| The Future Is Now...Let's Talk About Results, Now Shall We? (PDF) |  |
| An overview presentation of implementation plans and results of a one to one laptop program |  |
| 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. | |
| Taking It To The Bank | |
| A Wichita elementary school uses technology to create a bank of teaching videos for evaluating educational best practices. | |
| The Capacity For Applying Project Evaluation (CAPE) Evaluation Framework | |
| The Capacity for Applying Project Evaluation (CAPE) evaluation framework was developed to help school and district staff members who are not trained evaluators learn how to evaluate their own education initiatives or projects. It was originally created by the Technology in Learning group in the SERVE Center at UNC Greensboro, to help recipients of Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grants evaluate their projects, but it can be easily adapted for the evaluation of other types of grants and school improvement efforts. | |
| Evaluation Committee Composition Worksheet (PDF) | |
| A worksheet and guide to facilitate the creation of a technology evaluation committee. | |
| Technology Evaluation Essential Questions (PDF) | |
| A worksheet that facilitates the answering of some essential questions of technology evaluation. | |
| Sample Evaluation Questions (PDF) | |
| A worksheet with sample evaluation questions used in district technology evaluations. | |
| 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. | |
| How Well Is It Working? Customizing Your Technology Assessment | |
| An article that provides links to three examples of schools and districts which have been creating their own technology assessment programs. The goal is to identify practices that are working, and ones that are not. | |
| Developing Indicator Statements To Evaluate Technology (PDF) | |
| A worksheet that facilitates the identification of indicators, or aspects of possible impact to be measured, in a technology evaluation. | |
| Creating A Logic Map (PDF) | |
| Guidelines for creating a 'logic map', or a visual representation of the various related components of a program, to be used in designing a technology evaluation. | |
| Logic Map Worksheet (PDF) | |
| A worksheet for creating a 'logic map', or a visual representation of the various related components of a program, to be used in designing a technology evaluation. | |
| 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. | |
| Technology Integration Matrix | |
| The TIM is designed to assist schools and districts in evaluating the level of technology integration in classrooms and to provide teachers with models of how technology can be integrated into instruction in meaningful ways. It is the Department's intent that the TIM be used in the context of comprehensive technology planning and EETT program accountability. | |
| Sample Indicator Rubric (PDF) | |
| A sample indicator rubric showing possible levels of impact on student achievement of a technology initiative. | |
| Indicator Rubric Template (PDF) | |
| A template for creating rubrics for each of the indicators being measured in a technology evaluation. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| The Effectiveness Of An Online Algebra Course (PDF) | |
| The role of mastering algebra is to learn to manipulate abstract symbolic representations for underlying mathematical concepts, an ability with increasing importance in a world where relatively abstract technology is used to organize work in a great many domains (Moses, 2002). As a gateway course to further education, algebra is a critical milestone in secondary education. Algebra is increasingly integrated into elementary school mathematics, and the majority of secondary level students take a stand-alone algebra course. States, districts, schools, and instructors need information about effective approaches to teaching algebra. The quality of algebra curricula and instruction has received special attention in recent years when the mathematics test scores of students in the U.S. have been compared to scores of students in other countries, scores on state mathematics tests have been used to evaluate schools, and the need for qualified scientists and engineers has grown. | |
| Insight: The SouthCentral Instrument Library and Data Repository | |
| An evaluation resource that serves a broad range of educational constituents. | |
| ISTE Technology Support Index | |
| The Technology Support Index (TSI) assessment is a tool for schools and districts to profile their technology support programs and to provide solutions based on those unique profiles. Two assumptions are built into the use of the TSI: First, that all districts have in place or are planning network infrastructure to every classroom. The TSI does not address the need for infrastructure. Second, we assume that all four domains of support are required. There is a relationship between the four domains -- spectacular work in one domain will impact the need for work in another (e.g., staffing vs. standards). It is assumed, however, that a minimum threshold is required in each domain. | |
| 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. | |
| SETDA's National Trends Report 2007 | |
| The No Child Left Behind, Title II, Part D, Enhancing Education Through Technology (NCLB II D) program requires that states and schools focus their uses of technology on closing the achievement gap. While currently most states are implementing Round 5 (FY06) of the funding cycle, this report provides insights into the program implementation for Round 4 (FY05) and documents trend data across Rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4. | |
| Center For Applied Research In Educational Technology Topics: Student Learning | |
| Information on how technology can develop higher order thinking and problem solving | |
| Digital Leadership Divide: Without Visionary Leadership, Disparities In School Technology Budgets Increase (PDF) | |
| A new survey of key decision makers in K-12 public schools reveals large and growing disparities in funding for school technology. These disturbing disparities signal a widening digital divide between the technology haves and have-nots in 21st century. Stagnant or declining technology budgets in many school districts threaten the real progress that schools have made over the past decade to improve their technology infrastructure, access and effectiveness for administrators, teachers and students. | |
