INF 405 –Ryan Mayo – ArticleReview Week6 

• Provide the citation and attach a pdf of the article (10 pts) Pro Tip: You can use ZotZero, but check the output against the APA Style online guidelines. 

Morrison, J. R., Ross, S. M., & Cheung, A. C. K. (2019). From the market to the classroom: how ed-tech products are procured by school districts interacting with vendors. Educational Technology Research & Development, 67(2), 389–421. https://doi-org.ezproxy.fhsu.edu/10.1007/s11423-019-09649-4

• What is the abstract of the article?  (10 pts)  Tips: This is usually a 200 word or less article summary. The abstract is your only cut and paste answer.

School districts are adopting educational technology products at an increasing rate over the years. As more and more products become available, school districts face the challenge of identifying and evaluating programs to meet students’ needs, while ed-tech providers compete for access to decision makers. The present mixed methods study sought to document the process by which school districts discover, evaluate, and acquire ed-tech products and how vendors market and work through this process with districts. Participants included district stakeholders representing 54 school districts and vendors from 47 ed-tech companies. Results indicated that, in contrast to best practices, needs assessments were rarely, if at all conducted, districts and vendors lack a central source of information for product information and evidence of effectiveness, and decisions are often made on small-scale pilot tryouts, peer references, and less often by examining rigorous evaluation evidence. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations for both district and vendor stakeholders to encourage successful procurement of ed-tech products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Was the study experimental or non-experimental? Explain, tell us what made that clear.  (10 pts)

This study was a nonexperimental study.  The research did not include control or experimental groups nor did it contain variables.  The participants were surveyed on a voluntary and anonymous basis.

• Was the research qualitative or quantitative? Again, explain. (10 pts)

The researchers used both quantitative and qualitative methods simultaneously to conduct the study.  The qualitative data from the sample groups was collected and analyzed statistically to increase accuracy.

• What was the population studied? Why do you say that? (5 pts)

K-12 District employees responsible for technology purchases and EDTech companies in K-12 markets. 

• What sample was used for this study? Explain. (5 pts)

As stated in the study there were 288 K-12 employees, including superintendents, technology directors, principles, and curriculum directors.  The study also involved 47 EdTech vendors who offered at least some learning service to school districts.

• What was the method of measurement? (10 pts)

1. • If the research was quantitative, was the measurement scale used, Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, or Ratio?

I believe that for the statistical analysis of the research data the measurement scale used would have been interval because no true zero could be possible.

• If the research was qualitative, what data was collected?

The researchers collected interview and survey data from the participants.

• What was the method of analysis? (10 pts)

This study used 30 scale type questions asked to all participants, who responded with a 5 point scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree.  Open-ended questions were then asked to gauge the best practices in each respondent’s own words, followed by another set of scale type questions.  

• If the research was quantitative, what statistical tools were used to analyze the data?

  ANOVA omnibus tests were then conducted on the survey responses.

• If the research was qualitative, in what manner was the data analyzed?

Interviews were transcribed and then coded, creating codebooks of the data.  Each code was then analyzed for consistency and uniqueness.

• What was the conclusion of the study? (10 pts)

The findings of this research was that from an educational standpoint, the basic task of purchasing ed-tech is complicated by the large amount of available products.  This makes the process unnecessarily complicated.  From a vendor’s perspective, the difficulties lie in showcasing products to the district, especially for those vendors with less marketing or sales staff. 

•  Why is this study useful to you? Explain in detail. (10 pts)

I chose this study because of my current employment in the K-12 environment as well as my current responsibilities for purchasing district curriculum licenses and technology.  I find the communication between the district employees and edtech vendors disparaging and it is interesting to see it from a different perspective, that is something that I can use in future considerations with my job.

• What would be the next logical step in extending this study? (10 pts)

As is stated in the study itself, this research was very limited in its overall reach.  The sample size could be increased as well as accounting for different demographics in the education population.  This would give a better view of the issues facing both K-12 districts and Ed-Tech companies, while also being more accurate and specific.