This presentation reports the results of a retrospective study of the life-long, technology learning experiences of a sample of technology-literate teachers to determine if there are transformative patterns of experience explaining the development of their information technology (IT) competencies. The teachers completed IT autobiographies that included a timeline of the major IT milestones for the past 40 years and spaces to write biographical explanations of their personal experiences with the particular milestones that were relevant to them. To assist recall, each milestone was graphically illustrated and verbally captioned to explain its historical significance. Mixed-methods analyses of the autobiographies indicated that emergent technologies frequently set trends that supported the learning of both those technologies and IT in general. One example is that a quantitative comparison of the teachers’ education experiences indicated that informal education was significantly more important than formal education for the development of their IT competencies. Another example is that a qualitative analysis of the IT autobiographies indicated there were several common patterns of experience that have facilitated the development of teachers’ IT competencies. Some of these included parents’ purchases of home computers, access to computer games, the presence of IT mentors, and the availability of IT equipment at their schools.
References:
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Aubrey, C., & Dahl, S. (2014). The confidence and competence in information and communication technologies of practitioners, parents and young children in the early years foundation stage. Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development, 34(1), 94-108.
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Thompson, P. (2013). The digital natives as learners: Technology use patterns and approaches to learning. Computers & Education, 65, 12-33.
