Selwyn, N. “Students’ attitudes toward computers: Validation of a computer attitude scale for 16-19 education” 28(1): 35-41. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131596000358
The attitudes of students are very important to understanding how successful using computers in the classroom will be. Teachers can use the information so they can introduce their students to taking their lessons and doing homework on computers. Many children use different types of computers every day to play games or to leave messages on Facebook. This paper, published in 1997, is about the attitudes of students from 16 to 19 years old. Not all children have the same experiences with computers when they are growing up. Different personality types can make a difference about how they feel towards computers.
The first questionnaire the author wrote had 49 statements and was given to 266 students. And then the statements were narrowed down to 21 statements. Eighty seven students took the final design for the questionnaire. The four characteristics that researchers measure in these types of studies are (a) affect, (b) cognition, (c) behavioural, and (d) perceived behavioural control. ‘Affect’ is the way that a person feels about computers. Cognition is the way a person perceives computers and what they know about computers. Behavioural traits are how a person acts around a computer. For example, a student who is intimidated by computers avoids using them. The fourth measurement, perceived behavioural control, shows how useful a person thinks a computer can be for them.
Garland, K. J. and Noyes, J. M. (2008). “Computer attitude scales: How relevant today?” Computers in Human Behaviour, 24: 563-575. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563207000520
The article published by Garland and Noyes in 2008 is a review of four computer attitude scales/questionnaires that have been used over the years. The purpose of the study was to assess whether or not the older attitude scales are good to use today. The reason they thought this study should be done was because computer use has become so common, compared to when computers were first invented and the scales were first created. Computer technology has changed very quickly; the cost of personal computers has decreased, too.
The statement “I often use a mainframe computer” is old-fashioned and they suggest that there is no reason to keep the statement in the questionnaires/scales that are used today. Larger amounts of computers can be stored in smaller spaces in modern computers so today’s computers are smaller. A mainframe was so big it took up one or more rooms to store memory. The difference in attitudes about computers has been growing smaller over time. The distance between students who are intimidated by computers and students who are comfortable with computers has become smaller. The authors said that the characteristic of ‘affect’ has increased. The theme of ‘likability’ is more important now than in the past. Students’ attitudes not the only thing researchers want to know about now. They also assess websites by using the scales.
Predictive validity is something the researchers wanted to measure about the four questionnaires they studied. Predictive validity shows how reliable the questionnaire is for predicting how much confidence students will have in computers. Confidence and knowledge are closely linked in the potential computer user’s attitude. The measurement of knowledge can predict how confident the students will be using a computer in the classroom. Knowing how students will interact with computers is good so teachers can design better lessons using computers.
The researchers concluded that experience and use were not necessarily good predictors of a modern user’s attitude. They recommend that if the only traits measured in a scale are experience and use, then they are not very useful in this day and age.
The experience of doing the research paper in small steps over several weeks is working out well. I do not think it is a very good idea anymore to leave writing research papers to the last minute. Too much work goes into writing a good research paper because the research part of the process takes a long time. The research for the paper takes more time than writing the paper. If the research paper is not written in smaller steps, then the there is not enough time to find good research references. Finding the right information can take a long time. An advantage of scheduling the research over several weeks is that it takes time to read and to understand the information in the research papers.
A lot more goes into understanding how computers are used in education than I had previously known. Teachers have their own outlook about whether or not computers should be used in class. I thought that all teachers would welcome having computers in the classroom, before I read the different studies on computer attitudes. Students have different ways of thinking about computers, too. Younger students who have only played games or texted from their cell phones, might find it difficult to switch to serious lessons. Giving myself more time to research and take notes has helped me make a stronger argument for my case, that technology is good for education. The topic is more complicated than I had expected. I would have been in a panic if I had waited to the last minute to start looking for references. I would have been too stressed to write a good paper with a strong argument.
Waiting to write a paper until the last minute might save time, but it is not the way to write a good paper. Also, I would not have learned about how psychologists learn about computer attitudes by having people take questionnaires. The only advantage to writing a paper at the last minute is to save time. The disadvantages of waiting until the last minute are bigger than this one advantage.
