CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Technology is a part of nearly everything people do. But does it have a place in the classroom? In this study, teachers in the Kaiserslautern School District, which is located in the pfaltzland area of Germany consisting of eight military bases, had just received new computers over the past 18 months, and some attended specific software training classes the past summer. Kaiserslautern is a district in Germany on military bases. The district encompasses four high schools, five middle schools and 10 elementary schools. The children that attend the schools are American children in military families. The teachers were ready to infuse their classroom lesson plans with a variety of technology and assigned students activities that involved creating brochures, creating PowerPoint presentations, and using video cameras. This rush of technology could be seen in almost all of the regular classes. However, as the school moved into the 2nd quarter, there was a slow return to traditional classroom instruction, leaving PowerPoint presentations, use of Publisher, and video production behind. Students are still using word processing programs and completing a few scattered technology projects, but the flurry of technology use is over. At-risk students’ grades have dropped, along with students’ attendance in some or, for a few, in all classes after use of technology was dropped.
The children who are now in grades K-12 will graduate high school over the next 12 years, and more jobs will be technology-based than in previous years. Even if a student decided to work at a fast food restaurant the rest of hisfher life, he/she would have to learn to work the cash register, which is computerized. In addition, the rising use of the Internet has brought people together from all over the world. People in the United States are able to do business with people in Spain via the Internet, for example. According to Kleyn-Kennedy (2001), “The unprecedented, exponential growth of technology has changed the world as we know it, and its impact on every aspect of society is, as of yet, impossible to measure” (as cited in Honey, 2005,
p. 8). Smith (2002) offered these thoughts on the impact of technology on the workplace: Clearly it is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more other people on more different kinds of work from more different corners of the planet and on a more equal footing than at any previous time in the history of the world-using computers, emails, networks, teleconferencing, and dynamic new software.
(p.325) Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, in her 2006 testimony to the u.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, spoke of the unprecedented pace of technological innovation and global competition taking place today. She concluded, “All Americans must be technically adept and numerically literate regardless of their chosen occupation so that they can make informed decisions and enjoy advancement in their careers” (Spellings, 2006, p. 3). Therefore, it is imperative students have a positive attitude and a basic understanding about technology to be successful in their adult lives. If schools do not change along with society as far as technology is concerned, they will educate a group of students who do not have the technological skills to compete and succeed in higher education or in the job market, both nationally and internationally (Basset, 2005).
Today teachers have access to innovative tools with which to enhance their curriculum. One of these technology tools is the Internet, which has given students a new way to do research, allowed teachers to offer a wider topic range, and made available an endless amount of information. Additionally, email connects teachers and students from all over the world so they can work collaboratively with other teachers and students anywhere in the world. Interactive whiteboards also allow students to touch the screen and participate in thought provoking activities prepared by teachers. Specifically, special education teachers have access to tools such as a scanner that will read aloud and software programs that emphasize reading skills. These tools could be helpful to a blind student listening to a book, learning-disabled students playing with reading software, and dyslexic students learning how to read with software.
In the field of education, the influence of technology is ever increasing as school districts and even state governments mandate its use more and more each year. The Kaiserslautern School District, the district where the researcher works, all 750 teachers in grades K-12 were given the opportunity to apply for new technology tools for their classroom. They were offered a SMART Board, an interactive whiteboard; a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) projector, a projector that connects to a computer hard drive; and an Educators Workstation, a laptop computer with a docking station and a wireless keyboard and monitor. The district superintendent hoped, by offering these tools as well as training teachers to use the tools, student test scores and both teacher and student motivation would improve.
Students should benefit from the use oftechnology in the classroom. Research in this area has the potential to prove that when teachers use technology tools in the classroom, students become more motivated to learn the material and are more involved in the lesson. In addition, their attention spans may increase when a teacher uses technology tools. Some of these tools include an interactive whiteboard, email, the Internet, course specific software, and many other options available today.
If teachers understand the importance ofintegrating technology into their lessons and receive the professional development needed in their fields, they could become accustomed to using technology tools; therefore, student learning and motivation could increase. As KleynKennedy (2006) stated, “Even ifteachers are not drawn to technology, they realize that computers are here to stay, and inevitably, they must resign themselves to developing sufficient technology skills” (p. 43). This study attempted to show that teachers who use technology tools in their classrooms would improve student learning and motivation. “Today’s education system faces irrelevance unless we bridge the gap between how students live and how they
learn…Students will spend their adult lives in a multi-tasking, multifaceted, technology-driven, diverse, vibrant world-and they must arrive equipped to do so” (Transition in School, 2000, p. 48).