ERIC Number: ED291365
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1986-Oct-24
Pages: 29
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
An Assessment of Learner Needs within the Framework of Technological Innovation in Utah.
Eastmond, J. Nicholls, Jr.; Stoddard, Charles G.
The opinions of 89 educators in Utah on learner needs and the potential for using technology to meet these needs were gathered through a two-stage process of telephone interviews and written questionnaires. Persons included in the sample were the state's 40 district supervisors plus a sample of "key informants" identified by previous experience with technology projects. A list of the critical student learner needs based on telephone interview responses was developed, and responses to other telephone interview questions were summarized. In particular, the assessment teams noticed a polarization of opinion over the usefulness of educational technology in general. The written questionnaire requested that respondents rate each item on performance or importance and then choose the eight most critical needs for immediate attention. A listing of these immediate needs was compared with the rankings of the critical needs identified by the telephone survey. The third analysis performed was a means difference test of the item's rating of performance from the mean rating of importance. Finally, a Spearman rank correlation was done of the rankings obtained in the study. Analysis of the data provided a list of 14 learner needs which merit attention by Utah technology projects, and nine recommendations for technological interventions are made by the assessment team. Two appendixes provide notable responses from the telephone survey and some results of the data analyses, as well as copies of the survey instruments. (EW)
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: Utah State Office of Education, Salt Lake City.
Authoring Institution: Wasatch Inst. for Research and Evaluation, Logan, UT.
Identifiers - Location: Utah
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A