning
and teacher effectiveness. (See )
Educational leaders and teachers will design and implement the necessary
professional development plans to ensure that teachers have the knowledge
and skills to successfully implement technology in mathematics and science.
(See NCREL's planning resource for technology professional developers: .)
Teachers and students will be able to use computers and other electronic
technologies in ways that increase student learning, motivation, personal
productivity, and creativity.
Educational leaders and stakeholders will develop sufficient knowledge
research to anticipate and address change problems and issues in schools.
Any effort to create and encourage the effective use of education technology
in instruction and assessments must consider specific issues of consistency,
continuity, and support. Some of them, sorted by area of stakeholders' responsibility,
are as follows.
School Board Members
School board members and their relevant policies should be explicit about
the value of technology use in every appropriate venue. However, support
for technology use must be expressed through actions, investment, and access,
wherever feasible, not just with words.
School board members can promote student and teacher excellence through
technology use by not creating isolated technology improvement efforts that
have no connection to real-world uses and promote learning.
School board members should continually inform and communicate to the community
why use of technology in schools is essential if students are to be prepared
for future work and to fully participate in a technology-based information
School board members need to secure the necessary technology resources
and ensure that technology integration is treated as an ongoing endeavor
and not isolated from systemwide improvement efforts.
School board members should actively demand and support the creation of
accountability systems that track the use and impact of technology use.
School board members must learn not to treat technology as a one-time cost.
Ongoing maintenance, support, and replacement of software and hardware are
large costs that must be added to the budget as line items and should be
evaluated by where and how they add value (not cost) to the school district.
This practice should be institutionalized so that new board members cannot
easily slow such investment and support.
School board members must support investment in the necessary human infrastructure&such
as effective technology-use professional development, active assessment alignment,
and grade-level continuity&to ensure effective technology use and hardware
infrastructure.
School board members need to stay up to date about the functional capabilities
needed to engage students in 21st century learning experiences that are necessary
to have their school district provide relevant education appropriate for
their students& future.
School board members must make every effort to stay informed about technology
research on its best use and impacts on learning.
Administrators
Leaders who are trying to make technology more effective in improving learning
are fortunate that a great deal of thought has been given to defining standards.
James Bosco, chairperson of the Technology Standards for School Administrators
(TSSA) Committee, noted in the introduction to
Technology Standards for
School Administrators:
These Standards enable us to move from just acknowledging the importance
of administrators to defining the specifics of what administrators need to
know and be able to do in order to discharge their responsibility as leaders
in the effective use of technology in our schools. (Technology Standards for
School Administrators Collaborative, 2001, p. 1)
a product of the TSSA Collaborative, is a useful guide that articulates the
following main technology standards for administrators:
Leadership and Vision: Educational leaders inspire a shared vision for
comprehensive integration of technology and foster an environment and culture
conducive to the realization of that vision. (p. 6)
Learning and Teaching: Educational leaders ensure that curricular design,
instructional strategies, and learning environments integrate appropriate
technologies to maximize learning and teaching. (p. 6)
Productivity and Professional Practice: Educational leaders apply technology
to enhance their professional practice and to increase their own productivity
and that of others. (p. 6)
Support, Management and Operations: Educational leaders ensure the integration
of technology to support productive systems for learning and administration.
Assessment and Evaluation: Educational leaders use technology to plan
and implement comprehensive systems of effective assessment and evaluation.
Analysis of data is especially important because of the requirements found
in the NCLB Act. (p. 7)
Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues: Educational leaders understand the
social, legal, and ethical issues related to technology and model responsible
decision-making related to these issues. (p. 7)
In addition, school administrators need to make certain that all segments
of the community have representation on planning committees, giving special
attention to the inclusion of traditionally underrepresented members of the
community.
Readers are encouraged to view NCREL's Pathways Critical Issue titled .
The article deals with leadership strategies for use of technology to improve
learning successfully.
Representatives of appropriate organizations also have created technology
standards for teachers. The following are teacher standards modified from the
They are especially relevant for teachers considering the following technology
action options:
Teachers understand and support the importance of students learning to
use educational technology as an important component of their preparation
for further education, work, and life in general.
Teachers demonstrate their support of technology use by developing their
own skills, knowledge, and strategies necessary to model effective uses of
technology.
Teachers learn and use effective ways to integrate technology into their
curriculum and use technology in ways that enhance instructional opportunities
and successes for all students.
