Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the opinions of full-time faculty members at Alabama community colleges concerning the use of computer technology in the classroom. An analysis of how faculty members address the issue of low-access students was also evaluated in relation to the impact a technology-enhanced curriculum may have on students' educational experiences. A comparison of faculty members' use of technology was reviewed with respect to gender, years of post-secondary teaching experience, educational level, and discipline. An invitation to participate in the research study was sent to ten Alabama community colleges based upon their Carnegie size classification and geographic location. Eight of the ten colleges agreed to participate and an online survey was sent to all full-time faculty members at those institutions. The questionnaire included items corresponding to Chickering and Ehrmann's (1996) reevaluation of the Seven Principles of Good Undergraduate Education using technology as a tool to enhance and improve student development and two factors concerning student access. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were also used to evaluate the nine categories. Descriptive statistics included a mean, standard deviation, and a frequency distribution for each of the primary research questions. Cronbach alpha tests were used to assess the reliability of each factor and inferential statistics were developed from general linear modeling repeated measures tests and used to evaluate the demographic and professional characteristics for each of the underlying categories.
