Learning Technologies in the Classroom: Case Studies

These case studies were commissioned by the Virginia Department of Education during the development of the State Master Plan for Technology. The case studies complement an exhaustive review of the literature also conducted during the development of the Master Plan for Technology. The information found in these case studies makes it possible to approach technology decisions at the school level with a healthy blend of informed instinct and analytical deliberation. The case studies collected information under three broad categories; an organizational profile, technology profile, and resource profile. Each of these areas were further broken down into sub areas to organize the collection and recording of data. For example, the organizational profile focuses on beliefs and visions; planning; and implementation. The technology profile focuses on technology applications; instructional implications; and instructional practice. The resource profile focuses on training; administrative support; software; facilities; and teachers\u27 administrative uses. This study was conducted in order to gain a richer understanding of the impact of technology in schools. The team selected schools to survey most basically on the extent of their use of technology. In order to be selected for this study, a school must have had a technology-rich environment for at least two years. A second criterion was the availability of backbone networks at the school. Urban, suburban, and rural schools were all equally considered. The use of technology to support higher-order thinking skills as part of the curriculum was another criterion for selection. Four sites which met these criteria were decided upon and were visited by four member teams. Case One is a rural high school, Case Two is a suburban middle school, Case Three an urban elementary school, and Case Four is an urban high school. Three members of each team were drawn from the Virginia Department of Education\u27s technology planning team. The fourth member was a faculty member from either Virginia Commonwealth University or George Mason University. A case study protocol (attached) was used by the site teams to guide their observations

Learning Technologies in the Classroom: A Study of Results

The Research reported in this paper focuses primarily on the shot term question, Do learning technologies effect student learning? It utilizes a meta analytic technique to review comparative studies of differing technologies under different conditions. A study had to meet the following criteria to be included in this analysis: It 1) took place in a classroom; 2) had a control and treatment group structure; 3) was free of major methodological flaws, and 4) provided either an effect size or the data to calculate one. The 184 studies selected for this review represent a diverse array of district and vendor evaluations, independent research projects published in scholarly journals, and dissertation studies. A typology of three learning technology applications: computer-assisted instruction (CAI), computer-managed instruction (CMI), and computer-enriched instruction (CEIK) was created to categorize the studies. Specific applications for each category were also used to describe study results, i.e., writing to read (WTR), integrated learning systems (ILS), and multimedia (MM)

Audit of Internal Communication Practices Among Special Education Personnel in the Virginia Department of Education

The overall goal of this study was to provide recommendations and a mechanism to assist the DOE in providing proper communication of issues and coordination of activities involving the provision of services for children with disabilities. The research team employed a case study approach centered around a modified communications audit. The study addressed the following three questions: 1) what is the current communication and coordination system for internal personnel involved with special education issues? 2) what are the strengths, weaknesses and barriers to use of the system? 3) what recommendations can be offered to improve internal communications and coordination among special education personnel? The major finding and recommendations are highlighted below. A more detailed accounting of strengths, barriers and weaknesses in the components of the system is found in the report

Technology: Review of Literature Executive Summary

This literature review focuses on the application of technology (primarily the computer) to education. It is organized to present background information to familiarize the reader with basic issues relevant to teaching with technology, the restructuring of American schools, and the performance one could expect from the infusion of technology into schools and classrooms. Furthermore, it summarizes findings regarding access and equity, in-service and pre-service education, and funding and facilities. After the decade of enthusiasm, there still is no single compelling vision driving the infusion of technology into the schools; four have been projected. 1. The Social Rationale. Policy makers want to be sure that all children are aware and unafraid of how computers work. They should be prepared to understand computers and be aware of their role in society because computers are pervasive in industralized countries. 2. The Vocational Rationale. There will be employment opportunities for individual who have the proper computer skills. Therefore, it\u27s an important competency to develop. 3. The Pedagogic Rationale. Students can learn from computers. There are advantages over other traditional methods using computers to learn. 4. The catalytic Rationale. Computers are catalysts to change schools for better. They can facilitate change. They are symbols of progress. They encourage learning (Hawkridge, 1990)

EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL BURNOUT AND THE BEHAVIORAL WELL-BEING OF SOCIAL WORKERS

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between occupational burnout and the behavioral well-being of social workers. Burnout is a multidimensional syndrome where workers experience feelings of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment as a consequence of work related stress and overwhelming job demands. Burnout can negatively affect organizational functioning, work performance, and pose significant health risks to workers. There are a limited number of studies focusing on the impact of occupational burnout on the behavioral well-being of workers. The findings of this study indicated that there was a significant relationship between burnout and behavioral well-being. Emotional exhaustion was found to negatively impact exercise frequency, which was consistent with previous study findings. Depersonalization was positively correlated to the number of hours of sleep and the frequency of self-care activities participants engaged in. The effects of depersonalization on sleep and self-care activities suggest that workers may engage in these activities as a way to cope with feelings of depersonalization on the job

ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP AT A CROSSROADS

There is confusion in the extant literature over the connection of entrepreneurial leadership and leadership. Is entrepreneurial leadership a theory or a style? Is its focus on setting direction, gaining commitment and achieving results? Or, is it focused on influencing others or recognizing and exploiting opportunities? This paper attempts to answer those questions and to position entrepreneurial leadership as an adaptable, creative, and innovative leadership style that matches the dynamism of today’s organizational environments. The paper is structured as follows. First, we situate entrepreneurial leadership within the extant theoretical leadership literature. Then, we present the definitional confusion within the literature and describe two paths. One road leads to an independent style of leadership. The other leads to an integrated leadership theory that melds it with other forms of leadership. We end by suggestion that entrepreneurial leadership research return to its roots and refocus on the entrepreneur – someone who sees, recognizes, and exploits opportunities without regard to resources - as a leader of ideas, projects, individuals, teams, and perhaps organizations

The Elementary Classroom Computer Initiative: Teacher Perceptions of Three Years of Implementation

Henrico County Public School received funding in 1995 to place five computers and an ink jet color printer in each of its regular elementary classrooms fist through fifth grade. The goals of the initiative were numerous but focused on: (1) increasing student performance, (2) addressing different learning styles, (3) providing students with daily access to computers, (4) increasing student proficiency with computers, and (5) preparing students for the future. To accomplish these goals, teachers were required to acquire the capacity to integrate computers into their daily classroom lessons and the school division needed to install, maintain the technical hardware and courseware required to support teacher efforts. The implementation of the initiative was evaluated in each of the three years since 1995 in order to provide information to the school division for use in planning, work tasks and staff development. Teacher attitudes, ability, and instructional behaviors were sampled as well as their perceptions of student motivation and performance due to the initiative. Student achievement was not reviewed until the third year of the study. It was, and is, thought that the full impact of the initiative on student achievement will not be achieved until at least the fifth year of the initiative. During the three years, data were collected through classroom observations, focus group interviews, teacher surveys, software surveys, and standardized test scores. The evaluations found that the school division had been successful in the implementation of the initiative and staff reactions were positive to their services. Those reports also indicted that teachers perceived that student learning, student proficiency with computers had been greatly enhanced by the initiative and thus afforded better preparation for future work plans. Teachers also reported that their ability to use the computers and their instructional styles had been positively impacted by the initiative. This executive summary provides specific information which describes the benefits students and teachers received from initiatives

National Assessment of Educational Progress in Mathematics: Analysis and Interpretive Remarks of Teh State of Mathematics Achievement

The National Assessment of Educational Progress\u27s Mathematics assessment (hereafter the report) provides the national, educational policy makers, and practitioner the opportunity to stop pretending not to know. The report plainly confronts our own professional knowledge regarding mathematics education. In many instances it conforms much of what research has all ready described and what we have feared regarding mathematics education. In some instances the report agrees with Carol Glickman\u27s view that professionals have gone about the business of teaching and operating schools in ways they privately admit are not in the best interests of students. From this view one of the report\u27s most important contributions is that practitioners of mathematics education no longer can pretend to know and policy makers can no longer pretend not to know. The purpose of this report is to provide interpretative comments of the important finding in the 1990 National Assessment of Educational Progress in Mathematics. Four questions guided our analysis: 1) what important findings were confirmed?, 2) what assumptions were challenged?, 3) how effective has the reform agenda been?, and 4) what new directions do the finding point toward? We framed our thoughts through the use of three concepts: Rhetoric, Reality and Remarks. Rhetoric refers to policy statements and research findings regarding mathematics education. Reality refers to finds of the NAEP 1990 math results. And, Remarks refers to our interpretive comments and conclusions regarding the structure, emphasis, delivery and broader impact of mathematics education. While we found the data fascinating and worthy of lengthy analysis, we chose to confine our remarks to three major categories and twelve conclusions

The Elementary Classroom Computer Initiative: Software Survey Report

Henrico County Public School received funding in 1995 to place five computers and an ink jet color printer in each of its regular first through fifth grade elementary classrooms. The goals of the initiative were numerous but focused on: (1) increasing student performance, (2) addressing different learning styles, (3) providing students with daily access to computers, (4) increasing student proficiency with computers, and (5) preparing students for the future. This report examines the type of courseware/software being used by teachers to implement the initiative

State-of-The-Art Technology Applications

This document provides information on descriptions of state-of-the-art technology using schools across the country. It is a resource that can be used by teachers, school administrators, and researchers who are investigating the varying applications of technology in the classroom. It should be helpful in: 1) learning how other schools have implemented similar technology and integrated in within specific curricula, 2) planning, purchasing, adopting, or implementing technology in a classroom or entire school, and 3) it serves as a valuable resource to identify such schools already engaged in exceptional educational technology usage