| Society is being transformed by technology and schools may no longer choose whether to incorporate it, but rather how it will be incorporated. As a result of the recommendation for technology proficiency, schools are linked to the Internet and teachers and administrators have the convenience of using computers for reporting attendance, recording grades, and other related functions. Other communication mediums have also emerged with the wide spread growth of the World Wide Web, that include online text chat, audio chat, listserv, bulletin boards, streaming video, live Web-casting, and video conferencing.; The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of change in communication behaviors using an electronic communication system school-wide. The hypotheses for this study were to analyze the perceived changes in communication behaviors among teachers themselves and to analyze the perceived changes in communication behaviors between teachers and administrators. This study also examined teachers' perceptions of the aspects of daily electronic communication that were most valued, the aspects of daily electronic communication that caused the most concern and the greatest change in communications of the staff after implementing an electronic communication system on a daily basis district wide.; One hundred, seventy-two teachers from a selected school district in Mississippi were surveyed for this descriptive causal-comparative study using an instrument constructed from a behavioral norm index relating to open and equitable sharing of information, collaboration and problem-solving. T-tests were used to determine the statistically significant difference in the two sets of means, before and after electronic communication. The ease and efficiency of electronic communication perceived by teachers were also rated using the six characteristics of e-mail technology. The perceived aspects of e-mail use as being the most valuable, those causing the most concern and the overall change in communication behavior within the district were also surveyed.; As technology becomes more prevalent, it is important that the members of the educational community become knowledgeable users of technology to enhance teaching and learning. This study adds to the current literature on communicational changes interjected by the integration of daily use of electronic communication within the educational environment. |
