A survey of 3,576 secondary school teachers in the areas of mathematics, science, and business education, half of whom have adopted instructional computing, provides a test for technological versus cultural theories of social change. Using multiple regression analysis, the results demonstrate the necessity of sociological analysis of acceptance and rejection of computer innovations. Individual/occupational factors (training, attitude, experience), work/school factors (grade range, school size), and community factors (community size, distance from central computer) were found to be predictive of adoption of computer technology. These findings demonstrate that when explaining acceptance of new computer techniques it is necessary to go beyond the theory of technological determinism and examine sociocultural determinants.
Computers are used with increasing frequency to deliver and enhance instruction in science. The impact of such experiences on students has not yet been extensively investigated. In particular, there are little data on what students learn indirectly about computers. A number of studies have examined the effect of computer use upon attitudes toward computers, but few have assessed the impact of computer use upon cognitive computer literacy; i.e., student knowledge about computers. We designed an experiment to investigate the impact of a brief computer assisted instruction (CAI) experience on the attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge of different types of students. A 20-30 minute science lesson on water pollution was administered to approximately 350 students by APPLE II micro-computers. Comparison of pre test with post-tests and tests six months later reveal some important impacts of exposing students to CAI for science instruction.
RESEARCH ON THE IMPACT OF CAIWhile some prefer to restrict the term CAI to simple "drill and practice," others use the term more comprehensively to encompass any delivery of instruction by a computer. We accepted the broader definition of CAI and developed a CAI *
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