Technology Integration

in the Classroom

From computers to two-way interactive video to e-mail, some form of technology can be found in just about every classroom in America. But how effectively is it being used? The Northwest Educational Technology Consortium (NETC) at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory has devised a simple tool to help principals and other school leaders assess technology integration in the classroom, expand the appropriate use of technology by staff members, and enhance their own technology leadership skills.

Called OPTIC or Observation Protocol for Technology Integration in the Classroom, the tool provides a one-page rubric for rating technology behaviors, curriculum, and design issues. NETC recommends that the observer and teacher hold a conference before the observation to go over goals and expectations. After the observation, participants get together to discuss the results and implications. "The process can easily be done in 25 minutes, so it's a practical tool that covers a wide range of activities that might be seen in the classroom," notes Gary Graves, who helped design the protocol. According to Graves, OPTIC serves two purposes: improving staff's technology use and raising administrators' awareness.

The idea for OPTIC was developed after NETC completed a statewide evaluation of technology use in K–12 schools. During the evaluation, interviews with Idaho principals showed wide variation in how they defined technology integration. The interviews also indicated that principals formed their opinions after brief, casual observations that used idiosyncratic criteria.

Based on those findings, Graves and NETC colleagues developed OPTIC and recruited five schools around the Northwest to conduct field tests. Debbie Startt, principal of Highland Hills Elementary in Hermiston, Oregon, was among the administrators using OPTIC. "I thought that the rubric was well-written and certainly made it clear to me when technology was integrated into a lesson or merely an add-on," she said. "My teachers are very enthusiastic about the possibilities of using the Internet as a resource for more up-to-date information, especially in science. The particular lesson that I observed was a fourth-grade science lesson using various sites to expose students to video clips of actual science experiments, which was very appropriate for these young learners."

Four schools in the Edmonds (Washington) School District also conducted field tests. Kim Mathey, the district's manager of instructional technology, said the protocol "created deep conversations" between principals and teachers and among groups of teachers. "It helped teachers reflect on their own use of technology and helped us see how well-calibrated we were" when several people observed the same classroom. Graves will make final revisions to OPTIC this summer and also work on ways to interpret the rubric results. For more information about OPTIC, see NETC's Web site at http://www.netc.org/assessing/home/integration.php or contact Graves at gravesg@nwrel.org.