| In the latter 20th and early 21st centuries, computer technology has become a major force in education. Community colleges have been on the forefront of the infusion of computers onto their campuses. In addition to the technology, community colleges have provided professional development to promote computer use in instruction. These efforts, however, have not resulted in a full-scale computer integration by faculty.;The purpose of this study was to understand the variables that promote or hinder the instructional use of computer technology by community college faculty. The study investigated how faculty used computers in teaching, what factors influenced their participation in professional development, what variables explained their extent of instructional computer use, and how their teaching was impacted by computer training and use.;The study used a case study method and adopted Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) as its theoretical framework. Participants were 12 full-time faculty in two campuses of a community college district in the Houston area who had attended at least two computer-related professional development activities in the past five years. Qualitative data were collected through audio-taped interviews, observations of computer training sessions, and reviews of relevant documents.;Analysis of the data based on the emerging categories indicated five types of computer users: Innovative, Selective, Supplemental, External, and Online. In addition, findings identified four Stages of Concern (SoC) and two Levels of Use (LoU). Participating faculty differed within and across these categories in their perceptions of computer technology, pedagogical and personal concerns, and objectives for computer use. A model is proposed for planning professional development based on faculty's pedagogical and personal concerns. The findings have important implications for instructional computer use and faculty development in community colleges. |
