Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education has a whole new look, and article URLs have changed. We have found 2 articles that may match the URL you entered or followed:

Teacher Beliefs and Their Influence on Technology Use: A Case Study

by Rena Shifflet, Illinois State University; & Gary Weilbacher, Illinois State University

In this article, the authors describe a case study approach used to examine the complexities and contradictions of ways teachers perceive and implement technology in a seventh-grade social studies class. The participants in this qualitative research study were a 13-year veteran social studies teacher and the student intern who worked with this teacher during a year-long professional development school experience in a culturally and economically diverse middle grades school. Using interviews and classroom observations, the authors portrayed the beliefs and practices of the two participants in relation to their views of technology and its uses in the classroom. The findings support and deepen current literature and suggest that, although teachers believe that technology can be used to help engage students in thinking critically to promote self-regulated learning  and improve literacy skills, such beliefs do not always come to fruition in actual classroom practice.

Commentary: Science, Technology, and Society in Guidelines for Using Technology to Prepare Social Studies Teachers: A Reply to Hicks et al. and Crocco and Leo

by Lance Mason, Indiana University Kokomo

This essay is a response to both the “Guidelines for Using Technology to Prepare Social Studies Teachers” published in this journal by Hicks, Lee, Berson, Bolick, and Diem (2014) and the rejoinder by Crocco and Leo (2015).  The author agrees with Crocco and Leo’s assessment that removing the principal regarding science, technology, and society is concerning, though for different reasons.  The technology guidelines should include an examination of the nonneutrality of technology, including the psychological and social effects of technology, as part of this principle.  This approach could foster more competent decisions regarding the implementation of digital tools in the social studies curriculum.