How Do Teachers Who Use Computers Competently Differ from Other Teachers

AbstractThis article examines and compares the ways in which teachers in two school systems and at different levels of competence with regard to instructional computing think about computers and use them to support instruction. The survey results showed that the teachers in both school systems and at both levels of competence had similar perceptions of what it took to become effective users of computers for instruction. However, the teachers in the system that made the stronger commitment to instructional computing and those who perceived themselves as being more competent used the computer more often and in more effective ways than those in the other system and than those who perceived themselves as less competent computer users. In addition, the article explores the factors that teachers feel contribute to their ability to use computers in the classroom. The article concludes by summarizing guidelines that describe what school systems or colleges and universities can do promote the effective use of comp...