Instructional Effectiveness of Computer Technology in Non-Computer-Oriented Courses As Perceived by South Dakota High School Business Teachers

A mailed survey about insiructionat effectiveness of computer technology was conducted among South Dakota high school business teachers in the spring of 1998. Seventy-two percent of the teachers teaching Accounting, Business Communications, Business Law, Economics, General Business and/or Office Procedures responded. Ninety percent of the respondents used computer technology in their instruction in some way. A lew descriptive statistics were calculated for the relevant questionnaire items. Use of computer hardware, software, and instructional purposes were reported. The teachersʹ perceptions of computer technology as effective instructional tools were favorable for many instructional activities. Their responses remained neutral toward some other instructional activities. Teachersʹ mean perception scores varied with the business course area. Recommendations were made to replicate the study to provide insights into the patterns of use in each course area and to identify the relationship between computer background data and perceptions. Additional research may yield further insight about the effective integration of technologies across the curriculum.