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Volume 1, Issue 4
ISSN 1528-5804
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Bell, L. (Ed.) (2001). Preparing tomorrow's
teachers to use technology: Perspectives of the leaders of twelve
national education associations. Contemporary Issues in
Technology and Teacher Education [Online Serial] , 1
(4) . Available:
http://www.citejournal.org/vol1/iss4/currentissues/general/article1.htm
Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use
Technology: Perspectives of the Leaders of Twelve National
Education Associations
Edited by LYNN BELL
University of Virginia
The U.S. Department of Education has concluded that
preparing technology-proficient educators to meet the needs of
21st-century learning is a critical educational challenge facing
the nation. More than two thirds of the nation's teachers will be
replaced by new teachers over the next decade. Therefore, it is
crucial to ensure that the next generation of future teachers
emerging from the nation's teacher education programs is prepared
to meet this challenge.
Teacher educator associations representing the core
content areas, as well as educational technology, have established
an alliance to explore the most effective means of accomplishing
this goal. Members of this alliance include the Association for the
Education of Teachers in Science (AETS), the Association of
Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE), the College and University
Faculty Assembly (CUFA) of the National Council for the Social
Studies, the Conference on English Education (CEE) of the National
Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and the Society for
Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE).
These associations represent the teacher education
faculty who prepare future teachers to teach science, mathematics,
English, and social studies. They have jointly undertaken a
National Technology Leadership Initiative (NTLI) in concert with
the U.S. Department of Education, with support from the Preparing
Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grant program. Among
other activities, members of the NTLI alliance and the U.S.
Department of Education sponsored two National Technology
Leadership Retreats (NTLR) that brought together the leaders of a
dozen national education associations.
These deliberations produced conclusions and
recommendations about approaches to effectively preparing teachers
to use technology, as well as continuing discussion and
collaboration designed to extend best practices. This article
describes ongoing conversations about information technology and
teacher preparation taking place among leaders of social studies,
mathematics, science, and English educator organizations and their
respective teacher organizations. Their conclusions should be of
interest to anyone who works with teacher educators, preservice
teachers, and in-service teachers from multiple content areas.
Cross-Disciplinary Dialog
To encourage discussion between and among content
area associations, an initial National Technology Leadership
Retreat (NTLR 2000) was held in September 2000. A total of 17
national education associations sent leaders to the retreat ' four
content-specific teacher educator associations, five
content-specific teacher associations, two educational technology
associations, and six general (non-subject-specific) teacher and
teacher education associations.
The objectives of the leadership retreat were (a)
to review and discuss draft content area guidelines for the
preparation of social studies, mathematics, science, and English
teachers to use information technology (which were developed by
representatives from CUFA, AMTE, AETS, and CEE); and (b) to plan
formal mechanisms for feedback to extend and continue the dialog
initiated at the retreat.
A second retreat, NTLR 2001, was convened in March
2001 to continue the dialog between teacher educator associations
and their related teacher associations. Thirteen organizations were
represented at this retreat (a list of participating organizations
is included in the appendix ). In addition
to various presidents, board members, and executive directors of
teacher educator and teacher associations, participants included
members of some associations' technology committees, content area
editors of the online journal Contemporary Issues in Technology
and Teacher Education , and teacher educators on the NTLI Task
Force.
This article summarizes discussions held by each of
the four content area groups, who met separately and then reported
the results of their discussions to the entire group of retreat
participants. The notes from their discussions were transcribed and
compiled. Then participants from CUFA, AMTE, AETS, and CEE
collaborated in clarifying and expanding on points recorded in this
article. The article describes perspectives of each content area
group about goals for integrating appropriate information
technology use in teacher preparation, definitions of technology by
content area, issues surrounding technology in teacher preparation,
and questions that still need to be answered. Draft recommendations
for appropriate uses of information technology for each content
area are described further in the online journal Contemporary
Issues in Technology and Teacher Education , Volume 1, Issue 1
( www.citejournal.org/
).
