I read once that great researchers pay special attention not so much when the obvious happens or when they find nothing, but when they encounter an outcome that runs contrary to what they expected. It is in these situations that there is the chance to really learn something.
A couple of reports this week revealed results that might offer this opportunity. Both were reported in secondary sources and the original sources are presently difficult to find.
1) New teachers are not necessarily any more likely to engage their students with technology (summarized in eSchool News).
A quote from ISTE guy Don Knezek speculates that:
There could be two reasons for this, Knezek added: Either they are coming out of teacher preparation programs unprepared to integrate technology effectively, or they’re entering a school environment where they’re not encouraged to do so.
I read a study reaching a similar conclusion some years ago and this earlier study offered a somewhat different conclusion. This study speculated that technology integration requires some unique educator skills and new teachers are operating on a type of Maslow’s hierarchy (taking care of survival skills first – I take credit for the Maslow reference, but it does seem to fit). If I remember correctly, this study determined that at about 5 years of teacher experience of so you see heavier student use. I take this explanation to be different from either of the explanations offered by Knezek.
Counter intuitive insight – we may be wrong in assuming growing up with tech is that important. It may be the non-tech aspects of integration in combination with the general school demands that must be developed. I am not certain I blame this on training programs unless school-based experiences (e.g., student teaching) are included. Expertise with any complex skill requires considerable experience to mature.
2) Sending computers home will extend the school day, reduce SES access differences, and improve achievement.
To the contrary, the NY Times offers a piece mostly focused on a collection of studies that go against these predictions even demonstrating disadvantages.
Counter intuitive insight – home access to the Internet is just a tool and tools can be applied to various tasks. Spending time exploring personal interests my even take time away from doing traditional homework. Perhaps we assumed too much and we should structure out of school tasks to take advantage of the tools provided.
