Publication Date

Spring 2017

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

Advisor

Arnold Danzig

Keywords

Digital Use Divide, One to One, Professional Learning Community, Teacher Leadership, Technology Integration, Title 1

Subject Areas

Educational leadership; Educational technology

Abstract

Calls for educational technology integration over more than thirty years have taken on

new urgency in an era of computerized assessments for accountability. As Internet Communication Technology (ICT) becomes more widely available, the digital divide is evolving into a digital use divide, characterized by differences between students’ productive uses of technology to create and communicate compared with passive uses for entertainment or skills practice. A growing body of research points to the important interplay among teachers’ frames of reference, school-level context, and alignment of supports in creating conditions for technology innovation. Meanwhile Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) hold potential as leverage points for affecting teacher beliefs and practices regarding technology use. This study analyzes interactions among a group of teacher leaders participating in a tech PLC at a school on the verge of becoming a technology-focused school. Analysis of the group’s natural discourse points to important elements of teacher talk and shared resources that contribute to aligning the group’s goals and practices when innovating with technology. It also illustrates how alignment between meso-level and micro-level context factors help to facilitate teachers’ ability to innovate in ways that have the potential to address the digital use divide.

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