ARTICULATING THE TECHNOLOGY MEDIATED COMMUNICATION OF ELEMENTARY TEACHERS, AN INPUT FOR SCHOOL PLANNING

Abstract

Vygotsky’s concept of the “zone of proximal development” defines the gap between the developmental level a learner can achieve independently and the level attainable with guidance from more experienced peers or adult supervision. Guided by this framework, the study aimed to examine the knowledge and utilization of technologically mediated communication (TMC) among local and international teachers. Specifically, it addressed the following research questions: What is the extent of TMC utilization by teacher-respondents in terms of (1) types of TMC, (2) procedures for using TMC, and (3) effects of TMC? Data for this study were collected from a total of 60 teacher-respondents using a validated, researcher-designed questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first part addressed the types of Technologically Mediated Communication (TMC), while the second part focused on the utilization of TMC. The overall mean for the types of TMC was 4.23, verbally interpreted as “high extent.” Regarding specific TMC activities, the weighted mean for recording and uploading a message using podcasting tools was 3.27, while creating and uploading blog content to a personal or school blog and logging into a video conference both had a weighted mean of 3.40; these are verbally interpreted as “moderate extent.”

Concerning the effects of TMC, the weighted means for the statements “interactions are more productive than face-to-face interactions,” “using TMC is more efficient than other forms of communication,” and “TMC technologies are tremendous time-savers for my work” were 4.53, 4.50, and 4.60, respectively, all verbally interpreted as “very high extent.” The statement “a tremendous amount of work will be accomplished” had a weighted mean of 4.40, interpreted as “high extent.” Teacher-respondents demonstrated a low to moderate level of knowledge regarding the use of podcasting, blogging, and videoconferencing in TMC, which corresponded to a moderate extent of utilization in their workplace. Furthermore, the use of TMC was largely limited to mobile phones and emails.