Improving Student Teachers' Perceptions on Technology Integration Using a Blended Learning Programme

Volume 13 Issue 2 September - November 2017

Research Paper

Improving Student Teachers' Perceptions on Technology Integration Using a Blended Learning Programme

Sreekala Edannur* , Maria Josephine Arokia Marie**

* Assistant Professor, School of Education, Pondicherry University, India.

** Assistant Professor, Department of Education, IGNTU, Amarkantak (MP), India..

Edannur, S., and Marie, S.M J.A. (2017). Improving Student Teachers' Perceptions on Technology Integration Using a Blended Learning Programme. i-manager’s Journal on School Educational Technology, 13(2), 31-42. https://doi.org/10.26634/jsch.13.2.13829

Abstract

This study examined student teachers' perceptions about Technology Integration (Blended Learning in this study) before and after their exposure to a Blended Learning Experimental Programme designed for the study for eight weeks. EDMODO (an open access Learning Management System) was used as the teaching learning platform for the implementation of Blended Learning Programme. Data were collected from 29 student teachers from a college of teacher education located in Puducherry state of India. The scale for assessing their perception was constructed and validated. The overall results indicated that student teachers changed their perceptions of Blended Learning in terms of their general perception, interactivity in classroom, knowledge creation, content knowledge, technology benefits, and overall satisfaction, positively, after undergoing the experiment. The factor perceptions of technology benefit turned out to be the predictor of the overall satisfaction of respondents on Technology Integration. From these results, the authors recommend that stakeholders of education work closely with teachers to address their perceptions about using technology in classrooms and then helping them to change it positively so as to improve quality of teaching and learning process. Student teachers need to be trained to integrate technology in teaching. Improving their perception is the first step towards it. The teacher education administration may provide personal support and resources required for such a change. This study also offers recommendations for involving teacher educators in educational software designing for strengthening the pedagogical components in such programmes keeping the teacher perceptions and expectations in mind, not focusing solely on the technology benefits as the results of the study shows.