Policy Unplugged

by Jenson, Jennifer; Rose, Chloe Brushwood; Lewis, Brian; Smith, Richard; Shapson, Stan

• ISBN13: 9780773532793
• ISBN10: 077353279X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-10-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ Pr

Summary

The integration of technology into Canadian public schools remains an illusive goal for policy-makers and educators who believe that investment in computers yields concrete results.Policy Unpluggeddocuments the realities of computer use in schools and unveils the often hidden barriers to teachers' integration efforts.The authors conducted a two-year study on the implementation of computer technologies, including in-depth interviews and classroom observation at thirty-two elementary and secondary schools across Canada. Based on this research,Policy Unpluggedexplores the intersections and disconnections between provincial technology policy, school board policy, and school-based practices. The authors consider the ways in which technology policy has become "unplugged" from daily experience, showing that teachers, students, and administrators are part of complex pedagogical and social systems that have been badly served by the enforced and hasty introduction of technology. They also show how small, often unquestioned practices and power relations in schools can create seemingly insurmountable impediments to technological implementation.

Table of Contents

The Global and the Local: Technology Policy in Education	p. 3
Finding Space for Technology: Organizational and Instructional Issues for Computer Use in Schools	p. 29
Gender Inequity and Professional School Culture: Teachers at Work with Technology	p. 48
IT Professional Development for Teachers: Beyond "Best-Practice" Lists	p. 68
Supporting Technology versus Instruction: Divisions in Policy and Practice	p. 86
Making Better Policies for Learning Technologies	p. 107
Bridging Policy Gaps between Teaching and Technology	p. 122
Conclusion: Learning from Local Needs	p. 138
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