%0 Journal Article
%T A Qualitative Study of Technology Integration into Culture and Sustainability in Schools
%A Marie-Anne Mundy
%A Lori Kupczynski
%J ISRN Education
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/967610
%X Despite overall increased access to technology both in and out of the classroom, technology is often still not being used to support learning and instruction in a meaningful manner. Teachers need to be helped to change the way they teach rather than just how to use computers. The TeachUp! Program was designed by Digital Opportunity Trust to improve the use of technology in day-to-day teaching activities through the use of interns who are present in the schools as a continuous support system and who provide an informal professional development. Interns examine types of technology available and how it can be utilized as a part of the design and implementation of the curriculum to extend the existing student knowledge and learning. Purposive samples from two school districts in southern Mississippi were selected to be interviewed on their perceptions of the integration of TeachUp! technology empowerment into the ongoing culture and operation of the schools, long-term systematic change, and improvement in education outcomes. According to the respondents, the TeachUp! Program has had a major sustaining effect on the respective school systems in these areas. The climate of the learning environment has evolved into a true 21st century learning organization with an increase in the use of technology. 1. Introduction The plight of the modern 21st century student is extremely different from that of students of previous generations. Gone are the days of card catalogues, microfilms, and unaided, unadorned lectures. Even the introduction of slides and televisions into classrooms left education relatively the same [1]. Students in today¡¯s classrooms were brought up learning their letters and numbers from interactive LeapFrog LeapPads rather than paper and glue books. Today¡¯s K-12 student population represents the first generations to have been raised on technology in every aspect from communication and entertainment to information gathering [2]. Unfortunately, for the most part, the only place technology has not inundated these generations of ¡°digital natives,¡± those raised on technology, is the classroom [2]. This lack of technology in the classroom may actually be a disservice to digital natives as their experiences with technology have fundamentally changed their thinking patterns from those of ¡°digital immigrants,¡± previous generations who were not raised on technology [2]. Unfortunately, despite overall increased access by digital natives and digital immigrants to technology and computers both in and out of the classroom, technology is often still not being used
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.education/2013/967610/