SO YOU'RE A TECHNOLOGY EXPERT - WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Teachers' acceptance of technology is an important factor in their use of technology in teaching. In this paper, the authors report on an interim stage of a longitudinal project that explores relationships between pre-service teachers' self-rated levels of expertise when using ICT, their reported competency in carrying out certain tasks, their level of personal use of selected technology, their experience of technology use for education, and their level of technology acceptance (using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)). In Autumn 2013, a questionnaire encompassing these aspects was given to first-year students at the College of Education at which the first author teaches. The focus in this paper is on exploring the students' understanding of "expertise" in the light of their self-reported level, and relating this to their responses to their competency, technology use and TAM responses. Overall, findings suggest that most students consider themselves competent users of computers and heavy users of some technology, especially social media. Particular attention was given to the responses of students who reported themselves as either "Very Expert" (N = 16) or "Poor" (N = 8) in answer to the request "Please rate your expertise in using technology." A picture of the "Expert" users, especially in contrast to the "Poor" users, was developed, and will be important in helping to harness their expertise during their continuing studies.