Educational Technology Commons^™

Technology Coordinators : The Relationship Between Employment Responsibilities And Need For Ongoing Professional Development, Mary C. Frese

Graduate Research Papers

The intent of this research paper is to examine the responsibilities of technology coordinators in the P-12 educational environment and the association of ongoing professional development for technology coordinators. The research cited indicated that the responsibilities of technology coordinators have evolved to include complex technical skills. Commonly cited duties include network administration, maintenance, instructional design, staff development, budgeting and acquisition, software evaluation and installation, multimedia production, management of communication and online resources. The extent of suggested expertise implies that technology coordinators have need for ongoing professional development. Informal conversations were held by this researcher with several technology coordinators to gather …

Using Computer-Based Instruction To Strengthen Student Achievement In The Middle School Mathematics Classroom, Anne Nedved

Graduate Research Papers

According to the National Research Council (2001), students in mathematics should be able to understand mathematics, compute fluently, apply concepts in a problem-solving manner, reason logically, and engage with mathematics in a sensible, doable, and useful manner.

The goal of this project is to develop a curriculum guide for the implementation of the Computer Assisted Instruction program PLATO into the current curriculum of the Council Bluffs Community School District. Students are more immersed in technology than ever before and teachers need to embrace the challenge to create an environment with ample technological materials to actively involve and retain student's interests …

The Need For Handheld Computers In The Classroom, Joseph Nichols

Graduate Research Papers

The handheld computer has become a viable tool for education. It costs less, weighs less, and takes less space in the classroom than a desktop computer. This review of literature shows the merits of using handheld computers in the classroom. In order to appreciate the handheld computers, one needs to research the history of computers and how the handheld computer is being used in the corporate world, as well as by educators. By researching handheld computers past use and current trends, it should be possible to evaluate their impact in the classroom.

Laptop Computers In The K-12 Setting : The Effect On Instructional Strategies And Student Learning, Sarah Merriam

Graduate Research Papers

Research has shown the benefits of computers. But mobile computing by the use of laptop computers has only recently been studied in K-12 classrooms. This review paper discusses various research studies that focus on how laptop computers affect student learning, how laptops affect instruction, teachers' perceptions about using laptop computers, and specific school districts that have implemented laptop computers into their curriculum. Overall, the research shows that laptops are more convenient and meet educational objectives once teachers and students adapt to the new technological way of learning.

Integrating Technology Into The Classroom Through Online Projects : A Fairy Tale Unit, Luann K. Langel

Graduate Research Papers

The integration of technology and the Internet have brought new opportunities to today's educators. When technology is utilized correctly, effective teaching in the classroom is promoted. The project focuses on online projects than can be incorporated into the elementary classroom. The project designed and utilized is a telecollaborative project focusing on the genre of fairy tales being taught in the 3rd grade. The Internet can be utilized in the classroom for interpersonal exchanges, information collection, and problem solving. A wealth of information is available to students on the Internet. Students gain control of their learning as they begin to navigate …

The Introduction Of Interactive Multimedia Dvd To The Electronic Media Studies, Randal L. Lau

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this project is to show how technology is able to improve student achievement and increase student productivity. Finding new and exciting ways to integrate technology into today's classrooms is a challenge. The use of an interactive DVD will be introduced to the students in the Electronic Media Studies classes in the fall of 2003. The project was based upon the research reviewed and documented within this literature review. Students will no longer be listening to the instructor lecturing in front of the classroom, they will be actively involved in an interactive multimedia presentation, where they are free …

An Effectiveness Assessment Of The Quicktionary Reading Pen For Grades 3 Through 6, Barbara K. Waugh

Graduate Research Papers

Testing of24 students in an Iowa public school in third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades was conducted to determine if the Quicktionary Reading Pen improved reading accuracy. This was done using reading scores both with and without the pen and a standard t-test with the presence of the pen being the only variable in the study. The reading pen was found to have a positive effect, most notable with students with a reading accuracy below 90%. The increase was statistically significant at an 80% confidence interval or better. The pen had little effect for initial reading accuracy in excess of …

Enhancing Student Learning Styles Through The Use Of Technology, Mark A. Dugger

Graduate Research Papers

The multiple learning styles of students have in the last few years become a major topic of concern for all educators. Experience and time are valuable learning tools assisting teachers in developing an understanding of these learning styles. This review pursues the importance of considering student learning styles when incorporating technology within an existing curriculum. Research studies provide supporting evidence that a technology-rich environment promotes collaborative, project-based learning, which in tum has a positive effect on learning styles.

