Dissertation Defense Presentation Topic: ACCEPTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN PUBLIC EDUCATION: Committee Members: Presented by: Dr. Jerold Miller Samuel Coleman Dr. Ken Kelch Date: May 2015 Dr. Alvin Kidd

Outline Research Problem Significance of the Study Review of Literature Research Design and Methodology Summary of Findings Concluding Remarks / Q & A

The problem to be addressed by this study: Research Problem The problem to be addressed by this study: Free and open source software (FOSS) implementation in public schools among teachers is limited.

The Research Question Is there a statistically significant differences between teachers who use FOSS in the classroom, teachers who use proprietary software in the classroom and teachers who do not use software at all in the classroom.

Significance of the Study Help school district to consider the adoption of FOSS Make learning institutions and Instructors aware of cost free alternatives to proprietary software Provide insight on what impacts a teacher's decision to adopt a given technology and associated impacts

Review of Literature

Summary of Literature Review * When individuals and organizations are aware of FOSS, receptivity is mixed * Factors that influence perceptions held by educators and learning institutions include: fear that low or no cost software implies low quality a belief that commercial software providers guarantee their software * Factors that make FOSS an attractive option for educators include: low or no licensing costs for the software no restrictions on use of the software a philosophical approach that harmonizes with the sharing of knowledge and collaboration the ability to integrate with existing software increased opportunities for innovative teaching and learning eliminating the need for pirating software benefit of running software that is stable and reliable *Factors that impede or prevent adoption of FOSS: lack of motivation fear of the unknown lack of technical support and training failure to involve all stakeholders in planning and implementing a FOSS solution

Research Design and Methodology The study incorporated a quasi-experimental research design Participants responded to a survey Responses were collected, compiled in a database, and analyzed with PSPP® (a free and open source alternative to SPSS® The analysis used independent t testing to compare differences between mean values for the independent variables among the groups

Question 1 findings

Question 1 findings Is there a statistically significant difference in age between teachers who used FOSS in the classroom and teachers who used proprietary software in the classroom. NO

Question 2 findings

Question 2 findings Is there a statistically significant difference in years of teaching experience between teachers who used FOSS in the classroom and teachers who used proprietary software in the classroom. NO

Question 3 findings

Question 3 findings Is there a statistically significant difference in primary subject area taught between teachers who used FOSS in the classroom and teachers who used proprietary software in the classroom. NO I

Question 4 findings

Question 4 findings Is there a statistically significant difference in the level of education between teachers who used FOSS in the classroom and teachers who used proprietary software in the classroom. NO

Question 5 findings

Question 5 findings Is there a statistically significant difference in the number of years of experience using technology between teachers who used FOSS in the classroom and teachers who used proprietary software in the classroom. NO

Question 6 findings

Question 6 findings Is there a statistically significant difference in the number of district technology training sessions and/or initiatives attended between teachers who used FOSS in the classroom and teachers who used proprietary software in the classroom. NO

Question 7 findings

Question 7 findings Is there a statistically significant difference between teachers who use FOSS vs proprietary software with respect to the level of support provided by site level administration. YES The findings reasonably lead to the conclusion that teachers who embrace FOSS have less dependence on school site administration than teachers who use proprietary software. In this instance, the use of FOSS in learning environments that support proprietary software could be an indicator of unmet teacher needs, a teacher’s lack of faith in school site administration/school district to provide needed instructional materials, an ineffective procurement process, or poor technical support.

Question 7 findings cont. Failure of traditional methods and tools to support instruction and learning potentially sets the stage for teachers to seek other solutions. In learning environments where proprietary software is provided and supported, voluntary teacher use of FOSS could be an indicator that incumbent software solutions, technical support, and procurement processes have failed to address the dynamic needs associated with teaching and learning. School districts that fail to examine and address the needs of teachers who provide instructional support for students with different learning modalities, special needs, and varying levels of background knowledge, could induce teachers to seek and use alternatives (e.g., FOSS) to support instruction and learning.

Question 8 findings

Question 8 findings Is there a statistically significant difference between teachers who use FOSS vs proprietary software with respect to impact that District policy has on implementing technolgy in the classroom. NO It was surprising that FOSS users did not appear to express the opinion that school district policies were restrictive in the use of FOSS. However, it appears that teachers who make use of FOSS do so without the support or perhaps even the knowledge of the school district. Teachers who make use of FOSS in these instances are using the software with the understanding that they will receive no support. Teachers have expressed the need to find software solutions when none are available through the school district. Therefore, teachers who make use of FOSS do not appear to be seriously concerned about district policies that do not provide support for current needs because they can access solutions suited to their needs in a timely and cost effective way

Concluding Remarks / Q&A