Ctrl-alt-change : educators' perceptions of technology in schools
type: CreativeWork
description: A review of literature regarding technology in education revealed that there are at least four key areas that influence educators’ use of technology in the classroom. These are change forces and responses, educational beliefs, perceptions of self-efficacy, and the current conditions in today’s educational institutions. The main objective of this research was to investigate the perceptions of individual educators regarding the incorporation of technology in elementary and secondary schools, with a focus on the following research questions: 1) To what degree has the educator’s instructional strategies been informed by technological change? 2) To what degree has self-efficacy played in the educator’s use of or lack of use of technology in the classroom? 3) What has been the educator’s perception of the best practice of incorporating technology in the classroom? A semi-structured interview method was used, as well as the incorporation of a visual perception spectrum. Data were collected from ten educators using semi-structured interviews, a visual perception spectrum device, and researcher observations. The interviews helped gain an understanding of the educators’ perceptions of the changes that they have faced due to technology, their feelings of self-efficacy towards teaching using technology, and their perceptions of the best use of technology in the classroom. Data were collected from ten educators in an urban school division. Five educators taught high school and five taught elementary school. The sample included administrators, primary teachers, middle years teachers, learning assistance teachers, and subject-specific high school teachers with a range in years experience and technology training. It was found that these educators had strong feelings regarding the difference they have made in their students’ lives, with or without the use of technology in education, and had an understanding of the forces around them that have promoted or inhibited the use of technol…
abstract: A review of literature regarding technology in education revealed that there are at least four key areas that influence educators’ use of technology in the classroom. These are change forces and responses, educational beliefs, perceptions of self-efficacy, and the current conditions in today’s educational institutions. The main objective of this research was to investigate the perceptions of individual educators regarding the incorporation of technology in elementary and secondary schools, with a focus on the following research questions: 1) To what degree has the educator’s instructional strategies been informed by technological change? 2) To what degree has self-efficacy played in the educator’s use of or lack of use of technology in the classroom? 3) What has been the educator’s perception of the best practice of incorporating technology in the classroom? A semi-structured interview method was used, as well as the incorporation of a visual perception spectrum. Data were collected from ten educators using semi-structured interviews, a visual perception spectrum device, and researcher observations. The interviews helped gain an understanding of the educators’ perceptions of the changes that they have faced due to technology, their feelings of self-efficacy towards teaching using technology, and their perceptions of the best use of technology in the classroom. Data were collected from ten educators in an urban school division. Five educators taught high school and five taught elementary school. The sample included administrators, primary teachers, middle years teachers, learning assistance teachers, and subject-specific high school teachers with a range in years experience and technology training. It was found that these educators had strong feelings regarding the difference they have made in their students’ lives, with or without the use of technology in education, and had an understanding of the forces around them that have promoted or inhibited the use of technol…
author: Prytula, Michelle P.
language: en_US
keywords: education, schools, teachers, students, computers, technology
date published: 2004-06-24
date modified: 2026-07-24T04:26:57Z
provider: University of Saskatchewan
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Saskatchewan

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-07132004-094923