Teachers’Attitudes and Use of Multimedia Technology in the Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to design and evaluate the effectiveness of a constructivist-based inservice professional development model for schools as they are becoming more responsible for modifying the curriculum and providing teachers inservice training. The sample included 73 K–3 teachers from a rural school district involved in integrating the use of computers into an already existing reading program, as opposed to introducing a new curriculum. The study focused on three variables: skills from previous workshop experiences, teachers’ attitudes toward the use of computers as instructional tools, and teachers’ perceived and actual computer use in the classroom. The findings indicated that regardless of previous workshop experience, the constructivist-based, ongoing training strategies designed and implemented in the existing curriculum helped teachers develop more positive attitudes toward using computers, increased their planned future use of the computer applications in their classroom, and affected the teachers’ transfer of the training into their own classroom.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

J. Mathew Myers

J. Matthew Myers is a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Mississippi State University. He received his master’s degree in mathematics from Clemson University in 1990 and his doctorate degree in education from Mississippi State University in 2002.

Regina Halpin

Regina Halpin is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Mississippi State University. She received her doctorate in secondary mathematics education from Auburn University in 1994. She teaches undergraduate secondary math methods, graduate secondary curriculum, technology education for teachers, and research design courses. She conducts research in the areas of secondary mathematics education and technology education.