Predictors of the Adoption of Educational Technologies by Faculty in the University of Guadalajara Center for Biology, Agronomic and Animal Sciences

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether personal and institutional characteristics of professors at the University Center for Biology, Agronomic and Animal Sciences (CUCBA) in the University of Guadalajara, Mexico could be used to predict their adoption of computers and the Internet for traditional classroom instruction and their potential adoption of distance education for learning and for teaching. Four variables explained 18% of the variance in professors' adoption of computers and the Internet for classroom instruction. Potential adopters of distance education for learning were more likely to choose distance education for learning via the Internet, report that their highest level of education was a bachelor's degree, report their subject matter discipline as veterinary science, have been teaching longer and were less likely to be self-taught computer users than those who were not potential adopters. Predictors of the adoption of distance education for teaching were consistent with those identified for the adoption of distance education for learning.