Using Mindtools To Build Information Literacy And Promote Critical Thinking, Matthew J. Haan

Graduate Research Papers

Information literacy is a skill that students need to handle the overwhelming amount of information. Using Mindtools can provide teachers with a way to help students use the information literacy skills. Mindtools are used to allow students to learn through the use of technology, not from technology. By giving students opportunities to use these skills, they will be able to think critically and independently about the information they access. As a result of focusing on information literacy and critical thinking, students wiII increase proficiency in locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and applying new information. The importance of this review is to determine …

Integrating Technology To Enhance Reading Comprehension, Ryan Thole

Graduate Research Papers

This literature review explores whether or not using technology enhances the students reading comprehension of material. Studies in this review are in support of using computers for children when it comes to learning comprehension skills. Among the list of software, Accelerated Reader is one that is used frequently for testing what students remember after they have finished a book giving them immediate feedback. This review also is in agreement with the use of using computers for children to learn at their own pace. It provides the children with a sense of achievement that they learned it on their own, yet …

Aligning Technology And Language Arts Standards, Catherine A. Feldmann

Graduate Research Papers

The standards of language arts and technology blend fluidly to provide for an optimal learning environment. Language Arts teachers and students of all levels can gain significantly from the incorporation of multimedia software into the curriculum. Educators demonstrate responsible teaching when the initiative is taken to incorporate these otherwise separate areas together. Multimedia provides for an additional method for students to obtain, demonstrate, and share information. The use of technology into all curricular areas helps to develop life skills that are considered necessities in many jobs today.

Enhancing Student Achievement In The Middle School Mathematics Classroom Using Computer-Based Instruction, Anne Nedved

Graduate Research Papers

Computer-based instruction (CBI) is one tool that has enhanced curriculum to meet individual learning needs and enable students to succeed in the mathematics classroom. CBI creates an environment centered on individualized, flexible learning where students can be more self-directed and independent.

The importance of this review is to cite specific research and studies to determine the effectiveness of such computer-based applications in the mathematics classroom in relation to student achievement and professional development. The most productive and positive integration of CBI in terms of student achievement and motivation in the classroom was due to the professional development and training of …

Teachers And Technology : Encouraging Teachers To Integrate Technology Into The Curriculum, Diane Roethler

Graduate Research Papers

Technology is one path in preparing students to enter the working world. In response to this important role, the International Society for Technology in Education has created technology standards for students and teachers to promote change in teaching and learning practices. A study done by Apple Computer identifies how far teachers are in the integration of technology to meet these standards.

When teachers' levels and concerns are identified, programs help teachers overcome their computer concerns, such as not having enough time, right equipment, or knowledge. Teachers also need to frequently practice what they have learned. In this time period, follow-up …

Minimizing The Effects Of The Digital Divide, Trevor Walker

Graduate Research Papers

This research paper reviews the differences between technology deployment in affluent school districts as well as low-income districts. The attempt to bridge the digital divide is challenging to individuals, communities, and society at large. Students with limited or no access to computers are falling behind in developing skills that are needed in college and in the job market. The research cited in this paper addresses the existence of a divide, describes the affects of teacher philosophies and behaviors in urban school settings, suggests instructional strategies to train teachers, and provides factors that contribute to the Digital Divide as well as …

A Review Of Online Career Services In The Twenty-First Century, Marsha Yvette Saddler

Graduate Research Papers

The need to examine and explore the status of career services online is not only timely, but necessary in the ever-changing technology movement that has affected the very culture of student affairs in American higher education. The purpose of this paper is to accomplish that task by providing a synopsis of research gathered from three main categories of online career services, and to discuss how using the Internet to deliver these services can enhance the career development of college students.