Goals for Integrating
Technology in Teacher Preparation
Participants met in groups by content area and
developed a list of broad goals for promoting appropriate
technology use in teacher education. The content area teacher
educator associations would play the primary role in developing
action plans for and implementing these goals.
Mathematics Education
-
Prepare preservice teachers to appropriately
incorporate technology into their teaching, in regular classrooms
equipped with graphing calculators and a computer and in computer
labs, to enhance students' conceptual understanding of mathematics
and its applications.
-
Prepare preservice teachers to become savvy using,
evaluating, and choosing technologies.
-
Prepare preservice teachers to modify their
curricula and develop materials to capitalize on available
technologies.
-
Prepare preservice teachers to learn how to be
resourceful and learn how to lobby to get what they need.
-
Prepare preservice teachers for a changing
educational world; emerging technologies will have curricular and
instructional implications.
-
Develop professional development models for both
teachers and teacher educators (e.g., workshops and panel
discussions at AMTE and the National Council of Mathematics
Teachers, on-line courses for mathematics teacher educators,
virtual subgroup meetings).
-
Develop mechanisms for teachers and teacher
educators to share materials and successful efforts.
-
Develop a research agenda to investigate the
effects of effective technology use on students' learning of
mathematics.
Science Education
-
Convince teachers/educators that appropriate
technology can make their jobs easier.
-
Encourage teachers to teach in ways they have not
taught before.
-
Develop technology innovations that appeal to a
large variety of learning styles.
-
Because research will follow practice, science
education needs to find advocates who are committed to developing
appropriate uses ' compelling cases. Researchable situations are
necessary, and agreement on important research questions would be
helpful. There is currently no shared vision for education
research, in general.
-
Technology must be an enabler. Right now it is
often an end in itself. It is still not recognized for the useful
means that it can be.
-
Help teachers/educators develop a vision for ways
technology can help accomplish what we think is important to
accomplish.
-
Determine what technology is needed to help
science educators teach what they think is important to teach. If
they ask for it, maybe they will get it.
-
Train science teachers to be discriminating about
using technology appropriately. Science educators must help
preservice teachers navigate the market environment we all live in
whether we agree with it or not.
-
Take advantage of opportunities to learn how to
learn with technology.
-
Set up foundational knowledge in technology,
because if new teachers get past the first couple of years, they
may be able to incorporate it later in their career.
Social Studies Education
-
Develop case studies of "best practices" in the
integration of technology in the social studies classroom. Develop
teachers who are "change agents" in K-12 schools. Work with NCSS
members on presentations and publications focusing on teacher
partnerships and classroom projects, especially in schools with
inadequate resources, that teach, for example, online deliberation
skills or critical evaluation of websites.
-
Encourage more research in context: How technology
integration happens, influences on preservice teachers and
students, and so forth.
-
Social justice and technology issues should come
together within CUFA. Look for ways to broaden the audience of this
discussion, especially at future CUFA conferences. More focused
discussion topics would include:
-
Access and equity concerns.
-
The notion that environmental differences will
change as a result of technology (physical infrastructure,
classroom interactions, learning strategies).
-
Student learning outcomes (incremental
assessment).
-
Helping other faculty integrate technology into
their research (mentoring).
-
"Visions of the Possible", what is needed to make
technology integration a reality?
-
Interdiscipinary collaboration opportunities.
-
Continue data collection and analysis on the CUFA
study, 'Survey of Social Studies Faculty: Technology Beliefs and
Practices.'
English Education
In order to successfully integrate technology into
English methods courses, the use of technology needs to become part
of our 'professional conversations,' part of the culture of English
educators who belong to the National Council of Teachers of English
and the Conference on English Education. Toward those ends, the
Conference on English Education has developed these goals:
-
Support the re-development of NCTE's technology
infrastructure, notably the move of all teacher journals
online.
-
Increase the number of technology-mediated
conference presentations and to study further methods of mediating
the higher cost of increased numbers of technology-focused
conference presentations.
