USE OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY IN ENGLISH CLASSES

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1 USE OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY IN ENGLISH CLASSES Mehme Nuri GÖMLEKSİZ Absrac Using educaion echnology in classes helps eachers realize a beer and more effecive learning. In his sudy 150 English eachers were surveyed in order o deermine heir views on he use of educaion echnology in heir classes. The scale consiss of 36 iems measuring posiive and negaive aiudes of English eachers oward use of echnology. There are 24 posiive, 12 negaive iems in he scale. The eachers were also asked which echnological aids and echniques hey use. I was deermined ha eachers have posiive aiudes oward use of echnology bu hey do no obain or use echnology a desired level. Inroducion In recen years much aenion has been focused on he use of echnology in classes. Idenifying he value of echnology in schools has challenged educaional researchers for more han 20 years. ar of he problem is our evolving undersanding of how echnology accenuaes suden learning. Rapid changes in he echnology iself also hamper research. Finally, he inerwining of complex variables in such a rich environmen as a school precludes he pure isolaion necessary o deermine cause and effec (Baylor and Richie, 2002). Rapid changes in echnology have affeced eaching-learning process deeply. The aim of improving educaional qualiy invies he quesion of o exen o which new echnology aids his process. I is known ha radiional formas are no always successful and efficien (Milliken and Barnes, 2002). New echnologies offer opporuniies for aking accoun of individual apiude and ineres. Recen sudies in he area indicae ha effecive use of educaion echnology can help educaion sysem work beer and more effecively (Jonassen and Reeves, 1996; Means, 1994). In a survey adminisered by Halderman (1992) a majoriy of eachers demand using echnology beer. Use of echnology in he classes gives sudens he chance of learning faser and more permanen. In anoher survey adminisered by Tsou, Wang and Li (2002) a significan increase was saisically found in he es scores of sudens in a compuer aided learning environmen. This shows he posiive effec of echnology for realizing effecive learning. The aiudes of eachers are imporan facors influencing use of educaion echnology in classes. Some researches show ha eachers do no have posiive aiudes oward compuers and moreover hey have fear agains compuer use in he classroom (Hardy, 1998; apryzcki and Vidakovic, 1994). Mehod The aim of he sudy is o deermine he aiudes and opinions of English eachers owards using educaion echnology in heir classes. The sample of his sudy consiss of 150 English eachers working a 63 Elemenary schools in Elazıg ciy cener. There are oally 150 English eachers in hese schools. There are wo groups of English eachers. The firs group consiss of 47 eachers who have graduaed from English language eaching deparmens. The oher group consiss of 103 eachers who have graduaed from oher subjec areas. Majoriy of he subjecs were hose who have no graduaed from English language eaching deparmens. The sample covers only English eachers working a Elemenary schools. The scale was handed all he eachers in he sample in heir schools and was colleced in he same way. Daa Collecion In order o assess eachers needs and porray heir views owards use of educaion echnology in English classes, an aiude scale was used as he main ool of he sudy. A 36 iem, 5-poin Liker-scale ranging from srongly agree, hrough agree, parly agree, and disagree o srongly agree was consruced by he researcher. The scale asked he eachers o describe heir aiudes owards use of educaion echnology and how much experience hey had of using educaion echnology. The design of he iems had been piloed on anoher eacher group before. KMO (Kayser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of sampling adequacy) was found as Cronbach alpha reliabiliy value of he scale was found as.85. Barle s es of sphericiy was found as 1612,172. A saisically significan difference was found a he level of p< The scale focused on he difficuly, usefulness, effor, suppor, ineres, effeciveness and accepance oward educaion echnology. The scale included Liker-ype iems abou differen aspecs of use of educaion echnology, including previous experience and fuure inenions of he subjecs. The daa were analyzed by he Assis. rof. Dr., Fıra Universiy, Faculy of Educaion, Deparmen of Educaional Sciences Copyrigh The Turkish Online Journal of Educaional Technology

2 SSS saisical package, using he mean scores, independen groups es and reliabiliy and facor analyses. There are oally 24 posiive, 12 negaive iems in he scale. Assumpions I is assumed ha: 1. All subjecs answered he surveys honesly. 2. The sample represens English eachers working a Elemenary schools in Elazıg ciy, Turkey. 3. The subjecs are able o undersand English o inerpre he aiude scale. Limiaions 1.All subjecs in he sudy were he English eachers from Elemenary schools in Elazıg ciy, Turkey. 2. The subjec, seleced by he researcher, focused on he areas perceived as significan o he sudy. 3. The Aiude Scale was only analyzed for eachers working in Elemenary schools. Findings and Inerpreaion Table 1 presens he name of sub-scales, and Cronbach alpha reliabiliy values of each sub-scale. Table 1: Scale Names, Number of s and Reliabiliy Values Scale Names Cronbach- Value Difficuly 1* 7* 17 21* - 31*.79 Usefulness * 30*.73 Effor * Suppor 3* Ineres 5 13* 15* Effeciveness 16* Accepance *.70 * negaive iems The scale consiss of seven subscales. They are difficuly, usefulness, effor, suppor, ineres, effeciveness and accepance subscales respecively. Cronbach-alpha of each subscale was found.79,.73,.71,.79,.81,.75,.70. The eachers who have graduaed from English language eaching programs are menioned here as Group 1, he ohers who each English a elemenary schools are called as Group 2 in he sudy. Views on he Use of Educaion Technology Teachers views on difficuly subscale are presened in Table 2. Table 2: Views on Difficuly The Teachers Face in Using and roviding Technology Ie m 1 I is difficul o learn how o use a new echnology in he classroom * 7 I is no easy o use educaion echnology * 17 I can easily ge necessary equipmen whenever I need * 21 School s budge is inadequae for buying necessary maerials A person has o do a difficul raining course o undersand how o use echnology in class Copyrigh The Turkish Online Journal of Educaional Technology

