Discussion 2

I found this week's articles to be very informative about the reasons teachers were previously not integrating technology into classrooms as much as the authors of these articles believed they should. However, these data reports are from 98-99 and 01-03. I would like to see how this data has changed with an updated study. I found one of the greatest flaws in the Cuban study to be missing data concerning the days in which teachers were instructed on how to use technology. This is later discussed as a concern, but I believe that if this data were provided, there would be a positive correlation between these days and the amount technology is used in the classroom. I was thinking throughout the Cuban article that better teacher instruction on technology might change the results of the study. Also, I found it disturbing that the schools had limited technology support from specialists. In one of the schools, the technology specialist was also a teacher who had many more obligations to fulfill so she had very little time to fulfill the obligations of a technology specialist. I feel that these areas are especially where the lack of technology in classrooms come from.

Concerning the Russell article, I found it interesting that newer teachers used technology in classrooms less than teachers that had been there for many years. However, I did find the reasons for this listed at the end of the article very practicle. I feel that this gap can better be filled with classes, such as the one we are taking, that teach pre-service teachers not only about the technology but how to incorporate it. Therefore, teachers will have confidence in using the technology, as well as creative ideas as how to incorporate it. I also feel that these classes will help fill the gap between changing from direct teacher instruction to more student-involved instruction. Teachers need to be taught that technology can be used for more than just contact and preparation for classes, as was a focus in the articles. If the articles are pressing for this pedagogical change then teachers have to go beyond these personal usages of their computers. However, I believe the push toward more technology use in the classroom will come when teachers feel more comfortable and can aquire a set of ideas about incorporating technology into their lessons.