Teachers learn uses of technology that provide assessment feedback to parents,
students, and the teacher about how well the student is learning, and then
use that data to improve learning productivity.
Teachers understand and instill into their students the social ethical,
legal and human issues surrounding the uses of technology
Student standards have been developed by the International Society for Technology
(ISTE), which recommends
should reflect the following skills and operations:
Basic operations and concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation
of technology systems.
Students are proficient in the use of technology.
Social, ethical, and human issues
Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal issues related
to technology.
Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information,
and software.
Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support
lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.
Technology productivity tools
Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity,
and promote creativity.
Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced
models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
Technology communications tools
Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact
with peers, experts, and other audiences.
Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information
and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.
Technology research tools
Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information
from a variety of sources.
Students use technology tools to process data and report results.
Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological
innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.
Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed
decisions.
Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving
problems in the real world.
The following are recommendations of what skills, knowledge, and dispositions
parents are expected to develop in terms of technology use :
Parents should understand the importance, benefits, and issues associated
with informational uses of technology in schools.
Parents share with their children the importance and concerns they have
about the uses of technology.
Parents are involved in school activities, including helping students become
more successful users of technology.
Parents advocate for better educational opportunities for their children,
including better access and use of technology.
Parents model and provide guidance to quality uses of technology outside
of school, including adhering to copyright laws and understanding the benefits
and challenges of the vast and diverse materials available on the Internet.
IMPLEMENTATION
Some researchers believe that there are so many barriers to successful implementation
of effective technology use in U.S. schools, and they are so prevalent, that
it is very difficult to isolate and measure just how much effective technology
use is actually in place in the schools. Some generic reasons for the failure
of educational change-and-reform efforts are important to note, reasons which
may certainly apply to efforts to create effective technology use. Fullan and
Stiegelbauer (1991) indicate the following reasons:
The purpose is not made clear.
The participants are not involved in the planning process.
The appeal is based on personal reasons.
The habit patterns of the work group are ignored.
Communication regarding change is poor.
There is fear of failure.
Excessive work pressure is involved.
The cost is too high, or the reward for making the change is seen as inadequate.
The present situation seems satisfactory.
There is a lack of respect and trust in the change initiator.
Likewise, there are many factors that affect technology implementation, especially
in urban schools (Means, Penuel, & Padilla, 2001, p. 197), including the
following:
Lack of technology infrastructure.
Lack of technical support.
Teacher discomfort with technology.
Lack of high-quality digital content.
Lack of instructional vision for technology use.
The constraints of academic schedules and departmental structures.
Lack of student technology skills.
Low expectation of students.
Accountability pressures.
Gabriela Castillo, a first-grade bilingual teacher at Johnson Elementary School
in Community Unit School District 200 in Wheaton, Illinois, stated . [Video 2:00]
Managing Technology-Use Initiatives
Many of the barriers to implementation, as Means, Penuel, and Padilla (2001)
noted, are self-explanatory, while some require clarification. Take, for example,
the different uses of technology by departments in secondary schools. In those
locations where principals and department heads are able to provide concrete,
specific examples of how technology can support learning, there can be more
quality use than in those locations where such guidance is not provided (Means,
Penuel, & Padilla, 2001). Block scheduling with its longer time periods
also encouraged in-depth projects where technology could be used with the most
effectiveness. One of the most challenging barriers is that of low expectations
for student decision making. These lower expectations result in teachers assigning
primarily drill-and-practice uses of technology rather than the student-centered
and complex tasks that offer the greatest value-added opportunities for the
use of technology (Means, Penuel, & Padilla, 2001, pp. 197&208).
Meanwhile, affecting all of this planning and effort is, of course, all the
communication and leadership pitfalls to implementation that are factors in
other change efforts are also true when stakeholders attempt to provide educational
technology-use leadership. Failure to have a shared vision, clear goals, and
objectives with defined measurable outcomes can kill a change effort right
from the beginning. A poorly designed implementation plan that fails to define
tasks, responsibilities, and ongoing benchmarks also will result in the change
effort failing. Clearly, failure to assess progress and challenges and to make
needed changes as the program progresses is an implementation pitfall with
dire consequences. Also, administrators who do not communicate with stakeholders
about defining success and challenges increase the risk of failure dramatically.
A careful plan may avoid several pitfalls. But those careful plans may be
surprised, short-circuited, or defeated by people, institutions, rules, policies,
or inertia: These are barriers to implementation of such scale that they cannot
be treated as mere pitfalls. If barriers to implementation are not dealt with,
the chances of success for even the best-planned implementation is seriously
compromised.
