Characteristics and responsibilities of Technology Coordinators employed in public school districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvani

The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires Technology Coordinators employed by public school districts in the Commonwealth to be properly certified. The Technology Coordinator is responsible to implement instructional technology for the district, provide leadership in the use of technological delivery systems, and routinely work directly with teachers and administrators to effectively integrate educational technology into the classroom. The position is considered to be professional and certified, subject to tenure provisions.;This dissertation investigates the following questions: Who are the Technology Coordinators in the Eastern Pennsylvania school districts? What skills do they perceive as important to the implementation of educational technology? What are their professional and technical backgrounds? What educational credentials do they hold? Is their orientation geared toward education or technology?;Data for this study was collected from a questionnaire that was sent to district level Technology Coordinators in the eastern counties of Pennsylvania. One hundred and two districts were randomly selected from each of 24 counties. A return rate of 85.2% was received. The initial survey was reviewed and piloted by the Technology Coordinators and educational technology experts in Carbon and Lehigh Counties to ensure validity of the instrument. Since the data collected was more descriptive than predictive in nature, the statistics utilized in this study concentrated on nonparametric data testing methodologies. The statistical design for this study consisted of descriptive statistics, simple correlations and rank order.;Technology experts in Eastern Pennsylvania feel that providing technical support services for the district is their primary task. Assisting educators in utilizing technology resources is the second priority. The survey respondents perceive their performance as a Technology Coordinator as being successful. They also feel that they understand the technology concerns of teachers and are having a positive effect on the professional staff. Technology Coordinators spend the majority of their time performing hardware installation and troubleshooting technology. Completing administrative paperwork and managing the network infrastructure are a close second and third as identified by the respondents.