<p> This qualitative explanatory case study documented instructional methods used and environmental conditions experienced by standard classroom teachers attempting to integrate instructional technology to support a differentiated curriculum for gifted learners. This research method was chosen as it allows for a teacher&rsquo;s understanding of educating gifted learners in the classroom as well as the effectiveness of curriculum differentiation for the gifted learner through the use of instructional technology. With minimal guidance how to successfully challenge a gifted learner in the regular classroom along with preconceived assumptions about the concept of giftedness, teachers can be overwhelmed when faced with typical gifted learners. Through the perspectives of standard classroom teachers who are attempting to use instructional technology to support the differentiated learning needs of their gifted learners, the study has the potential to support teachers who strive to ensure their gifted learners study something new every day. The study focused on two fourth- through sixth-grade schools using a qualitative explanatory case study through patterns in teacher interviews, teacher observations, and analysis of student technology work. Data sources included in-depth interviews with sixteen tenured teachers at two public fourth- through sixth-grade schools, an analysis of 183 student work samples, and nine classroom observations. Data were analyzed and coded to identify instructional technology practices standard classroom teachers use for curriculum differentiation with gifted learners. Recommendations based on the findings included school system&rsquo;s technology departments support teacher&rsquo;s efforts to appropriately challenge gifted learners through enlisting the help of the developers of sites such as MobyMax or Kahoot, classroom teachers making use of gifted education specialists expertise as well as the specialist monitoring the gifted learners in order to better support the classroom teachers, and effective professional development using teachers who successfully use instructional technology as a differentiation technique for gifted learners as well as ones who establish a cohesive classroom community. Recommendations for future research included similar studies conducted in other districts not only on the same grades but also middle and high school level gifted learners. Additional studies could focus on systems that have limited amount of technology as compared to those who have a one-to-one technology program.</p>

<p> Practitioner Inquiry provided the framework for teachers (participants) and the teacher as researcher to work collaboratively engaging in a continuous process of planning lessons, reflecting on practice, systematically collecting data, and problem solving as they integrated technology within literacy curriculum. Three teachers (Trio Group) met weekly to discover how teachers learn about literacy technology integration, how they apply this in their classroom instruction, and how they share their ideas about literacy/technology integration with other teachers. These teachers shared their learning with a larger group of teachers (Technology Team) who then hosted a professional development session for the entire faculty to teach them how to integrate technology within instructional practice. Data was gathered from faculty surveys, lesson plans, the Trio Group&rsquo;s blog posts, videotaped collaboration, audio recordings of all meetings, researcher&rsquo;s field journal, and the final reflections of faculty. Data was analyzed using &ldquo;in vivo coding&rdquo; (Saldana, 2009), looking at each data source independently, and then creating larger categories that led to a descriptive view of the data in themes. Key findings that positively impacted teachers&rsquo; ability to learn how to integrate technology were: acknowledging teachers&rsquo; perceptions, providing time for collaboration with colleagues, application of practice, scaffolding the learning, and job embedded reflection. Implications include considering a broader view of literacy, technology, and instructional knowledge to include digital literacy and the TPACK framework (Kohler &amp; Mishra, 2009). Implications also include re-envisioning the roles of educators as well as traditional professional development. Collaborative Inquiry Circles were suggested as an alternative to the traditional methods of professional development that could lead to meaningful and sustainable learning opportunities for teachers.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore student engagement in higher education by evaluating training provided by experienced faculty members for those faculty desiring to implement a flipped classroom. A case study was utilized; data were collected in the form of online observation, in-class observation, student focus group interviews, faculty individual interviews, and artifacts. The researcher used the utilization-focused evaluation (Patton, 2008) as an implementation evaluation framework for the study. Data were analyzed using deductive analysis that depended on five implementation evaluation elements as general components (effort, monitoring, process, component, and treatment specification). The participants in this study included three trained faculty members from three different disciplines (anthropology, sociology, and business) and 14 students from these three faculty participants&rsquo; classes. The findings indicated faculty experiences of successful implementation of a flipped classroom were related to whether these faculty members fully provided the main flipped classroom elements for the lesson or only tested a partial implementation. Faculty and student perceptions of student engagement were positive and supportive of the idea that the flipped classroom enhanced student engagement. Students who experienced all the elements of the flipped classroom in the lesson extended their engagement from just inclass activities to embedded online activities. The findings also provided valuable recommendations from faculty and student participants related to improving student engagement in the flipped classroom. The study presented limitations of the study and recommendations for future research. Generally, this qualitative study with all the resources used to collect the data reflected successful practices and components of flipped classroom examples that could benefit educators in terms of enhanced student engagement.</p>

