Writing and Research March Assignment by Todd Mehrkens

For this assignment I have chosen an article titled "Learning Preferences and Farm Computer Use", by R. Keith Iddings and Jerold W. Apps, as printed in the Fall 1992 Journal of Extension, Volume 30, Number 3 and available on the web at www.joe.org/joe/1992fall/a4.html

I almost did not choose this article because it is dated 1992, which is generations old in terms of technology and computers. But in the end I did choose this article because is exactly the kind of research that I am interested in. In fact, although it is outdated, the last sentence in the first paragraph puts in very direct terms exactly what has intrigued me about the issue of computer training: "the task of mastering the wonders of the microchip stimulates some, while daunting others".

Up to this point in my personal, informal research, I have found that most computer "experts" are self-directed learners. Of the learning methods looked at in the research by Dr. Iddings and Professor Jerold W. Apps, farmers indicated that they learned through a variety of learning methods. As part of their learning, 84.37% indicated that they had learned by "just experimenting", (probably the most self-directed method of all, and the one most mentioned in my own informal surveying). This compares to only 48.67% who indicated that they had taken a class.

Self directed learners have the personal motivation and aptitude to become skilled computer users. They will instinctively seek out learning opportunities, and continually profit from these opportunities, increasing their working knowledge of computers. On the other hand, some people express either a complete lack of computer knowledge, or if it is a required part of their life, it is a struggle to learn and adapt with the changing computer technology. My questions is: Why? or What causes these differences?. I am guessing that learning and personality styles have some impact, and related to that, the teaching methods and environments that are typically used to teach computer users.

The research by Dr. Iddings looked at learning styles and learning conditions and found that it did make a difference in the ultimate achievement in working with their computer. To quote from the research:

"As might be expected, farmers who liked to learn on their own, set their own goals, and determine their own pace, excelled at learning computing outside the classroom. Likewise, those who preferred numeric and logical content were more likely to master computing without a formal class."

The research goes on to talk about different ways to dividing the group up and how that altered the results. For example, farmers who chose to take a class to learn, and successfully mastered computers, did not necessarily prefer independence and logic.

One thing the article touches upon that I have gotten excited about in other areas is the need to offer computer instruction in a variety of formats. Not everyone learns the same way, and so we need to look at alternatives. I am interested in finding out which alternatives work best and some way to determine, as much as possible, which alternative will be the most efficient and productive for both the student and the learner.

I would be very curious to see what the results of this survey would be today. Since 1992, computers have changed incredibly. They are much more standardized and are much easier to use through the development of Windows and Windows applications. In addition, computers have many more uses today, including recreation, which was not true in 1992. At the time of the research, 15% of the respondents were the sole users of the computer in their family. I cannot imagine any of today's families that have a computer, where only one member of the family uses it.

This and other changes make this an interesting field, and I believe that the article and research by Dr. Iddings indicates that there is indeed a relationship between learning styles and computer learning.

-- Anonymous, March 19, 1999