COSECHA DE LA CAÑA DE AZÚCAR TRATAMIENTO DE LA SOCA

Lack of confidence relates to a person‟s ability to accomplish something well, and this also relates to a person‟s self-efficacy; in terms of ICT, self-efficacy, is the belief in one‟s capability to use computers (Compeau & Higgins, 1995). Lack of teachers‟ confidence can be seen in a wider context, that of TPACK. The concept of Technology, Pedagogy, Content, and Knowledge (TPCK) draws on work by Shulman (1986; 1987). Shulman drew a distinction between content knowledge (which he defined as the theories, principles and concepts of a particular discipline) and pedagogical knowledge (which he described as knowledge of pedagogical principles and practice). At the intersection of the two lay PCK which was defined as knowledge of pedagogy relevant to particular content. Thus PCK can include knowledge of content and concepts and the place of concepts in a subject discipline, of teaching strategies, knowledge about students learning background and knowledge of how to make concepts easier to learn. PCK thus refers to teachers‟ interpretation and transformations of subject matter knowledge for the purposes of facilitating students learning that it can be „effectively and flexibly used in communication exchange between teachers and learners‟ (Angli &Valanides, 2009, p. 156). Koehler and Mishra

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(2005) drew on this idea of pedagogical and content knowledge (PCK) and added a further element that of technology to create the concept of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPaCK). For them TPaCK is the environment in which teachers integrate technology into their teaching. They define Content (C) as „the subject matter to be learnt/taught‟; Technology (T) as „ modern technologies such as computers, the internet, digital videos, and more commonplace technologies including overhead projectors, blackboards and books‟ and Pedagogy (P) as „the collected practices, process, strategies, procedures, and methods of teaching and learning. It also includes knowledge about the aims of instruction, assessment and students learning‟ (ibid, p. 133). For example a teacher may have strong content knowledge (C), say knowledge of how past tenses are formed in English, and strong pedagogical knowledge (P), say an awareness that students find certain irregular forms difficult and strategies for addressing these. However, the same teacher may have weaker technological knowledge and unable to use the IWB to provide interactive explanations for learners. In contrast, a teacher may have good technological knowledge (T) (for example is able to embed multimedia resources with web sites) but a weak understanding of the kind of misconceptions learners have (P). These teachers will share an underdeveloped TPCK but have different strengths and weaknesses. TPaCK is an important concept as it captures the relationship between teaching and technology. Technology is there to support the curriculum but also to change the curriculum as it alters what constitutes the subject and how it is best taught.

A review about the use of TPACK found that a strong relationship existed between teachers‟ pedagogical knowledge and their self-efficacy beliefs towards technology (Fisser, et al., 2013). For example, some teachers may not be technology confident, but their pedagogical beliefs facilitate their use of technology, and lead them to develop their technological knowledge. In looking at TPCK, Angeli & Valanides (2009) conducted an empirical investigation with pre- service teachers enrolled in a mandatory course. These teachers were asked to design two

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teaching tasks and develop technological skills in the process of doing so. The study showed that teachers progressively developed more sophisticated ways of thinking about technology and how to transform their teaching practice. It was concluded that ICT development should be embedded with pedagogical purposes, in other words training should develop TPCK not discrete technical skills. This finding explains why some teachers feel a lack of confidence to use technology when they have not developed TPCK competency.

Sam et al. (2005) in a survey that investigated undergraduates‟ computer anxiety, computer self- efficacy and reported use of Internet, found that participants with a weak belief in their ability to use computers showed poor performance when trying to complete tasks using computers; whereas, those with high computer self-efficacy could enhance success when using computers and carrying out computer tasks. Lack of confidence is a major barrier to the uptake of ICT by teachers in the classroom (Becta, 2004). Moreover, lack of ICT knowledge makes teachers feel anxious about using ICT in the classroom. Heinssen et al. (1987) found that college students with higher computer anxiety had lower self-confidence in their abilities and returned poorer performance than those with lower levels of computer anxiety.

Lack of confidence influences teachers‟ motivation to use ICT in the classroom. Beggs (2000) stated that teachers who were afraid to fail when using technology were unlikely to use ICT in their teaching. Using ICT can increase the level of teachers‟ anxiety if they have not had the technological training required to carry out lessons using ICT. Bingimlas (2009) stated that shortcoming in teachers‟ ICT knowledge makes them feel anxious about using it in the classroom. Becta (2004) also asserted that if teachers are not sure about their technological skills, they feel anxious about using ICT in front of students, as they fear their students may have more skills than them. Lack of ICT knowledge makes teachers feel anxious about using ICT in the classroom.

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By examining more dates studies regarding teachers‟ confidence about using technology, Larner and Timberlake (1995) found that most teachers who feel anxious about the use of technology know that they need to acquire more IT skills in order to effectively utilise computers. Lack of teacher confidence can also affect teachers‟ ICT integration, regardless of whether they have a positive attitude toward ICT use. Willis et al. (1999) stated that even though teachers might adopt a positive attitude toward the use of technology in education, they might still lack confidence in their capacity to use technology in their teaching.

Lack of ICT skills is a barrier to use of ICT. It relates directly to teachers‟ confidence considering the above (Becta, 2004). Goktas et al. (2009) stated that the reason for some teachers avoiding the use of ICT in teaching is lack of ICT skills or knowledge of technology. Similarly, in a survey of primary and secondary schools from 26 countries, Pelgrum (2001) found lack of ICT knowledge and skills a significant obstacle too. According to Pelgrum, in developing countries, lack of technological competence is a more pronounced barrier to teachers‟ adoption of ICT (Pelgrum, 2001). This is supported by a study undertaken in Syria by Albirini (2006), and a study of the level of ICT use among university teachers in Saudi Arabia prepared by Ageel (2011).