32 Ashley Parks, EdD has become increased exposure and opportunities for students to develop 2lst century skills and participate in solving real problems through content standard application. Technology integration frameworks such as the TPACK created in 2006 by Mishra and Koehler and the SAMR developed by Puentedura in 2010, highlight the importance of pedagogy and role of technology to reach higher levels of integration but lack the ability to assess the level of integration in the classroom. Educators realized the importance of creating a model that would aid in improving teacher’s technology capacity through assessing their identified level of integration to provide feedback, coaching, and prescriptive professional learning. The Florida Department of Education and the Florida Center for Instructional Technology (FCIT) created the TIM to serve as an evaluative tool for technology integration in the classroom. Teacher Perceptions Teachers’ perceptions directly impact their attitudes and beliefs of integrating technology in the classroom to transform learning (Chen, 2008; Ertmer, 2005; Kim et al., 2013; Mohd & Shahbodin, 2021). Fullan (2001) suggests that although teachers perceive they understand technology integration, they struggle with theoretical understanding, which ultimately stifles meaningful application of technology in the classroom. Therefore, leaders must first understand the capacity of their teachers and how they receive information, to create an environment conducive for technology experiential learning opportunities (Prensky, 2001). Research shows that limited technology skills yield low level integration and infrequent usage, whereas those who seek continuous development and support engage in high level integration and frequent use (Ertmer, 1999; Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010; Kim et al., 2013; Mohd & Shahbodin, 2021; Sharpton, 2021). Ertmer (2005) argues that teachers’ “beliefs are far more influential than knowledge” and directly impact teachers’ digital wisdom (p. 28). Summary of Findings One-on-one interviews, TIM observations, and followup interviews provided data to answer the four research questions that guided the researcher to explore teacher perceptions of factors impeding high-level technology usage in low socioeconomic schools to identify influencers of the second digital divide. Interview questions explored teachers’ perceptions of factors that impede their efficacy in integrating technology at a high level to transform learning in the classroom. Follow-up interviews provided insight into themes between teachers’ perceived levels of technology integration versus the observed level of integration identified by the researcher utilizing the TIM. Figure 1 summarizes the three themes and major nodes aligned to each research question. Research Question 1 (RQ1) What are teachers’ perceptions of high-level technology integration in the classroom? RQ1 examined teacher’ digital wisdom by identifying their operational definition of high-level technology integration based on their individual experiences and knowledge of technology. Inductive coding revealed that teachers perceive high-level integration as curriculum alignment to content standards, frequent use in the classroom, integration of various technology tools, student engagement, enhanced content, and is student led so that students can take ownership of their learning. These findings implied that teachers’ perceptions of technology impacted what they defined as high-level technology integration in the classroom. Research Question 2 (RQ2) What is the level of technology integration in teachers’ classrooms using the Technology Integration Matrix? Research Question 3 (RQ3) How do teachers’ perceptions of high-level integration in the classroom align with their usage level according to the Technology Integration Matrix? RQ2 and RQ3 explored teachers’ observed level of technology integration in the classroom compared to their perceived level of integration using the TIM. The researcher also explored barriers that directly or indirectly affect a teacher’s frequency of integrating technology in the classroom to drive student learning. Barriers significantly impacted teachers’ efficacy in integrating technology in the
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