March 26, 1998
Contact:
Chris Smith
(940) 565-4644 or metro (817) 267-0651
[email protected]
Computers in the classroom: Teacher ease affects student attitudes
DENTON (UNT), Texas - A recent University of North Texas study of three public elementary schools in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex indicates that positive teacher attitudes toward information technology result in similar positive attitudes among students.
Dr. Gerald Knezek of the UNT Department of Technology and Cognition, along with recent UNT doctoral recipient Rhonda Christensen, studied 60 elementary school teachers who received instruction in the integration of computers into the classroom. Two similar schools in the same school district were used as comparison groups.
The original hypothesis proved correct: Properly instructing teachers to use information technology in the classroom positively affects not only their attitudes toward information technology, but also the attitudes of their students.
Christensen said many teachers were anxious about using computers - especially those who had been teaching for years without them. That anxiety spilled over into classroom atmosphere and wasn't alleviated until proper technology training was given. One of the problems she and Knezek encountered was that school districts often provide technology training for their teachers without asking enough pertinent questions. Training must encompass the entire district's needs and therefore does not usually target specific teacher needs. "When school districts are providing training for their teachers, they should ask them what they need to know and what they want to know," she said. "Consult with the teachers to determine the level at which they feel comfortable. You can't assume they all know how to use the computer.
"When we began the project, we intended to provide technology integration to all the teachers right away. However, when we did a needs assessment, we determined that there were many teachers who were not yet ready for that level of technology use, so we taught them some of the basics first."
Training on-site also made a difference, Christensen said. "If you teach them to use what they have, it makes a difference. Often teachers attend workshops at a regional or district level but when they return to their school environment they are unable to practice what they learned because they don't have the same software or machines on which they were trained."
After proper technology training was given, Christensen and Knezek found that teachers became more at ease, and consequently, so did their students.
"When you train teachers to start using computers in the classroom, their anxiety is reduced quite quickly and the enjoyment level of the students also goes up very quickly," Christensen said.
Knezek has been studying the impact of education and technology since 1978. He said someone once challenged him saying, "I'll bet you can't measure first-graders' attitudes toward computers." Since 1990 though, he and his colleagues have been working on building educational instruments designed precisely to assess attitudes of students and teachers toward information technology. Those studies include multinational studies in Japan, Mexico and other nations.
"We're concerned with how you can get children comfortable with using information technology," Knezek said. "It's a tool they're going to have to use in their adult lives, so it's part of getting them ready to take their roles as productive citizens in society." For more information contact Knezek at (940) 565-4195 or Christensen at (940) 565-4436.
**UNT**
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