Applications of technology planning in elementary schools: A case from Eskişehir

One of the basic elements of successful integration of technology is the development of an effective, shared and applicable technology plan. The technology plan is a constant process that helps instructors with the purchase, application and evaluation of technology and with the establishment of the related standards, rules and methods of use. Therefore, for the successful use of information technologies in educational institutions, it is important to take the technology plan into consideration while taking decisions regarding the applications of information technologies.The purpose of the present study is to make evaluations for future regarding the application of technology planning in related schools by determining the current situation regarding technology planning in public elementary schools of the Ministry of National Education.Among the mixed method designs, the exploratory design was used in the study. Depending on this design, the study was conducted in three phases: in the first phase, the official documents were examined; in the second phase, interviews were held with the authorized people; and in the last phase, data were collected from elementary school teachers and managers via a questionnaire form. The participants in the qualitative phase of the study were two authorized people working in the Eskişehir Provincial Directorate for National Education, and the participants in the quantitative phase were 129 managers and 1500 teachers from 102 public elementary schools in the central town of Eskişehir. The data necessary to achieve the research purposes in the study were collected via document analysis and the interview and questionnaire techniques. The documents examined were chosen among those related to technology use in elementary schools from the Ministry of National Education Deposit Bank, Journal of Notifications and the Official Journal published between 1995 and 2008. For the interviews held, an interview form made up of 14 questions developed by the researcher was used. In addition, a 37-item questionnaire developed by the researcher was applied to the managers and teachers to determine their views. For the analysis of the qualitative data obtained, the descriptive analysis technique was used; and for the analysis of the quantitative data, the techniques of one-way variance analysis, independent groups t-test, frequency and percentage were applied.Depending on the findings obtained in the study, it was revealed that no technology plan was prepared as a document in elementary schools. In addition, it was found out that no applications of technology planning were carried out in elementary schools regarding the sub-dimensions of establishing a planning committee, developing an action plan, revising the budget, planning out-of-class activities for students, encouraging sharers? participation and evaluating the process and the results. It was also revealed that the applications regarding the sub-dimensions of developing the vision and mission, establishing the goals and objectives, determining the needs, constructing the technological infrastructure, organizing maintenance and technical support and planning professional development were carried out. Moreover, no significant difference was found between the managers? views about the application of technology planning in elementary schools with respect to the variables of gender and seniority. Similarly, no significant difference was found between the teachers? views about the application of technology planning in elementary schools with respect to the variables of gender and specialty, while a significant difference was found with respect to the variable of seniority, which was caused by the teachers with low level of seniority. In other words, it was found out that the teachers with low level of seniority had more positive views about technology planning applications.Also, in the study, it was revealed that more than half of the managers considered themselves as efficient for applications to be carried out regarding all the dimensions of technology planning and that more than half of the teachers did not. In addition, no significant difference was found between the managers? views about their efficacies in technology planning applications with respect to the variables of gender and seniority. As for the teachers? views, similarly, no significant difference was found with respect to the variables of seniority and specialty, yet a significant difference was found with respect to the variable of gender in favor of the female teachers. In other words, it was found out that the female teachers considered themselves as more efficient in taking responsibility in technology planning applications when compared with the male teachers.Depending on the results obtained in the study, various practical suggestions were put forward for future studies regarding the application of technology planning in elementary schools.