Issues and Problems in Teacher Computer Literacy Education

The Influence of Programming Training on the Computer Literacy and Attitudes of Preservice Teachers

“…The lack of consensus as to what constitutes computer literacy is fundam~n tal to the problem of designing appropriate computer training courses for tea::hers (Troyer, 1988). Definitions of computer literacy have tended to evolve over time as microcomputers and their software have become more sophisticated.…”

“…Global definitions of computer literacy were developed as a means of coping with this diversity of teacher computer needs. Another approach adopted to define computer literacy is that of Troyer (1988), who concluded that instead of attempting to arrive at one conclusive definition of teacher computer literacy it might be better to focus on the specific skills and competencies needed by different teachers in different situations. of computer literacy for teachers.…”

“…Educational institutions charged with the training of new teachers are particularly aware of this new education need and have advanced various methods and curricula to provide teachers with useful computer competencies. However, the provision of computer training for teachers is currently beset with numerous problems (Troyer, 1988). In particular, the appropriate content of the training courses needs to be investigated.…”

Hindsight

“…This course emphasized critical thinking skills and focused on having teachers develop materials they might use in the classroom. While there was and continues to be a great need for devising n:odels to effectively retrain teachers to use computers in language arts, mathematics, science, and other subjects (Troyer, 1988), this was not the goal of this program. Although there is also a critical need for retraining the "teachers of tea::hers," we were not able to address that issue in this project either (Aiken, 1983;Talley, 1989).…”

Role of the Instructor in Maximizing Academic Achievement in Computer-Based Training

“…Conversely, research on the role of the instructor in TI has produced a relatively high degree of consensus on what an effective instructor does versus what a not-so-effective instructor does. However, other than to assume that CBT instructors should become computer literate (e.g., Troyer, 1988), CBT research has not treated the role of the instructor as a significant factor.…”