Teacher's Use of Technology Article

Tracing Teachers' Use of Technology in a Laptop Computer School: The Interplay of Teacher Beliefs, Social Dynamics, and Institutional Culture Author(s): Mark Windschitl and Kurt Sahl Source: American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Spring, 2002), pp. 165-205 Published by: American Educational Research Association


I found this article to be a very thorough investigation of the impact of technology on teachers and their mode of instruction. At times it seems that the majority of research is conducted on the impact of technology on students and their learning, and with good reason. This research however focused on whether technology motivated teachers to be more of a constructivist, or whether technology simply made it possible for teachers to be more of a constructivist.
The discussion of the climate of schools who take on a school-wide technology initiative was especially interesting to me. I found many of the remarks to be true to what I have experienced. I have observed that “teachers can and do change their instructional practices when using technology” during my six years as technology coach. The greatest change I have witnessed is by veteran foreign language and social studies teachers. These teachers became energized by the ability to access information and provide visuals for their students. Simple lectures evolved into multimedia presentations and the confidence gained by these teachers was tremendous. In most cases, all I needed to do was assist the teacher with creating one PowerPoint presentation and from then on their instruction style was infused with more features which represented different learning styles.
The reference to the impact of school climate on a teacher’s successful utilization of technology was also interest to me. Five years ago my school bought tablet PC’s (and wireless LCD projectors) for a select group of 25 teachers. These early adopters become experts and trained others both formally and informally. Each year 25-50 more teachers have received tablets. Teachers have to fill out an application for a tablet and justify how they intend to use the tablet in their instruction. This creates a climate where the teachers have already “bought into” the idea of using technology. The technology is not forced upon them; they have to seek it out. The high interest level fosters excitement and collaboration among teachers and the program has been a success.