Educational change is indeed difficult to accomplish, and efforts that involve technology may be particularly difficult to achieve. According to David (1991), Technology has the potential to transform the relationships between teachers and students and even to change what schools look like. However, the history of education reform provides scant evidence that such a transformation will occur simply because the technology exists. (p. 38) Research supports the notion that innovations will not be implemented in schools merely because they make sense and meet specified needs (Fullan, 1991). Despite the groundswell of enthusiasm for computer utilization in education, technology innovations have certainly not escaped the "huge negative legacy of failed reform" cited by Fullan (1991, p. 354). Unfortunately, technology has not been the salvation for educational ills that many predicted or hoped. However, this has less to do with technology than with its ineffective implementation in the schools (Hasselbring, 1990). Impediments that limit the effective use of technology include but are not limited to inadequate resources, lack of preparation and staff development, lack of planning time, and inadequate on-site support (Braun, 1990; Sheingold & Hadley, 1990; Strudler & Gall, 1988; U.S. Congress, 1988, 1995). Effective technology inservice programs will only be successful to the extent that these and other conditions indicated by research exist to support the overall implementation of educational technology. After a thorough inspection of the literature, Ely's (1990) framework was selected for the purpose of examining these conditions. Ely developed the following list of eight conditions that facilitate the implementation of educational technology.
Each condition will be discussed in reference to the literature that supports each condition. 1. Dissatisfaction with the status quo. Dissatisfaction with the status quo suggests that there must be a reason for members of the system to want to implement technology. Teachers, administrators, parents, school boards, and communities must believe that there are aspects of schooling that need to be improved. Technology should not be adopted for its own sake. OTA (U.S. Congress, 1995) reported that teachers, like other professionals, will use technology once they understand how it can make them more productive and help them do their jobs more professionally. A genuine need must exist; otherwise, teachers and students are left struggling with a technology that has no value to them. 2. Knowledge and skills. To implement the use of any type of educational technology effectively, teachers must feel confident in its operation and their own ability to integrate it into daily classroom practice. The need for training has emerged in the literature as an issue of major proportions (Boe, 1989; Hasselbring, 1990; Milner, 1980; Moursund, 1981; Reinhardt, 1995; U.S. Congress, 1988, 1995). 3. Resources. Hardware and software are obvious resources that must be available. While the literature indicates the substantial increase of computers in the schools, a further examination reveals that approximately half the computers in U.S. schools use an obsolete eight-bit architecture that imposes serious limitations on their capabilities. The extent to which students can use more promising uses of technology for activities such as exploring real-world learning environments, researching from CD-ROM encyclopedias, and creating multimedia products is severely limited (U.S. Congress, 1995). Teachers also need other types of resources, such as onsite computer support. Teachers often need technical assistance as well as pedagogical support such as advice on choosing relevant software and integrating it into a lesson plan. Teachers also need recommendations for ways that technology can be used to meet educational objectives, along with ideas on how to organize a classroom to take full advantage of only a few computers. OTA (U.S. Congress, 1995) reported that onsite technology support personnel for assisting teachers is limited in most schools. Between 1989 and 1992, the percentage of schools that assigned a full-time non-teaching position to technology issues did not change and remained very small. The OTA also reported that even schools that have an onsite technology support person do not provide teachers with adequate computer assistance. 4. Rewards and incentives. The implementation of an innovation can be encouraged through the use of rewards and incentives. Some school districts offer teachers stipends or salary credit for attending technology training. The two- year Rand study examining educational change stated, "Extra pay could stimulate computer use where none has previously existed, or might deter computer-using teachers from leaving the teaching profession" (School Tech News, 1987, p. 8). Other districts include the additional incentive of offering hardware and software in exchange for time spent in professional development (Hancock, 1989; Lare, 1991). Providing teachers with computer systems for use at home can serve as an incentive while at the same time affording the opportunity for the teacher to become more familiar with the equipment (Lare, 1991). A variety of other incentives are used by school districts to encourage the use of technology. Many school districts have discovered that teachers are motivated by formal recognition of their technology endeavors. In a discussion of technology-related staff development, Kinnaman (1990) described "release time, remuneration, and recognition" as the "three R's" (p. 30) of staff development. Hirsch and Ponder (1991, p. 44) concluded that "improvement in student learning serves as the greatest motivator. When teachers see evidence of student gains, attitudes toward an innovation improve." Regardless of the form, Ely suggested that incentives should be present. 