Steven M. Ross

This article analyzes the benefits of evidence accountability and the practical challenges educators face in accessing and using product information. It reviews the multifaceted nature of “evidence” from the consumer’s viewpoint and presents a case illustration of a large‑district technology infusion initiative. Despite interest in rigorous evidence, stakeholders often value peer recommendations and local pilots. In the case study, comprehensive formative evaluation improved implementation quality and sustainability. Recommendations are provided to foster more meaningful, objective interpretation and use of evidence by local stakeholders.

Educational technology offers unique affordances as a learning tool and delivery system for enhancing and personalizing instruction. Reviewing one‑to‑one initiatives from Apple Classroom of Tomorrow through contemporary districtwide programs, the paper identifies themes that influence sustainable technology infusion: treating technology as a tool rather than a treatment, clarifying proximal and long‑term outcomes for stakeholders, avoiding over‑promising impacts on standardized tests when initiatives target other goals, and conducting ongoing mixed‑methods evaluations to monitor implementation and impact over time.

As districts adopt more educational technology, they face challenges identifying and evaluating products that meet local needs while vendors compete for access to decision makers. Using mixed methods with participants from 54 school districts and 47 ed‑tech companies, the study documents discovery, evaluation, and acquisition processes. Findings show that formal needs assessments are rare, centralized trusted information on product evidence is lacking, and decisions rely heavily on pilots and peer references rather than rigorous evaluation evidence. Recommendations are offered for districts and vendors to improve procurement.

Middlebury Interactive Language (MIL) provides blended and online world‑language courses for K‑12 learners. Courses build listening, speaking, reading, and writing through authentic materials and a focus on interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational communication. This article describes the MIL program and reports mixed‑methods survey and case‑study findings on its implementation across a broad sample of schools, situating the program’s technology‑supported instructional strategies and the evaluation approach relative to prior literature.

Today, the exponential growth of technology usage in education—via distance education, Internet access, simulations, and educational games—has raised the focus and importance of educational technology research. This paper examines past and present research trends, emphasizing the role and contribution of research evidence for informing instructional practices and policies to improve learning in schools. Topics include varied conceptions of “effective” technology uses in instruction, historical trends in research approaches, alternative research designs for balancing rigor and relevance, and directions for future research, including mixed‑methods studies in complex real‑world settings.