A study of technology integration in an all girls\u27 school: the role of attitudes and beliefs of teachers

This study is primarily designed to address the relationships between teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, anxiety, perceptions and barriers with respect to their use of technology in promoting students’ learning. Unlike most previous studies of technology integration, this study is conducted at a gender specific, technology-rich, religious-based private school. In addition the study aims at identifying the various levels of technology adoption of teachers in this technology rich school environment and potentially suggesting “why or why not” the different levels are observed. Teachers in general nationwide have increased their technology integration and adoption over the past five years, although they still do not have access to technology they need to use technology fully in their instruction. However for the school currently under research, the technology integration trend goes as far back as a decade well before the enactment of the “No Child Left behind” (NCLB) act of 2001. While teachers in general nationwide continue to use traditional sources for their technology training, they also continue to perceive and experience moderate barriers that prevent their use of technology. Data collection for this study included surveys, interviews and document reviews for teachers and administrators. The results from this study indicate that the level of technology adoption by the teachers is inversely related to “barriers experienced when using technology” and “anxiety towards the use of technology.” The study also revealed that both school support and school environment positively make an impact on the level of technology adoption by the teachers into their instructions

Teachers' beliefs and practices regarding the role of technology in literacy instruction: A mixed methods study

The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of teachers’ beliefs about the role of technology in their literacy instruction in the context of one elementary school with a technology-rich environment by investigating those beliefs about instructional technology and the degree to which they were reflected in actual practice. Survey data were used to establish overall patterns of the teachers’ beliefs about and their use of technology in instruction. The survey data informed the qualitative data gathered through open-ended questions and the case studies of three literacy teachers. Within-case and cross-case analysis yielded in-depth details about the beliefs of three teachers regarding the role of technology in their literacy instruction and the degree to which those beliefs were evidenced in their actual instruction. Findings revealed that the case study participants believed that technology played several roles in their literacy instruction. Technology enabled teachers to enact their pre-existing pedagogical beliefs. Technology served as a manager of classroom behavior and as a tool to make classroom instruction more efficient. Teachers also used technology to make their literacy instruction more effective. Findings led to the conclusion that technology use in the teachers’ literacy instruction was influenced by such factors as their pedagogical beliefs, perceived administrative support, the amount and type of professional development teachers received, the ease of access to technology, perceived barriers to technology integration, and teachers’ attitudes toward technology integration

Polishing The Mirror: A Multiple Methods Study Of The Relationship Between Teaching Style And The Application Of Technology In Alaska's Rural One To One Digital Classrooms

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2012This mixed method survey study examined the inter-relationships between teaching styles and the depth of classroom-based technology applications used by teachers participating in 1:1 digitally enhanced classrooms in thirteen of Alaska's rural school districts. The promise of technology to catalyze the transformation of schools into learner centric environments preparing students to be 21st century learners has not been realized. Significant first order barriers have limited the digital learning resources necessary to systemically affect pedagogical change. During the last six years, various entities have sponsored digitally enhanced learning environments to stimulate the process of education reform. These initiatives, labeled as one-to-one (1:1), brought teachers face-to-face with the challenges related to second order education reform while creating an opportunity to study changes in instructional philosophy and practice as a result of teaching in an environment rich in technology. This study explored three questions formulated to probe the relationship between pedagogical philosophy and the application of 1:1 technology to support learning: • "What is the relationship between instructional philosophy and the way teachers use technology to support learning in Alaskan high school 1:1 laptop programs?" • "How does access to a 1:1 classroom affect a teacher's instructional philosophy or practice?" • "Does access to a 1:1 digitally enhanced teaching environment facilitate the use of instructional practices consistent with Alaska Native and 21st century learner outcomes?" Ninety-four rural high school teachers responded to a survey that assessed teaching styles on a continuum from transmission to constructivist. The level of technology adoption was examined using three indices that respectively measure the professional, personal and classroom use of technology by teachers. Information derived from open ended questions was triangulated with quantitative data to develop a meaningful understanding of the study questions. Quantitative and qualitative data suggested that the majority of responding teachers identified with constructivist beliefs over traditional transmission. Teachers noted a strong positive relationship between teaching and the application of technology, yet analysis showed that constructivist beliefs were attenuated by several challenges related to management of technology. While teachers were generally aware of the potential for digital learning technologies to support Alaska Native and 21st century methods, they were outweighed by operational concerns related to the integration of technology. These study questions are significant. Digitally enhanced instructional practices help to equip students with the skills expected of 21st century learners. Perhaps even more significant is the congruence between the teaching styles traditionally used by Alaska Natives and the digitally enhanced constructivist practices made possible when using technology to augment processes for acquiring knowledge

