1. What do languages teachers think of technology and their own IT literacy? Matthew Absalom School of Languages & Linguistics mabsalom@unimelb.edu.au

2. Teachers & technology As we hurtle towards the advent of Web 3.0, many teachers are still wrestling with Web 1.0 technologies Interactive whiteboards are on the rise while Web 2.0 technologies are rarely employed In a 2010 study, 25% of UK secondary school teachers had never heard of wikis Widespread availability of funding, continued investment (e.g. DER $2.4 billion), professional learning opportunities in many forms, and policy incentives seem to have little impact on uptake So what’s the main problem?!?

3. What inhibits IT uptake? The factors inhibiting the positive influence of ICT always include: –Teacher confidence and perceived expertise –Teacher beliefs about the potential for ICT to make a difference to student learning –Perceptions of ease of use –Teachers’ perceived self-efficacy

4. The study 2010 preliminary study –Identical questionnaire (demographic data plus questions on computer/ICT use and attitudes, and 31 responses to the question ‘What do you think of computers and ICT?’) –Two cohorts: Sydney (n=65); Melbourne (n=23) –Cohorts were distinct: Sydney – general; Melbourne – self-identified ‘leaders’ –Data analysed using SPSS

5. The questionnaire

6. Age of participants

7. Gender

8. Teaching context

9. ICT & teaching

10. ICT & life

11. Perceptions of IT literacy

12. Importance of technology in teaching

13. Comparing ICT in teaching & life

14. What IS signficant The relationship between perceptions of competence and level of teaching (primary vs secondary) is significant The relationship between age and the following factors is significant: –Perceptions that ‘students are way ahead of me’ – the older you are the more competent you think students are with ICT –Preparation time –ICT being helpful outside work The relationship between preparation time and cohort (‘lead’ vs general) is significant – ‘lead’ teachers use ICT more efficiently What IS NOT significant The relationship between level of school context and perceptions that ‘students are way ahead of me’ – seems to contradict perceptions of competence The relationship between age and perceptions of competence – explodes the myth that the older you are the worse you think you are Preliminary analysis

15. Making correlations Positive teacher perceptions of ICT correlate with positive perceptions of the impact of ICT on students and student learning Similarly, negative teacher perceptions of ICT correlate with negative perceptions of the impact of ICT on students and student learning No surprises here! Confirms the importance of perceptions and attitudes in the uptake of technology in the classroom

16. Implications Professional learning needs to take account of these preliminary findings –Primary level teachers may feel less confident with ICT than their secondary counterparts –With an ageing cohort of teachers, the perception that students are ‘better than me’ needs consideration –Mentoring relationships between ‘lead’ or more experienced teachers in the use of ICT for preparation of learning activities would be recommended

17. © Copyright 2011 To discuss further, please feel free to contact me by email Matthew Absalom mabsalom@unimelb.edu.au