-
Develop a task force charged with developing
guidelines for 'best practice' in teaching English online.
-
Build on the work of the task force mentioned
above by using the guidelines to develop additional online
professional development opportunities for English teachers and
teacher educators.
-
Reach consensus on an initial document that
represents the fields understanding of best practice in the
integration of technology into English education methods
courses.
-
Form a CEE Commission to support ongoing research, application,
and assessment of the integration of technology into English
courses charged with the following objectives:
-
Define and undertake praxis-oriented research
related to the integration of technology into English courses.
-
Develop technology-focused articles to submit to
CEE's analog and online journals.
-
Compose, draft, and publish for peer review a list
of hardware and software deemed necessary for the effective
preparation of English language arts teachers.
-
Draft recommendations for technology-related
revisions to the Guidelines for the Preparation of English Language
Arts Teachers.
-
Develop and maintain a portion of the CEE website
(or an alternative website) devoted to issues related to technology
including, for instance, an annotated bibliography of relevant
articles, software and hardware reviews, grant opportunities,
conference and workshop announcements, and refereed lists of online
resources.
Appropriate Uses of Technology
Some uses of technology are employed in much the
same way in every discipline. These generic tools include use of
videoconferencing to link students at different locations, use of
communication tools such as electronic mail and Internet discussion
groups, and productivity tools. In every case the degree of access
to technology, available bandwidth, and convenience of use affects
the extent to which it will be used.
As a result of these discussions, it became clear
that, although some uses of technology transcend academic
disciplines, other uses are more applicable in specific content
areas. The widespread use of graphing calculators has transformed
secondary mathematics education. Increasing access to primary
on-line sources has similar potential to transform social studies
and history. The use of simulation software enhances the learning
of complex concepts in science education. Access to audiences for
written works could potentially change aspects of English
education. These uses are particularly suited for specific
disciplines ' graphing calculators were designed to support
mathematics education, not English education.
As a corollary, it is often the case that teacher
education faculty are most familiar with uses specific to their
academic discipline. This section describes how the retreat
participants in each content area defined technology.
Mathematics Education
Technology should be used to support exploration,
conceptual learning, and applications of mathematics. Some specific
tools would include the following:
-
Graphing calculators, fraction calculators, and
other handheld technologies.
-
Spreadsheets.
-
Probeware (e.g., CBL).
-
Dynamic geometry programs (e.g., Geometer's
Sketchpad ).
-
Probability and statistics software (e.g.,
Fathom ).
-
Topic specific software (e.g., Green Globs
).
-
Computer algebra systems.
-
Mathematics related websites.
As well as
Science Education
Science educators participating in the retreat look
for technology that promotes inquiry learning and makes scientific
views more accessible to students. Tools science educators are
currently using include
Social Studies
Social studies educators who participated in the
retreat promote the use of technology tools that extend learning
opportunities in a context specific to the social studies, provide
opportunities for students to study relationships among science,
technology, and society, and foster the development of the skills,
knowledge, and participation as good citizens in a democratic
society. Some of these tools include the critical use and
application of the following:
-
Electronic discussion groups in methods
classes.
-
Digital resource centers with primary
resources.
-
Digital video cameras.
-
Handheld computing devices.
-
Videoconferencing/electronic whiteboards.
-
Spreadsheets.
-
Quantitative and qualitative statistical software
packages.
-
Internet2.
-
Presentation software.
English Education
English educators see technology as a tool both for
communication and creation'a place where literacy is used,
developed, and even redefined. They often cite the shift in
literacy that has come through reading and writing'i.e., that
people read and write/decode and create not just from left to right
but also in and out, up and down. This literacy shift is major for
considering the impact of technology on meaning-making and
creation.
