Readings in Educational Technology

Websites | Important Articles | Books

Web Sites

Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET)
caret.iste.org/index.cfm
This is a database of research in educational technology that bridges education technology research to practice by offering research-based answers to critical questions.

Important Articles

The ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Standards have put technology integration 'on the map' for teacher educators, creating a useful reference point for guiding new teachers toward appropriate technology uses. The authors reflect on their work at a progressive teacher education college, assessing the strengths and limitations of a standards-driven approach to integrating technology. They describe a framework that organizes faculty and student technology learning around four themes: communication and dialog; inquiry using primary data; student constructive projects; and digital literacy. This 'map' is not proposed as a specific model to be adopted by other teacher educators, but rather as a stimulus for other faculty to build their own maps, reflecting their institutions core goals, values, and circumstances.

Factors Affecting Technology Uses in Schools: An Ecological Perspective
Zhao, Yong.  American Educational Research Journal v. 40 no4 (Winter 2003) p. 807-40
full text (from inside Bank Street College only)

Why is technology not used more in schools? Many researchers have tried to solve this persistent puzzle. The authors of this article report on their study of technology uses in 19 schools. They suggest an ecological metaphor, using the example of the introduction of the zebra mussel into the Great Lakes, to integrate and organize sets of factors that affect implementation of computer uses. Their findings suggest that an ecological perspective can provide a powerful analytical framework for understanding technology uses in schools. That perspective points out new directions for research and has significant policy and practical implications for implementing innovations in schools. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

Conditions for Classroom Technology Innovations
Zhao, Yong. Teachers College Record, v.104, n.3, (Apr. 2002), p.482
full text (from inside Bank Street College only)

This article reports on a study of the complex and messy process of classroom technology integration. The main purpose of the study was to empirically address the large question of "why don't teachers innovate when they are given computers?" rather than whether computers can improve student learning. Specifically, we were interested in understanding the conditions under which technology innovation can take place in classrooms. For a year, we followed a group of K-12 teachers who attempted to carry out technology-rich projects in their classrooms. The study found 11 salient factors that significantly impact the degree of success of classroom technology innovations. Each factor can be placed in one of three interactive domains, the teacher, the innovation, and the context. The article discusses the 11 factors in detail and proposes a model of the relationship among the different factors and their domains. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

Books

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School
Bransford, John, Ann L. Brown, & Rodney R. Cocking, eds. National Academy Press Washington, D.C. 1999.
Chapter 9: Technology to Support Learning
www.nap.edu/html/howpeople1/ch9.html
There are many ways that technology can be used to help create such environments, both for teachers and for the students whom they teach. However, many issues arise in considering how to educate teachers to use new technologies effectively. What do they need to know about learning processes? About the technology? What kinds of training are most effective for helping teachers use high-quality instructional programs? What is the best way to use technology to facilitate teacher learning? Good educational software and teacher-support tools, developed with full understanding of principles of learning, have not yet become the norm. Find the entire book at www.nap.edu/html/howpeople1/.

The New Media Literacy Handbook: An Educator's Guide to Bringing New Media Into the Classroom
Bruner, Cornelia. & William Tally New York: Doubleday 1999.
The New Media Literacy Handbook is a resource for educators seeking information on and guidance in navigating through the vast new media landscape. The book has been designed to help teachers develop their own visual literacy skills, become more sophisticated and reflective users of media in the classroom and in general, and develop evaluation criteria for media products. In addition to their overview and evaluation guide, the authors provide information on how new media can be used in several academic disciplines— language arts, history, science, and art— and specific products and Web sites to explore.