Proposal

Proposal

Statement of the Problem

The Topic

The intent of this research is to see the effectiveness of technology in the classroom if the teacher is not properly trained on the use of that technology.

The Research Problem

There is a great amount of money being spent on technology in schools with the intent to enhance student learning. In the Obama stimulus plan in is noted that $40 billion that will be split among the states for education. In this plan it is stated that $650 million must be spent to enhance technology. Effective use of technology is more than simply building a computer lab or adding interactive white boards into classrooms. The instructors must know how to use the technology in order for the students' lesson to be enhanced. This research will examine how effective technology is to students if the instructor does not have sufficient knowledge of the technology.

Justification

Students in the classroom today use technology everyday for multiple hours. The technology is an essential part of their lives. A study was done by the Kaiser Family Foundation that says kids spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes per day on “entertainment media”; take into consideration the time they are multi-tasking, the time jumps to almost 11 hours. Incorporating technology into the classroom will help enhance the lesson for the students of today's digital age.

Audience that will Benefit from this Study

All individuals of the educational field will benefit from this study. Instructors will benefit by gaining additional training for new technology that is brought into the schools. The students will benefit by receiving advanced instruction from teachers who now have sufficient training. School administrators will be able to allocate funds correctly to allow for sufficient training programs.

Purpose and Research Questions

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to determine if schools will benefit more by spending money on new/additional technology or on education and training for the teachers. Teachers are often placed in educational settings with new technology but have insufficient training on the use of the technology. Students therefore receive little to no benefits because they are not presented the full capabilities the technology has to offer. Many teachers in the classrooms today were brought up in an educational setting with very minimal technology use. Placing computers, or any form of technology, in their classrooms will not solve any problems. Through this research I would like to see the impact that a teacher's familiarity and training with technology has on the students' performance in the classroom

Research Questions

This research will address the following questions based on the use of technology in the classroom:

Does an instructor's educational level in technology have a positive correlation with students' grades?

Does an instructor's familiarity with technology result in more use of technology by students in the classroom?

Is the lack of technology integration in classrooms due to low/non-existent training or access of the technology?

Hypothesis

Developing an ongoing curriculum to train instructors on the use of technology will benefit the learning environment more than purchasing additional technology with no ...