The Central Role of Leadership in Technology Integration
Abstract: This design-based research explores a program created to support principals involved in a technology integration effort in a Northeastern high-need urban district. The intervention, designed by the Center for Technology and School Change at Teachers College, Columbia University, helps administrators understand the role of technology in the 21century classroom. The center’s work is premised on the belief that technology can serve as a catalyst for systemic school change, but only if the entire school is prepared to focus on the use of technology to deepen student understanding. Data show that the intervention did in fact shift administrators’ opinions in key leadership areas, such as the need to develop a cohesive, long-term process for integrating technology, and the need to use technologies to support instructional methods that develop higher-level thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. More research is needed to determine other evidence of building-level impact