<p> This study was conducted in order to understand the types of music technologies band educators in the state of Arkansas were using, their attitudes towards technology, and the implications training, during undergraduate and through professional development, had on the frequency of use. Arkansas Music Educators (n = 64) completed an online questionnaire containing demographic information, selection of music technologies, agreeability/disagreeability to statements about music technology, frequency of use, descriptions of technologies, and description of how they felt music technology should be used for the purpose of learning. Regarding training in undergraduate professional development for music technology use, there appeared to be no difference between the increase of music technology usage and the increase of more training. Results suggest that participants have an overall &ldquo;good&rdquo; attitude towards technology with the stipulation that it should be considered a tool, students and teachers receive appropriate training, and it should be used efficiently.</p><p>

<p> This study focused on the motivation of K-12 teachers to participate in district online professional development and to sustain the knowledge or skills learned. This study identified how teachers in a suburban school district, located in the Hudson Valley region of New York state, evaluated the online professional development they received and the extent to which their learning continued beyond the initial training. Through a phenomenological study, data indicated several factors motivated teachers to participate in online professional development; the primary motivator was the relevance of the topic. The online survey and interviews indicated teachers were interested and willing to participate in online professional development when they could choose the topic and the setting in which the learning takes place. An additional motivator was the benefit of collaboration and support provided by the facilitator, both during and after the training. Teachers shared their ability to make connections and to reflect on their own experiences increased when they had the opportunity to work collaboratively with the facilitator to develop and implement a lesson using the new knowledge or skill. Teachers who identified taking relevant district online professional development with collaborative facilitators also reported specific examples of how they implemented skills in their classrooms. Teachers described how the district online professional development helped to improve their students&rsquo; learning.</p><p>

<p> Teachers need training to integrate technology into classroom curriculum, activities, and pedagogy. The adoption of the Common Core State Standards and statewide computer based assessments, coupled with technology&rsquo;s rapid rate of innovation and change, has only increased the need to help support teachers&rsquo; development of these necessary skills. The purpose of this project was to create an online-based e-learning professional development training module for teachers to develop their technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) and skills. The design of the training module incorporated e-learning design principles, adult learning principles, and current research on developing teachers&rsquo; TPACK. To provide feedback on the design, teachers from two middle schools in Southern California were invited to use the training module, and were surveyed regarding their experiences. Results of the survey indicate participants gained knowledge and skills for using their school computer lab, integrating technology into their classroom instruction, and overall, were pleased with the e-learning training module.</p>

<p>Although all organizations and institutions should consider accessibility when developing online content, inaccessibility is a recurring issue in recent literature pertaining to online learning environments (OLEs) and faculty accessibility awareness. The goal was to describe how online faculty gain knowledge regarding accessibility, to explore the lived experiences of online faculty who have worked with students who have disabilities, and to gain a better understanding of how faculty experience the process of accessibility implementation. The following research questions guided this study: How do faculty in OLEs experience encounters regarding accessibility for students who have print related disabilities? How do faculty in OLEs experience the journey of developing the skills needed to provide accessibility for students with print related disabilities? What aspects of accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) do faculty members practice in OLEs and what meaning do they ascribe to the lived experience of providing these accommodations? An interview guide was used to address the research questions. Participants were recruited from the Online Learning Consortium and Assistive Technology Industry Association for participation in phenomenological interviews, which were recorded and then transcribed verbatim. The transcripts of these interviews were analyzed to determine eight super-ordinate themes: Accessibility and usability awareness of online faculty; interactions and relationships between faculty, students, various departments, and outside organizations relating to SWDs and accessibility; different perspectives and experiences of faculty who teach courses within programs that have an emphasis on accessibility, AT, or working with people with disabilities; faculty experiences and perspectives of working with SWDs and providing accessible materials in OLEs; faculty training and experience with accessibility and people with disabilities; faculty autonomy within OLEs as it relates to creating accessible content; accommodations and accessibility features used in OLEs; as well as LMS accessibility and usability. The results of this study led to several implications regarding training and support services for faculty, students, other staff, and administration within online programs, best practices for implementing accessibility, as well as recommendations for future studies.