| EduTools Course Management System Comparisons-Reborn | |
| EduTools is a place to find and share information about Course Management Systems and emerging products that support instruction and learning. The offer feature-by-feature product comparisons and decision-making supports. | |
| Effectiveness Of Reading And Mathematics Software Products: Findings From The First Student Cohort (PDF) | |
| The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance produced this major study of the effectiveness of education technology. Mandated by Congress, the report uses scientifically based research methods and control groups to focus on the impact of technology on student academic achievement. Thirty-three districts, 132 schools, and 439 teachers participated in the study. Sixteen products were selected for the study based on public submissions and ratings by a study team and expert review panels. This report is the first of two from the study. The second report will present effects for individual products. The current report presents effects for groups of products. The main findings of the study are: (1) Test scores were not significantly higher in classrooms using the reading and mathematics software products than those in control classrooms. In each of the four groups of products-reading in first grade and in fourth grade, mathematics in sixth grade, and high school algebra-the evaluation found no significant differences in student achievement between the classrooms that used the technology products and classrooms that did not; and (2) There was substantial variation between schools regarding the effects on student achievement. Although the study collected data on many school and classroom characteristics, only two characteristics were related to the variation in reading achievement. For first grade, effects were larger in schools that had smaller student-teacher ratios (a measure of class size). For fourth grade, effects were larger when treatment teachers reported higher levels of use of the study product. | |
| Evaluating Crisis-Alert Systems | |
| In the age of e-mail and text messaging, instantly alerting parents and staff members about emergency situations on campus has become increasingly common, and new technologies have allowed districts to choose crisis-alert systems that are tailor-made for their needs. | |
| On-line Tutoring For Math Achievement Testing: A Controlled Evaluation (PDF) | |
| We report the results of a controlled evaluation of an interactive on-line tutoring system for high school math achievement test problem solving. High school students (N = 202) completed a math pre-test and were then assigned by teachers to receive interactive on-line multimedia tutoring or their regular classroom instruction. The on-line tutored students improved on the post-test, but the effect was limited to problems involving skills tutored in the on-line system (within-group control). Control group students showed no improvement. Students' use of interactive multimedia hints predicted pre- to post-test improvement, and benefits of tutoring were greatest for students with weakest initial math skills. | |
| Survey: Schools Fail To Teach Innovation | |
| U.S. teens say they aren't being prepared well for technology, engineering careers | |
| Does Your District Need A Technology Audit? | |
| An article advocating for technology audits as an important tool in technology evaluation and planning. | |
| The Effects Of Distance Education On K-12 Student Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis (PDF) | |
| The community of K-12 education has seen explosive growth over the last decade in distance learning programs, defined as learning experiences in which students and instructors are separated by space and/or time. While elementary and secondary students have learned through the use of electronic distance learning systems since the 1930s, the development of online distance learning schools is a relatively new phenomenon. Online virtual schools may be ideally suited to meet the needs of stakeholders calling for school choice, high school reform, and workforce preparation in 21st century skills. The growth in the numbers of students learning online and the importance of online learning as a solution to educational challenges has increased the need to study more closely the factors that affect student learning in virtual schooling environments. This meta-analysis is a statistical review of 116 effect sizes from 14 web delivered K-12 distance education programs studied between 1999 and 2004. The analysis shows that distance education can have the same effect on measures of student academic achievement when compared to traditional instruction. The study-weighted mean effect size across all outcomes was -0.028 with a 95 percent confidence interval from 0.060 to -0.116, indicating no significant difference in performance between students who participated in online programs and those who were taught in face-to-face classrooms. No factors were found to be related to significant positive or negative effects. The factors that were tested included academic content area, grade level of the students, role of the distance learning program, role of the instructor, length of the program, type of school, frequency of the distance learning experience, pacing of instruction, timing of instruction, instructor preparation and experience in distance education, and the setting of the students. | |
| The Impact Of Cognitive Organizers And Technology-Based Practices On Student Success In Secondary Social Studies Classrooms | |
| This is a study which investigated the impact of cognitive organizers and integrated software on student performance. Researchers examined a sample of students in an inclusive high school social studies class to determine if the user of a cognitive organizer had any impact on content-area learning. They found that students in the cognivite organizer sub-group significantly outperformed those students receiveing traditional textbook instruction. | |
| The Push To Improve STEM Education | |
| A special state-focused online supplement to Technology Counts 2008. This new State Technology Report assembles key findings in an accessible format that allows readers to examine a particular state’s performance on this year's indicators. | |