| Summary: | Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University === A plethora of technology resources currently exists for the music classroom of the twenty-first century, including digital audio and video, music software, electronic instruments, Web 2.0 tools and more. Research shows a strong need for professional development for teachers to properly implement and integrate instructional technology resources into the music classroom (Peters, 1984; see also Williams, 1992). The Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (ITRT) is a specific role in Virginia that provides professional development to teachers for technology integration. The ITRT position is mandated by the Commonwealth of Virginia's Standards of Quality.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether music teachers perceived the ITRT role as an effective means of professional development for the integration of instructional technologies in the delivery of music instruction. An analysis of the data collected for this study measured whether periodic interactions with the ITRT correlated with changes in music teacher comfort levels with technology use. Furthermore, this study examined whether the frequency or extent of the interactions with the ITRT influenced changes in music classroom practice of technology integration.
The research questions that guided this study were:
1. Does technology integration training/support provided by Instructional Technology Resource Teachers (ITRTs) influence teachers' degree of comfort with using technology for music education?
2. Does contact with the ITRT influence teachers' tendency to engage in certain technology-based activities/behaviors?
3. Does the frequency of contact with the ITRT increase teachers' likelihood of integrating technology in their classrooms?
4. What elements of technology-based instruction are most and least positively affected by the ITRT training/support?
Data were collected using multiple administrations of an online survey. Data from this study provided positive, and often significant results across each of the four questions researched. Beginning with music teachers' degree of comfort with using technology for instruction through specific technology-based activities, results provided new and promising data in support of the efficacy of this training/support role, one that is targeted at increasing those very factors. Results established that participants perceived that the ITRT role positively affected their comfort with technology use, as well as their increased likelihood of using technology for instruction.
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