<p> The researcher explored the lived experience of adult online college honor students (AOCHS) with the goal of describing critical factors that support academic success. The study addressed a gap in the literature concerning how the technology and virtual context of adult online college education are perceived, interpreted, and employed by the most successful students in undergraduate online college degree programs. Participants described how they perceived their online learning experience, what meaning they attribute to this experience, and what strategies they employ to achieve academic success in the online learning environment. The study was based on Deming&rsquo;s total quality management philosophy, Nonaka&rsquo;s theoretical context for knowledge generation, and the community of inquiry (CoI), a conceptual framework for online education. An online questionnaire and individual telephone interviews were used to gather qualitative data, which were analyzed using thematic coding and analytic induction to address the study&rsquo;s purpose and answer the research questions. Follow-up interview subjects were purposefully selected to provide a heterogeneous sample based on self-reported demographics, priorities, and motivations. Results showed that honor students&rsquo; expect that the technologies and user interfaces in online college classes should be as engaging and effective as social media, online entertainment, and Internet commerce technologies that they use in their nonacademic lives. That online instructors should be active and encouraging participants in the learning process. And that students&rsquo; personal, academic success is supported by a mature self-image and work ethic, effective time management and workload planning, clear and timely communication with faculty members, positive collaboration with classmates, and fluent use of learning technology.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to explore the technology high school music students are using to improve musicianship. For this study, research was done to determine how students are using the available devices and the most popular applications, programs, and websites available and used by high school band students. A survey was issued to instrumental music students in two high schools asking questions pertaining to the topic. Then, data was compiled into lists consisting of the devices, uses, and applications that were the most favored. The results showed that a majority of students occasionally used technology to either self-evaluate while practicing or find music on their own. In addition, students favored using smart devices while practicing, and they chose applications based on accessibility or familiarity. The findings from this study were similar to a few sources in the related literature, which determine that students are familiar with the technology in similar ways several educators are. For those reading this thesis, the information will provide them with better awareness of the technology their pupils use for music learning.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine if a Structured Online Intercultural Learning (SOIL) experience represented a viable form of global experiential learning (GEL) that can yield beneficial effects in student transformation of the kind that are reported to result from &ldquo;traditional&rdquo; GEL (involving mobility). Specifically, this study investigated the influence of a sustained cross-cultural learning experience, made possible by online communications technologies, on preservice teachers&rsquo; global citizen identity development (their self-in-the world). </p><p> The research approach was inspired by design-based research and employed a parallel mixed-methods design, incorporating two quantitative assessment instruments (the Global Perspectives Inventory [GPI] and the Beliefs, Events, and Values Inventory [BEVI]) and a plethora of student-generated artifacts (the qualitative data). Twenty-six preservice teachers from the US and Macedonia learned together in a globally networked learning environment (GLNE) for 8 weeks. The findings showed that, although the participants were, in most cases, not able to articulate with certainty any perceived changes to their sense of self-in-the-world, both the qualitative and the quantitative data indicated that the experience did indeed result in at least modest positive changes for most of the participants. </p><p> The primary themes that emerged from the qualitative data related to self-in-the-world, were &ldquo;knowledge acquisition,&rdquo; &ldquo;intercultural sensitivity development,&rdquo; and &ldquo;personal growth/self-improvement.&rdquo; The quantitative data showed that U.S. students&rsquo; ideas of the attributes of a global citizen shifted positively following the intervention and that students in both groups strengthened their agreement with the statement &ldquo;I see myself as a global citizen&rdquo; at Time 2. Further, students reported that the real-time, small group cross-cultural conversations (via video conference), which were required by the course that served as the intervention in the study, were the most meaningful aspect of the experience. Finally, nearly half of the participants indicated that, as a result of their experiences in this course, they planned to incorporate global citizen education in their future teaching practice. </p><p> These results suggest that teacher educators should consider embedding globally networked learning experiences into teacher education curriculum and that preservice teachers should not only experience globally networked learning as students, but should also be encouraged to develop lesson plans involving globally networked learning for their future classrooms.</p><p>