Title of Study: Evaluation of the Enhancing Education Through Technology Program: Final Report

Author(s): Marianne Bakia, Barbara Means, Larry Gallagher, Eva Chen, Karla Jones

Summary:
This report provides descriptions of educational technology practices resulting from the EETT program from 2002 to 2007.  The report compares high poverty classrooms to low poverty classrooms.

Sponsoring entity(s): U.S. Department of Education

Date conducted: 2009

Location of the study: This study can be accessed through the U.S. Department of Education website.

Setting(s) addressed:

• Classroom

Targeted population(s):

• K-12

Primary sources of evidence used in the study or report:

• Surveys of state and district educational technology directors
• Surveys of teachers

Primary Technology Application(s) Addressed:

• Classroom access to technology
• Teacher professional development
• Technology integration

Major education topic(s) addressed:

• Digital literacy

Major findings/conclusions:

• High-income and low-poverty classrooms had equivalent access to the Internet (63% of all teachers’ classrooms had high speed access).  Higher percentages of elementary teachers reported having high-speed access than secondary teachers.
• About half of the states have standards for teacher technology competency, but most don’t assess teachers’ technology skills.
• About half of the states don’t have standards for technology integration or don’t have measures of integration.
• Although 44 states have technology standards for students, only six states measure students’ technology skills, and 25 report that districts measure student skills.
• Most districts provide technology-related professional development for teachers as required under EETT, but the professional development usually does not incorporate research-based characteristics for effective professional development.

Practical implications of the findings:

• The percentage of teachers who reported using technology in their teaching increased from year to year.
• 42% of teachers in high poverty schools requested professional development in using technology to meet the needs of English language learners, compared to 28% in low-poverty schools.  Teachers in high-poverty schools were also more likely to request professional development in improving students’ technology literacy.
• The report concludes that districts should reallocate resources from training teachers in basic use of technology to professional development on using technology to enhance student learning in reading, math and other academic subjects.

Reviewer Comments:
Because of a lack of agreement among states on what is meant by technology literacy and technology integration, and because most states do not have assessments to measure technology literacy and technology integration, it is difficult to measure the success of the EETT program relative to its objectives.  The report points out that mere access to technology is not enough, but that it must be used to support curricular goals and support students in their learning.  The report suggests that the shift of focus from providing access to technology to issues of how technology is used and how teachers are supported should continue.