Impact of Post-Secondary Business Teacher Educators' Employment Characteristics and Innovation Factors on Their Adoption of Current Computer Technologies as a Pedagogical Tool

Abstract Background: Business teacher educators prepare business teachers and workers to be successful in today's constantly changing technological environment Therefore, business teacher educators must meet the challenge to be prepared technologically to educate their students for the workforce. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions held by business teacher educators regarding Adoption Rate, Adopter Influence, and Adoption Influence factors that influence business teacher educators to adopt computer technologies as a pedagogical tool. Method: Ninety-nine members of the National Association of Business Teacher Educators (NABTE) were surveyed. Results: Statistical analyses showed that business teacher educators were encouraged to adopt and use current computer technology as a pedagogical tool when the computer technology met their needs and was perceived to be better than technologies used previously or if they had access to a computer with appropriate software installed in their school office and classroom. Conclusions: The findings suggest that most business teacher educators that participated in this study were early adopters of technology. Word processing, email, computers, and projectors were used almost all the time. Web-based video, Web-based audio, and online chats were almost never adopted. Finally, the ability to teach themselves new computer technologies was considered very important in the business teacher educators' adoption of current computer technology as a pedagogical tool. Introduction Computer technology continues to evolve from large mainframe computers in the 1960s to today's portable devices that have many functions, such as the tablet PC. Business education is "a dynamic discipline that changes to keep abreast of the technologies and concepts in the business world" (Gueldenzoph, 2006, p. 19). Consequently, it is important that business teacher educators adopt current and emerging computer technologies as a pedagogical tool to prepare business teachers and workers to be successful in today's dynamic technological environment. Wilkinson (2007) contended that "it is important to remember that student learning is the focus for the use of technology" (p. 90). Computer technology can be used as a pedagogical tool to connect students with learning and provide a multitude of learning opportunities (Gaytan, 2008). Business education teachers need to be prepared to educate their students for the changing technological environment. Gueldenzoph (2006) argued that, in order to prepare students for the workforce, business educators "must continuously update the content ofthe courses they teach as well as create new content areas that reflect current technologies" (p. 19). Regarding the adoption of current and emerging computer technologies and their usage as a pedagogical tool to prepare business teachers, the National Business Education Association (NBEA) has declared that: Information technology is radically changing the landscape of business and the global society. Once viewed as an area only for computer programmers, engineers, and scientists, the information technology field is now viewed as an indispensable resource for organizational and personal productivity for achieving an organization's business goals, and for facilitating the attainment of an individual's life and career. (2007, p. 88) In addition, the NBEA (2007) has clearly explained that the mastery of technological tools is no longer an option but a requirement for the enhancement of academic, business, and personal performance "to prepare students to be successful in today's global business environment, which is increasingly dependent on- and defined by- technology tools, educators must focus on the use of technology as a tool for facilitating business functions" (p. 88). However, the adoption of computer technology depends on several factors. This study will use Rogers' (1995) Diffusion and Adoption Theory as a framework to examine the perceptions held by business teacher educators regarding factors that influence their adoption of computer technologies as a pedagogical tool. …