An analysis of classroom technology

Abstract

The University of Delaware Information Technology Help Center is conducting a study to identify uses of technology in the classroom, assess faculty attitudes toward these technologies and measure the quality of student learning as proxied by the seven principles for good practice in education. This paper describes the study's survey design.A smaller study conducted last year, documented classes with supporting web pages and the various components of those web pages. This year the study broadens its scope significantly, assessing the use of courseware management systems, computing facilities, networks, on-line collaboration, chat and other technological resources to provide a more complete description of instructional technology use at the University of Delaware.This survey uses a 30-item instrument on 11 subscales. Four of these subscales are widely used to describe faculty attitudes (Enthusiasm, Anxiety, Avoidance and Productivity).The latter seven subscales correspond to seven indicators of good practice in undergraduate education. The extent to which instructor attitudes accord with these is used as a proxy for improved learning. Using this proxy, we can measure the correlation between the use of technology in the classroom with improved learning outcomes.