Web 2.0 Technologies for Classroom Instruction: High School Teachers\u27 Perceptions and Adoption Factors

Web 2.0 technologies have potential for teaching and learning, but show a slow rate of adoption in education. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that contribute to high school teachers\u27 intention to use Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction. Research questions examined were (a) To what extent are high school teachers using Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction? (b) What opinions do high school teachers have regarding Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction? (c) Which factors best predict the decision of high school teachers to adopt or not Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction? The decomposed theory of planned behavior was used as theoretical framework. A survey design was employed adapting Ajjan and Hartshorne\u27s (2008) questionnaire. Participants were high school teachers from a specific school region of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Data from 137 participants were analyzed using descriptive and multiple regression methods. Findings showed that teachers do not use these technologies: blogs 51.1%, wikis 36.5%, social networking 53.3%, social bookmarking 59.9%, and audio/video conferencing 41.6%. Many did not plan to use them at all. Regarding predictors of teachers\u27 behavioral intention to use Web 2.0 technologies: attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were significant predictors, with attitude the strongest (β = .634); of the decomposed factors, perceived usefulness and compatibility were significant predictors. Teacher comments suggested that lack of equipment, lack of training, lack of funding, security issues, and firewalls were possible obstacles affecting perceived usefulness and compatibility

A Conceptual Framework for Studying the Sources of Variation in Program Effects

Evaluations of public programs in many fields reveal that (1) different types of programs (or different versions of the same program) vary in their effectiveness, (2) a program that is effective for one group of people might not be effective for other groups of people, and (3) a program that is effective in one set of circumstances may not be effective in other circumstances. This paper presents a conceptual framework for research on such variation in program effects and the sources of this variation. The framework is intended to help researchers -- both those who focus mainly on studying program implementation and those who focus mainly on estimating program effects -- see how their respective pieces fit together in a way that helps to identify factors that explain variation in program effects and thereby support more systematic data collection on these factors. The ultimate goal of the framework is to enable researchers to offer better guidance to policymakers and program operators on the conditions and practices that are associated with larger and more positive effects

Mapping Child Well-Being in Duval County, FL

Analyzes the distribution of neighborhood, education, and health/environmental opportunity; impact on health and education outcomes; demographics of those in Children's Commission programs; and marginalized neighborhoods' conditions. Outlines strategies

The Role of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) for English Language Learning of Elementary and High Schools in Indonesia

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) or in another word collaborating computer with the classroom component to enhance language learning has a long history of pedagogical development since 1950 until nowadays which started with the simple program into microcomputers. It covers all learning processes using computers which advance the language skills of the learners. In the language courses, CALL is implemented by using several applications but this essay will solely mention 8 applications out of many. The study cases prove that those implementations offer several great values toward academic life. However, in order to achieve successful implementation, the pre-conditions or requirements of the CALL implementation must be fulfilled. In Indonesia, the advent of some hindrances such as cost, teacher trainings are the main issues to fulfil those requirements. Alternatively, several recommendations are proposed to refute the problems such as schools and local government cooperation, customisation learning technology and peer school teaching

Professional self-efficacy scale for information and computer technology teachers: validity and reliability study

This study aims at developing a valid and reliable scale to measure information and communication technology (ICT) teachers' self-efficacy related to the Turkish national framework of ICT competencies. For statistical procedures, data were respectively analyzed with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Furthermore, test-retest procedure was carried out to confirm the time invariance of the scale. EFA results revealed that the scale's seven-factor structure accounts for 65.90 percent of total variance. CFA results produced an acceptable statistical support for model-data fit between the observed item scores and the seven-dimension scale structure (X-2/df = 1.98, RMSEA = .073, CFI = .86). The standardized regression weights between the latent and observed variables ranged from .57 to .89 and Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale sub-dimensions ranged from .80 to .88. Besides, the item-scale correlations varied between values of .53 and .79. As a result, the developed scale is a likert questionnaire and composed of 33 five-point items with seven sub-dimensions