3 The eachers in group one scored significanly higher on aiudes owards difficuly scale han hose in group wo (p< 0.05). The larges differences were on learning how o use a new echnology in he classroom, using educaion echnology and geing necessary equipmen for he classroom. The eachers who graduaed from English eaching deparmens feel less difficuly in using educaion echnology han he eachers graduaed from oher subjec areas. Table 3: Views on he Usefulness of Educaion Technology Ie m 2 Sudens paricipaes acively when I use echnological aids 6 In my opinion educaion echnology enriches learning environmen 10 There is a relaion beween success and use of echnology. 18 Using educaion echnology makes learning more ineresing. 23 Technology makes learning boring for sudens * 30 Using educaion echnology is a wase of ime * The es resuls in Table 3 indicae ha all eachers viewed aiudes oward usefulness scale as being posiive. The English eachers in boh groups hink ha educaion echnology is useful in eaching English. saisically significan differences were found beween he wo groups in all iems shown in Table 3. This suggess ha he eachers are agreeing on of he advanages of educaion echnology. These resuls show ha eachers are aware of he imporance of educaion echnology. The findings also indicae ha he eachers in boh groups do no hink use of educaion echnology as a wase of ime. They find a relaion beween success and use of echnology in he classes. A saisically significan difference was found in iem 23. The eachers in group one hink more posiively han he eachers in group wo oward he aiude menioned in iem 23. Teachers views on he effors subscale are presened in Table 4. Table 4: Views on he Effors of English Teachers o Use Educaion Technology Ie m 4 I ry o bring echnological aids ino he classroom I always ry o persuade my colleagues o use new echnologies in he classroom I am very willing o provide echnological aids A suden can learn a language easily wihou educaion echnology * 36 I always ry o discover new ways for effecive eaching The findings in Table 4 indicae ha eachers in boh groups have posiive aiudes oward effor scale. Bu only in iem 34, a significan difference has been found. The eachers in Group 1 have a bi more posiive aiudes han he eachers in Group 2 oward iem 34. Copyrigh The Turkish Online Journal of Educaional Technology

4 Table 5: Views on he Suppor he Teachers can Ge Educaion Technology 3 My school does no suppor me when I demand new equipmen I share my experiences wih my colleagues Oher eachers a my school always suppor me o provide necessary equipmen In-service aciviies have helped me and developed my skills in using educaion echnology Educaion echnology is available easily a my school I can ge enough suppor easily in finding necessary equipmen Table 5 allows us o see how English eachers evaluae he suppor hey expec from heir schools and colleagues. The grea majoriy of eachers sress ha heir school neiher suppor hem when hey demand new equipmen nor echnological equipmen can easily be obained. Differences beween he views of eachers ineress on educaion echnology are given in Table 6 below. Table 6: Views on he Ineres of he Teachers on Educaion Technology 5 I would like o learn more abou new developmens in educaion echnology I am no ineresed in using educaion echnology in he classroom * 15 I don have enough knowledge for using echnological aids * 20 Using educaion echnology in eaching English would be ineresing * 24 Sudens pay more aenion when I use echnology in he classroom I follow new developmens in educaion echnology properly The resuls indicae saisically significan differences in having ineres o use echnological aids beween he wo groups. The resuls also show significan differences in having enough knowledge for using echnology and in hinking use of echnology ineresing. The eachers who graduaed from English language eaching deparmens have more posiive aiudes from he poin of having ineres han hose graduaed from oher subjec areas. Bu he resuls are he same in he views on following new developmens in educaion echnology. The eachers in boh groups do no have ineres o follow new developmens in educaion echnology properly. Differences beween eachers views on he benefis of he use of educaion echnology in English classes are given in Table 7. Table 7: Views on he Benefis of Educaion Technology 16 I hink using echnology in class has lile effec on sudens learning Copyrigh The Turkish Online Journal of Educaional Technology

