• What were some of the factors that played a role in ensuring positive results when technology was integrated in the classroom?

In order to ensure that integrating technology is positive for students it is important to make sure that students have choice as well as research to support the use of technology.  The students in the Besnoy and Clarke article stated how much they enjoyed using the technology.  They really liked the ability to change the font size in order to naturally group the text.  By doing so, they didn't feel overwhelmed by the number of words on the screen.  The study also showed that the students who used the PDAs felt they were better readers at the end of the study.  The study, however, did not show much of a difference in reading scores between the two groups and left the reader wondering if PDAs actually improved reading ability or just reading enjoyment.  More research needs to be done in order fully understand the utility of PDAs in a classroom.

• What are ways that you can, in your own setting (or for those not currently in a classroom, in your future setting), ensure that these factors are present or absent? (Be specific to your situation; do not make general statements.)

In my Spanish room we have a lot of technology available.  It is important for me to present as much as I can to the students and allow them some choice of what technology they use.  Using the Activeboard, the students play a game where words and pictures are grouped together.  In the bottom corner of the screen there is a timer that counts up.  The students start the timer and separate the words and pictures and then match them up.  I know the students like this game so I use it on a regular basis.  On the other hand, we play a similar game with just verb conjugations that must be placed by the appropriate subject pronoun.  I know they don't like this game as much and I know it doesn't do as much to help them learn the verbs.  Therefore, we don't play it nearly as much.  It is more of a 3-5 minute time filler if one class gets through things more quickly than another class.  I do not have any research to back my games other than what the students tell me. 

• How would you go about evaluating the success of a unit, lesson, etc., that involved the integration of new technology?

I think to evaluate the use of technology, you would have to have two groups of students.  One that used the technology and one that did not.  At the end of the unit, you would give them the same test to see how well each group did.  You would have to repeat the same study over time to make it valid.  It would be quite complicated to do in a school building where most teachers have at least 2 preps and some have 3 preps out of 4 classes (in trimesters).  That said, a simpler way to do it would be to ask the students to take a survey that includes that addresses the different forms of technology used and their effectiveness on a scale of 1-10. You would take that information and include more items the students felt were useful and less they felt were not.  Obviously there would be some items the students may not like but would still be useful.  They may mark those are not useful since they did not enjoy them as much.  I would have to figure out which category the items fall under.

• Finally, what could you do to disseminate successes and failures to your colleagues, administrators, and school board members?

I could show the various groups the uses of technology and the surveys I've taken.  In my department, we talk and share stories on a daily basis.  We beg, borrow and steal each others ideas in order to give our students the best and most enjoyable educational experience possible.  I also communicate ideas with the administration because I am one of the more tech savvy people in the building.  It would be best to communicate the use of technology to the board members in technology form.  That way they can see the ideas at work and communicate with the public who elected them.  Showing them examples would be better than just talking about them because they are not in the building on a regular basis.