Preservice teachers’ perceptions of technology during a Massive Open Online
Course
Kristine Pytash
Kent State University
United States
kpytash@kent.edu
Richard Ferdig
Kent State University
United States
rferdig@gmail.com
Abstract: Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate 29 preservice teachers’
perceptions of integrating technology into the English language arts classroom before and after
participating in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) focused on teaching in the 21st century.
The study specifically examines how preservice teachers’ (1) felt technology related to English
language arts instruction, (2) the extent they felt students benefit from integrating technology into
the language arts classroom, and (3) their overall stance towards technology for English language
arts instruction. Results indicated that engagement in the MOOC influenced preservice teachers’
perceptions that technology benefits students in English language arts classrooms.
Introduction
Massive Open Online Courses are online courses that typically enroll large numbers of students and enrollment
is free. The National Science Foundation (award #1321336) awarded a grant to San Jose State University to partner
with Udacity to develop and study three online, credit-bearing MOOC courses. Preliminary results found students
who participate in MOOCs are highly motivated; however, acknowledged the need to interact with others. Another
study concluded that levels of peer interactions include students’ success during the course (Breslow et al., 2013).
Despite these preliminary studies and because MOOCs are a relatively new way of educating there is limited work
conducted in teacher education.
There is evidence that teachers’ beliefs about integrating technology into instruction are integral to how they
conceptualize instruction (Hughes, Kerr, & Ooms, 2005). The more likely teachers are to recognizing the
connection between technology and their discipline, the more likely they will implement pedagogical approaches
with a technological focus (Hughes, 2005). While research has examined teachers’ perceptions of integrating
technology into classrooms, much of the work focused on preservice teachers has been descriptive examinations of
literacy programs for preservice teachers that have incorporated digital medias into their methods courses (Author,
in press; Doering, O’Brien, & Beach, 2007). Studies have also examined how preservice teachers apply their
personal media literacy practices to broad pedagogical practices (Gomez, Schieble, Curwood, & Hasset, 2010).
There is little research that systematically examines preservice teachers’ beliefs about technology integration in the
secondary English language arts classroom. This study builds on this work by examining how a participating in a
MOOC during their teacher education program influenced preservice teachers’ perceptions of the role of technology
in the English language arts classroom. As newer technological tools become available, it is important to examine
how preservice teachers learn to teach literacy and conceptualize literacy instruction using technology.
The Study
Participants were 29 preservice teachers enrolled in a secondary English language arts program. The study took
place over the course of a semester in which preservice teachers were enrolled in a course focused on teaching
reading and literature with an emphasis on using technology for literacy instruction. As part of the course
requirements, preservice teachers participated in a MOOC focused on teaching in the 21st century.
The MOOC was considered a cMOOC in that it was designed around principles of connected learning (CITE).
The goal of the MOOC was to connect participants to a community of teachers, preservice teachers, and students to
facilitate conversations about education, specifically topics including, connected learning, collaboration,
personalization, and reflection. For five weeks, preservice teachers participated in discussion forums, created
artifacts to demonstrate their knowledge, and created a final culminating project.
Data were collected over the course of a semester. Data collected included a pre and post survey adapted
from Hutchison and Reinking’s (2011) Teacher’s Perceptions of Integrating Information and Communication
Technologies Survey. The survey asked preservice teachers to rate (1) how they felt technology relates to English
language arts instruction, (2) the extent they feel students benefit from integrating technology into the language arts
classroom, and (3) their overall stance towards technology for English language arts instruction. Using statistical
analysis the effect size between the pre and post adapted Teacher’s Perceptions of Integrating Information and
Communication Technologies Survey was calculated.
Findings
A paired sample T-test was conducted to analyze the extent to which preservice teachers’ views of (1) how they
felt technology relates to English language arts instruction, (2) the extent they feel students benefit from integrating
technology into the language arts classroom, and (3) their overall stance towards technology for English language
arts instruction changed over the duration of the course. Only "benefit" was found to have a significantly different
value at the end of the course t(28) = -2.51, p < .05, with pretest results showing a mean of 2.48 (SD = .547), and a
post test mean of 2.76 (SD = .435). This difference in means suggests that engagement in the MOOC influenced
their perception that technology benefits students in English language arts classrooms.
Conclusion
The study provides an analysis of preservice teachers’ perceptions of technology in the English language arts
classroom and their participation in a MOOC focused on teaching in the 21 st century. While the focus is on one
teacher education course, the study can provide insight into preservice teachers’ perceptions of technology, plus an
understanding of how MOOCs can be implemented and their influence in teacher education. Understanding
preservice teachers perceptions about technology is significant as more new teachers are teaching in online schools,
blended learning environments, and in school districts with one-to-one programs.
References:
Author, in press
Breslow, L. B., Pritchard, D. E., DeBoer, J., Stump, G. S., Ho, A. D., & Seaton, D. T. (2013). Studying learning in
the worldwide classroom: Research into edX’s first MOOC. Research & Practice in Assessment, 8, 13–25.
Doering, A., O’Brien, D. & Beach, R. (2007) Infusing Multimodal tools and digital literacies into an English
Education Program. English Education, 40(1), 41-60.
Gomez, M., Schieble, M., Curwood, J. & Hasset, D. (2010). Technology, learning and instruction: Distributed
cognition in the secondary English classroom. Literacy, 44(1), 20-27.
Hughes, J.E., Kerr, S.P., & Ooms, A. (2005). Content-focused technology inquiry groups: Cases of teacher learning
and technology integration. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 32 (4), 367–379.
Hutchison, A. & Reinking, D. (2011). Teachers’ perceptions of integrating information and communication
technologies into literacy instruction: A national survey in the United States. Reading Research Quarterly,
46(4), 312-333.