| Teacher Dispositions As Predictors Of Classroom Technology Use (PDF) |  |
| A research study showing the effects of teacher attributes and attitudes on technology use in the classroom |  |
| Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions (PDF) | |
| A set of sample focus group questions for teachers, to be used in a technology evaluation. | |
| Teaching With Student Response Systems In Elementary And Secondary Education Settings: A Survey Study (PDF) | |
| This study examined how 498 elementary and secondary educators use student response systems in their instruction. The teachers all completed an online questionnaire designed to learn about their goals for using response systems, the instructional strategies they employ when using the system, and the perceived effects of response systems. | |
| Classroom Observations: Digital Data In The Palm Of Your Hand | |
| Discusses traditional tools for collecting classroom data, and how a handheld computer can facilitate this activity. | |
| Maximize Your Mining: Part Two | |
| An article (part 2 of 2) that challenges schools to move beyond a focus on improving the performance of 'bubble students' towards an approach that uses data to focus on each individual student's needs. | |
| Fayette County Public School's Technology Assessment | |
| A report from the ongoing evaluation of Fayette County Public Schools' technology initiative. This is the second yearly report and includes recommendations for the next year of the initiative. | |
| Technology In Schools: Suggestions, Tools, And Guidelines For Assessing Technology In Elementary And Secondary Education (PDF) | |
| A report developed by the National Center for Educational Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education and the Technology in Schools Task Force to facilitate the assessment of technology used to support education. | |
| Learning Facts (PDF) | |
| In just the last ten years, goaded by broad and still unsettled cultural shifts, education practices have changed dramatically. Schools are no longer just recording and analyzing inputs -- dollars spent, number of days of instruction, numbers of students per teacher -- but pushing their data-gathering and analysis efforts into the brave new world of outcomes. Who is dropping out and why? Which students are reading at grade level, and which are not? How are 4th graders doing on fractions and decimals? Today's educators are deciphering, and using, the results of student assessments better than ever. And it is not a reform at the margins. This article from the Winter 2007 issue of Education Next takes a close look at three schools that have integrated data into their instructional decision making: Evelyn S. Thompson Elementary School in Aldine, Texas; Feaster-Edison Elementary School in Chula Vista, California; and Elm City College Preparatory School in New Haven, Connecticut. Each has concluded that the practice has helped improve student achievement. | |
| 'Dashboards' Provide Data Designed To Help Parents Rate School Performance | |
| U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has unveiled a new tool to show the public a snapshot of how schools fare in reading and math achievement, graduation rates and participation in challenging Advanced Placement exams. | |
| Policy Brief: Is A Laptop Initiative In Your Future? (PDF) | |
| A report that discusses the results of several evaluations of one to one initiatives. The report details the benefits of one to one initiatives and outlines key components to success. | |
| NETS For Students: Profiles For Technology Literate Students (PDF) | |
| Profiles of technology literate students for grades preK-12, developed by ISTE's National Educational Technology Standards project. | |
| National Educational Technology Standards For Students: The Next Generation (PDF) | |
| ISTE's National Educational Technology Standards for Students. The standards describe what students should know and be able to do to learn effectively in a digital world. | |
| What Factors Facilitate Teacher Skill, Teacher Morale, and Perceived Student Learning In Technology-Using Classrooms? | |
| Abstract - Based on a comprehensive study of 94 classrooms from four states in different geographic regions of the country, this quantitative study investigated the impact of seven factors related to school technology (planning, leadership, curriculum alignment, professional development, technology use, teacher openness to change, and teacher non-school computer use) on five dependent measures in the areas of teacher skill (technology competency and technology integration), teacher morale, and perceived student learning (impact on student content acquisition and higher order thinking skills acquisition). Stepwise regression resulted in models to explain each of the five dependent measures. Teacher technology competency was predicted by teacher openness to change. Technology integration was predicted by teacher openness to change and the percentage of technology use with others. Teacher morale was predicted by professional development and constructivist use of technology. Technology impact on content acquisition was predicted by the strength of leadership, teacher openness to change, and negatively influenced by teacher non-school computer use. Technology impact on higher-order thinking skills was predicted by teacher openness to change, the constructivist use of technology, and negatively influenced by percentage of technology use where students work alone. Implications for the adoption and use of school technologies are discussed. | |
| Taking It To The Bank | |
| A Wichita elementary school uses technology to create a bank of teaching videos for evaluating educational best practices. | |
| Trading Roles: Teachers And Students Learn With Technology (PDF) | |
| Maine Learning Technology Initiative Research Report #3 describes the effects that the one-to one initiative in Maine is having on both teachers and students. | |
| A Virtual Supervision Model | |
| The perennial lament of every principal is not having enough time to fulfill what is perhaps his or her most important responsibility -- teacher evaluation. In the absence of a human resource solution to this problem, technology offers an opportunity to tip the scale in the direction of instructional leadership through a medium we refer to as Virtual Supervision. | |
| Integration Of Technology Instrument (PDF) | |
| Observation instrument on the integration of technology observation | |
| Professional Development | |
| Chapter 6 from "Technology in Schools: Suggestions, Tools, and Guidelines for Assessing Technology in Elementary and Secondary Schools" provides information on professional development for teachers using technology | |
| Achieving With Data (PDF) | |
