Effectiveness of an Exemption Exam for an Introductory Educational Technology Course

Abstract

The need for teachers who are proficient in the use of technology in theclassroom has increased dramatically over the past few years. Professional and regulatoryorganizations with direct and indirect influence on teacher education programs haveissued reports, recommendations, standards, and accreditation criteria all aimed atincreasing the technology competencies of beginning teachers. The College of Educationat the State University of West Georgia established an introductory technology course forall teacher education majors to meet this demand. This survey course provides studentswith a background in various instructional technologies as well as classroom integrationstrategies. At the time the course was created, many of the faculty involved believed thatmany students entering the program would be sufficiently competent in technology toenable them to exempt the course. Those exempting the course would be able to take anadditional class in their content area. This presentation will provide an overview on howthe exemption exam was created and implemented, as well as a measure of itseffectiveness in identifying technology competent students. Additionally, the results ofthe exam will be viewed in relation to the students beginning the course perceived levelof technology expertise.