| ducational leaders struggle with how to develop and sustain an effective, current and affordable educational technology program that meets the needs of the 21st Century learner and increases teaching and learning effectiveness. Thus, this study aimed to extend the research and provide practical guidelines to assist leaders in sustaining an effective educational technology program, while at the same time offering insights on how to support teachers with the integration process.;The following guiding questions were used in this research study: (1) What are the significant and relevant factors that are found in current educational technology literature and research that influence and lead effective technology integration and sustainability in public schools at the elementary level, specifically kindergarten through grade five?; (2) How do the significant and relevant factors that are found in current educational technology literature and research that influence and lead effective technology integration and sustainability in public schools at the elementary level --- specifically kindergarten through grade five --- align with the 2008 New Jersey Public Schools Technology Survey?; and (3) Using the information collected from the sample population of selected elementary public schools, what does the statistical evidence suggest about how the presence or absence of technology leadership influences effective technology integration?;The findings from the first guiding question resulted in 10 sustainability factors that aligned with current research: Leadership, Funding, Professional Development, Technical Support, Assessments, Technology Integration, Digital Content, Equitable Access to Technology, Connectivity and Communication/Shared Practices. The 10 sustainability factors were aligned to the New Jersey School Technology Survey instrument in order to analyze the existing data under the theoretical framework of "effective sustainability". An analysis of the 36 objective items from the 2008 New Jersey School Technology Survey revealed that all of the sustainability factors were included, although some factors were examined more than others. The analysis revealed that the sustainability factors most heavily assessed were: Leadership, Technology Integration, Equitable Access to Technology and Connectivity. There were a moderate number of questions assessing: Communication/Shared Practices, Funding, Professional Development, Technical Support, Assessment and Digital Content were slightly assessed. To answer question three, Pearson's Chi-square crosstab analyses were completed using two leadership questions on the New Jersey Public School Survey. Item... |
