Research Review

A)  Review................. Of all the reading and research I reviewed, I will focus on two articles in this response.   
 1) Schacter's article that  focused on 7 studies.   The first was a meta-analysis study with 500 individual studies.  The second focused on reviewing hundreds of individual studies.  Third was the partnership between Apple and five schools from across the nation.  The fourth dealt with a West Virginia ten year state study of their technology initiative.  The fifth study reviewed was a national sample with 4th and 8th grade students using newer technology stimulation and its impact on higher order thinking skills. The sixth and seventh study used two smaller scale studies with new technologies and their impact on learning.  All of these studies had data that portrayed technology positively from a variety of angles.

2)  The second article I found interesting was in the US Dept. of Education site regarding The Retrospective Twenty Years of Educational Technology Policy.  This information presented two themes from their research.  1) The flow of practitioners needs and challenges as a guiding force in shaping where and how technology becomes a part of the educational system.  2) The need for a greater  understanding among researchers and policymakers of the systematic nature of educational change in general and of educational technology integration.

This research was in-depth as any effective research must demonstrate. From a teaching and learning perspective, these articles and the others provide information and examples of how technology as a tool to enhance learning and achievement is possible.  Demonstrating that technology is the reason student achievement increases is subjective and difficult to statistically show.  There are many variables and one can make data appear how they want to portray it.  The thoughts and feelings of kids who have teachers that use technology effectively as a tool is typically very positive.  As I stated in the classroom post, student engagement is a critical factor in student achievement.  If a child is motivated, as technology has a tendency to do with kids of today, there can be an increase in student engagement and learning will be enhanced.

B) Reactions to the research..............  Technology is here to stay.  It isn't going anywhere so you either get on board or get off.  However, it has been and will continue to be gradual in my opinion.  Cost and changes in technology occur so fast it is difficult to keep up.  Technology as a tool can also be implemented more easily for some content areas.  Overall, my thoughts of the research are positive and much of what I read makes sense to me from what I see as a school leader.  While there may be more research coming out in regards to technology and its impact on student achievement, there will always be flaws/variables which cannot measure its true impact. 

C) Justification of use and cost..............  This is always the big question in my eyes.  The gap within staffs can be significant with their expertise and willingness to utilize technology as a teaching tool. Not to mention, I evaluate quite a few teachers.  Some use technology well and some don't.  Many of our more recent college graduates have more experience utilizing technology both personally and in their undergraduate training.  Teacher prep courses will need to continue to stay in front of the technology use as well.  Everyone looks at their own situation and their experiences as a way to evaluate and make decisions.  One challenge that I think is very legitimate is the staff that has strong performance and student achievement data is the best or among the best in our entire district and entire state.  With that, we take small steps to integrate technology bit by bit and that becomes the responsibility of the school leader to cultivate.  It may not be a teacher's mojo - but they can find great benefit with its use.  Start small and look to build momentum.  I have heard mixed feelings from parents and educators as well on the cost vs. benefit.  The thinking that "this isn't how I learned" can be thwarting belief.  While that is true, we have to get in sync with today's students!  Motivation, vision/planning, and money are all critical in a district's continual development of technology and its use as a tool educating today's children.