Investigation of Middle School Science Teachers’ and Students’ Use of Technology Inside and Outside of Classrooms

• In Event: Mobile Devices: Does the Reality Match the Promise?

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to investigate the popular assumption that this generation “digital natives” surpass the previous generations in terms of their technology experiences, and that the gap between their inside and outside of technology use needs to be narrowed. The researchers conducted a mixed methods study to survey and compare the technology experience for middle school science teachers (n=24) and their students (n=1060), observe teachers’ classroom technology usage, and interview teachers to understand the barriers that prevent them from using technology inside the schools. The findings suggest that digital natives’ frequency of technology use is significantly lower than teachers’ inside and outside of the classrooms. Factors attributing to the low use of technology in school are discussed.

Authors

• Shiang-Kwei Wang, New York Institute of Technology

• Hui-Yin Hsu, New York Institute of Technology

• Todd Campbell, University of Connecticut

• Daniel Coster, Utah State University

• Max L Longhurst, Utah State University