Instructional technology adoption at the University of Tennessee : perceived influences of select faculty members

Instructional technology can help transform college teaching from a teacher-centered instructional paradigm to a learner-centered paradigm. However, any educational change must begin with the faculty because only they can make a personal commitment to use technology in their teaching. This study focused on faculty members who have adopted the computer as an educational innovation seemingly in spite of the barriers. The purpose of the study was to identify how selected university faculty members are integrating instructional technology into their teaching practices and to determine the primary intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and incentives that influenced them to do so. Investigating what rewards and incentives were deemed as important to faculty who have already adopted instructional technologies can assist higher education in creating conditions that will influence more faculty to adopt the new instructional technologies. Data were gathered using a survey instrument, which was completed by 41 faculty members from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, who were identified as integrating instructional technologies into their teaching practices. In addition, 12 of these respondents were selected to participate in a semistructured interview. In summary, email was reported as being used more than any other computer-driven instructional technology followed by using web-based materials that support course content; showing computer-projected visuals while lecturing; and, providing a web-based syllabus. This study found that the participating faculty members were overwhelmingly influenced to start using instructional technologies by intrinsic rewards and incentives, primarily because they wanted to increase their teaching effectiveness and improve their instruction. Additionally, the most influential extrinsic rewards and incentives were related to receiving work-related support and recognition or encouragement. It can be concluded from this study\u27s findings that instructional technology will be adopted by faculty who want to improve their instruction and perceive technology use as beneficial to the teaching/learning process. Recommendations based on the findings included suggestions to increase satisfaction in teaching, encourage instructional technology adoption, address facilities and equipment, and conduct further research

Community College Instructors Perception of the Influence of Online Best Teaching Practices on Student Outcomes

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore how community college instructors in New Jersey perceive the influence of online best teaching practices—pedagogical, technical and content knowledge—on student outcomes. Teaching in an online environment is different than a traditional face-to-face environment. The instructors develop different techniques and strategies to reach and deliver understandable content to the student. This is being done as distance education continually evolves and as instructors deploy new techniques to provide an effective learning environment to the student. As this delivery method continues to grow in popularity institutions can review and understand how do faculty really perceive this phenomenon and how does this impact student outcomes? This qualitative research answered how do community college instructors in New Jersey perceive the influence of online best teaching practices—pedagogical, technical and content knowledge—on student outcomes. The four major themes identified within the study were Pedagogy, Content Knowledge, Student Perception and Technology. The study also identified some emerging themes such as a majority of the semi-structured interviewees believe face-to-face outcomes have better success than online courses, faculty, and administrators believe students have a substantial influence on their own individual outcomes

Sustainable faculty development: issues in technology for teacher education

This dissertation centers around research and development on faculty preparation for integration of technology for teacher education. Chapter 1 is the general introduction in which the background and the significance of the research topics are addressed. Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and Chapter 4 consist of three published or publishable papers. Chapter 5 is the general conclusion. Chapter 2 summarizes the literature related to one-on-one technology mentoring programs in higher education and K--12 institutions nation wide, and identifies themes contributing to a successful mentoring program. Chapter 3 describes the pedagogical shift of an exemplary technology-using teacher educator through her eight-year journey with a one-on-one technology mentoring program. A grounded theory approach was used to relate and integrate the stages experienced by an exemplary technology-using teacher educator who moved from limited knowledge and use of technology to learning to apply basic applications in the classroom and on to integrating innovative technology. In Chapter 4, results from an online survey on the issues of sustainability of faculty\u27s use and integration of technology in teacher education programs are presented. Based on the findings of a pilot case study, the survey was developed to gather quantitative data from 60 teacher education faculty members from 31 higher education institutions. The purpose of the survey study was to investigate how to encourage faculty members who have made significant use of technology to continue to use technology in their teacher preparation courses and to sustain efforts in making technology an essential component across the curriculum in teacher education programs. In addition, the survey results helped to identify effective faculty development practices and provided information on breaking down barriers to faculty\u27s continued technology integration.;Taken together, the three studies in this dissertation provided insights in effective faculty development practice for supporting faculty integration of technology into their teaching. Results from all three studies suggested the importance of forming a community of faculty members working to integrate technology. In addition, all three studies provided evidence for the effectiveness of the one-one-one mentoring approach to faculty development in this area

Measuring faculty satisfaction and motivation to use podcasts: A pilot study

Modern society is constantly evolving, affecting the creation and use of technology. Concurrently, technology is relentlessly developing and expanding, influencing the very society to which it is introduced. In a rapid-paced, globally influenced educational community, podcasts are among the latest and promising innovations being introduced into the educational arena to reach technology-savvy students. Information in various technological formats is not new, nor is their application to the educational process unique. Many past technologies such as the record player, tape player, radio, television, and computers were all believed to exhibit enormous potential to transform education. However, in almost every instance, they have failed to live up to the hype and promises made by their advocates. In some cases, they failed because something newer and better appeared; in other cases, it was the lack of resources and poor implementation or failing to understand the many challenges required to implement them. Although podcasting technology is not new, it is still in the formative stages as an educational resource. Recognizing the potential value of podcasts to the field of education, this study investigated factors that inhibit or influence the creation and use of podcasts as an educational resource. In addition, the study examined faculty’s satisfaction in the use of podcasts as a resource to achieve learning objectives and outcomes. Recognizing the potential value of podcasts to the field of education, this study investigated factors that inhibit or influence the creation and use of podcasts as an educational resource. In spite of the fact that most participants believed that podcasts would produce positive results, improve student engagement, and motivation, and that podcasts would improve their effectiveness as instructors, the majority of participants did not employ podcasts. In addition, most believed that there were inadequate incentives in exchange for the time and effort required to create and use podcasts

Improving the Academic Success of Technical College Students with Disabilities: A Multisite Descriptive Case Study

Students with disabilities in higher education have lower retention and graduation rates than students without disabilities. While postsecondary administrators are attempting to meet the needs of students by implementing necessary reforms, barriers remain like issues with disclosure, transition planning, and faculty knowledge. This present qualitative descriptive case study sought to explore the instructional practices that were implemented by technical college educators to accommodate students with learning challenges, including students with disabilities, utilizing the Universal Design for Learning framework to determine which current technical college faculty instructional accommodations practices intersect with or diverge from Universal Design for Learning principles. The participants were a purposeful sample of 12 full-time technical college faculty members from six technical colleges in a southern state with at least five years of teaching experience at the postsecondary level and had worked with at least one student with a disability. Data were collected in three phases through the Universal Design for Learning Checklist, Semi-structured Interviews, and Document Analysis of course syllabi. Frequency counts and thematic analysis were utilized to analyze the data. This qualitative research has implications for identifying consistent and best instructional practices that positively impact the academic achievement of college students with disabilities. The findings indicated that technical college faculty have been implementing Universal Design for Learning instructional strategies, both intentionally and unknowingly, in an attempt to provide equitable access to all students regardless of ability and that technical college students can benefit from the implementation of Universal Design for Learning principles into college courses. The findings also implied that professional development training can become a vital aspect of instructors\u27 improvement programs to enlighten them about strategies that are available to improve their work with students with disabilities