Practices for the Use of Technology in High Schools: A Delphi Study.

The Delphi method was used to generate practices regarding the use of technology in high schools. In addition to generating the practices, teacher leaders, administrators, researchers, and policymakers were asked to rate and come to consensus regarding their importance. Consensus was achieved on 32 of the 34 practices and six themes emerged around technology use in high schools: (a) community connection and support, (b) access, (c) research and policy, (d) professional development, (e) curriculum, and (f) school culture. ********** Although technology has had an enormously positive impact in the business arena, it has only had a small impact on the nation's education system (Pea, 2000). In spite of this, national polls and some education experts believe that technology should be incorporated into our nation's schools (Lemke & Coughlin, 1998; Pea). What is not agreed upon are the practices for effectively integrating technology into schools. While technology is making its way into schools, it has not had the impact as hoped for. Reasons for this lack of progress may include: limited up-to-date hardware and software, limited infrastructure and technical support staff, ineffective integration of technology into curricula, lack of compatibility among computers, and lack of staff development (Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee, 2003). The speed at which technology is changing and advancing provides an additional challenge to educators as they struggle with the issue of educational technology (Education Week, 1997). The push to make technology available and integrated into the schools has been coupled with a move toward education reform with an emphasis on accountability and assessment (Means, 1994). The United States Department of Education and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) produced standards for the use of technology in P-12 curricula. This resulted in the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) project, whose primary goal was to "enable stakeholders in P-12 education to develop national standards for the educational uses of technology to facilitate school improvement in the United States" (ISTE, 1998, p. 1). Technology, in its many forms, has become a powerful tool to enhance curriculum and instruction. Even though there are a few educators investigating the effective use of technology, some educators lack the support, the resources, or the proper motivation to fully integrate technology into their classrooms (LeBaron & Collier, 2001). Modern educational technologies have been conceived most frequently as instructional communicators, mediated teachers, and knowledge conveyors (Jonassen & Land, 2000). Much of the research regarding the use of technology in the classroom has shown a positive impact on student achievement (Bangert-Drowns, 1985; Christmann, Badgett, & Lucking, 1997; Jenks & Springer, 2002; Kulik, 1983, 1994, 2003; Kulik & Kulik, 1991; Waxman, Connell, & Gray, 2002; Schacter & Fagnano, 1999). In some instances and under certain conditions, it has been shown that technology helps students learn more, learn faster, become more motivated, and become more connected to the community and the outside world (Kulik, 1994; Lemke & Coughlin, 1998; Schacter & Fagnano, 1999). Although the use of technology in the classroom has been positive, the impact has been minimal (Kulik, 1994; Waxman et al., 2002). The correlation between student achievement and technology in schools has only been demonstrated in a few studies, so people continue to question the numerous calls for the use of computers in the classroom (Pea, 2000; Whitehead et al., 2003). PURPOSE According to Layton (as cited in Whitehead et al., 2003), the problem of technology use in schools is that planning efforts have been directed at where schools are now and how to move them forward rather than focusing on where we would like schools to be and then planning based on that vision. …