1. Framing my research issue 02-05-07
Statement of the Issue
My enrollment in a graduate course about Action Research coincided perfectly with my
participation in a newly formed PLC (Professional Learning Community) at my school. The
PLC’s goal is to provide recommendations to the building committee working on ideas for
renovation of our school. As a member of this PLC and a member of the technology committee
at my school, I decided to focus on technology concerns that should be addressed in the
renovation plans. I would like to discover some of the technology related changes that have
occurred in schools that have been renovated in the last three years through this Action Research
project. This evaluation study will help me understand the up to the minute possibilities, practical
concerns and types of technology already in use and draw some relationships about what might
be appropriate for my school.
Until this point, most of our technology improvements have been tailored to our existing
structure in the form of retrofitting the old building to accommodate newer technology. Because
of the nature of the old building, many limitations are present. Now the opportunity exists to
engineer for the future. The problem is to discover what kinds of changes need to take place.
Marc Prensky (2005, p.45), in his essay for Edutopia, states, “With very few exceptions, our
schools have not been physically designed for computers.” This is most certainly the case at my
school. So how will our new design deal with computers? Prensky also contends that “For the
digital age, we need new curricula, new organization, new architecture, new teaching, new
student assessments, new parental connections, new administration procedures, and many other
elements (p. 45).” New architecture and room design may be needed because of the technology
changes. I would like to find examples of how this was accomplished in the newer buildings.

2. In addition to the physical attributes of the technology changes renovated schools
incorporated into their buildings, I hope to discover why those decisions were made and if they
have been evaluated in terms of the anticipated outcome. Hank Bromley (1998, p.24), in an
article written for the NEA Higher Education Journal asserts, “To gain a full understanding of
why a particular piece of technology is or is not used, or used in particular ways or has a
particular impact , we need to pay careful attention to the social context of its use: Who is using
it? Why? Under what conditions and pressures?” The social context is integrally linked with the
physical aspects of technology so must be researched hand in hand. Through a mixed method of
quantitative and qualitative action research focused on the physical and social contexts, I want to
find out about the most current technology integration in my area schools.
References
Bromley, H (1998). How to tell if you really need the latest technology. The NEA Higher Education
Journal. Spring 1998, 21-28.
Prensky, Marc (2005). Adopt and adapt. Edutopia. December, 42-45.