The Role of Teaching Goals and Instructional Technology Perceptions in Faculty Members’ Technology Use

Abstract

This study portrays profile uses of technology in the classroom by faculty at a school of education at a university in Central California (N = 47). First, it describes their professional uses of certain technology on a frequency scale. Second, it reports the effects of faculty’s teaching philosophy and perceptions of instructional technology (IT) in their teaching practice with regards to use of technology. This study employed quantitative data analysis. The findings indicate that faculty’s teaching goals and perception of the learning environment play an important role in determining their uses of technology. Third, it reveals faculty’s motivation and challenges to use certain technological tools in their teaching. Specifically, the participants reported high levels of motivation for using various new technologies, minimal challenges to IT use in their classroom and their actual uses of such technology being unknown. Given the faculty’s high motivation (or absence of barriers) of using various innovative technology, one of the suggestions for future professional development programs is to offer training which moves beyond understanding how to use technology, and addresses the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching with technology.