Utah agricultural education teachers' attitude towards computers and computer use

Utah agricultural education teachers were surveyed to determine their attitude towards computers and computer technologies. The study utilized the Utah Agricultural Education Teachers’ Attitude Towards Computers survey developed by researchers at Utah State University. Questions for this instrument were modeled from previous work completed by the College of Education at the University of North Texas (Christensen & Knezek, 1999). Responses were received from 63 out of 82 agricultural education teachers who taught in Utah during the 2000-2001 academic school year. Using a Likert scale of 1 to 5 the Utah agricultural education teachers were asked to indicate their feelings on a 51-item statement concerning attitudes towards computers. The range of the Likert scale from 1 up to 5, with 1 being strongly disagree, 2 disagree, 3 undecided, 4 agree, and 5 strongly agree. Analysis of individual survey items revealed that the top three most “strongly agreed” items were: “Knowing how to use a computer is a worthwhile skill,” “It is very important for me to learn how to use a computer,” and “Learning about computers is worthwhile.” The statements receiving the lowest means and indicated that the respondents “disagreed” with the statement were: “I do as little work as possible using a computer,” “I do not enjoy talking with others about computers,” and “I don’t understand how some people can spend so much time working with computers and seem to enjoy it.” Utah agricultural education teachers indicated a positive attitude towards computers and computer technologies. Teachers also indicated that most of them had access to a computer in their department or in their classroom. However, the teachers indicated that they rarely accessed computers and computer technologies in their occupations. All of the agricultural education teachers indicated that they never required students to complete homework assignments on a daily or weekly basis. Utah agricultural education teachers indicated that equipment shortages and monetary reasons were the two most limiting factors in allowing them to integrate technology into the classroom. Utah agricultural education teachers may not be using computers and computer technology more frequently may be due to old computers, old software and/or outdated computer skills. INTRODUCTION / THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK With the arrival of the 21st century, issues relevant to effective agricultural education programs continue to emerge. Concerns continue to increase related to whether or not secondary agricultural education students are gaining the computer literacy necessary for both the knowledge to be a productive part of society and the need to gain a competitive edge in the future. Yet, it is impossible for agricultural education students to gain computer and computer technology skills if their educators do not possess computer skills and/or require computer activities as an active part of the curriculum for agricultural education courses. Agricultural education teachers are leading the next generation into the 21st century. It is essential that these teachers have experience with and knowledge of computers and computer technology so that they are able to teach individuals entering the ever-changing agricultural industry. It is possible that their students may experience work in furrowed fields using a computer to generate the proper calibration of a sprayer. There are also students who could become involved in a biological laboratory investigating gene-splicing; the field of possibilities with computers is endless. Furthermore, students may come in contact with high-tech computerized feeding systems used to generate the proper feed ration to each individual dairy cow on an operation. There is also the possibility that students may choose to become a secondary agricultural education teacher who must in turn teach their students the importance of computers and computer technologies in this rapidly changing endeavor we call agriculture. Agricultural education has always tried to adapt to the ever-changing nature of the agricultural industry. However, have agricultural educators become more complacent in their teaching preparedness of students? Have agricultural education teachers fallen behind in their roles to provide the students with the necessary tools to cope with the future of the agricultural industry? Education experienced by future agricultural educators must be more than passable to allow students to become professionally self-sufficient when they enter their first jobs as agricultural education teachers. It is possible that requiring additional courses to supplement post-service teachers will allow agricultural educators the needed knowledge in evolving in the ever-changing computer technological areas today. Understanding and adjusting to teaching techniques that involve computers will obviously be beneficial to their success. In some cases the only knowledge that students will learn about agriculture and its many facets of technology will be what their agricultural education teacher has taught them. This may be the greatest justification for agricultural education teachers to keep up to date on the continual changing of computerized techniques of agriculture and its latest technologies. Harper (1989) stated that the most serious problem facing agricultural education is not the changes occurring, but rather the strategies or more clearly the lack of strategies agricultural educators are pursuing to facilitate change. Miller (1991) recognized that agricultural education played a major role in bringing agriculture to the level of efficiency enjoyed today; however, few were visionary enough to see the future role or the need to bring appropriate competencies in agriculture to the students of tomorrow. This leads us to the question that must be answered: “Are the skills our Utah teachers’ possess in agricultural education, specifically computers and computer technologies, of the scope and quality to assure secondary agricultural students success in the highly changing role of agriculture?” In a survey of institutions of higher education, Bassinger found that teacher preparation programs “lacked both a plan to teach their students about technology and a way to pay for such instruction.” It appears that pre-service agriculture education teachers are not yet receiving all of the information available to them to learn and use computers and computer technologies in the classroom, yet we expect that post-service teachers that are already in the field have received such training. Many current agricultural educators are older and do not see the need for such education, thus their students are not receiving the needed skills to improve their success in the agricultural industry. In 1994, Marrison and Frick stated, “A continual dilemma experienced by agricultural educators is how to respond to the changing face of society and stay focused on the impacts technology could have in the teaching and learning process” (p. 27). Dyrli and Kinnaman (1994) stated, “Technology has transformed every segment of American society except education...schooling today remains much the same as it was before the advent of the personal computer”(p. 97). These studies indicate that teacher preparation programs must begin revising their curricula to include instruction in and experiences with computer technology. As far back as 1983 researchers were recommending that teacher educators should “assume a more active role in providing agricultural educators with computer training opportunities” (Cantrell & Byler, 1983). Yet, reports still indicate that most educators do not use educational technology (Dryli & Kinnaman, 1994; Marrison & Frick, 1994).Rosencrans indicated that the curriculum input, basic skills, and general knowledge about agricultural technology involves instruction in a wide range of information technology (1997). Although this is only one model, it does stress the importance of modern technology that agricultural education teachers need to possess. The ability to adapt to change and the willingness to learn and adapt computer technologies into their classrooms must be the center-point of thinking for today’s teacher. In the 1980s, no single instruction-related innovation caused as much excitement as the computer. Bork (1985) declared that computer use in education is a highly dynamic technology and would become the dominant delivery system in education in the next 25 years. Schools steadily acquired computers. A study in 1992 found that 98% of the public and private elementary and secondary schools in the United States had computers (Quality Education Data, 1992). Despite this enormous financial investment, computers appear to have made little impact on today’s schools. Use of the computer in public schools is often infrequent (Miller & Connors, 1996) and centers on skill acquisition, rather than utilizing the computer as a tool to enhance the learning process (Miller & Connors, 1996). Dryli and Kinnaman (1994) stated, “Technology has transformed every segment of American societyexcept education...schooling today remains the same as it was before the advent of the personal computer” (p. 92). Like other educational areas, agricultural education programs have acquired computers; a nationwide study in 1990 indicated that approximately 90% of the responding agricultural education teachers had a computer in their department. However, level of usage appears minimal with an average use of 1 to 3 hours per week for in-service teachers (Fletcher & Deeds, 1994). One of the obstacles to more effective utilization of computer technologies in the classroom appears to be the lack of training for teachers (Topp, Thompson, & Schmidt, 1993; Walker, Keepes, & Chang, 1992). Throughout the literature addressing computer usage in agricultural education, a need for teacher training was noted (Fletcher & Deeds, 1994; Miller & Connors, 1996; Newm