Developing A K-12 District Technology Plan, Greg Reese

Graduate Research Papers

Educational Technologies and technology integration into the curriculum have become hot topics in educational institutions and legislature across the country. Schools are scrambling to buy computers, install networks, buy software, and connect to the Internet. This interest in technology is rooted in various places: pressure from the state legislature and federal government, the business community, and parents in the district who see technology as necessary for their child's success (Lockwood, 1999).

Intime Video Field Production And Editing, Jennifer Mohlis Peterson

Graduate Research Papers

The Integrating New Technologies into the Methods of Education (InTime) project is a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The main function of this grant is to produce and deliver videos, via the Internet, of teachers using technology with their students. The target audience is pre-service and practicing teachers.

In order to capture on tape real teachers in real classrooms with real students, many things need to be considered. Determining what activities and teachers must be included in the project, which elements of the model are to be illustrated, and how to facilitate access to the videos and lesson …

A Social Studies/Science Technology Project Manual For Upper Elementary Educators In The Dubuque Community School District, Jenny M. Kress

Graduate Research Papers

In the last five years, the Dubuque Community School District's technology infrastructure has grown tenfold. With the implementation of a district-wide networked computer system also came growing expectations for classroom teachers to provide technological opportunities for students (Dubuque Community School District, 2001). With the administration's eagerness to bring Dubuque's students into the information world, teachers have not been provided with any technology curriculum or manuals on how to incorporate computer projects into their lessons. This graduate research project was developed to give the classroom teacher a means to provide these technological opportunities in a very systematic and step-by-step manner. The …

The Use Of Electronic Technologies In The Cedar Rapids Community Schools' Physical Education Programs, Nicholaus J. Daniel

Graduate Research Papers

How often is electronic technology used in physical education programs? How much electronic technology is available to physical education programs? Does electronic technology and physical education go together? When most people think of electronic technology, they do not think about physical education. Most people tend to think that technology is anything related to a desktop or laptop computer, something you sit down at and work on, not something that involves being physical.

From the researcher's experience in the Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD), there is some pressure for all subject areas to implement and integrate electronic technologies into the …

Fifth Grade Website: Improving Leaming Through The Use Of The Web, Brent Thiessen

Graduate Research Papers

The Internet has improved the way that information can be presented to students in an educational setting. Teachers have taken advantage of improving education through the Internet by creating their own websites. However, some of these websites are not created in a way that allows them to be used effectively by students .. The author of this paper has created a website that will be used with his fifth grade students entitled The Fifth Grade Website (http://homepage.mac.com/brthiessen). The goal of the website is to enhance the educational experience of the students who use it. The website was designed in a …

Removing Dust Bunnies And Expensive Paperweights From The Classroom : Effective Staff Development In Educational Technology, Margaret F. Krzywicki

Graduate Research Papers

With major funding directed toward putting technology in the classroom and training students to be tomorrow's workers, there needs to be an effective technology staff development program in place for the teachers. Developers of staff development programs need to include the learning style of adult learners (andragogy), instead of pedagogy. Successful staff development for the teachers must include innovation, release time, and quality equipment. The learning styles of adult learners should be foremost in the development of courses and workshops. Staff development is more than just the technical side of the technology. It should provide teachers with the tools to …

Technology Staff Development, Paul A. Rabara

Graduate Research Papers

Traditional staff development does not suffice for emerging technologies and evolving pedagogy for teacher use of technology in instruction. Societal changes have produced new needs. Change causes a need to systematically look at progress and the attributes associated with the diffusion of innovations (Rogers, 1995). Roswell (1997) is only one of several schools who have dedicated considerable resources to developing a technology staff development plan with results in higher percentages of teachers using technology in the classroom. Technology staff development should have characteristics in models that coincide with the attributes of diffusion. Technology staff development can bridge the use and …