English educators generally define technology as a
tool'a tool for learning, creating, communicating, thinking,
representing, and researching. Like mathematics and the other
content areas, English educators use technology to 'do'
English'i.e., writing, reading (decoding and encoding), attending
(listening and speaking), and viewing (evaluating). While English
often focuses on process, it also focuses on product'quality
products grow from quality processes. In the English community
'technology' refers not only to computer technology but also video,
musical, and tactile'all of which, of course, can be combined in
computer technology with multimedia functions.
Technologies used to accommodate this definition
include the following:
-
Internet publishing
-
Electronic journaling and discussion groups
-
E-mail
-
Web sites
-
Electronic portfolios
-
Internet research
-
Applications for communication to self and
others
-
Videoconferencing for cultural communication
exchanges
-
Text creation through word processing, graphics,
and numerous other applications
-
Word processing
Dissemination and Integration Issues
Participants from each of the four content areas
discussed issues related to integrating information technology in
the preparation of teachers. Some issues mentioned are specific to
a content area, but most of them are common across content areas,
and many are interrelated. Common issues are presented first,
follow by content-specific issues.
Common Issues
In discussing dissemination and integration issues,
participants found the following to be common to all four content
areas represented at NTLR 2001.
-
Accreditation standards require schools and colleges of
education to incorporate educational technologies into their
teacher preparation curricula. However, this is often handled in
separate sections or courses within the curriculum, with little
integration with the methods courses that preservice teachers take.
Educators often view technology as a foreground element, making it
an additional topic to be taught rather than a background element.
Faculty confront the reality that the curriculum of methods courses
is full, with little room for additional topics.
-
Even when methods faculty attempt to integrate technology into
methods course rather than treating it as a separate topic, the
startup costs associated with doing this in an authentic way are
substantial.
-
Technology is perceived as being a segmented topic to be added
on to an already full methods class curriculum and a long list of
NCATE and content-specific standards teacher educators are expected
to address. It is often relegated to a low priority goal, if not
ignored altogether. In the classroom, the related issue is
accountability to standards and high stakes testing. Again,
teachers perceive that there is no room to "add on" technology
instruction.
-
A limited body of knowledge exists that examines technology's
benefits to student learning, and many teacher educators are
unfamiliar with the literature that has been published. Much of the
literature discussing technology use in teacher preparation is
based on anecdotal evidence. Because learning to use technology is
often so time intensive, many teacher educators are reluctant to
take on innovative technology when they are not convinced of its
immediate educational benefits. Also, claims that technology is
necessary because learners are different is not sufficiently
convincing to most educators. The effects of technology use must be
assessed and publicize.
-
In too many cases, poor examples of technology in education
have turned off teachers and educators. 'Poor examples' would
include technology used just for the sake of using technology
(i.e., the concept could be learned just as well without the
technology) and technology that is difficult to learn or fails to
work when needed. Some educators/teachers of all content areas take
this as an excuse to dismiss all technology.
-
Even when preservice teachers are trained to integrated
technology in their instruction, many face the barrier of access to
technology in their schools. In many instances, if classrooms have
a computer at all, they usually have only one, and computers labs
are often overbooked. Schools fortunate enough to have computers
may still have difficulty keeping up with hardware and software
upgrades or with maintaining reliable Internet connections.
Some of the issues identified by the participants
are not specific to technology integration but arise when efforts
of any sort are made to reform teaching.
-
Changing teacher beliefs is a difficult ask and takes time and
mentoring.
-
Research has shown that even when beliefs are changed teachers
do not teach a certain way just because they know about how to
teach that way or believe it is a good way to teach. Sometimes this
is true of teacher educators, as well. Effective use of technology
requires teachers to act differently, and the more the technology
asks teachers to act differently, the harder it is for teachers to
incorporate it into their instruction. They often revert to
teaching the way they were taught. They also operate, to some
degree, under the premise that everyone learns the way they
learn.
-
As is true with any teaching reform,
educators/teachers must internalize the value of learning with a
new strategy before they will begin to use the strategy. Until
preservice teachers and teacher education faculty experience
learning ' with technology in this case ' we cannot expect their
teaching to change. They need an authentic rationale for its use:
'What can I do with this technology that I couldn't do without it?'
