INTRODUCTION

Larry Cuban, (1999) professor of education at Stanford University and a leading critic of educational technology makes this very profound statement in his article, The Technology Puzzle :

"Out of every 10 teachers in this country, fewer than two are serious users of computers and other information technologies in their classrooms (several times a week); three to four are occasional users (about once a month); and the rest--four to five teachers out of every 10--never use the machines at all. When the type of classroom use is examined, we find that these powerful technologies end up being used most often for word processing and low-end applications. And this is after a decade of increases in access to computers, Internet capability, and purchases of software. ...How can this phenomenon of infrequent, low-end use of technology be occurring in our schools?

Is this a disturbing statistic? For Dr. Cuban it is, and frankly I think it should be for all of us. What is his explanation? Cuban states,"For experts, there is no puzzle to be solved. The answers are straightforward and all point to teachers: their insufficient preparation in universities, their lack of specific training, too little time to learn, too many older teachers, "technophobia," and so on, ad infinitum. Surely, some of these scattershot explanations have merit in attempting to understand the paradox of increasing access and infrequent use.

Here is a 2002 Wisconsin assessment of Teacher Professional Development opportunities with technology. Very revealing data. From looking at the responses, what are the 2 areas of greatest need in instructional technology?

Where do the teachers you know fit on the "technology user spectrum"? Look at this Resource Assessment Rubric to see just how far teachers might need to come in their use of technology