Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Document Type

Dissertation

School

Feinstein School of Education and Human Development

Department (Manual Entry)

Education Doctoral Program

Date of Original Version

2015

Abstract

Public schools are implementing 1:1 computing programs in the hopes of

transforming education to provide students with the digital literacy competencies that

will enable them to be successful in our technology driven world. Continuous

professional learning is critical in helping teachers develop the knowledge and skills

for effective educational technology integration. Research has found however, that

formal professional development, commonly implemented as one-time workshops

with outside facilitators, are ineffective due to the multi-dimensional nature of

technology integration. Teacher continuous professional learning outside of the formal

context needs be considered. This survey study explored the self-directed informal

online and offline learning behaviors for technology integration of public high school

teachers in schools during the early stage of 1:1 (ES1:1) device implementation

programs. The findings from this study indicated that teachers are frequently engaged

in informal learning activities for technology integration. Teachers regularly engaged

in socio-constructivist activities through independent exploration, practice, and

routinely asked their colleagues for help or to collaborate. Although searching the

Internet to learn was the most commonly reported online activity, more sophisticated

uses of technology to learn were limited. Teacher learning goals were also found to

predict certain learner behaviors. The findings from this study inform both teachers

and professional developers of the possibilities of informal learning as a legitimate

form of professional lifelong learning.

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