Abstract:

The impact of emotions on learning with technology has been largely overlooked, with the exception of anxiety (Kay, 2007, 2008; Kay & Loverock, 2008). The purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship among a broader range of emotions (happiness, anger, anxiety, and sadness), strategies for learning new technology, and nine technology skills. Two-hundred twenty preservice teachers (176 females, 44 males), teaching grades 1 to 12, completed an online survey assessing their emotions while learning with technology, preferred strategies while learning new software tools, and their ability in nine technology skills. Happiness was significantly and positively correlated with experimental and authentic approaches. Anger, anxiety and sadness were significantly and negatively correlated with experimental and authentic learning strategies, and anxiety was positively correlated with a social approach to learning with technology. Happiness was also significantly and positively correlated with greater knowledge in all nine technology skills measured. Anger, anxiety and sadness were significantly and negatively correlated with higher scores in the majority of technology skills assessed. Implications and future research are discussed with respect to the role of emotions on learning with technology.

References:
[1] Kay, R. H. (2007). A formative analysis of how preservice teachers learn to use technology. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 23(5), 366-383.
[2] Kay, R. H. (2008). Exploring the relationship between emotions and the acquisition of computer knowledge. Computers & Education, 50(4), 1269-1283. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2006.12.002
[3] Kay, R. H. & Loverock, S. (2008). Assessing emotions related to learning new software: The computer emotions scale. Computers in Human Behavior, 24(4), 1605-1623.

Keywords:

Emotions, learning, technology.