Technical Report - 990205

Willingness to Try Educational Technology

Ned W. Schultz, Ph.D. Psychology Department Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo

ABSTRACT

Educators are concerned not only with the introduction of technology, but with the motivation or willingness of individuals to try new educational technologies. This study reports on the development of a scale to measure individual attitudes and beliefs that are associated with willingness to try educational technology and on the primary factors that constitute a positive disposition toward new technology. A Likert scale (Willingness to Try Educational Technology, WTET2) was designed to assess level of willingness to try new educational technologies. Items centered on attitudes or motivation rather than on specific forms of technology. A variety of themes drawn from the literature on motivation and technology use guided the design of items. These themes included issues of practicality, rewards and incentives, achievement and failure, training, confidence, fun, curiosity, social pressure and similar issues. A final set of 21 items was selected after analysis of internal consistency and reliability. A sample of 174 students, support staff and faculty from two institutions (junior college and university) completed the scale. Overall willingness scores (higher indicating a more positive disposition) were computed for subjects. A factor analysis was performed to identify potential groupings of items. Three significant factors emerged: seeing practical benefits, self-doubt, and intrinsic motivational issues such as fun, curiosity and personal achievement orientation. Of these, concern with practical benefits was the strongest component of willingness. Success in introducing educational technology may lie in two general approaches: 1) making sure new technology has relevant, observable benefits; and 2) attending to specific motivational attitudes of technology users.