Date of Award

4-1-2000

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Neal Grandgenett

Second Advisor

Dr. Elliot Ostler

Third Advisor

Dr. Jim Akers

Abstract

The basic concern of this study was to begin looking at how to best implement the internet into the classroom from the perspective of technology supervisors. Questioning the ifs and they why's of the Internet are not the primary focus of this study. Many studies are investigating the effectiveness of the Internet in education. The focus here is on the hows. Such as how does a school or district implement an effective Internet strategy? Or what resources might be needed for an adequate implementation strategy. Even more basic to this thesis are questions about who is shouldering the burden for implementing this strategy and how are they empowered, it at all, to do their job. Effective implementation of the Internet and the effective use of Internet technologies in education require a sound understanding of how children learn, something we know quite a bit about, and how technologies can be molded and crafted to this end, something we know little about. Hence, the hows are just the hard part. Most importantly this study was designed to look at this problem from a different perspective: that of the technology leader or coordinator, who is responsible for such efforts within a school district. A questionnaire was distributed over the Internet to approximately 100 well-known technology leaders/coordinators throughout the state of Nebraska. The questionnaire focused on four areas: Demographics, The Impact of the Inter, The Characteristics of Teachers Who Use the Web and The Division of Labor. After several weeks of collection the data was analyzed. The results of the study showed that while many technology coordinators believe that the Internet is a powerful tool for learning, the actual application both, in the classroom and administratively, leaves much to be desired. Many times teachers lack training in even basic computer skills, forcing technology leaders/coordinators to spend most of their time serving as an on-site help desk. Often, technology leaders/coordinators are in general over tasked and find themselves having little influence within schools or districts. The recommendations provided were to: 1) Increase technology training for teachers, 2) Pay technology leaders/coordinators on an administrative scale, 3) Provide merit pay for teachers who learn technology skills and 4) Further study lesson development with regard to technology incorporation.

Comments

A Thesis Presented to the College of Education and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha. Copyright Douglas K. Ealy April, 2000

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