Linking The Literacy Curriculum With Technology, Scot J. Surprenant

Graduate Research Papers

Evaluating the process and needs of linking literacy and technology in the educational setting. The technology is presented as the driving force of change in the literacy. Teachers, administrators, and parents need to formulate a plan for training sessions along with organizing supportive people around them to integrate technology into the curriculum. They need to design professional development to empower teachers to use technology, in the curriculum. Understanding that students are exposed to multimedia literacy, technology will be a medium to motivate and synthesize learning. Teachers facilitate students to be responsible and empowered learners for their own learning. There is …

Second Language Learning With Computer Software, Sonia Uppal

Graduate Research Papers

This article addresses diversity in the classrooms and the need for technology for English language learners. Language acquisition and English language learning are overviewed with highlights of the different stages in language learning and various methods used for language. Integrating the role of technology in learning English as a second language is presented as a practical way in which to instruct English language learners. However, selection of software is seen as a critical aspect of effectively using technology for English language instruction. Various important aspects for evaluating a software program for English language learners are presented. A software evaluation form …

Dvd Technology For Educational Purposes, Donald J. Devore

Graduate Research Papers

This review of literature is about the technology of the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD). Provided is a brief overview of information in the area of DVD technology world, the evolution of DVD technology, areas that have enhanced educational advancement, and directions to be explored.

How To Develop And Design A Webquest, Amy Neville

Graduate Research Papers

This review will help to solve the problem of not knowing how to develop and design a WebQuest. A WebQuest is "an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web. WebQuests are designed to use learners' time well, to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation" (Dodge, 2001, p. 1). They help teach research skills using the Internet. By learning how to write a WebQuest, an educator would be able to integrate one into his/her …

Designing A Web Page To Facilitate Communication, Lori B. Lee

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this action research project was to build a teacher-controlled web page that would facilitate communication between home, community, and school. The web site contained information about administration, athletics (including schedules), honor roll and awards, faculty and staff information, advisor/advisee programs, academic information with assignments, special events, and students of the week.

Twenty-three seventh grade parents volunteered to respond to surveys about their communication with the staff at the Nashua-Plainfield Middle School and the implementation of the middle school web site.

The response by the parents indicated that they liked the monthly news, information on assignments, and athletic …

The Effects Of Using Computer-Assisted Learning To Teach Multiplication, Brian Unruh

Graduate Research Papers

This case study investigated the effects of using computer-assisted learning (CAL) while teaching multiplication facts to 32 third-graders. This quasi-experimental study spanned a six-week period and was analyzed using a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques. Among these qualitative techniques were participant observation and formal and informal interviews. The quantitative component included document analysis of three separate instruments. This study demonstrated a low correlation between the use of CAL and recall skills. However, students felt comfortable and enthusiastic working with the computer. In addition to the excitement, students felt significantly more confident and successful using the computer. There was evidence …

Utilizing The Classroom Computer In A Special Education Setting To Facilitate Cooperative Learning: A Case Study Using Kidpix, Audrey Dieken

Graduate Research Papers

Collaboration and cooperative teaching methods have been researched since the late 70's. The research indicates students will learn from each other given the proper environment and tools. In this study, six elementary students were evaluated to examine the effects of teaching individual tasks to students and observing the students for collaboration between partners. Two students were placed side-by-side at one computer and observed by an undergraduate researcher.

The results of the observations report the students were engaged in the activity of KidPix 60-l 00% of the time. All of the students were able to complete the tasks over 95% of …

Microsoft Word Basic Skills Workshop, Rui Wu

Graduate Research Papers

This project is an instructional lesson. The purpose to develop this workshop is to teach Chinese college students Microsoft Word (Office 97) basic skills through distance learning. The author uses distance education basic principles as this project's foundation to create a workshop site and participants. It will include the brief history of distance education, the definition and concepts of distance education, some major advantages and limitations of distance education, lesson plan, needs analysis, workshop goal and objectives, methodology, media selection, and project evaluation (includes learners and lesson's evaluation). It encloses eight appendixes also. At meanwhile, the author will create a …