ProfessorTOSA Blog

The following entry is from Karen Janowski’s blog, Edtech Solutions, Teaching Every Student. I decided to post it here for a number of reasons, but the most interesting to me was her use of Mark Prensky’s model of tech adoption. I have often referred to the Diffusion Process as a means to explain how we adopt new technologies, but using Mark Prensky’s theory was great because he is such a well read, well respected individual in the ed/tech community and this model does a great job blending my diffusion process with the role and position of an educator.

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How to Evaluate Technology Use in our SchoolsJeff Utecht often puts into words ideas that are circulating in my mind waiting to be expressed. He typically does a better job articulating than I do. His recent blog post, “Evaluating Technology Use in the Classroom” is another example of this. Major points that resonate are:

I remembered a Marc Prensky article in Edutopia in which he talks about the typical process of technology adoption:

1. Dabbling with technology
2. Doing Old things in Old Ways
3. Doing Old things in New Ways
4. Doing New things in New Ways

What if we turned these stages of technology adoption into questions that an evaluator could use during the evaluation process?

1. Is the technology being used “Just because it’s there”?
2. Is the technology allowing the teacher/students to do Old things in Old ways?
3. Is the technology allowing the teacher/students to do Old things in New ways?
4. Is the technology creating new and different learning experiences for the students?

I would add,

5. Is the technology tapping into the diverse learning styles of the students in our classrooms, to promote learning and independence?
6. Is there evidence of student engagement that results specifically because of the technology integration?

Asking the right questions leads to the answers that guide our decisions. What questions would you add in an attempt to evaluate effective technology use in the classroom?

Posted by Karen Janowski

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The second reason I used Karen’s blog as a reference, was because she has a good sp.ed. site. She is passionate about integrating technology with students who have special needs and she has accumulated a number of very useful resources in her blog, besides her insightful ideas written in her posts. Below are a few links she provided that I thought were especially useful.

1. LD Online – The World’s Leading Website on Learning Disabilities and ADHD
2. LD Resources - LD Resources is a collection of entries on various aspects of learning disabilities with comments from community members
3. Special Education Law Blog – A special education legal resource discussing case law, news, practical advocacy advice, and developments in state and federal laws, statutes and regulations. Postings include insight and sometimes humor from Charles P. Fox, a Chicago, Illinois attorney who is also a parent of child with special needs, and other guest authors.
4. Teaching Every Student Wiki - You will find a variety of materials that support seminars and professional development
5. Using Technology to Support Diverse Learners -