5. Commitment. The key to commitment is that it must be displayed by individuals involved in the innovation at all levels of the system. According to Ely (1990), administrators at both the school and district level, along with the teachers involved in the day-to-day implementation, must support the innovation. 6. Leadership. Educational leadership occurs at many levels and is key to successful innovations. The literature indicates the growing importance of administrators in the success of technology innovations. According to Jongejan (1990), It is the lack of realization that school administrators control policy making, financial allocation, and program implementation within schools. Thus, administrators must be educated about the use of technology in schools and sold on value of implementing technology in their schools. (p. 9) The actions, interests, and priorities of the building principal have made a significant difference between effective and ineffective implementation of program change (Berman & McLaughlin, 1978, U.S. Congress, 1995). 7. Time. In almost every study concerning the diffusion, adoption, and implementation of technology in education, the time factor is rated as one of the most important conditions leading to successful implementation. Wiske and Zodhiates (1988) and Fulton (1988) found that teachers who begin using computers in their teaching believe, initially, that computers create more work for them. Sheingold and Hadley (1990) reported that even accomplished technology-using teachers rated the lack of time as one of the most problematic barriers to technology utilization in the schools. It is important to recognize that mastering technology requires time. However, teachers spend the majority of the school day providing instruction--leaving very little time for experimenting with new technologies. A national study conducted by the National Education Commission on Time and Learning (1994) determined that teachers are "prisoners of time." They have very little official time for planning and preparing for the use of any new innovation. Therefore, school administrators must find creative ways to provide release time for teachers to become effective computer users. 8. Participation. People must become "stakeholders" in the outcome of an innovation. This often occurs when people are given the opportunity to plan and participate in decisions concerning the innovation and its implementation. When individuals "buy-in" to technology implementation, they possess "ownership" of the idea and usually become facilitators in making the innovation successful. In a nationwide survey conducted by the Educational Technology Center (ETC) at Harvard, teachers clearly indicated a call for a voice in the decision-making process. "Teachers must not be cut out of the decision-making loop; they should be centrally involved in decisions regarding software and the integration of computers into the curriculum" (Wiske et al., 1987, p. 70). Currently there exists little theoretical basis for the development of effective technology professional development. Until this foundation is developed, those responsible for professional development will continue to struggle with how to deliver effective technology-based training. A need exists for evaluation studies that provide staff development personnel with a mechanism for judging the effectiveness of technology training programs. InTech Project: Although some schools have made great strides in helping their teachers learn to use basic technological tools— such as a word processor, they still struggle with curriculum integration. Curriculum integration was the focal point of the InTech Project. The InTech Project involved training teachers to use the computer and related technologies to support and enhance the existing curriculum and to provide a catalyst for fundamental change to take place in the teaching and learning process. The InTech Project began as a two-week summer technology training institute. Participating teachers learned how to operate various pieces of hardware and software as well as how to integrate computers successfully into their curriculum. The summer institute was augmented by four additional days of training during the following school year. Teachers were supported throughout the school year by project personnel who were available and willing to help with problems teachers experienced in their efforts to integrate technology into their curriculum. Teachers interested in participating were required to complete an application requiring signatures of support from their principals. Principal support ensured that teachers were given release time to attend training sessions during the school year. Teachers were expected to look critically at their own instructional practices and commit to change their practices to include the utilization of technology.
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