Come the revolution: pre-service teachers’ access to, attitudes toward, and skills with ICT

Abstract

Pre-service teachers can benefit from the new learning opportunities offered by information and communication technology (ICT) both immediately for their own study and, in the longer term, for use in their own classrooms. However, to benefit from those opportunities they must have ready access to ICT, some skills, and positive attitudes toward its usefulness for learning and teaching. This paper reports some results from analysis of data obtained from surveys of ICT access, and related attitudes, among pre-service teachers at an Australian university in late 2009. The survey was conducted as part of a larger investigation of ICT for student learning with the intention of informing adoption of new digital technologies and provision of professional development for staff. This paper reports data collected from students in teacher preparation programs with implications for program development.