Joseph Mior, EdD Department of Theory and Policy Studies

1. The Human Face of Technology:An Examination of How and Why Faculty Can AdoptEducational Technology to Promote LearningIn the Ontario Community College System Joseph Mior, EdD Department of Theory and Policy Studies Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of The University of Toronto October, 2003

2. Presentation Outline • Why topic selected • Purpose • Definition of Educational Technology • Literature Review • Research Questions • Methodology • Limitations • Summary of Findings • Recommendations • Contribution to Scholarly Research • Future Research

3. Why This Topic? • Experimented with educational technology at the beginning of teaching career • Students responded exceptionally well • Colleagues who showed interest and adopted techniques reported success • Saw a need for further research in community college domain • Identified a need for a research databank

4. Purpose • To investigate the perceptions of Ontario community college faculty about the use of educational technology to promote student learning and factors that encourage or discourage their use of it. • To investigate which faculty are most likely to use educational technology as well as the extent and nature of its use. • Draw implications for the appropriate implementation and use of educational technology in Ontario’s community colleges.

5. Definition of Educational Technology • Body of materials and methods used to extend or enhance the ability to learn, collect data, solve problems, and promote communication between and among faculty and students. (Boettcher and Conrad) • The use of computing information technology resources to support and enhance instruction and scholarship. (Green) • Knowledge Building which promotes student interaction through referencing, connecting ideas, sharing authorship, and ‘building-on’ the work of others to advance knowledge. (Knowledge Forum)

6. Literature Review • The cultural and societal context and debate about educational technology in the postsecondary milieu. • Central issues relating specifically to the faculty adoption of educational technology. • How faculty can and do use educational technology. • Studies conducted in the Ontario community college and university domain.

7. Research Questions • What are faculty’s views on educational technology as a tool to promote student learning in the community college system? • Are these views consistently held by all faculty? If not, what is the nature and variance of these views? • Do faculty use educational technology as a tool to promote student learning in the community college system? • If yes, how do they use educational technology? • If no, why not? • What is the nature and the extent of their use of educational technology?

8. Methodology • Quantitative – to allow as high a degree of objectivity as possible • Questionnaire designed to address purpose statement, the four key research questions postulated and the questions that arose from the literature review. • Questionnaire was extensively field tested. • Questionnaire was electronically distributed and responses monitored.

9. Colleges Surveyed and Response • Six colleges were surveyed • 1,426 surveys were emailed • 210 surveys were returned • Effective return rate 14.7% • While return rate is low by traditional standards, considered the norm by ACAATO for province wide surveys conducted in the community college domain (Homer)

10. Limitation One • Final sample was not random and therefore cannot be deemed to be completely representative • While the results cannot be generalized, the thesis did draw a sample from across the province • Consequently, the data provide a good indication of the perception of faculty

11. Limitation Two • Low return rate prevents generalization to the entire population • Unwise to assume results of sample can be extrapolated to the entire community college population • However, findings can offer insights based on those who responded

12. Summary of Findings • Faculty see technology as being neither inherently good or bad • Faculty believe educational technology is important for improving both the quality and accessibility of a college education • Faculty believe that educational technology will help meet the needs of the various learning styles of their learners • Faculty believe that educational technology allows for the efficient use of resources

13. Summary of Findings • Some faculty are concerned about the loss of traditional jobs as a result of technology • The largest proportion of faculty (46.7%) feel they should have control over how educational technology is used • Faculty believe that educational technology has helped improve their productivity • Faculty believe that educational technology makes them more accessible to their students and improves communication amongst faculty and between faculty and administrators

14. Summary of Findings • The large majority of faculty (86.7%) anticipate an increased usage of educational technology • The majority of faculty believe that more resources should be devoted to the training of faculty in the proper use of technology • More faculty members express a degree of dissatisfaction with the equipment in the classroom than faculty who express a degree of satisfaction

15. Recommendations • Faculty and administration of Ontario’s community colleges collaboratively invest in, develop, prepare and implement strategies to integrate educational technologies more fully both in the learning and teaching cycles. • Colleges provide the research-supported training and resources necessary to develop, market and deliver online courses that are credible and equivalent in substance to courses delivered in the traditional mode.

16. Recommendations • Ontario community colleges set up costing models with clear guidelines to determine Return on Investment (ROI) both financially and in learning effectiveness for projects designed to implement the use of educational technology to promote learning. • Ontario community colleges research, design, develop, implement and support a strategic professional development plan which will help faculty accept, adopt and integrate educational technologies into instructional processes to help promote learning.

17. Recommendations • Ontario community colleges provide the necessary infrastructure to allow faculty to successfully integrate educational technology in their teaching practices. • Ontario community colleges encourage and reward faculty and others who do continuing research in the field of the development and application of educational technology.

18. Contribution to Scholarly Research • Creation of a literature database • Better understanding of how community college faculty view and apply educational technology to promote learning • Provided focus on areas that need further research in the field • Heightened the awareness of need for research on how to apply educational technology to promote learning specifically in the community college forum • Raises awareness of areas where possible challenges will be met in doing further research in the community college forum

19. Future Research • Distribute this thesis to all Ontario community colleges to heighten awareness of educational technology issues and encourage further research • An abbreviated format with key areas highlighted will accompany the thesis • Thesis will be made available on an indexed web site allowing faculty to access the entire study or only portions of particular interest

20. Future Research • After careful review of the structure, timing and distribution methods of the research instrument, promote the annual administration of this or similar surveys to establish a longitudinal perspective • Consider doing this in conjunction with a qualitative study involving focus groups • Collaborate with other researchers to do further focused research regarding educational technology to promote learning particularly in the Ontario community college arena • Continue to promote the enhancement and further development of the literature database currently housed in the Community College Leadership Program Web Page

21. Supplemental Material

22. The Five Key Findings • Educational technology is important for improving both the quality and accessibilityof a college education • Educational technology will help meet the needs of the various learning styles of their learners • Educational technology makes faculty more accessible to their students and improves communication amongst faculty and between faculty administrators • The large majority of faculty anticipate an increased usage of educational technology and express a need for upgrading skills • Concerns exist about who controls technology and about possible job losses

23. Professional Development • A large majority (86.7%) of faculty anticipate an increased use of educational technology in their instruction. • A similar majority (85.7%) indicate a need to acquire new skills or upgrade existing skills to work with this increased use of technology.

24. Preferred Method ofAcquiring/Upgrading Skills • Learn on own with support when required (62.4%) • College PD Workshops (49.3%) • Work in a team (47.3%) • External P.D. Workshops (46.4%)

25. Top Five Key Inhibitors • Lack of time • Inadequate technical support • Inadequate access to necessary software tools at work • Inadequate release time provided on the Standard Workload Form (SWF) • Inadequate availability of computer hardware or connectivity at work

26. On-Line Availability • Full thesis is now available for download on-line at: http://gaia.flemingc.on.ca/~jmior/thesis/proposal.htm

27. Cohortian Web Page • Home Page for the Community College Leadership Program of OISE/UT • Provides information on nature of program, participants plus information on research on Ontario Community College issues • http://gaia.flemingc.on.ca/~jmior/oise/oise.htm

28. Community College Research Links (CCORL) • Over 1,200 links devoted to Ontario Community College and Higher Education issues • Part of the Community College Leadership Program at OISE/UT • Good research tool for many of your courses • Visited by over 30 Colleges/Universities http://gaia.flemingc.on.ca/~jmior/OISE/Research.htm

29. Contact Information • Joe Mior • Sir Sandford Fleming College • jmior@flemingc.on.ca • (705) 324-9144 Ext. 3428 • www.mior.ca