Kaamiya Burroughs Article Summaries 1. Research Kopcha, T. J. (2012) . Computers and Education.

Teachers' perceptions of the barriers to technology integration and practices with technology under situated professional development, 59, 1109-1121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.031 This article is based on a case study that examined the perceptions of 18 elementary school teachers when it comes to the barriers of technology integration in the classroom. Teachers felt a lack of access to technology and a lack of time to learn new technology. There was discouragement from setbacks and scarcity of professional development workshops. This study proved to show that situated professional development could extinguish the negative perceptions of technology integration in the classrooms. The professional development activities selected focused heavily on addressing gaps in teacher knowledge and engaging them through activity-based learning. The teachers needs were assessed and goals were established. The professional development was setup in a hierarchal type of scheme. Teachers were first schooled on technical skills then once an improvement was seen, they moved onto professional development skills that focused on reinforcing their beliefs about using technology and introducing strategies. I thought this article was useful because I hear the same reasons for not wanting to integrate technology into the classroom by my peers. I also agree that professional development plays a huge role in technology integration because many teachers do not know how to effectively implement technology into their instruction. Having an example that one can pull from and draw upon is really helpful. The majority of the technology based activities I use in the classroom are not from what I conjured up myself, but what I learned from others. This article would be useful for all educators in dispelling the negative barriers that prevent us from maximizing instruction to its highest potential. The article mentioned having mentors throughout the professional development. I think that is a cool idea. I would love to have a go to person that I could rely on for ideas or help whenever needed. I think the teachers at my school do not use technology in their rooms for the simple fact they do not know how or what to use exactly. There are many teachers I work with that if you show them once, they will continue to use it. I felt this article was well written. The content was well organized and coherent. I thought the subject matter was relatable and relevant to the topic.

2. Research Celik, S. (2012). Contemporary Educational Technology. Competency Levels of Teachers in Using Interactive Whiteboards, 3(2), 115-129. Retrieved from http://www.cedtech.net/articles/32/323.pdf This study examined the effectiveness of interactive white boards in the classroom and its use by 252 primary teachers. Teachers perceptions and self-reported competencies towards using interactive white board use in the classroom was examined and reported. Interactive white boards provide opportunities for learners to articulate scientific knowledge, express ideas verbally and graphically, while providing collaborative opportunities for reasoning, hypothesis testing and interpretation. Learning becomes much more engaging when students are able to touch and move objects or see materials from different perspectives. For teachers to feel comfortable using interactive whiteboards, being prepared was key. Teacher preparedness affected the effectiveness of technology enabled learning environments and to combat the issue, appropriate training for teachers was instituted. There was one section of this article that I found eye opening. Most teachers fall under one of three categories: Missioners are people who are tech-literate and are willing to try any new type of technology while trying to get others to use it as well, Tentatives are those who have undergone training and have interactive whiteboards in their rooms, but are apprehensive about using the technology, and then there Luddites which are those who are afraid of using any type of technology. I found this section eye opening because I couldnt agree more with teachers falling under one of these types. I, myself, believe I fall under Missioners because I love using new technology and I am constantly trying to get other teachers to jump on the bandwagon. I think this article made some really great points for using interactive whiteboards. Differentiation is easily promoted by meeting the needs of visual learners, which makes teaching more interactive and engaging. I think this article would be useful for administrators to set up professional development workshops for teachers on using whiteboards more effectively. This article shows that training teachers to become familiar with using technology assures the quality of technology integration in the classroom.

3. Research Lowther, D. L. , Morrison, G. R. , & Ross, S. M. (2010) . Contemporary Educational Technology. Educational Technology Research Past and Present: Balancing Rigor and Relevance to Impact School Learning, 1(1), 17-35. Retrieved from http://www.cedtech.net/articles/11/112.pdf The article, Educational Technology Research Past and Present: Balancing Rigor and Relevance to Impact School Learning, examines the past and present research trends with regards to educational technology. This article sought to propose directions for improving the meaningfulness and rigor of research. There is a need for continued research on reasoning and learning using technology as well as formative evaluation and design based research to create and improve technology products. Presently, technology has become useful through the implementation of computer-assisted instruction, using technology as a teaching aid in the classroom, and using technology as a learning tool for students. This article showed that research design has limited value in informing K-12 practices in the absence of meaningful areas of inquiry. Upon reading this article, I was surprised to see there is not much of a difference between computer assisted instruction and traditional teacher-led instruction. Both produce similar results. I thought computer-assisted instruction programs would yield better results because they can provide tutorial lessons and differentiate drill-and-practice exercises for each student. It makes sense that there is not much a difference between computer assisted instruction and traditional teacher led instruction because effective teachers are just as able to find and use evidence-based strategies to promote and enhance learning just the same as a computer program. This article showed the valuable uses of computer-assisted instruction. I feel some people think teachers place students on the computers just to give them something to do, but it allows teachers to tutor others by performing remedial instruction to low-achieving students, conduct assessments, or perform other tasks. I found it interesting that one suggestion for improving education through technology was social networking with a global community of learners. I found this interesting because some educators do not feel it is appropriate to interact with learners via social networking sites. I think if used in an educational only setting it could be very beneficial because this is the direction society is moving towards and educators have to remain in the loop to keep students engaged.

