How to Evaluate Technology Use in our Schools

Jeff Utecht often puts into words ideas that are circulating in my mind waiting to be expressed. He typically does a better job articulating than I do. His recent blog post, "Evaluating Technology Use in the Classroom" is another example of this. Major points that resonate are:

I remembered a Marc Prensky article in Edutopia in which he talks about the typical process of technology adoption:

1. Dabbling with technology
2. Doing Old things in Old Ways
3. Doing Old things in New Ways
4. Doing New things in New Ways

What if we turned these stages of technology adoption into questions that an evaluator could use during the evaluation process?

1. Is the technology being used “Just because it’s there”?
2. Is the technology allowing the teacher/students to do Old things in Old ways?
3. Is the technology allowing the teacher/students to do Old things in New ways?
4. Is the technology creating new and different learning experiences for the students?

I would add,

5. Is the technology tapping into the diverse learning styles of the students in our classrooms, to promote learning and independence?
6. Is there evidence of student engagement that results specifically because of the technology integration?

Asking the right questions leads to the answers that guide our decisions. What questions would you add in an attempt to evaluate effective technology use in the classroom?