Students\u27 Perceptions of Professors Credibility: Does Professors\u27 Use of Technology and Students\u27 Characteristics Influence Students\u27 Perceptions of Professors\u27 Credibility?

A quasi-experimental design was used to examine students\u27 perceptions of professors\u27 credibility in terms of professors\u27 use of technology in their teaching. The purpose was to determine the nature of the relationship between professors\u27 use of technology in their teaching and whether that was related to students\u27 perceptions of their credibility. For the study, students\u27 characteristics such as gender, major, age, level of education, expected grade, and their previous computer background were analyzed to see if these characteristics made a difference in their perceptions of professors\u27 credibility as it relates to professors\u27 use of technology. Surveys were used to collect data. The sample (N= 445) used in this study consisted of six classes, two each from three different fields of study from a mid-size public university in the Midwest. Pairs of classes were selected with similar enrollments, similar class levels and with varying amounts and types of technology used in the classes. A pretest of student and faculty questionnaires was given to a sub-sample of students and professors prior to data collection. Using analysis of variance and covariance, the findings of the data revealed that perceived professors\u27 credibility was related to professors\u27 use of technology in teaching. The findings indicated that there was no relationship between perceived professors\u27 credibility and students\u27 gender, age, years in school, and majors. However, there was a positive relationship between perceived credibility as it relates to technology and students\u27 expected grade and prior computer skills. The result also indicated that although students favor more use of technology in teaching, they still see traditional lecturing and the use of blackboards as positive methods of teaching. In addition, the findings revealed that students\u27 perceptions of professors\u27 credibility are related to the types of technology used and how effectively the technology is used in teaching