Ninth graders' attitudes towards selected uses of technology

Abstract

Technology has become affordable and available for science teachers of all grade levels. This study presents the results of collecting attitudinal data from over 240 ninth grade physical science students prior to the integration of technology into their science curriculum. The data were evaluated utilizing a probabilistic model, which corrects for the nonlinearity of rating scale responses. Results indicate that surveyed students, on average, were supportive of the integration of a wide range of technology into their classroom. Although students were generally positive, they were statistically more supportive of activities that involved the sending of electronic messages to other students when a comparison was made to their attitudes toward the collecting of data with computer probes. The results suggest that physical science teachers may want to initiate the integration of technology into classes by first requiring students to use electronic mail to share data collected without the aid of a computer. This activity could, in turn, be followed by labs that require the collecting of data with computer probes and subsequent sharing of that data with other students through electronic mail.