Answering the Big Question on New Technology in Schools: Does It Work? (Part 1)
What drives many district and state technology leaders bonkers is being asked time and again by their school boards, superintendents, parents, and media: What does the research say about whether we should invest in iPads, tablets, and 1:1 laptops? What they really want to know is: does the new technology work? Is it effective?
Of course, some district technology leaders and superintendents already know the answer; they forge ahead to buy iPads for kindergartners in Auburn (ME) or hand out over 6,000 to every high school student and teacher inLexington (SC). They do not need researchers to tell them that these devices “work.” They believe and know that they will work.
For those technology leaders, however, who want to provide credible answers to the inevitable question that
Of course, some district technology leaders and superintendents already know the answer; they forge ahead to buy iPads for kindergartners in Auburn (ME) or hand out over 6,000 to every high school student and teacher inLexington (SC). They do not need researchers to tell them that these devices “work.” They believe and know that they will work.
For those technology leaders, however, who want to provide credible answers to the inevitable question that