| The purpose of this study was to investigate K--12 teachers' attitudes toward computer technology use in schools. This study looks at teacher variables that might affect the implementation of technology in the learning environment. Also, teachers were asked how they use and perceive computer use.; A sample of 253 teachers in a Southwest border district participated in this study. The survey, the Computer Attitude Scale (CAS), consisted of three sections. In part I, teachers were asked to provide demographic information about themselves such as computer experience, access to a computer at home, age, gender, teaching level, teaching field, ethnicity, teaching experience, and education level. Part II was a 40-item questionnaire used to measure inservice teachers' attitudes toward computer technology. In part III, participants were asked to respond to two open-ended questions related to their beliefs about technology use in school.; The results revealed that there were significant differences between teachers' attitudes as related to their level of computer experience. No significant differences were found between computer attitude, computer anxiety, computer confidence, computer liking, and computer usefulness based on age, teaching field, and ethnicity.; Teachers who had access to a computer at home had more positive attitudes, more confidence, less anxiety, and a higher positive perception of the usefulness of computers than teachers who had no access to a computer at home. No significant differences were found between computer attitude, computer anxiety, computer confidence, computer liking, and computer usefulness based on gender.; There were weak positive relationships between the dependent variables: computer anxiety, computer confidence, computer usefulness with the independent variable: education level. No relationships were found between computer liking and education level; between computer attitudes, computer anxiety, computer confidence, and computer usefulness and teaching experience. However, there was a weak relationship between computer liking and teaching experience. Education level was found to relate weakly to computer attitude, computer confidence, computer liking, and computer usefulness. However, education level was found not to be related to computer anxiety.; About one-fourth of the teachers revealed concerns about the availability of technology in their classrooms, about one third of the teachers indicated that they use computers to conduct administrative tasks. Also, about one-third of the teachers pointed out they use content software for teaching, and about one-third of the respondents indicated that they use the computer as a word processor. The majority of teachers had positive perceptions about the importance of computers in education in the future and felt there would be increased use of technology in the future. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
