Wiley Handbook of Learning Technology

24Technology Planning in Schools

David C. Ensminger

24.1 Introduction

Successful technology implementation and integration necessitates an instrumentalist perspective (Surry and Land 2000). Implementing technology that ultimately impacts students’ outcomes requires formal planning processes that address more than the obvious factors, such as hardware, software, and technical support. Technology planning must also address organizational, contextual, and personal factors related to technology implementation and integration.

Despite a great deal of access to technology resources, utilization of technologies for learning is often slow, use remains shallow and low-level, and teachers’ attitudes about using technology are not changing (Cuban, Kirkpatrick, and Peck 2001; Ertmer 1999). While access to technology is a necessary condition, it remains insufficient for successful implementation. Additional barriers such as alignment to the school’s mission and curriculum (Hayes 2007; Kopcha 2010), time to develop a technology-based curriculum (Bauer and Kenton 2005; Feist 2003), teachers' perceptions about the role of technology in instruction (Ertmer 1999), teachers' knowledge and skills related to technology integration and quality professional development (PD;) (Koehler and Mishra 2005), and schools’ culture regarding technology-based learning and how a school supports technology in the classroom (Zhao et al. 2002) also impact the success of implementation. Simply adopting technology and hoping ...