4. Theory-Into-Practice Debele, M. , Plevyak, L. (2012). Computers in the Schools. Conditions for Successful Use of Technology in Social Studies Classrooms, 29, 285-299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2012.703602 This article discusses the conditions necessary for successfully implementing technology in social studies classrooms because of the major concern that educators are not using the technology to its fullest extent to extend learning. In order for teachers to be successful, they need training on technology-based tools and how to use theses tools effectively. The three conditions for classroom technology integration projects in social studies classrooms was the teacher who created the project, the project itself, and the context in which it was received. 33 studies in K-12 and post-secondary social studies classrooms were selected for review while fostering constructivist teaching strategies and it was concluded that the main conditions for success had to do with a strong alignment between the content and the technology presented by the teacher. Technology based projects that focused on specific learning outcomes greatly contributed to the projects success. This is a great article for any teacher because it stresses the importance of aligning content with technology use. This article hit some major points crucial to education. Content alignment should be an integral part of every teachers preparation for a lesson involving technological use. I agree that keeping learning outcomes targeted by classroom based technology projects simple and focused should be top priority. Teachers are focused on projects and assignments that are cute or fun rather than whether the project meets the expectations set forth. I am going to use one of the projects that another teacher used in which the students created a multimedia presentation and took on roles from various historical scenes, recorded and presented their enactments. I could easily have my students re-enact battle scenes from the American Revolution and have students create a multimedia presentation. The more articles I read, the more I see that in order for teachers to be successful with technology integration in the classroom, they need formal training on technology-based tools. This is the common link in the articles I have read thus far and I completely agree. There is a plethora of technology tools that can be used in the classroom, but teachers do not know how to use them effectively. I, personally, only use web 2.0 tools that I am most comfortable with. To use something completely unknown intimidates me, which is why I think most teachers dont use what they dont know.

5. Research Karemaker, A. (2011). Advancing Education Journal. Some Research Findings on the use of Clicker to Support Early Learning and Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.naace.co.uk/1707 This article discusses how the implementation of a multimedia software intervention program, Clicker, can be effective in supporting early literacy in children ranging in age from five to six years. It was found that students who were exposed to using Clicker on a daily basis for about two hours achieved greater success in phonological awareness, grapheme awareness, decoding, spelling, and receptive vocabulary than children who did not use Clicker. Two additional studies were conducted to indicate whether student success could be attributed to using Oxford Reading Tree (ORT) for Clicker or ORT printed books. The results showed evidence that ORT for clicker is effective in the development of early literacy and an increase in computer enjoyment for struggling students. The attitudes of the teachers changed for the better as well. Teachers who used the product were less anxious and were overall, pleased. I thought this article would be very beneficial for K-2 teachers who help develop literacy skills early on in a childs life. I used to teach first grade and having a program like this would have been wonderful. I think any type of technology introduced or used in the classroom reels the students in and hooks them for the duration of the lesson, if used effectively. This software helps children learn to read alone and at a speed most comfortable to them. I was not surprised that the school that did not use the software produced lower results than the school that did. I have read numerous articles about how technology has enhanced and improved academics. I do feel confused about the school that produced lower results from not using ORT. I wonder how effective the teachers were in their instruction because whether you have the software or not, everyone should still be producing the same type of results. Effective teachers are just as good as a technology-assisted program because they are able to find and use evidence based strategies to promote and facilitate learning, which was noted in a previous article I read. I would have loved for the author to expound on the strategies and delivery system used by the teachers who did not utilize ORT to verify whether they were using evidence based strategies which are as good as any technology assisted program.