| A report from a study that looked at key strategies of four school systems that are leaders in using data for instructional decision making and improving student achievement. | |
| Data Based Decision Making (PDF) | |
| An article describing three states' data-based decision-making initiatives funded by the Wallace Foundation's State Action for Education Leadership Project II. | |
| Professional Development: A Results-Driven Approach To Teacher Development | |
| As Long Beach Unified puts the finishing touches on its standards-based curriculum, professional development built on rigorous teacher standards is becoming the top priority. "It's really coming down to what is happening in a classroom with 35 kids and one teacher." | |
| What Teachers Should Know And Be Able To Do (PDF) | |
| In this policy, the National Board presents its view of what teachers should know and be able to do--its convictions about what it values and believes should be honored in teaching. | |
| Insight: The SouthCentral Instrument Library and Data Repository | |
| An evaluation resource that serves a broad range of educational constituents. | |
| International Society For Technology In Education (ISTE) | |
| suggest ways programs can incrementally examine how well candidates meet the standards. The Profiles correspond to four phases in the typical preparation of a teacher. | |
| Maximize Your Mining: Part One | |
| An article (part 1 of 2) that describes the three stages schools go through as they begin to use data to drive decisions and improve school performance. | |
| Professional Development: 21st Century Models | |
| An article asserting that the key to achieving quality teaching is to support and retain teachers through quality professional development experiences. | |
| Staff Development Tied To Literacy Gains For Students | |
| An audit of professional-development literacy programs in a Florida district has found that students of teachers trained in those programs showed significant gains in reading-test scores. | |
| A Homegrown Design For Data Warehousing | |
| Report on how a district created its own process for generating detailed information about students in real time | |
| District Office: Part Two (PDF) | |
| New data collection and analysis tools have emerged in the past decade. These new tools, such as data warehousing and data mining, are now making their way into education. Districts can use these new tools to collect important data, which in turn, can inform their planning and decision-making processes. | |
| District Initiative (PDF) | |
| An article highlighting how an underachieving district used data-driven business practices to improve student achievement | |
| District Creates, Sells Own Data Tool | |
| One of the largest educational databases of its kind in the country, district officials say, EDSL reportedly contains some 18 million student records. The password-protected system enables approved administrators to perform school- and district-wide data searches, sort class and individual student performance data, and create color-coded graphs and other visual aides to determine how well schools are performing--and where they must improve--to be on par with state and federal guidelines. | |
| Delving Into Data | |
| States and districts are beginning to build digital data systems that can drive decisions in the classroom and the boardroom. | |
| Best Practices: Lemon Grove School District | |
| A case study that illustrates data driven decision making. Lemon Grove School District turned underperforming schools around by holding all students to high standards and using disaggregated data to target resources. | |
| The Data Warehousing Information Center | |
| collection of one practitioner's essays on data warehousing, decision support, and business intelligence | |
| Tools For School Improvement Planning | |
| Database of new and innovative tools | |
| Using Data To Make Decisions | |
| Presentation on data driven decision making | |
| Guide To Using Data In School Improvement Efforts (PDF) | |
| This guide is designed for educators who are beginning to learn how to use data in their school improvement planning process. Because most educators are not trained in data-driven decision making and planning, it is necessary to begin with a foundation on which to build processes for data use. The guide offers some foundational information on types of data, strategies for analyzing and understanding data, and methods for determining how these efforts can influence goals and planning. There are additional resources in the Appendix. | |
| District Office: Part One (PDF) | |
| The collection and use of data are critical for documenting successful programs that should be expanded and for identifying those programs for which alternative strategies are needed. Data allows district leaders to demonstrate effectiveness necessary to make programmatic and funding decisions. | |
| No Child Left Behind Issue Brief (PDF) | |
| A report on the impacts effects of NCLB, which focuses on how several exemplary districts are using data-driven decision making for improving school and student achievement. | |
| Making Sense Of Data Driven Decision Making In Education | |
| A white paper that synthesizes information from several large studies with the aim of clarifying the ways that data are being used in schools and districts for data-driven decision making | |
| Innovations In Education Book Series (Microsoft Word) | |
| The Innovations in Education book series is published by the Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. The books detail how school systems around the country have put the No Child Left Behind Act to work. | |
| USA's Top Principal Could Teach CEOs A Thing Or Two | |
| There are few leadership positions more challenging than high school principal, especially if the school has a history of under performance. Molly Howard is the 2008 Principal of the Year selected by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and MetLife. Her Jefferson County High in small-town Louisville, Ga., has increased graduation rates, raised test scores and believed enough in students -- 80% of whom live in poverty -- to eliminate remedial courses. Howard, 52, spoke to USA TODAY corporate management reporter Del Jones. Following are excerpts, edited for clarity and space. | |
| Affording 1:1 | |
| Two articles that provide strategies and guidelines for funding a successful one to one initiative. | |
| Are Your Schools Getting The Most Out Of What Technology Has To Offer? | |
| A brochure that describes the three-step process of technology evaluation employed by an educational consulting firm. | |
| Evaluation Committee Composition Worksheet (PDF) | |
| A worksheet and guide to facilitate the creation of a technology evaluation committee. | |