In order to effectively use technology in education, appropriate conceptual understandings are needed to guide the integration process. Today, there is a wide range of conceptual models that are developed and used in research and/or practice focusing on educational technology integration. Conceptual models are of relevance as they can bridge theory with practical applications. Today, there are a wide range of conceptual models are developed and used in research and/or practice focusing on educational technology integration. These models can be seen as simplified versions of theories for practical application or as condensed wisdoms of practice that need to be further investigated theoretically and empirically. However, there is insufficient agreement on the dimensions and criteria used to judge the quality of conceptual models in educational technology. Therefore, the main goals of this article are to: (1) develop criteria to assess the quality and scope of conceptual models and (2) identify and compare exemplary models for technology integration in educational settings along with these quality criteria. The resulting five criteria from this investigation provide the means to effectively evaluate the quality and scope of conceptual models focused on technology integration while providing additional insight into applying these models in research and practice.
The increasing availability of new technologies in an ever more digitalized world has gained momentum in practically all spheres of life, making technology-related skills a key competence not only in professional settings. Thus, schools assume responsibility for imparting these skills to their students, and hence to future generations of professionals. In so doing, teachers play a key role with their competences in using new technologies constituting an essential prerequisite for the effective implementation of such skills. As models of school development and school effectiveness found teacher professionalization to be a key element with regards to student achievement as well as teachers' in-class use of new technology, the present research project conducts secondary analyses using data from the IEA International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2013 (ICILS 2013) regarding internal and external teacher professionalization. Particular emphasis is placed on the implementation of new technologies in class in a comparison between the education systems of Germany and the Czech Republic. A Latent Class Analysis serves the purpose of establishing a teacher typology with regards to technology-related professional development. This typology is subsequently used for further analyses of additional factors that show a correlation with the teachers' use of computers in class. These include the teachers' ICT self-efficacy and their emphasis on teaching ICT skills. The results show two different types of teachers across both countries. Teachers who participate in professional development use computers more frequently in class, put more emphasis on teaching ICT skills and have a stronger sense of ICT self-efficacy. When comparing teachers in Germany and the Czech Republic, teachers in Germany who participate in professional development consider themselves more ICT self-efficient, while teachers in the Czech Republic use computers more often and put more emphasis on teaching ICT skills compared with their colleagues in Germany.
Background: The ongoing digitalization poses new challenges for schools concerning students' digital skills. In this context, the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (IEA-ICILS 2018) has identified substantial social disparities concerning computer and information literacy of grade 8 students. Furthermore, it has been observed that many schools, especially those located in socioeconomically challenged areas, are particularly engaged in supporting students' digital literacy and innovatively designing learning processes with information and communications technology (ICT). Empirical studies have made it apparent that some schools have high average achievements concerning domains such as reading literacy and mathematics in spite of socioeconomically challenged student bodies. These schools are regarded as being organizationally resilient. This contribution focusses on these organizationally resilient schools with regard to the domain of computer and information literacy. It aims to investigate how these schools can be classified as a typology according to selected school and/or teacher characteristics. Methods: As a first step, representative samples of IEA-ICILS 2018 are used to identify organizationally resilient schools by using students' achievement measures (plausible values) and their background information regarding their families' socioeconomic status. In order to develop a typology, latent profile analyses (LPA) are conducted by using input and process indicators on the school level, which have been proven to be relevant for implementation through existing empirical research. Results: About one twentieth of the schools examined in this contribution can be regarded as organizationally resilient and can be allocated onto a typology of three school types that are characterized by different school-level factors. Conclusions: The international comparison permits the conclusion that the phenomenon of organizational resilience is also existent with regard to the content domain of computer and information literacy. However, the proportion of resilient schools is subject to considerable variation between countries.
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