The purpose of this study was to explore the diffusion of technological innovation stages present in high school journalism classrooms across the state of Nebraska and to describe the high school journalism teacher’s perception of technology in the classroom. After a review of relevant literature on technology in the classroom, in the workplace and in the journalism profession, the researcher developed a self-response questionnaire sent to 100 members of the Nebraska High School Press Association. A response rate of 55 percent allowed analysis at a descriptive and basic interpretative level. The results of this limited sampling indicate that high school journalism programs have access to many technological innovations but that availability does not equal usage or automatic incorporation in to the journalism curriculum. A demographic description was developed on the average Nebraska high school journalism adviser and many of the advisers’ perceptions of technology were identified through both scaled items and open-ended responses. Analysis of these responses suggests that some Nebraska high school journalism classrooms are more likely to have certain technologies available and likely to have journalism teachers who perceive technology in certain ways. This study serves to motivate educators to challenge their current stage of technological innovation and analyze their own perceptions of technology.