The technology must be worth the effort.
-
When new teachers enter the classroom, they often
face resistance from in-service teachers, their administration, and
sometimes parents, who may support a more traditional teaching
style. During practicums and the early years of their career,
teachers may feel pressured to 'fit the mold' and to abandon
progressive teaching practices, including technology-enhanced
instruction.
Issues Specific to Content Areas
The following issues regarding dissemination and
integration of technology in teacher preparation are more specific
to the culture of each content area.
Mathematics Education. Issues of
concern to the mathematics education participants included the
following:
-
The traditional approach to mathematics teaching has emphasized
procedural skills, and many teachers, students, parents,
administrators and others still favor this type of mathematics
instruction. Many adherents to the procedural approach see
technology use as a threat to students' development. Others see no
role for technology.
-
Teachers who use technology to help students develop conceptual
understanding must make efforts to help students connect
technologically based experiences, such as data collection and
computer explorations, with formal mathematics.
-
Technology makes some mathematics topics less
important, others more accessible and still others more important.
Mathematics curricula must be continually revised to take advantage
of technology.
Science
Education. The science educators participating in
NTLR 2001identified the following issues in their field
-
The science education community needs to clarify key
terminology'for instance, the meaning of the phrase, 'hands on.'
For decades, the science education community has been encouraging
learning that allows students to observe natural phenomena
firsthand, as well as experience the work of science, and they
already have a set of familiar 'technologies' (e.g., a Van de
Graaff generator). Some science educators and teachers may believe
that new information technologies get in the way of hands-on
learning. The science education community needs to determine
whether, for example, a computer simulation of an otherwise
invisible phenomenon equates with hands-on learning. In addition,
many in the science education community have too narrow a
definition of technology that is limited to computers and graphing
calculators.
-
The science education community for years has been struggling
to reform science teaching and learning. The National Science
Education Standards and the Benchmarks for Science
Literacy call for science teaching to develop scientifically
literate citizens. This goal involves developing meaningful
understandings of science that is connected to everyday life and
decision making. The science education community as a whole has not
clarified how information technology complements and promotes the
goals of science teaching. Educators question how, or if,
technology provides or enhances authentic experiences with natural
phenomenon. Before jumping on the technology bandwagon, science
educators want to consider the content and skills they want
children to learn and the ways technology can help children
learn.
Social
Studies Education.
Social studies educators
identified a concern about the digital divide, which they defined
as being more than students having access to hardware and software,
but having access to appropriate resources online and having
appropriate Internet connections so they can explore the world of
ideas related to social studies content. The two primary uses of
technology in the social studies are connecting to other people so
they can access multiple viewpoints and perspectives and connecting
to resources, such as primary documents and social science data. It
is necessary for students to be able to download resources from the
Internet without great delays; it is also necessary for students to
have access to resources online that reflect the multicultural
backgrounds of our students. This issue of a 'cultural divide' on
the Web in itself has become part of the social studies content.
Social studies educators face the challenge today of not only
addressing the digital divide with their own students, but helping
their students find methods of addressing this issue in their own
teaching. Helping students use technology resources critically,
especially in examining material they obtain from the Internet is
especially crucial, as well.
English
Education. English language arts teachers and
teacher educators focus on the study of language. The infusion of
technology into English methods courses has raised such fundamental
questions for English teacher educators as these: Is technology
influencing the way we define language and literacy? Is it changing
our definition of text? How has and is the infusion of technology
into our culture changing the way we communicate with one another?
How is it influencing our notions of reading, writing, representing
and comprehending? Although there are too many discipline-specific
issues technology raises for English educators to recount fully
here, the following are representative of the concerns of English
educators:
-
English educators find themselves questioning their definitions
of 'texts.' Many English teachers were educated in an era in which
texts seemed simply defined: texts were linear arrangements of
letters, words and sentences in paragraphs on pages'and if of
sufficient length'bound in a cover. Today, these educators are
confronted by 'texts' that are neither linear nor sequential, that
embed graphic images and sound, that make the selection of color
and typeface an integral part of the message. English educators are
debating the types of texts they will ask their students to read
and write, the skills students will need to read and compose these
new texts, and the advantages and disadvantages of teaching these
new reading and composing strategies.
