Technology Integration Curriculum Framework for Effective Program Evaluation

This article explores whether and to what extent a doctoral program in Instructional Technology in the College of Education at a public Midwestern university reflects technology integration curricular framework principles, including those about the nature of the Net Generation learners and their learning process. This evaluation model is grounded on the constructivist and social knowledge construction theoretical framework. By outlining a systematic approach and procedures for conducting this evaluation, the researchers provide the groundwork for similar evaluations at other institutions. This framework could be used by potential students to determine whether specific academic programs provided by different academic institutions are well suited to their learning needs as digital natives. (2009) suggest that effective teachers should therefore, “help all students to analyze and evaluate each media message for text, context, and impact to produce more knowledgeable, creative, and cooperative citizens for the Global Village” (p. 10). Tapscott and Williams (2010) argue that the Internet and other digital technologies present unique opportunities to tap the benefits of constructivist and collaborative pedagogies in modern technology-rich classrooms. Constructivism assumes that effective learning requires active engagement with subject content; collaborative learning environments; and opportunities for problem solving. Thus, constructivist pedaDOI: 10.4018/jicte.2012010102 16 International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education, 8(1), 15-25, January-March 2012 Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. gogical paradigm views learning as a process of conceptual change whereby learners construct new understandings of reality and is consistent with collaborative learning contexts (Miller & Miller, 1999; Tam, 2000). The use of technology in education has introduced new ways for social interaction to take place in classroom environments. While interactive and open-ended authentic type of learning could benefit the digital natives, using new educational technologies includes not only a change in tools (Harris, Mishra, & Koehler, 2009) but also a seismic shift in assumptions about the nature of learners, the roles of teachers and educational institutions, implications for the curriculum and the answer to the famous rhetorical question, ‘what knowledge is of most worth?’ (Dede, 2008; Prensky, 2001a). According to Dede (2008), the knowledge that used to be of most worth included “accurate interrelationships among facts, based on unbiased research that produces compelling evidence about systemic causes” (p. 80). In the current framework, knowledge incorporated not only facts, but also “other dimensions of human experience, such as opinions, values, and spiritual beliefs” (Dede, 2008, p. 80). Further, the knowledge that is of most worth is no longer just factual but also procedural: knowing how to learn how to navigate information, and how to evaluate it and be a critical consumer (Duhaney, 2005).