EPSDtechintplan2004

enhanced by team use of eBoards, providing parents and students timely information regarding
team and school activities.
III. Future Vision and Direction
Technology in the Classroom: Asking the Right Questions reported on research findings
regarding technology in education. The research by Cradler (1994) shows technology:
• Increases performance when interactivity is prominent.
• Improves attitude and confidence, especially for at-risk students.
• Increase opportunities for student-constructed learning.
• Increases student collaboration on projects.
• Significantly improves problem-solving skills of learning disabled students.
• Improves writing skills and attitudes about writing for students.
National Middle School Association Research Summary #1 (1999) asks what impact technology
has on middle level education, specifically student achievement? Many aspects of the research
on cognitive versus non-cognitive outcomes were reported and there is growing evidence to
indicate a positive relationship between technology and student achievement at the middle level:
Years of brain research reveal that middle level age students learn best when they are
actively engaged with content. Multimedia approaches can assist learners’ understanding
of concepts and relationships not explainable in print text. Technology-rich learning
environments help students to not only learn the basic skills like reading, math, and
science, but also to learn the principles that underlie complex data. Technology allows
students to make a hands-on, minds-on approach to solving problems that is authentic
and relevant. (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory)
Presently, too many in our student population receive a diet of common instruction, regardless of
need; similar material, despite enormous variance of interest and motivation; and identical
support, even though the level of independence in our student population varies so greatly. PSSA
efforts require us to determine the needs of our students. Effective technology integration can
support and challenge all of our students and change the all-too-common didactic approach to
teaching. Individual and small group instruction will move the learning environment into
differentiated instruction, higher order thinking skills, and independently determined problem
solving situations.
Technology can change the way we do business – providing students with more hands-on, real
life experiences. We look to change and improve the way teachers teach from the rudimentary,
basic level of imparting knowledge, to one in which the learner has a voice in what and how they
learn. Whole class instruction cannot always meet the diverse needs of our students. Teachers
will learn how to control content and information in new ways, enabling students to discover
appropriate learning paths that best fit their learning style. Instead of information being
delivered, regurgitated, and forgotten, this modified classroom format will engage a student’s
imagination and replace drill and practice with problem solving.
For this vision to be fully realized, teacher collaboration, modeling, and sufficient support,
particularly in the area of staff development, will be important. What we are talking about is a
systemic change, change that takes us beyond the stuff of technology, change that focuses on the
Mission Statement and Goals of the Strategic Plan and will build a critical mass that moves
student achievement toward its potential.
EPSD Technology Integration Plan
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