This Web site reports the results of a study funded by the Joyce Foundation and conducted by the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International. This study examined the use of technology to support education reform in urban secondary schools. This work builds on our earlier National Study of Technology and Education Reform (Means & Olson, 1995), conducted for OERI. The challenges that urban districts face in trying to integrate technology into instruction are much more profound than those encountered by their smaller suburban neighbors (e.g., large numbers of schools, decaying facilities, students with many more needs).

Nevertheless, these districts are beginning to make a major push toward technology implementation. Much can be learned by looking at those urban schools, whose use of technology preceded the current drive from higher levels of the education system--schools that have pioneered using technology to serve their educational goals.

These schools have had to develop strategies for coping with barriers such as limited hardware and software, lack of technical support, class periods that are too short to accommodate serious technology use, and so on.

The study includes six secondary schools, three each in Chicago and Detroit. We are examining what is working and what is not at the classroom, school, and district levels. By studying schools making a concerted effort to combine a strong educational agenda with the use of technology tools, we are identifying implementation strategies other schools can emulate. A cross-case analysis highlights lessons learned, trade-offs, and alternative implementation models.

The three-year study began in 1998 with a site selection process conducted in collaboration with district staff and university researchers familiar with schools in the selected districts. The bulk of the fieldwork was conducted during the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 school years, with selected schools visited approximately three times per school year. The final year of the project focused on data analysis and reporting, including preparation of a manuscript for commercial publication and development of this project Web site. SRI also provided feedback and technical assistance for the participating schools and districts.