The problem addressed in this study was the lack of a model for technology integration in social work education to meet the needs of graduate social workers in the field. Extant research has focused on the efficacy of online or blended learning, but not on social work educators' technology literacy. The purpose of this study was to explore social work educators' self efficacy related to technology use in curriculum and pedagogy. Digitally immigrant educators, defined as those over the age of 35, were studied since this group struggles in adjustment to technology, commonly used by younger students. The conceptual framework synthesized von Bertalanffy's general systems theory and Bandura's self-efficacy construct to understand the relationship between social work educators and technology. In this concurrent mixed methods and grounded theory study, participants (n = 396) provided quantitative responses about self-efficacy to the Computer Technology Integration Survey and answered additional questions about technology integration in the classroom. Findings from the correlational analysis revealed a model that connects positive self-efficacy to the number of digital tools used in the classroom, technology integration in pedagogy and curriculum, and teaching the concept of a 'digital divide.' Qualitative data from open-ended questions (n = 260) and 4 individual interviews were analyzed by thematic content analysis. Findings included issues that inhibit technology integration: personal motivation, time, and lack of institutional support. This study may contribute to positive social change by proposing a technology integration model for social work educators to use as an innovative strategy for preparing future professionals in the practice of social work.

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To obtain the purpose of this study, three following questions were asked:● How are three government agencies working with the transition to the increased amount of digital services?● What effects does digitalization have on the selected authorities?● How do they counteract the risk that some individuals will find it difficult to take advantage of the authorities services at a time when an increased amount of work is being transferred to digital forms?Since digitalization of the public sector first occurred around the year of 2010 in Europe, Sweden has been one of the frontrunners in the development of digitalizing their public sector. Despite Sweden’s good use of digitalization it is clear that a digital divide exists in the northern country within different public authorities. The main purpose of this study is to describe how the Swedish authorities; the Swedish Tax Agency, the Swedish social insurance agency and the Swedish pensions agency include the excluded target groups and individuals who are within the digital divide. This was formed following the increased digitalization of self-service services. The purpose is also to see the similarities and differences between the authorities linked to theories and strategies. The empirical material has been collected from interviews and previous research. The method used in this study is a qualitative and comparative approach to successfully investigate differences between the selected authorities. The main conclusion is that there is a clear digital divide, especially within the older target group. As for the effects of the digitalized public authorities, some of the advantages refer to cost-benefits and a more open, efficient and accessible authorities. Although there are also disadvantages such as risks to unsee/miss important details in individual cases and that the selected authorities indirectly fail their social responsibility: to include all citizens. The authorities combine personal meetings with digital services to minimize the digital divide.

The PDA is an important technology in clinical medicine. Although PDAs are widely utilized by medical students and residents, older teaching faculty have not readily adopted them. The medical library can position itself as a leader in training patrons to use these devices. The East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Quillen College of Medicine Library (QCOML) staff trained older, experienced teaching faculty to use PDAs loaded with ePocrates and InfoRetriever databases. The training was rated highly and several faculty members became PDA users. The library is now considered the place to go on campus for PDA help.

Our digital world is accelerating at a rapid pace and has made technology a prime component of today’s societies. The development of digitalization affects us all in one way or another but it primarily affects our senior citizens, those who may possess a less developed knowledge within the field. How do senior citizens experience digitalization and its effects on their everyday lives?. This thesis conducted with phenomenographic semi-structured interviews aims to analyze and grasp how senior citizens experience and perceive the developing digitalization in the western world. Studies stresses how technology and digitalization increase information and communication spread in our societies and can be an efficient tool for staying in touch with relatives and close friends living far away. The results of this study, however, emphasizes on the, less talked about, negative aspects of digitalization.   The collected material consists of the answers extracted from eight interviews with male and females aged 65-80+ and these answers are categorized into similarities and differences seen in the interviews. Theoretical perspective of digital divide, ageism, visions of time, concept of experience and social imaginaries were applied to the extracted material to place the experiences in a context. The analysis clearly presents a difference between the genders and their relation to digitalization and it does relate to previous integration and knowledge with the technological field. The male interviewees communicate positive experiences with the digital world as a majority of them have been in contact with technology during their working life. The women on the other hand have more dull perceptions of digitalization and are experiencing feelings of fear of falling behind in the digital world. Self-efficacy and acceleration of time, society, and the digital world play part in how digitalization is experienced and perceived by senior citizens, a generation which may find themselves in a situation where they are unwillingly excluded from the digital society due to lack of previous knowledge and the opportunity to learn without requirements from society.

