Strength In The Middle: From Digital Divide to Digital Equity

This study determined whether the measures implemented to address barriers to technology infusion changed the technology use patterns of teachers at a middle school. The research question was: Will middle school teachers infuse technology in teaching when the barriers of a lack of time, tools, training, and support are addressed? Document analysis of lesson plans and educational technologist (ET) logs was conducted to analyze the change in the teachers? teaching practices. Interviews were conducted to gather information about the participant?s perceptions of the project and their involvement in using technology in teaching. Observations were conducted to determine whether changes occurred in teaching practices and to confirm information provided by the teachers. Data analysis revealed that the provision of resources did make a difference in teaching practices. Three of the five core teachers changed their teaching practices; two teachers? teaching practices did not change because they faced second order as well as first order barriers to technology integration. Recommendations for practice included (a) leaving the ET at Covington in his ET position and investing in the funding the ET position at the other schools in the district, (b) utilizing the expertise of the core teachers to provide technology training and support for teachers in the district, (c) selecting persons with a strong technology vision who are willing to practice their vision as well as translate their vision into teacher use of technology in instruction. Recommendations for further research were that follow up studies be conducted that (a) determine whether there was a continuation in the integration of technology in teaching after the project no longer operates in the school setting, (b) determine whether the school continued with the model of providing time, tools, training, and support for teachers to integrate technology into their teaching, (c) determine whether the school district implements these measures in other schools, (d) seek to gain a more in-depth understanding of the reasons that teachers fail to integrate technology into teaching when the first order barriers to technology integration have been removed, and (e) address the issue of technology use for instructional purposes and its effects on students? willingness to participate in the learning process