The current emphasis on the use of technology in schools is not a recent development and new software tools are being developed that can assist teachers in their work. Computerized Individual Education Plans and related software tools hold great promise for reducing the paperwork of special education teachers. The use of any support tool, however, requires the user to expend time and energy in learning how to use it. This study was an evaluation of the implementation of an E.P.S.S. for special education teachers. This study investigated the question 'what actually occurs within a work site during the implementation of an electronic support system'. As a mixed method study, a survey, informant interviews, observations, and a focus group were used to collect data. Key informants were teachers using the electronic I.E.P., their supervisors, and their support personnel. The Stages of Concern Questionnaire provided a general overview of the concerns of the teachers across the district. The peak score analysis indicated that nearly half of the teachers had peak stage Scores in the '0' stage, reflecting low levels of concern regarding the software. Further analysis of the second peak score for the teachers indicated that many of the teachers across the district were still dealing with feelings of uncertainty as far as their abilities to use the software. The data reflect that respondents made substantial changes in the method they used to produce an I.E.P. Obvious aspects of these changes were in data entry, manipulation of data, and printing. For many of the teachers, time - either in training, exploration of the tool, or in update reviews - was a concern. Support staff and administrators also recognized the issue of time for many of the same reasons. Overall, the feelings of the teachers were that the software is a good tool to use, and that it is worth the time and effort put in to learning how to use it. Respondents made recommendations for improvement that included use of a central server system, differentiated training, and an update memo. Implications for the development of E.P.S.S.s were discussed. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of
Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2004. / March 16, 2004. / Software, Teacher Training, Evaluation / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert Morgan, Professor Directing Dissertation; John Mayo, Outside Committee Member; Walter Wager, Committee Member; Robert Branson, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_180394 |
| Contributors | Paschall, Edward D. (authoraut), Morgan, Robert (professor directing dissertation), Mayo, John (outside committee member), Wager, Walter (committee member), Branson, Robert (committee member), Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
Page generated in 0.0021 seconds