6. Professional Practice Ray, B. (2002) . International Journal of Educational Technology. PDAs in the Classroom: Integration Strategies for K-12 Educators, 3. Retrieved from http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ijet/v3n1/ray/index.html The purpose of this article is to show how K-12 teachers can use personal digital assistants (PDAs) to facilitate learning at anytime and manage course assignments. No longer are these devices being used solely for personal productivity tools. PDAs now come with software that can allow educators and students to perform a wide range of tasks, including synching data with computers, accessing email, managing appointments and course assignments. The key is to know how to best use these devices in the classroom. PDAs allow teachers have more freedom in managing classroom work and in creating instructional plans. When used by students, PDAs can promote responsibility. Students are responsible for checking due dates in calendar, checking grades, recording assignments, taking notes, and creating and editing Microsoft based applications and various other responsibilities. PDAs can increase the quality of completed products. This article lists a plethora of Internet applications for student use with PDAs as well as software tools for educators. I enjoyed reading this article. It was the most beneficial because of all of the different applications pinpointed for teacher and student use. I really like the idea of beaming assignments. Daily assignments, grading rubrics, and all sorts of other forms can be easily beamed to students or groups of students equipped with a PDA. Students can also beam their assignments to the instructor in a matter of seconds and have the work graded by the instructor on the PDA. I could see this working on a fourth or fifth grade level. Students at this age and even youngers are able to use devices better than the average adult it seems, so this is quite feasible. I also like the PDA integration strategy of students working together to create a customized dictionary using word processing or other software. At the beginning of each science unit, I would have the students work collaboratively to create and define science terms that could be used to help with homework and other assignments. This article would be beneficial for all teachers and administrators because of the various PDA applications not only for them, but for students as well. I really thought this article was relevant and pertinent to the topic because it listed so many strategies for using PDAs in the classroom.

7. Research Casey, B. & Rakes, G. (2002). International Journal of Educational Technology. An Analysis of Teacher Concerns Toward Instructional Technology. Retrieved from http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ijet/v3n1/rakes/index.html This paper examined the concerns of 659 PK-12 teachers from all over the U.S. when it came to instructional technology as assessed by the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ). The SoCQ measured seven hypothesized stages of concern, awareness, informational, personal, management, consequence, collaboration, and refocusing. The main goal of integrating instructional technology into the curriculum is to promote student achievement, but teachers have to first view technology in a positive manner and become comfortable using it. The results indicated that personal concerns of teachers have been replaced by student achievement and there is a strong curiosity for how other teachers are using technology. To positively impact student learning, the personal concerns of teachers needs to be addressed and professional development opportunities should be available to enable sharing and interaction among peers, not with just the workshop coordinator. The results also showed that the institutionalization of instructional technology in schools has not yet happened. I whole-heartedly believe teachers are still very much uncomfortable integrating technology in their classrooms. I agree that with so much pressure to improve student test scores, the administrators number one concern is not to address the concerns of the teachers. This would be a great article for principals to read because I have been turned down a few times from going to professional development workshops because administration did not want to lose instructional time. Teachers need workshops that can address their individual concerns before moving on to other concerns such as what technology to use and how it will be used by themselves and the students. I also agree that many teachers want to know what their peers are doing and how are they using technology in their own classrooms. Im always asking other teachers how they use technology so I can get ideas on what I want to do with my students. Sometimes, I use their ideas word for word, tool for tool, and oftentimes, it gets me started on how I can tailor it to best fit the needs of my students. Im in favor of workshops that allow teachers to interact and collaborate with one another.

8. Theory-Into-Practice Chang, Z. (2012). Educational Technology & Society. Student Satisfaction, Performance, and Knowledge Construction in Online Collaborative Learning, 15 (1). Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/read/1G1-284221934/studentsatisfaction-performance-and-knowledge-construction

This article confirms the cultural differences of students working collaboratively in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments based on social constructivism. CSCL promotes meta-cognitive processes, reflective interaction, and problem solving. A study was conducted which involved the Flemish and Chinese culture, while focusing on the satisfaction, online performance, and knowledge construction through peer interaction. The Flemish culture is more individualistic whereas the Chinese culture has more of a collaborative nature. There were significant differences reported from the study. The Chinese students reported a higher level of satisfaction with online collaborative learning and the equal contribution of the group, and preferred working with others in comparison to the Flemish students. The Flemish students were more satisfied with the outcome of the online group work. Student satisfaction and their performance in online collaborative learning are significant factors in determining whether a particular learning approach can be applied in a justifiable way. CSCL can improve students collaborative learning activities and their knowledge construction through group interaction. I am all about collaboration! I allow my students to work collaboratively on every single assignment as long as it is not an assessment. I agree that working collaboratively not only benefits the individual performance of a student, but also enhances team performance as well as the team product. Through group discussion, students can express ideas and opinions more effectively. The findings from the study conducted were not surprising. I was not surprised that the Chinese benefited more from a CSCL environment since they are already a collective group of people who work together. An article such as this was applied in specific settings and the findings may only be useful in similar contexts, but I think it conveys the message loud and clear. Online collaborative learning is beneficial in an educational setting. Student involvement is more intense in CSCL which enhances student-learning achievement.