Adequate funding for educational technology

Unrestricted While technology, in and of itself, is unlikely to raise student test scores, expenditures on technology do play a role in achieving an overall adequate educational system. The purpose of this study was to use a successful schools model to survey site principals and site teachers to seek their professional opinions on the role educational technology played in increasing student achievement and exiting from Year 4 or Year 5 of Program Improvement in 2006 or 2008.; The overall findings as related to the research questions were: (1) The utilization of educational technology resources is indeed supportive of school level efforts to raise student achievement and exit Program Improvement. (2) LCD projectors and document cameras represented the most effective technology hardware resources for increasing student achievement, followed closely by high speed internet connectivity and wireless internet connectivity. In terms of technology software resources, technology proved invaluable in analyzing student achievement data and in supporting data driven decision making (DDDM), and many respondents believed in the efficacy of leveled reading programs and computer based learning programs. (3) Regarding technology support, teachers indicated that staff development and hands-on training in technology was the most important factor in helping to raise student achievement. Less than half of the surveyed principals felt the $250 dollars per student proposed by Odden and Picus was adequate. (4) Results from the California School Technology surveys were mixed, but positive correlations between technology and student achievement were found.