USEiT Study

I've spent the past few day pouring over a series of reports that are part of the Use, Support and Effect of Instructional Technology Study in an effort to determine how technology use is being studied and to gather insight into conducting my own survey of technology use within my district.  I've decided that this particular study will serve as a model for my own because of the similarity in purpose and the method of investigation, specifically for phase one of USEiT study which dealt simply with documenting the classroom uses of technology and support. 

Although the scale of this study and the technical aspects involved in the data analysis are intimidating, what I have been able to understand from the study has helped me to clarify my own research questions, focus the scope of my thesis, and understand how an instrument is designed and implemented. As a result, my own study will still focus primarily on teacher use of technology but will be expanded to include factors related to technology use.

What I have found disappointing in terms of the technical aspect of the study was a failure to mention the specific sources used to determine the factors related to technology use and why those factors are important to examine. 

Notes continued...

What Teachers Are Saying (2006 Survey)

Although I'm naturally skeptical of a study whose findings so neatly coincide with the business objectives of the large company who sponsored the Teachers Talk Tech survey, there is still much in this study that is relevant to my thesis. 

Both the purpose and the goals of this survey, i.e. learning  "how k-12 teachers use computers in their jobs" in order to "help communities make academic choices" are quite similar to my own thesis, so examining which questions were asked and how provided some guidance and understanding into my own project.

Although there is little within the report besides the findings, I found it interesting to note that the majority of questions focused on teacher attitudes and beliefs (which are often linked with use) and teacher skill level or training, as opposed to specific uses by teachers or barriers to use. So, although the actual results were not very informative, knowing that factors such as professional development, teacher's attitudes and beliefs, and their confidence and skill level are being considered when examining technology use is helpful. I would have been curious to understand specifically why the question used were chosen and the literature that guided the report, but I suppose that will have to be left for later lit reviews.

Notes Continued...