Research - K-12
Dissertation, Typical Teacher Use of Technology in an Elementary School
Abstract: Technology is at the forefront of many educational reform efforts in our country, and is gaining widespread significance at the national, state, and local levels. Many perceive technology to be the "black box" that will cure the ills of the nation's schools. The growth in educational technology-related funding opportunities, policies, and standards advances the idea that technology is such a panacea. Although there seems to be agreement that technology should be infused in education, there is a lack of research concerning how ordinary teachers use it in context and how they define its use. This study examines the conditions, processes, and consequences of technology use by three elementary school teachers. Three Virginia elementary school teachers within the same school were interviewed and observed teaching to examine the conditions that exist which might promote or hinder technology use in their classrooms, the ways in which they employed technology, their meanings and motivations behind their use of technology, and the resulting effects of technology use on the culture of their classrooms. Understanding the answers to these questions about technology provides a portrait as to how teachers and a school--not actively involved in technology reform efforts--are using, managing, integrating, and defining technology in their classrooms. Symbolic interactionism and constructivism were utilized to frame the context of the study. Analytic induction was used to generate a series of empirical assertions about the conditions, processes, and consequences of technology use. Results of the study suggest that technology integration by teachers is a social process influenced by their beliefs about teaching and learning as well as the school culture.
Currently, I am also in the beginning stages of designing a mixed-method study on young girls in virtual worlds - uses, attitudes, and impact.