1. “ Effectiveness of Technology on Student Success” Travis Jones EDG 501 Dr. Lori Severino

2. Introduction - The topic of 21 st century skills for students is constantly being discussed. My school was fortunate enough to be chosen as a project school for the EETT grant. -This grant gave all 4 th and 5 th grade classroom a smart board and 2 laptop computer carts with 30 laptop computers in each, as well as extensive training on identified programs. -I personally have seen an improvement in student behavior and engagement. I would like to investigate the effectiveness of technology in classrooms across the country. The research question that I focused on was “What is the Effectiveness of Technology on Student Success?”

3. Technology in Education ● Technology has been defined in a number of ways over the past decades and the traditional view of technological knowledge as an application of scientific knowledge has been criticized. There is a broad consensus that technology encom­passes much more than simply objects. In broader definitions, technology has been seen to have several dimensions (Kärkkäinen & Keinonen, 2010). ● The use of computer technology has become commonplace in today's world. Children as young as three years of age are being exposed to computers and the Internet. Since at such a young age children are still developing socially, emotionally, and cognitively, it is essential that the technology they use is developmentally appropriate (Ntuli, 2010).

4. Technology Integration Video-Example Video-Example ● The i Generation is immersed in technology. Their tech world is open 24/7. Now, we need to take advantage of their love of technology to refocus education. In doing so, we'll not only get students more involved in learning, but also free up classroom time to help them make meaning of the wealth of information that surrounds them (Rosen, 2011). ● Studies showed that teachers are not fully incorporating technology into their teaching practices. Some studies documented little effect or even a negative effect of technology in education (Kurt, 2010). ● In order to meet the needs of all students, there is the need to encourage the use of more programs that take into consideration students' differentiated experiences and skills. If technology is to be used as an instructional tool, school districts should also increase funding for technology resources in the early childhood classrooms and pedagogy and the curriculum should be pushed as the driving force for technology use in instruction (Ntuli, 2010).

5. Educational Ideas ● It is important for instructors and instructional designers to realize that communication and collaboration can be designed in an instruction module for secondary schools. A variety of technology tools are used to encourage collaboration in the tasks. A main problem task engages the learner to do a variety of smaller tasks to activate, demonstrate, apply and integrate the knowledge (DeWitt, 2011). ● Cuban(2001) examined computer use in Silicon Valley schools. He looked into the preschools, kindergartens and secondary schools. He stated that “in the schools we studied, we found no clear and substantial evidence of students increasing their academic achievement as a result of using information technology”, even though “students and teachers had access to computers and related technologies available in both their homes and their schools” (Kurt, 2010).

6. Student Perceptions of Technology ● Baytak states, “ Most students feel their learning are improved by integrating technology into their learning. Therefore, educational technologies, specifically computer and the Internet technologies, have inevitably become powerful in the classroom as they change the way we teach and learn. As technology makes learning more interesting, enjoyable and interactive, kids today love learning by doing, discovering, and interacting” ( Baytak, 2011 p. 147). ● While most of the technology integration research focuses on integration in classrooms., some scholars have examined children’s use of technology at home. Baytak (2011)found that children spend more time with technologies at home than at school. However, another study found that students felt more comfortable using computers at school(Baytak, 2011).

7. Teacher Perceptions of Technology ● Teacher knowledge is an umbrella term that covers a large variety of cognitions, beliefs, skills, and knowledge domains. Various labels have been used by researchers underlining the different appearances of teacher knowledge. It is said that a teacher should be able to combine subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge for effective coaching of pupils' learning processes. This implies that teacher should know about particular subject-related difficulties and should know how to handle these difficulties, for example explaining the same subject matter in different ways. In summary, teacher knowledge affects teaching, and, in turn affects pupils concept and attitude towards technology. However, empirical evidence on the assumed relations between teacher knowledge and pupils attitude is still poor. More research and, in particular, empirical evidence on teacher knowledge in technology education is clearly needed (Rohann, Ruurd & Jochems, 2010). ● Research findings supported that appropriate teacher training is essential to the appropriate use of technology. Teachers have little expertise and knowledge of educational technology and computer technology in general. It appears that more focus on educational technology is needed in pre-service education (Kurt, 2010).

