Teachers' Experiences with Computers: A Comparative Study

Findings from two ethnographic studies regarding teachers’ uses of computers from 1991 and 2004 are compared to discover how teachers’ experiences of computer have changed since the proliferation of computers in schools and how teachers’ experiences of computers have remained the same. Despite the tremendous increase in availability of computers in schools and modest progress in teachers’ computer use, a comparison of data demonstrates continuing token integration of computers by teachers. Such factors as lack of effective training, and need for collaboration and involvement in planning for computer use which inhibited teachers’ computer use in 1991 continued to exist in 2004.