Introduction to my research conducted at Hamline University

The calendar year is 2011.  In the United States, digital technology surrounds adults and children in and out of schools.  The types of tools and ways people can use these amazing devices for entertainment and learning are growing and changing at exponential speeds. Schools are equipped with all sorts of digital tools similar to students’ homes for learning and entertainment.  Education journals headline the latest digital technologies that can be used as teaching tools.  Professional magazines and blogs share stories of how teachers integrate technology in classrooms.  Even the U.S. Department of Education (2010) validates that our 24/7 access to the world via the Internet provides limitless opportunities for adults and our students. (See http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/netp2010.pdf )

This should not be a surprise because in 1990, Dwyer, Ringstaff and Sandholtz  (1990) of Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) published research demonstrating that “the introduction of technology to classrooms can significantly increase the potential for learning, especially when it is used to support collaboration, information access, and the expression and representation of students’ thoughts and ideas” (p.1).  1990? Yes, you read that correctly, and it was based on ACOT research from 1985-1989.

However, currently in 2011, the reality in many classrooms around the country is that technology is still only being introduced or used periodically. Dwyer et al. (1990) recognized that integrating technology would require an educational change about learning and teaching to gain academic achievement.  Commenting on the pace of educational change, Ringstaff, Kelley, Loesch-Griffin, White and Sandholtz (1991) again emphasized “educational change is typically slow and painstaking” (p. 3) and proposed that professional development needed to include reflecting on teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning.  Twenty-one years later this is still very relevant because teachers’ integrating digital technology within the curriculum has been catching on slowly and not actually mirroring their students’ lives outside of school.

What is going on in your school? Do classrooms look like classrooms of the past, present or possibly future?