Reducing techno-anxiety in high school teachers by improving their ICT problem-solving skills

Abstract

Teachers need to continuously update their information and communication technologies (ICT) knowledge, but they are usually not trained to deal with the problems arising from their use. In fact, studies in the literature report techno-anxiety (i.e. unpleasant physiological activation and discomfort due to present or future use of ICT) in teachers. Thus, the goal of this action research is to study if teachers' techno-anxiety can be reduced by increasing their ability to solve technological problems. An inter-subject experiment has been carried out with 46 teachers. High school teachers were chosen because they are digital immigrants, while at the moment of this research their students are digital natives (born around year 2000). Since we could not find any specific training for teachers to increase their resolution skills of technological problems, in order to apply the treatment for our study, we have designed and deployed an online course about ICT problem-solving skills based on the 70/20/10 model for learning and development. Results show the success of the course when it comes to increasing the ICT problem-solving skills and to reducing techno-anxiety. ARTICLE HISTORY

Impact of Educational Technology on Teacher Stress and Anxiety: A Literature Review

“…Supporting technology’s use in the classroom, giving teachers the tools they need, and making them see the possibilities technology offers is the best way to reduce their anxiety. Similarly, the research by Revilla-Muñoz et al [ 21 ] carried out in Spain places technology training as the best option for reducing technostress in teachers.…”

Incidence of Gender in the Digital Competence of Higher Education Teachers in Research Work: Analysis with Descriptive and Comparative Methods

“…As can be seen in the causal model, the dimension integration of ICT resources for research (D7-integration) is influenced by all the dimensions proposed in the aforementioned model. Regarding (D1-digital skills), it is noteworthy that ICT management skills can influence their integration [39], even generating negative sensations [17], so the anxiety dimension towards technology (D4-anxiety) also has repercussions directly. Every researcher who integrates ICT in their tasks must know digital ethics [43], hence the influence of the second dimension (D2-digital ethics).…”

“…Research skills can be defined as a person's practical mastery of searching for information, managing and analysing data, and knowing how to communicate that data with respect to a research problem [37], in this case, through the use of digital resources [38]. The use of ICT creates new situations, for which teachers do not always possess the necessary skills [17].…”

“…However, despite the benefits that ICT bring to the world of education and, specifically, to the research work of teachers, there remain factors that can limit the use of ICT in higher education, including, for example, gender [16], attitude in terms of anxiety towards use of ICT [17], the level predisposition towards innovation [18], or the quality of resources or infrastructure of educational institutions [19,20].…”

Training Teachers Of The Future In A High-Technology Infomation-Oriented Society

“…), change of learning models delivery (network learning, corporate learning, blended learning) and improvement of technical support while learning (online distance learning, offline, MOOCs). Rapid development of visualization technologies, remote access and collective interaction contributes to sustainable changes in the educational system (Tennyson & Sisk, 2011;Revilla, Penalba, Sánchez, & Santos, 2017; Monitoring the effectiveness of the school. What has changed in the work of teachers in recent years (2014-2017), 2018).…”