8. Teacher Preparation for Effective Integration ● It is essential to emphasize that the positive impacts on technology depend on how teachers use technology in their classrooms. A number of studies show that elementary school teachers were using technology mainly for non-instructional activities. For example, preschool and kindergarten teachers mainly used the computer for administrative tasks. Also, teachers were using technology for communicative purposes like sending emails to parents (Kurt, 2010). ● Teachers should not feel responsible for finding educational technologies to use in the classrooms. Teachers are required to teach specific content. The point is not to “teach with technology” but to use technology to convey content more powerfully and effectively. Teachers can access an enormous amount of curriculum content on line in a variety of formats, including audio and video pieces that can help bring the material to life for the students. These materials are often free (Rosen, 2011).

9. Effectiveness of Integration ● The findings reveal that teachers are mainly using technology and computers for instruction in the use of technology, administrative purposes, instructional purposes and non-educational tasks. Also, the data revealed that teachers tend to use simpler technologies(TV) more than computers, if they are easily available. While classroom teachers use computers mainly for administrative purposes, computer labs are mainly utilized for instruction in the use of technology (Kurt, 2010). ● Using technology to enhance education does not mean that we should move classes totally on line. Students need face to face social interaction, especially in the primary and middle school grades. It doesn't mean that teachers should simply assign work on computers and let students find their own way. It doesn't mean providing technology in the classroom for technology's sake. Interactive white boards and desktop computers often sit unused by teachers who did not want them and who were not trained to use them (Rosen, 2011).

10. Conclusion ● It can be concluded that most teachers have a good understanding of the role technology in early childhood classrooms. However, most teachers' understanding or perceptions did not transfer to their levels of use with technology in the classroom. Most teachers suggested that their level of technology integration into teaching and learning was below average. In addition to finding ways to improve level of use, teachers need to be encouraged to monitor and collect more assessment data if they are going to find out whether their students are benefiting at all from the use of technology at the early childhood level. To ensure that students their students are benefiting from the use of technology, teachers' should have a system documenting what children are able to do with technology (Ntuli, 2010). ● Recommendations are given to begin evaluating new visions of technology for teaching and learning. In order to reach for this vision, considerations about the recent changes in evaluation practices while questioning the purposes of education. Technology may enable many to teach and learn in entirely new ways. With new and expanded definitions of student learning outcomes, the evaluation of the effectiveness of technology in education in the next century is essential(Heinecke, 2001).

11. Work Citied Baytak, A., Tarman, B., & Ayas, C. (2011). Experiencing technology integration in education: Children's perceptions. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 3(2), 139-151. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. DeWitt, D., & Siraj, S. (2011). Learners' perceptions of technology for design of a collaborative m-learning module. World Journal on Educational Technology, 170-181. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Heinecke, W. F., Milman, N. B., Washington, L. A., & Blasi, L. (2001). New directions in the evaluation of the effectiveness of educational technology. Computers in the Schools, 18(2/3), 97. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Kärkkäinen, S., & Keinonen, T. (2010). Primary school teacher and students perceptions of technology. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 1927-35. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Kurt, S. (2010). Technology use in elementary education in Turkey: A case study. New Horizons in Education, 58(1), 65-76. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Ntuli, E., & Kyei-Blankson, L. (2010). Teachers' understanding and use of developmentally appropriate computer technology in early childhood education. Journal of Technology Integration in the Classroom, 2(3), 23-35. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Rohaan, E., Taconis, R., & Jochems, W. (2010). Reviewing the relations between teachers’ knowledge and pupils’ attitude in the field of primary technology education. International Journal of Technology & Design Education, 20(1), 15-26. doi:10.1007/s10798-008-9055-7 Rosen, L. D. (2011). Teaching the iGeneration. Educational Leadership, 68(5), 10-15. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.