| The purpose of this study was to investigate how principals develop and sustain a shared vision for technology that creates and supports powerful new forms of learning. Subsumed under this question were the underlying questions: what are the actions and beliefs of principals who are identified as instructional leaders in technology, what are the perceptions of teachers regarding the principal's role in technology leadership, and how does the technology plan articulate and lay the framework for the technology vision at the site.; Thirty San Diego County middle schools contributed data for the study. Three individual schools were selected as the unit of analysis. The research questions were investigated by employing the use of interviews with principals of schools that met a stringent set of criteria for technology integration. It was also important to ascertain the teachers' perspective on the change effort to see if they saw the principals' role the same way. This perspective was researched by using a combination of document analysis and teacher focus groups.; Findings identified that principals must (1) hold high expectations; (2) foster teacher buy-in; and (3) be resourceful in providing technology resources. In addition to these key findings, principals must expect technology to be used, model expectations, evaluate teachers on their technology integration, value teachers' expertise, include everyone in the visioning process, support risk taking, provide adequate technology resources, and provide teachers adequate time for planning and practice.; The results of the study, coupled with the recommendations, will be used to plan a 30-hour institute to fulfill one of the five training components required by California Assembly Bill 75. This training component focuses on developing principals' abilities to integrate technology to improve student performance. Second, the findings will be presented at the annual National Education Computing Conference. Finally, an article will be written for publication in journals such as ASCD's Educational Leadership. |
