ERIC_NO:
ED311875
TITLE:
Exemplary Educational Computer Use: Coping with Rapid Changes in Technology. Interactive Technology Laboratory Report #12.
AUTHOR:
Cohen, Moshe; And Others
PUBLICATION_DATE:
1986
ABSTRACT:
Over the past decade educational researchers and curriculum evaluators have dealt with the deviation between a specified educational program
and its actual implementation. These differences have been referred to
as a critical problem in both the achievement and the evaluation of a
program's goals. The research reported here has explored the grassroots
implementation of computer-use in classrooms as an alternative approach
to program implementation. An ethnographic study of six exemplary elementary
classrooms in the San Diego County (California) area found that successful
implementation of computers was the result of the combined efforts of
an enthusiastic teacher, who became the "computer expert," and a supportive
principal, who in most cases did not know about computers but recognized
their potential. These implementation efforts resulted in applications
that were different from conventional uses, and were evaluated against
heterogeneous criteria of success. Diversity in the implementation of
computers in education was found to be a useful mechanism for coping with
the rapid rate of change in computer technology. The grassroots introduction
of computers required extensive efforts on the part of the teachers involved
and resulted in the recognition of their academic effort by colleagues.
If the implementation of computers had followed the traditional top-down
hierarchical approach, it could not have kept abreast of rapid technological
changes and might have become overly constrained in its application. (23
references) (Author/GL)
MAJOR_DESCRIPTORS:
Computer Assisted Instruction; Diffusion (Communication); Educational Innovation; Professional Recognition; Technology Transfer;
MINOR DESCRIPTORS:
Case Studies; Classroom Research; Elementary Secondary Education; Interviews; Naturalistic Observation; Program Implementation;
IDENTIFIERS:
California (San Diego County)
PUBLICATION_TYPE:
143