6.1 Evaluation of an online technology leadership master's program  (Page 7/16)

According to Rodriguez (2000), technology-enhanced professional development initiatives should contain specific components that have been deemed critical in achieving successful implementation. These components included:

a connection to student learning, hands-on technology use, various learning experiences, curriculum-specific applications, new roles for teachers, collegial learning, active teacher participation, ongoing process, sufficient time, technical assistance and support, administrative support, adequate resources, continuous funding and built-in evaluation. (p.3)

Carlson and Gadio (2002) contended that the one-time traditional teacher training workshops were not effective in creating an atmosphere where teachers felt comfortable using technology in the classroom. Furthermore, there was no evidence that the “drive-by” teacher training workshops resulted in the integration of technology into their classrooms. Conversely, there was an emerging new pattern that replaced this one-time training with lifelong professional development by providing a solid foundation in content, aptitude in teaching, organizational skills, classroom management and competency in using a variety of educational resources, including technology. In order for this ongoing technology professional development to be truly effective, teachers should actively coach and mentor each other, possess a sense of humbleness, creativity, innovation, risking taking, continuous improvement, sharing of successes and failures and participate in the constant revision of technology teacher professional development programs.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an online Educational Technology Leadership (ETL) master’s program to advance graduates’ leadership in the use of online learning, Web 2.0 tools, and technology professional development in PK-12 schools.

Methodology

A convergent mixed methods research design was selected for this study. In a mixed methods convergent research design, the researcher gathers both qualitative and quantitative data, both datasets are separately analyzed, the analysis results are compared, and an interpretation of the results support or contradict each other (Creswell, 2012). Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected simultaneously, and the data were integrated to better provide an assessment of graduates’ personal leadership trends and the implementation of online learning, Web 2.0, and technology professional development in PK-12 school settings. All graduates of the online ETL master’s program were invited to participate in a Likert-style online survey with open-ended questions. The survey and open-ended questions were completed by 110 of the 271 possible participants (41%). Additionally, a purposeful sample of 60 graduates’ comprehensive electronic portfolios were selected and examined to obtain additional qualitative data.

Research question

The overarching research question for this study was: Does the online Educational Technology Leadership master’s program advance graduates’ leadership in the use of online learning, Web 2.0 tools, and technology professional development in PK-12 schools? Assumptions were developed to analyze quantitative research data and sub-research questions guided the qualitative data analysis.