Examining IPOD Use By Texas Agricultural Science and Technology Teachers

The purpose of this study was to establish baseline data regarding the adoption of iPods and similar technologies by agricultural science and technology teachers. The population consisted of all agricultural science and technology teachers in Texas. A sample of 310 was randomly drawn from the population. Study findings reveal that while agricultural science and technology teachers have knowledge of iPods, mp3 players and related technologies, there is little support for them to actually create their own podcasts, use them in the classroom, or promote them for student use. It was concluded that teachers were generally “late adopters” or “laggards,” while students were “innovators” or “early adopters.” Both teachers and students alike have access to computers and Internet connections, with a large number of teachers reporting that students own iPods or mp3 players which could be utilized for academics. Teachers reported strong interest in pre-produced curricula and FFA materials, particularly for training materials for career development events, which could be used on iPods or mp3 players. Recommendations for encouraging teacher adoption and use of iPods and similar technologies were provided. Introduction and Theoretical Framework The study of technology adoption and distance education across agricultural education is not new. This area has been examined closely in regard to the adoption of distance education technologies, barriers to technology adoption, and educational effectiveness at both the university and high school level. However, what is new and constantly changing is the technology itself. iPodsTM and similar technologies offer portability and flexibility of content like never before. As shared by Donnelly and Berge (2006), podcasting, which is a method to disseminate audio content on both computers and devices such as MP3 players, provides an opportunity to “...cut through the dense text of the Internet and offers a human connection during distance training” (n.p.). Students are able to download and take content with them to be viewed at a time and place of their choosing. However, access to content provided in this manner is limited to the content that teachers select to provide. Barriers to using instructional technologies have been examined by multiple researchers (Berge, Muilenburg, & Haneghan, 2002; Gammill & Newman, 2005; Murphrey & Dooley, 2000; Nelson & Thompson, 2005). Barriers often include lack of release time to develop instructional materials for delivery using technology, lack of administrative support and incentives, and lack of skill and expertise to develop materials. Li and Lindner (2007) reported that teaching experiences and distance education experiences positively impacted the adoption of distance education practices and thus increasing these experiences could in fact encourage adoption. Understanding barriers to using technologies, as illustrated by Nelson and Thompson (2005), is important because teachers often teach as they are taught. Thus, Journal of Agricultural Education Volume 50, Number 4, pp. 98 109 DOI: 10.5032/jae.2009.04098 Murphrey, Miller, & Roberts Examining iPod Use by Texas... Journal of Agricultural Education 99 Volume 50, Number 4, 2009 if preservice teachers are not exposed to a variety of technologies in preservice programs, it is possible that they will not select to use new technologies such as the iPod in their classrooms. In fact, a study by Kotrlik, Redmann, and Douglas (2003) revealed that “teachers perceptions of barriers to the integration of technology, ... [is] a strong predictor of the extent to which agriscience teachers integrate technology in the teaching/learning process” (p. 78). In addition, the incorporation of technology into actual lessons and course delivery by teachers requires planning. As reported by Ball, Knobloch, and Hoop (2007), this planning is influenced by the knowledge and experience of the teacher, in addition to other factors. While “how-to” articles are abundant in regard to using technology, specifically the use of portable media devices, instructors often do not have time to research and learn how to use these new technologies. Kotrlik et al. (2003) found that while agricultural science teachers were active in exploring and adopting technology for teaching, they were not very active in later phases such as experimentation and advanced integration of technology. The authors further stated that integration of technology into the educational process is necessary in order to provide quality education. However, as stated by Williams (2006), “Principles of sound pedogogy are the same in face-to-face and distance classes” (p. 14). Encouraging the adoption and use of technologies such as the iPod and related devices requires an understanding of teacher use of these technologies. The theoretical base for this study rests upon Rogers’ diffusion of innovation research. Rogers (2003) described five stages that one goes through in the innovation-decision process: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. Understanding where an individual is within the innovation-decision process can be helpful when developing strategies to encourage or discourage adoption. In fact, there are multiple concepts that should be taken into account at each of the stages. Thus, determining what stage a teacher is at can determine the best strategy to use. Understanding the attitudes and beliefs of agricultural science and technology teachers is critical in understanding how technologies such as the iPod are being adopted. Rogers (2003) unmistakably indicated that the research is not clear as to whether needs precede awareness of an idea or innovation or if awareness actually creates a need. Given Roger’s model of diffusion, it is clear that understanding both the needs of teachers and recognizing their level of knowledge and use of iPod and related devices is critical. This understanding can shed light on the extent to which these technologies may be useful in particular settings. It is important to recognize that types of knowledge fall into three primary areas: What is the innovation? How does the innovation work? and Why does the innovation work? Rogers (2003) explained that individuals who have an awareness of an innovation may then be motivated to gain additional information that exposes how the innovation works and why. It is recognized that all individuals do not adopt innovations in the same manner or at the same rate. Rogers classified individuals into “adopter categories” based on individual innovativeness. These categories included: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. While one must be aware that there are exceptions to these categories, it is helpful to think about individuals in categories to facilitate understanding of the adoption process for a given set of individuals. Each of these groups possesses unique characteristics in regard to “socioeconomic status, personality values and communication behavior” (p. 287). Understanding where agricultural science and technology teachers fit within these categories in regard to iPod and related devices can assist in understanding the adoption process. Additionally, it is important to understand how agricultural science and technology teachers perceive the innovation itself. Rogers (2003) listed five attributes of innovations of which one needs to be aware: “relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability” (p. 221). Each of these attributes can impact adoption. Scheduling problems and students occupied by other programs, classes, and Murphrey, Miller, & Roberts Examining iPod Use by Texas... Journal of Agricultural Education 100 Volume 50, Number 4, 2009 interests have been identified as two particular recruitment issues of high school agricultural education programs (Myers, Breja, & Dyer, 2004). It is possible that the use of new technologies such as the iPod could address these issues through increased flexibilty of content delivery. Multiple studies (Miller & Honeyman, 1993; Miller & Miller, 2005; Moore & Wilson, 2005), over the past several years have indicated the importance of asynchronous methods such as sending videotapes to students. In some ways, technologies such as the iPod are merely changing the way in which the media can now be provided. Instead of “mailing” a videotape to a student, a teacher is able to “post” a video or audio clip on the Internet for the students to download and view. In addition, the portability and playback controls of an iPod vs. a traditional videotape player provide increased flexibility. Material delivered on iPod devices can be similar to materials previously described by Roberts and Dyer (2005a) in relation to content delivered for online learning. The difference lies in the portability of the content. A previous description of asychronous content was described as “mimic[ing] the traditional lecture” (Roberts & Dyer, 2005a, p. 3). iPod and similar devices allow that lecture to be transported to a location of a student’s choosing using a device of which they are familiar. However, it is not known if teachers perceive this characteristic of “flexibilty” as a beneficial attribute of the iPod adding to relative advantage and compatibility. Understanding how teachers perceive these characteristics can assist one in impacting the rate of adoption. As shared by Rogers (2003), “change agents and diffusion scholars must understand how potential adopters perceive new ideas” (p. 266). Use of eLearning technologies across educational settings continues to increase. With the development of increasingly smaller mobile devices, such as the iPhone by Apple, there are increasing opportunities. As shared by Merrett (2006), the iPod was released in October 2001. Since that time, multiple formats and editions have been released. In fact, it has been reported by Ross (2007) that more than 7