These are all extremely important implementation pitfalls to avoid and barriers
to overcome, but there are some problems unique to technology leadership that
require special attention. One of the most significant is the need for professional
development for both administrators and teachers. Because many educators did
not receive adequate preparation for use of technology in their preservice
experience, most have to learn effective and efficient use even as they try
to instruct and model use of the available technology.
Such insights suggest that instructional technology use, if it is to be successful,
needs to be implemented systemically rather than in isolation. For example,
failure to integrate technology use into the required curriculum may result
in technology being perceived as an instructional add-on. Teachers may be frustrated
when they realize that to use technology effectively, they will need not only
to learn technology use and integration but that they may need to modify their
instructional and assessment practices as well. Meanwhile, administrators need
to share the change process, beginning with why the change is necessary, what
the benefits expected are likely to be, and what the consequences are of not
making any changes, with respect to the emphasis on providing a full education
to all students. In addition, administrators need to encourage and support
technology professional development opportunities exactly because some teachers
are less comfortable with technology than with other aspects of their teaching.
However, some teachers may need additional constructive feedback that will
enable them to take risks using technology in ever more ways.
Creation and management of technology infrastructure and support is probably
the implementation problem that can be most fatal. Teachers and students should
not be expected to be technology infrastructure and support experts. The equipment
they are using needs to be dependable and easily accessible. Teachers need
to experience technology as something that they can build lesson plans around
and not worry that their planning efforts and schedules are frequently impossible
because of equipment failure or unavailability. A few negative experiences
will lead teachers to believe that technology use is more problematic than
helpful and will likely reduce their technology use substantially.
POINTS OF VIEW:
Routinely, articles and books are published that continue to make the argument
that schools use too much technology. Some critics attack technology use in
schools for physiological, psychological, moral, and physical reasons, and
those critics and their opinions may never change. However, most critics attack
technology use because they believe it provides minimal value-added benefit
to educational efforts. Fool's gold: A critical look at computers in childhood (Cordes & Miller,
2000), Oversold and underused: Computers in the classroom (Cuban,
2001), and The Flickering Mind (Oppenheimer, 2003) are three critiques
that have received considerable attention as serious criticisms of technology
use in schools.
The main criticism in all three of these books, and other critical articles
as well, is that computers are not as cost effective as other interventions.
They note the obsolescence factor of computers and the ongoing costs of upgrading
both hardware and software. Some critics indicate a belief that many hardware
and software companies purposely design products to become quickly obsolete
and thus require updates that educators must buy. It is their belief that educational
technology is too much in its infancy and not yet reliable enough for use by
most students.
Some critics such as Kirkpatrick and Cuban (1998) indicate that technology
equipment requires extensive support structures that require districts to take
money away from basic expenditures for other and better uses in the classroom.
They believe this money should be invested in the arts, science laboratories,
shops, and anything else that involves more hands-on ways of learning. Technology
literacy, some believe, is highly overblown in its importance and that people
who need to use technology will learn by using task applications that involve &real& work.
The criticism is especially strong for computer use by younger students.
Some critics believe that with the exceptions of assistive technologies for
students with special needs, students below the third grade should not use
much, if any, technology. Other critics are concerned that technology reduces
socialization opportunities. Some parents are concerned about the effect that
children are gaining so much of their world knowledge from a virtual, rather
than the real, world. Other critics are concerned that the sexual and violent
content accessible on the Internet challenges or prevents character education
necessary for development of moral citizens (Rifkin, 2000).
Some critics think that technology use is a wasteful and negative use of
scarce resources and give examples of visiting schools where uses of computers
are actually making education worse. They note that in many cases, teachers
use computers to entertain students with irrelevant and unconnected activities
because it makes their teaching lives easier and not because it benefits students
as they learn important content.
Subsequently, several people have written very enlightening responses to such
critics. Two articles that are especially informative are &Myths and Realities
about Technology in K&12& by G. M. Kleiman (2000) and & Strip
Mining for Gold: Research and Policy in Educational Technology&A Response
to Fool's Gold& by D. H. Clements and J. Samara (2003). Kleiman
(2000) indicated that there are realities to some of the criticisms but that
many of the points of objection are due to poor implementation of technology.
