Laptops in the K-12 classrooms: Exploring factors impacting instructional use

The purpose of this study was to examine factors affecting teachers’ integration of laptops into classroom instruction. A research-based path model was tested based on data gathered from 379 K-12 school teachers to examine direct and indirect contributions of relevant institutional factors (overall support for school technology, technical support, and professional development) and teacher level factors (teacher readiness and teacher beliefs). The major premise of this study was that the hypothesized path model was powerful enough to explain a substantial amount of variance in teacher readiness (43%), beliefs (51%), and laptop integration (55%). The results suggest that teacher level factors (teacher readiness and teacher beliefs) strongly predict laptop integration, and that overall support for school technology and professional development have strong effects on teacher beliefs and readiness, respectively. All school-level factors also had a significant indirect impact on laptop integration, which is mediated by teacher readiness and beliefs.