Models of everywhere revisited: a technological perspective

The concept ‘models of everywhere’ was first introduced in the mid 2000s as a means of reasoning about the environmental science of a place, changing the nature of the underlying modelling process, from one in which general model structures are used to one in which modelling becomes a learning process about specific places, in particular capturing the idiosyncrasies of that place. At one level, this is a straightforward concept, but at another it is a rich multi-dimensional conceptual framework involving the following key dimensions: models of everywhere, models of everything and models at all times, being constantly re-evaluated against the most current evidence. This is a compelling approach with the potential to deal with epistemic uncertainties and nonlinearities. However, the approach has, as yet, not been fully utilised or explored. This paper examines the concept of models of everywhere in the light of recent advances in technology. The paper argues that, when first proposed, technology was a limiting factor but now, with advances in areas such as Internet of Things, cloud computing and data analytics, many of the barriers have been alleviated. Consequently, it is timely to look again at the concept of models of everywhere in practical conditions as part of a trans-disciplinary effort to tackle the remaining research questions. The paper concludes by identifying the key elements of a research agenda that should underpin such experimentation and deployment

An Overview of the Feasibility of Achieving Level 2 Building Information Modeling by 2016 in the UK

The aim of this study is to investigate the current status and feasibility of achieving Level 2 BIM (building information modeling) usage that is to be made mandatory by the UK government on its projects by the year 2016. This study assesses the level at which organizational and practitioner knowledge of BIM is currently positioned. The UK government, being the largest public stakeholder client, has realized the benefits and advantages of BIM when used in procuring projects across their lifecycle in the built environment. A critical review of the BIM literature was carried out and the evidence base was created in relation to government targets for 2016. At the current stage, Level 2 BIM adoption is achievable by 2016 for large construction firms but not for SMEs (small medium enterprise). Also, from evidence in this study, the technology needs to be properly tailored to meet SME variables if Level 2 status is to be achieved for the entire industry

Globalization, Worker Insecurity, and Policy Approaches

[Excerpt] Today’s global economy, or what many call globalization, has a growing impact on the economic futures of American companies, workers, and families. Increasing integration with the world economy makes the U.S. and other economies more productive. For most Americans, this has translated into absolute increases in living standards and real disposable incomes. However, while the U.S. economy as a whole benefits from globalization, it is not always a win-win situation for all Americans. Rising trade with low-wage developing countries not only increases concerns of job loss, but it also leads U.S. workers to fear that employers will lower their wages and benefits in order to compete. Globalization facilitated by the information technology revolution expands international trade in a wider range of services, but also subjects an increasing number of U.S. white collar jobs to outsourcing and international competition. Also, globalization may benefit some groups more than others, leading some to wonder whether the global economy is structured to help the few or the many. The current wave of globalization is supported by three broad trends. The first is technology, which has sharply reduced the cost of communication and transportation that previously divided markets. The second is a dramatic increase in the world supply of labor engaged in international trade. The third is government policies that have reduced barriers to trade and investment. Whether these trends are creating new vulnerabilities for workers is the subject of increasing research and debate

Computational Thinking Integration into Middle Grades Science Classrooms: Strategies for Meeting the Challenges

This paper reports findings from the efforts of a university-based research team as they worked with middle school educators within formal school structures to infuse computer science principles and computational thinking practices. Despite the need to integrate these skills within regular classroom practices to allow all students the opportunity to learn these essential 21st Century skills, prior practice has been to offer these learning experiences outside of mainstream curricula where only a subset of students have access. We have sought to leverage elements of the research-practice partnership framework to achieve our project objectives of integrating computer science and computational thinking within middle science classrooms. Utilizing a qualitative approach to inquiry, we present narratives from three case schools, report on themes across work sites, and share recommendations to guide other practitioners and researchers who are looking to engage in technology-related initiatives to impact the lives of middle grades students

Smart Geographic object: Toward a new understanding of GIS Technology in Ubiquitous Computing

One of the fundamental aspects of ubiquitous computing is the instrumentation of the real world by smart devices. This instrumentation constitutes an opportunity to rethink the interactions between human beings and their environment on the one hand, and between the components of this environment on the other. In this paper we discuss what this understanding of ubiquitous computing can bring to geographic science and particularly to GIS technology. Our main idea is the instrumentation of the geographic environment through the instrumentation of geographic objects composing it. And then investigate how this instrumentation can meet the current limitations of GIS technology, and offers a new stage of rapprochement between the earth and its abstraction. As result, the current research work proposes a new concept we named Smart Geographic Object SGO. The latter is a convergence point between the smart objects and geographic objects, two concepts appertaining respectively to