Examining secondary school science teachers' smartboard usage in terms of various variables: Kırşehir province sample

In the information age, constantly evolving technology is affecting education as well as all other fields. In our country, as other countries on the world, many projects have been put into practice to provide technology integration in education. The Project of Increasing Opportunities and Technological Improvement Movement (FATIH), aims to provide a smart board for every classroom with the improvement of technology infrastructure at schools. In this study, it was aimed to examine the use of interactive whiteboards in science education in terms of teachers' self-efficacy, opinions and attitudes. The research was carried out in the city center of Kırşehir in the 2016-2017 academic year. The secondary education institutions in which the FATIH project was implemented were included in the study. The research sample of the study consisted of 60 science teachers (23 Biology, 17 Physics and 20 Chemistry teachers) working in these institutions. Participants voluntarily contributed to the research. In the research, explanotory design, one of the mixed methods in which both quantitative and qualitative methods are used together, is used. The quantitative data used in the study were obtained with three different scales: (1), Attitude Scale for Using Educational Technologies in Classroom (Kılınç et al., 2016), (2) Attitude Scale for Interactive Whiteboard with LCD Panel (Koçak and Gülcü, 2013), (3) Self-Efficacy Perception Scale for Technology Integration (Ünal, 2013). The qualitative data to determine teachers' opinions on the use of smart boards were obtained through a semi-structured Teacher Interview Form developed by the researcher. In addition, Personal Information Form was used to collect teachers' demographic information. Frequency, percentage, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskall-Wallis H test and Pearson Product-Moment correlation coefficient and content analysis are applied for the analysis of the data. At the end of the study, it was determined that the attitudes of teachers towards smart board and use of educational technologies in the classroom were positive and no significant difference was found between gender, age, branch and year of service. In addition, it was found that teachers' self-efficacy perceptions for technology integration were high and did not differ significantly according to gender, age, branch and year of service. 4 of the 7 teachers interviewed within the scope of the study stated that they used the smart board regularly and frequently, 1 rarely used it, and 2 did not use them. They also stated their reasons for use of smart boards as visualization of the course, concretization of abstract issues, show the videos and simulations of experiments that cannot be done in the classroom because of the time constraints, laboratory and material deficiencies in schools, to save time in order to solve faster and more questions in the course time and increase interest in the course. All the teachers interviewed indicated a positive opinion on the use of smart boards. However, it can be said that teachers who rarely or do not use the smart board focus on the barriers to the use of smart boards. They stated these barriers as insufficient training given, the using of smart board is making students passive, technical failures, problems with adaptation to new technologies, lack of time, non-objective use, students' unwillingness, low level of student, necessity of preparation, technical failures, difficulty in class control, lack of technical support, material deficiency and reducing class interaction. Within the scope of the research, the attitudes of the teachers towards the use of educational technologies in the classroom, their attitudes towards smart board and their relationship with self-efficacy perceptions of technology integration were investigated. According to this, it can be said that there is a high level, positive and significant relationship between the attitudes of the teachers towards the use of educational technologies in the classroom and their attitudes towards the smart board. It can be stated that there is a moderate, positive and significant relationship between teachers' attitudes towards the use of educational technologies in the classroom and self-efficacy perceptions for technology integration. Finally, it can be said that there is a moderate, positive and significant relationship between teachers' self-efficacy perceptions of technology integration and their attitudes towards smart board.