5 19 My sudens learn beer when I use echnology in he classroom. 25 Using educaion echnology has an imporan place in learning English. 27 Technology has a large influence on sudens moivaion As can be seen from Table 7 he eachers in boh groups agree on he benefis of echnology use in heir classes. saisically significan differences were found beween he groups. The eachers express ha heir sudens learn beer when hey use echnology and hey also accep he imporance of echnology. Table 8: Views on he Accepance of Educaion Technology 12 I accep he imporance of educaion echnology in eaching English My sudens accep he imporance of echnology in language classes My colleagues share my opinions on he use of educaion echnology * My sudens find use of echnology boring The es resuls indicaion no significan differences can be seen in Table 8 above. The eachers in boh groups commonly accep he imporance and role of he echnology. Resuls also show ha he eachers hink ha heir sudens accep he imporance of use of echnology. These findings imply ha he groups accep he imporance of echnology. I can also be drawn ha he eachers ry o share heir opinions on he use of echnology. The views of English eachers on he frequency of use of educaion echnology in heir classes are given in Table 9. Table 9: Use of Technology in English Classes (n: 150) Technology used Never Rarely Someimes Ofen Always f % f % f % f % f % Overhead rojecor Tape-Recorder Tv-Video Slides Flashcards icures Compuer Board The resuls shown in Table 9 indicae ha eachers mosly use board. The oher echnological aids are no used by mos of he eachers. The figures dealing wih he use of compuer show ha he eachers do no use compuer in heir classes. The findings abou he echniques he eachers use in heir classes are presened in Table 10. Table 10: Use of Aciviies in English Classes (n: 150) Techniques used Never Rarely Someimes Ofen Always f % f % f % f % f % Copyrigh The Turkish Online Journal of Educaional Technology

6 air work Games roblem Solving Role-playing Group work Auhenic Texs Informaion gap Simulaion Drama When he figures in Table 10 are invesigaed carefully, i can easily be seen ha he eachers mosly use pair work, role-playing and informaion gap aciviies. The oher aciviies are no used by mos of he eachers a desired level. Conclusion Wih his curren sudy i was deermined ha eachers graduaed from English language eaching deparmens feel more posiive han hose who graduaed from oher subjec areas. The eachers in boh groups sress ha educaion echnology has an imporan place in eaching learning process bu hey are no so willing in using educaion echnology in heir classes. The eachers schools do no have necessary equipmen and hey do no ge enough suppor from heir schools. The eachers mosly use board. air work, role playing and informaion gap aciviies are mos used echniques in he classroom. Discussion In general, he resuls indicae he imporance of he use of educaion echnology use, saisically significan differences were observed beween he wo groups. Teachers in-group one appear o be a a beer posiion in heir views on he difficuly of echnology use. These resuls are in line wih he sudy findings ha examined views on he difficuly of echnology use in he field. The findings of he presen sudy imply ha he eachers hink ha here is a relaion beween success and echnology use. This is consisen wih Halderman s (1992) views. In harmony wih he findings of surveys by Hardy (1998) and opryzcki and Vidakovic (1994), he resuls of his curren sudy indicaed ha eachers do no have posiive aiudes oward compuers. Teachers are expeced o use educaion in heir classes so ha hey can enrich learning environmen. The findings obained from his sudy indicae ha eachers do no use i effecively alhough hey are open o use i. Finally In he search for effecive use of educaion echnology, scienific researchers mus coninue o invesigae he effec of educaion echnology in order o derive a more scienific basis for echnology use, and examine, describe, and compare curricular aciviies ha uilize he educaion echnology, and heir variously defined effecs. Suggesions In he ligh of he findings of his curren sudy following suggesions are recommended: Educaion echnology mus be inroduced o he eachers working in Elemenary schools. Schools should be equipped wih necessary echnological aids. Teachers should have courses abou he use of educaion echnology and new echnological aids should be inroduced o he eachers. REFERENCES Baylor, A. L. and Richie, D. (2002). Wha facors faciliae eacher skill, eacher morale, and perceived suden learning in echnology-using classrooms? Compuers & Educaion, 39 (4), Halderman, C. F. (1992). Design and evaluaion of saff developmen program for echnology in schools. Disseraion Absracs Inernaional, 53(12A), Hardy, J. V. (1998). Teacher aiudes oward and knowledge of compuer echnology. Compuers in he Schools, 14 (3-4), Jonassen, D., and Reeves, T. (1996). Learning wih echnology: Using compuers as cogniive ools. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research on educaional communicaions and echnology (pp ). New York: Macmillan. Copyrigh The Turkish Online Journal of Educaional Technology

7 Milleken, J., Barnes, L.. (2002). Teaching and echnology in higher educaion: suden percepions and personal reflecions. Compuers & Educaion, 39 (3), aprzycki, M., and Vidakovic, D. (1994). rospecive eachers' aiudes oward compuers. In J. Willis, B. Robin and D. A. Willis (Eds.), Technology and eacher Educaion Annual 1994 (pp ). Charloesville, VA: AACE. Tsou, W., Wang, W., and Li, H. L. (2002). How compuers faciliae English foreign language learners acquire English absrac words. Compuers & Educaion, 39 (4), Copyrigh The Turkish Online Journal of Educaional Technology