Online learning. The research assumptions associated with online learning were:
- Assumption 1: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates agree their PK-12 school implements online learning for students.
- Assumption 2: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates agree their PK-12 school district implements online learning for students.
- Assumption 3: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates agree their PK-12 school implements online learning for professional development for educators.
- Assumption 4: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates agree their PK-12 school district implements online learning for professional development for educators.
- Assumption 5: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates use video tools in their PK-12 teaching.
- Assumption 6: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates use video tools for personal learning.
- Assumption 7: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates use web conferencing for PK-12 student interactions.
- Assumption 8: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates use web conferencing to interact with colleagues.
- Assumption 9: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates use web conferencing for personal learning.
- Assumption 10: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates use collaborative tools in their PK-12 teaching.
- Assumption 11: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates use collaborative tools for personal learning.
- Sub-research Question 1: How does the online Educational Technology Leadership master’s program advance graduates’ leadership in the use of online learning?
Web 2.0 tools. The research assumptions related to Web 2.0 tools were:
- Assumption 12: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates support colleagues in the use of Web 2.0 tools.
- Assumption 13: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates use Web 2.0 tools with PK-12 students.
- Assumption 14: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates use Web 2.0 tools for personal learning.
- Sub-Research Question 2: How does the online Educational Technology Leadership master’s program advance graduates’ leadership in the use Web 2.0 tools?
Technology professional development. The research assumptions associated with technology professional development were:
- Assumption 15: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates design technology-embedded professional development.
- Assumption 16: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates
implement technology embedded professional development.
- Assumption 17: The majority of Educational Technology Leadership graduates serve on technology related committees for professional development.
- Sub-Research Question 3: How does the online Educational Technology Leadership master’s program advance graduates’ leadership in the use of technology professional development?
Design and instrument
A convergent mixed methods research design was selected for this study. Mixed methods design combines quantitative and qualitative data to present a better understanding of research focus and to overall strengthen the study (Creswell, 2009). Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed to better provide an assessment of graduates’ personal leadership trends and the implementation of online learning, Web 2.0, and technology professional development in PK-12 school settings. First, an online pilot survey using SurveyMonkey™, was administered to persons associated with the Educational Technology Leadership master’s program (
N =41). Demographic information was collected in the first portion. The second part included Likert-style items designed to collect personal perceptions and viewpoints on a 5-point scale ranging from strongly disagree (=1) to strongly agree (=5). The items were grouped according to three concentrated areas: online teaching strategies, use of Web 2.0, and electronic portfolios. The survey addressed three major statements with several sub-statements focused upon Web 2.0 tool uses (5 questions), online teaching strategies (7 questions), and electronic portfolio usage (6 questions). A third section of the pilot survey was composed of open-ended items permitting qualitative responses.