The central theme underlying all these myths is that while modern technology
has great potential to enhance teaching and learning, turning that potential
into reality on a large scale is a complex, multifaceted task. The key determinant
of our success will not be the number of computers purchased or cables installed,
but rather how we define educational visions, prepare and support teachers,
design curriculum, address issues of equity, and respond to the rapidly changing
world. As is always the case in efforts to improve K&12 education, simple,
short-term solutions turn long-term, carefully planned
commitments are required. (p. 20)
No doubt, technology will always have critics. Some believe that technology
reduces hands-on experience and student engagement in active participation.
Others believe technology reduces important human contact. In the final analysis,
one can conclude that identified uses of technology can have different critiques
depending on one's personal values and perspectives of what is good and bad
in education. The single most important factor for reducing criticism of technology
use in instruction is to have teachers who are competent and knowledgeable
about appropriate and effective use of technology to improve student learning.
ILLUSTRATIVE
Following are a few exceptional resources focused on effective uses of technology
in schools:
involvement in the GLOBE program, students join other students around
the world to measure water temperature at a nearby stream or to track
changes in the weather from day to day.
This program, based out of the University of Michigan , provides students
with interactive activities across many communities and provides them
with opportunities to use technologies in interesting and exciting ways.
The motto of this Web site is creating student scientists, not just science
students. Pathfinder Science is a virtual community that provides projects,
background information and a structure for students to follow in gathering,
analyzing, and sharing data using the Internet.
Additional Links
This Web sitedescribes more than 200 aeronautics and space
programs chronicling NASA's state-of-the-art research and technology efforts.
These videocassette, slide, and CD-ROM programs can serve as a springboard
for discussing life science, physical science, space science, energy, Earth
science, mathematics, technology, and career education.
This Web site has a collection of computer-based Earth science activities.
Each activity, or chapter, introduces one or more data sets and an analysis
tool that enables users to explore some aspect of the Earth system.
Eisenhower Mathematics and Science National Clearinghouse
This Web site offers 12 new exemplary curriculum features and resources each
month. It identifies effective curriculum resources, creates high-quality professional
development materials, and disseminates useful information and products to
improve K&12 mathematics and science teaching and learning.
This Web site offers numerous resources such as The Tools for Teaching, an
important stop for all science teachers.
More than 30 federal agencies formed a working group in 1997 to make hundreds
of federally supported teaching and learning resources easier to find. All
can be accessed from this site.
This Web site provides applets to triangle calculators and advanced principles
in an interactive manner and demonstrates excellent uses of technology to improve
The Illuminations Project is designed to illuminate the vision for school
mathematics described in NCTM's .
Illuminations is a partner in the
This Web site features project-based activities that model interesting and
relevant learning and effective uses of technology.
ISTE National Educational Technology
In partnership with a number of organizations and educators across the country,
ISTE has developed National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for students.
This Web site offers many resources, including Blue Web'n that classifies
Internet resources rated on a five-star scale.
This Web site features interactive programs that teachers and students can
manipulate as well as animation that helps students grasp the meaning of mathematical
This Web site offers numerous resources for teaching mathematics in an interdisciplinary
This Web site is a must for teachers: The activities found here demonstrate
how exciting the interface of technology and learning can be when done well.
Some resources here focus on technology and its use in education, while others
focus on related issues such as professional development and policy, which
have an educational technology component.
The mission of the Ohio Resource Center is to identify and disseminate effective
online instructional and professional development resources to schools, school
districts, and higher education in Ohio.
This is a large collection of Java and other interactive tools and resources
of value to science and mathematics teachers, especially those teaching physics.
This Web site provides numerous Internet experiences and resources for K&12
science educators and students that address important science standards. The
tools and resources sections are especially valuable.
This Web site provides an unbiased, timely, relevant, and impartial study
of the landscape, natural resources, and natural hazards.
This Web site allows users to enter their precise geographic coordinates (or
choose a city from a list) to get sky maps in three different views. The site
has information valuable to the beginner as well as the most advanced sky watcher.
This is an essential Web site for the study of weather.
Based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this Web site presents information
related to science, mathematics, and technology based on daily news items to
make a clear connection between science and daily life.
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
1710 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Suite 900
Washington , DC 20036
Phone: 866-654-4777
Fax: 202-861-0888
NationalCenter for
Education Statistics (NCES)
1990 K Street, NW ,
Washington , DC 20006
Phone: 202-502-7300
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
NCTM Headquarters Office
1906 Association Drive
Reston, VA
Phone: 703-620-9840
Fax: 703-476-2970
National Research Council (NRC)
500 Fifth Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-334-2000
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
1840 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington VA
Phone: 703-243-7100
Date posted: 2005
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