OBSERVATIONS ABOUT LECTURERS’ ATTITUDES AND THEIR USE OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE AND DIGITAL RESOURCES

This article presents findings from an action research project. It is based on data from participants in a Learning Management Systems (LMS) course given to educators in Cuba, Guatemala, Peru and Brazil. The data were first collected from the participants during the course, and approximately one year later, the participants were asked to fill out another questionnaire outlining their experiences after the course.

The course used Live USB-Mediated Education (LUME), a method based on a complete package of course material and programs executable from portable memory devices, thus allowing participants to work on any computer on their own time.

The results show that positive attitudes about open educational resources (OER), educational software and collaborative methods go together and are likely to result in a wider use of computer-facilitated methods and free digital material.

The authors assert that the lecturers’ pedagogical motivation rather than their technical skill determine whether and to what extent they will use educational software; additionally, the results indicate that to reap the pedagogical benefits of educational software, teachers must understand how information sharing and collaborative methods can improve learning and teaching.