-
English educators continue to grapple with the
ability to design writing assignments that preclude a student's
ability to download a paper from the web. Access to technology
clearly has heightened teachers' concerns about plagiarism. In
addition, access to information that has not been scrutinized by
editorial teams at major publication houses (although such a path
does not guarantee that a text has credibility) has also
necessitated the development of coursework on methods of
determining source credibility and reliability, as students use
websites to support research they are conducting. As students are
required to turn to the web to complete course assignments, English
educators are grappling with new questions about censorship, and
the teacher's and school's responsibility, if any, to monitor
students access to various websites. Finally, the student is not
the only one accessing information; as teachers invite students to
post their work on websites or to contribute to class websites,
many educators have become concerned about protecting students from
potential predators.
-
Many English educators believe that the most
effective literature and language development curricula are best
developed in context, preferably in conversation with students. As
technology becomes more of a presence in educational settings,
teachers are becoming aware that they will need to address the
proliferation of computer-based, standardized, 'teacher-proof'
English language arts curriculum marketed to schools and school
districts.
-
Many English teachers are still debating the
merits of using rubrics to assess student compositions and
projects. Many feel even more ambivalent about how to assess
multimedia projects. Some worry that technology-rich environments
encourage students to rely more on clip art than creativity and to
emphasize form over substance.
Questions About Integrating
Technology in Teacher Preparation
In their discussion about integrating
technology in teacher preparation, the participants raised many
questions relevant to educators' and teachers' reluctance to
embrace technology. Many of these questions should be addressed by
research. The answers to some of the questions will become clearer
over time, as educators gain more experience modeling technology
use and observing their preservice teachers' experiences with
technology.
Although some questions were similar
between content areas, all the questions are presented within the
content area category in which they were raised.
Mathematics Education
-
How do mathematics teacher educators help
preservice teachers see the potential of technology to improve
mathematics teaching?
-
How do mathematics teacher educators structure
methods courses so that preservice teachers learn how to use a
variety of technologies and develop sound pedagogy?
-
How do mathematics teacher educators prepare
preservice teachers for the future, where emerging technologies
will have implications for their roles and their curricula?
Science Education
-
Does technology help students accomplish the
recommendations of the science education standards?
-
If we teach preservice teachers to use appropriate
technology, will they teach more in the way we want them to
teach?
-
Does technology enable students to ask questions
they would not have thought of asking before?
-
Do students learn science differently with
technology? Is the quality, nature, or efficiency of learning
improved?
-
Are students learning different science content or
concepts with the technology than they would have otherwise?
-
Does technology enhance inquiry learning? Can
technology provide an inquiry environment?
-
If science educators determine that technology is
worthwhile, what do they need to do, or what experiences do they
need to provide, to convince preservice teachers of its
benefits?
-
What are the stages teachers have to go through to
appropriately use technology in learning? (Some take the technology
and teach the content in the same old way.)
-
Can technology help educators maintain an ongoing
relationship between education faculty and new teachers in the
classroom?
Social Studies
Education
-
How are things in schools really changing as a
result of the technology? Is technology simply
-
Is technology changing the way children learn? How
do we know this? If it is changing the way children learn, how do
we adapt our pedagogy?
-
What does diversity really mean for access and
different types of learning?
-
What are some ways of bringing inexpensive
technologies into the classroom and making connections to people
around the world?
-
How can we address the growing digital
divide?
-
How can we teach children to be critical consumers
of information found in cyberspace?
-
How can we maintain children's safety and privacy
on the Internet?
-
How can we collaborate with in-service teachers to
help our preservice teachers learn more about integrating
technology and teacher education?