In the spring of 2020, nearly every school aged student and K-12 teacher across the United States was forced to participate in remote educational activities online, prompting an unexpected departure from the status quo in public education. This was a result of government mandated social distancing practices, as a mitigation strategy for combating the global pandemic induced by the novel coronavirus. Most school districts were compelled to repurpose their daily practices by rapidly planning to ascertain resources for the implementation of an emergency remote education initiative. These unprecedented events presented many challenges for educators, especially given most had no formal training for conducting online instructional delivery utilizing various technologies. Special education teachers in particular confronted a unique set of challenges when considering how to support the complex needs of diverse learners. This included student support for engagement with access to technology, knowledge of various applied technological pedagogical skills, teacher preparation, technical training, ongoing professional support, interactions with stakeholders, and individual social emotional well-being. The purpose of this study was to determine how special education teachers perceived various aspects of their experiences, when teaching remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey was designed to measure these perceptions containing aligned items to the domains of the technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) framework. The COVID-19 Special Education Teacher Survey (C-SETS) was a 42 item questionnaire set on a 5-point Likert scale that contained an additional open-ended question. It was administered online and completed by 280 participants, across 46 states, primarily via a social media platform. While the results demonstrated that special education teachers overall were technically skilled, had increased communication with parents/caregivers, and gained skills for future practices, there was a significantly insufficient level of preparation, a deficit with various pedagogical skills using technology, less collaboration with IEP team members, inconsistent student engagement, varying access to technology, a lack of technical training, ongoing professional development and support, contributing to social emotional stress, anxiety and fatigue. Aspects of these findings were particularly evident in historically under resourced districts and those that did not participate in technology infrastructure initiatives, where an overwhelming majority of the statistically significant differences, with the exception of respondents' level of educational attainment, were attributed to school characteristics. Implications for future teacher preparation, technical training, ongoing professional development, and best practices are presented. Keywords: Special Education, COVID-19, Teacher Preparation, TPACK, Emergency Remote Education, Digital Divide, SEL, Educational Technology, Students with Disabilities, Technical Training, Professional Development, Social Media, Facebook, Pandemic, C-SETS / Special Education

Prior research has shown teachers’ attitudes, teachers’ preparation for using technology, and the availability of technology had significant positive associations with technology integration. However, research has shown that teachers do not fully utilize technology, they fail to implement it thoroughly due to a lack of time needed for planning the implementation of technology into the curriculum, and they do not have adequate training which contributes to underutilization of technology. Due to a lack of research from the teachers’ perspective of technology acceptance, the purpose of this study was to examine high school teachers’ acceptance and use of technology and determine the relationships between Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions and Privacy Concerns. To investigate the current status of adopting and implementing laptops in high schools, this study adopted the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model with an addition of Privacy Concerns. The online survey was sent in the fall semester of 2018 to teachers who taught in a North Mississippi School District that has implemented a 1:1 initiative laptop program. A total of 121 high school teachers made up the population and sample in the study, and 112 teachers replied with a 92% return rate. Overall, this study found that Performance Expectancy and Social Influence had the highest mean score at 5.6 (agree), and Privacy Concerns had the lowest mean score 3.8 (neutral), on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 for ‘strongly disagree’ to 7 for ‘strongly agree.’ The average mean score for Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions, and Privacy Concerns was 5 (somewhat agree), indicating that teachers perceived all 5 variables somewhat affect high school teachers’ intention to accept and use of technology. When analyzing whether Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions, and Privacy Concerns predict high school teachers’ behavioral intention to accept technology, Effort Expectancy was the only variable that predicted teachers’ behavior intention to accept technology. The findings of this study will provide valuable information with the current status of adopting and implementing technology in the context of 1:1 initiative programs in high schools.

Since the breakthrough of digitization, the political parties have moved from running a physical to an increasingly digital operation. Today, parties use digital platforms as a megaphone to listen and dialogue with their members. Digital capabilities have influenced who can participate in internal party activities in the digital era. At the same time, members face different conditions for using digital platforms based on socioeconomic background and age. This study examines whether there is a digital exclusion among the older members of the Swedish Green Party and the Christian Democrats, two parties that face different conditions in their use of digital technology. The study finds empirical evidence of digital exclusion within both parties. The cultural exclusion the study identifies prevents members from participating in the internal party debate. Members who find it difficult to communicate via the parties' digital platforms are particularly vulnerable. The study supports the theory that the individual must master the purely technical aspects of digital platforms and manage the ideas that come with digital technology to be actively engaged in party politics in the digital era.

Classes moving online in mid-March 2020 demonstrated students' unmet needs for fast, reliable internet service and laptops. Information Technology Services, Sherrod Library, and Student Life and Enrollment teamed up to lend some laptops & hotspots.

When all classes moved online in mid-March 2020, students' unmet needs for fast, reliable Internet service and adequate devices for participating in online classes quickly surfaced. Information Technology Services (ITS), Sherrod Library, and Student Life and Enrollment teamed up to lend the small supply of available laptops to students.