| The problem. The purpose of this study was to consider how the development of a school district technology plan facilitates meaningful use of technology in the classroom. One school district's experiences were studied from the formation of a technology planning committee to the implementation of an expanded use of technology in upper-elementary classrooms.;Procedures. A qualitative case study was conducted. Components of the research include document analysis of a district technology plan, interviews with technology plan committee members, fieldwork observations and interviews with teachers. Two components of the Concerns Based Assessment Model (CBAM) were used to provide descriptive information about the practices and concerns of the teachers.;Findings. Case study data supported the use of a comprehensive technology planning model, the communication of a vision of technology use to support student learning, and the development of infrastructure support for classroom technology use. Individual factors appear to influence teachers' use of technology, including their concerns, vision, comfort, and use of time. Organizational factors are also important, including access to equipment, building-level support, curriculum support, and staff development. Interviews and observations indicated that teachers integrated the use of two multimedia classroom computers, however this was not done in a way that significantly transformed the classroom environment or methods of instruction.;Conclusions. This study demonstrated that an effective technology plan can lead a district through establishment of a technology infrastructure, including a district-wide network, Internet access to all classrooms, and high quality staff development. A Technology Committee can be instrumental in providing necessary organizational support for the use of technology, namely access to hardware, software, technical support, and staff development. Teachers also need curriculum integration support in order to take full advantage of available technology. An integration-support system appeared to be instrumental in helping teachers overcome their individual barriers of comfort, experience, concerns and vision related to use of technology in the teaching process. |