English Education
When English teachers and English
teacher educators contemplate the useful integration of technology
into their courses, they face one stark reality: ability has
preceded knowledge. That is, the ability to purchase and integrate
technology, particularly computer technology, into classrooms has
preceded the research that would help English educators have firmer
answers to questions such as these:
-
In what ways is computer technology influencing
our conceptions of 'language' and literacy?
-
Does the introduction of computer technology
change the way our students read, write, listen, speak and
represent their understandings in ways that are as or more
beneficial than representing those understandings without access to
technology?
-
What opportunities are inherent in the use and
study of computer technology in English courses? What challenges
are inherent in their use?
-
Does the infusion of computer technology into our
classes create unnecessary hurdles for our students?
-
Does failure to integrate technology into our
classes create unnecessary hurdles for our students?
-
How does computer technology change the ways in
which we and our students organize information? How we process
information?
-
How does itt influence instructional competence and
attainment?
-
What constitutes 'appropriate' use of technology
into English courses?
-
In what ways can technology be thought of as both
pedagogy and content, and when is it appropriate to use it as
either?
-
How do we conduct critical evaluations of our
teacher education programs that are infusing technology into
students' course experiences?
-
How can technology help us more fully experience
diversity as a positive attribute?
-
How can technology help us to engage diverse
learners more fully?
Expanding Our Opportunities for
Dialog
The presidents, executive directors,
and other leaders of more than a dozen national education
associations have now come together for two National Technology
Leadership Retreats. These leaders examined best practices,
discussed draft guidelines for use of technology in teacher
education in each content area, established technology strands at
their annual conferences, and established an on-line journal,
Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (
CITE Journal ).
The gathering of this group of leaders
to discuss technology and innovation in teacher education was
unprecedented. The retreats served as an opportunity to compare use
of technology in different disciplines and highlighted the fact
that lessons may be learned both from similarities in technology
use across disparate disciplines and from their differences.
The joint sponsorship of an academic
journal by five professional associations, with independent
editorial boards for each content area, is a substantial and
unprecedented accomplishment. The logistics were formidable, since
each association has a different governing structure and
organization. The success of this collaboration provides a
foundation for other advances.
One finding that emerged from the
leadership retreats is that more communication among
representatives of different disciplines and between content
associations and educational technology societies is needed. While
representatives of each area are well versed in the literature of
their own discipline, often teacher education faculty from
different disciplines do not connect the dots and draw conclusions
about technological innovation, because no one has the opportunity
to see the overall picture.
It is not logistically possible to
bring the collective membership of the respective associations and
disciplines together physically for exploration and comparison of
ideas in the same manner that the leaders came together. However,
other strategies to accomplish this goal may emerge from the
retreats.
The leaders of the National Technology
Leadership Initiative (NTLI) are proposing an award for an
exemplary paper presented at the annual conferences of the teacher
educator associations representing the core content areas ' AMTE,
AETS, CEE, and CUFA. If approved by theses associations, the
recipients of each award will be invited to the annual
Technology and Teacher Education conference sponsored by
SITE each year. This will provide an opportunity for ambassadors
from mathematics education, science education, English education,
and social studies education to meet one another and discuss
technological innovation across their respective disciplines. At
the end of the pilot period of five years, a total of 20 NTLI
Technology Fellows will have been appointed. This group will
collectively constitute an expert panel that can identify, assess,
and recommend other innovations in teacher education.
Faculty in all content areas are most
familiar with the literature and journals in their own discipline.
Another strategy for advancing cross-disciplinary discussion about
technology in teacher preparation that is under consideration
involves cross-publishing across disciplines. Authors publishing in
their content area journals could refer to a sister article
published in another discipline. For instance, a bibliography of
technology and science education articles could be published in
CITE Journal , while a literature review based on
this bibliography could be submitted to a science education
journal, such as the Journal of Science Teacher Education
.
The U.S. Department of Education and a
private foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, have also provided
support for establishment of a Technology and Teacher Education
Digital Scholarship Portal . The portal will offer a common
web site for print and electronic publications related to
technology and teacher education, as well as discussion and
scholarly dialog associated with them. The portal would become an
access point for digital scholarship related to technology and
teacher education and will provide a venue for peer-reviewed
research and findings resulting from the Preparing Tomorrow's
Teachers to Use Technology initiative.
In 1965 the founder of Intel, Gordon
Moore, observed that the density of integrated computer circuits
doubles every 18 months. In practical terms this means that a
handheld computer that costs $300 today will be $150 in 18 months
and $75 in three years. The physical limits of wafer fabrication
technology will not be approached for 20 years. Moore's Law is
therefore expected to hold true for at least that length of
time.
During the course of their careers,
teachers beginning to teach today will enter a future in which
every child has a tablet-sized computer connected to a wireless
network. The technological capacity for innovation will be
available to future educators. The educational benefits of coming
technological innovations will depend upon how we plan for this
future. The collaborative efforts of the teacher educator
associations representing the core content areas are designed to
help ensure that those benefits are realized.
Special thanks to the following
NTLR II participants for reviewing this article and providing
input:
Randy Bell
Michael Berson
Glen Bull
Cindy Bowman
Larry Flick
Joe Garofalo
Julie Gess-Newsome
Cheryl Mason
Carol Pope
Janet Swenson
Elizabeth Yeager
Carl Young
Appendix
National Technology Leadership
Retreat II Participants
March 2001
Teacher Educator
Subject-Specific Associations
Elizabeth Yeager, Chair Elect
National Council for the Social Studies College and University
Faculty Assembly
Janet Swenson, Chair
Council of English Educators
Rose Zbiek
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators
Julie Gess-Newsome, Past President
Association for the Education of Teachers in Science
Barbara Spector, Technology Committee Member
Association for the Education of Teachers in Science
Subject Specific Organizations
Sandra E. Gibbs, Director of Special Programs
National Council of Teachers of English
Gerry Wheeler, Executive Director
National Science Teachers Association
Norman G. Lederman, President
National Association for Research in Science Teaching
Teacher Educator Organizations
JoAnn Lan, Technology Committee Chair
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
Teacher Organizations
Heidi Glidden, Educational Issues
American Federation of Teachers
Educational Technology Organizations
Lajeane Thomas, NETS Project Director
International Society for Technology in Education
David Moursund, Founder
International Society for Technology in Education
Jerry Willis, Founder and Former President
Society for Information Technology and Teacher
Education
Niki Davis, President Elect
Society for Information Technology and Teacher
Education
Ann Thompson, President
Society for Information Technology and Teacher
Education
National Technology Leadership Initiative Board
Members
Carol Pope
Council of English Educators
Larry Flick
Association for the Education of Teachers in Science
Randy Bell
Association for the Education of Teachers in Science
Richard Diem
National Council for the Social Studies College and University
Faculty Assembly
Cheryl Mason
National Council for the Social Studies College and University
Faculty Assembly
Joe Garofalo
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators
Jim Cooper, PT3 Catalyst Grant Principal
Investigator
University of Virginia
CITE Journal Editors
Mark Klespis, Mathematics Education Section
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators
Christine A. Browning, Mathematics Education
Section
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators
Alan Colburn, Science Education Section
Association for the Education of Teachers in Science
Cindy Bowman, English Education Section
Council of English Educators
Carl Young, English Education Section
Council of English Educators
Michael J. Berson, Social Studies Education
Section
NCSS College and University Faculty Assembly
David Hicks, Social Studies Education Section
NCSS College and University Faculty Assembly
John Lee, Social Studies Education Section
NCSS College and University Faculty Assembly
Kara Dawson, Current Practices Section
Society for Information Technology and Teacher
Education
Dee Anna Willis, Current Practices Section
Society for Information Technology and Teacher
Education
Lynn Bell, Managing Editor
University of Virginia
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