Technology Use in Middle Grades Teacher Preparation Programs

Changes in reading and reading comprehension precipitated by the emergence of the Internet and related to information and digital communication applications have been noted in the reading and literacy fields for some time now. Teacher education programs play a special role in preparing teachers for instruction that capitalizes on such changes. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which teacher education programs help teachers to embrace and critique technology, and literacies they engender, in teaching reading at the middle-school level. The study found the middle grades teacher education programs in this study to encourage the use of a range of technology tools. While traditional technology was viewed and used frequently for the purpose of teacher and student productivity (e.g., to record, display, or deliver information), information/communication as well as multimedia applications were viewed more often as sources of multimodal and interactive texts and as tools for meaning representation. Although the new generation web tools such blogs, Google tools, or webcasting applications were recognized as new types of texts, many of the multimodal texts and media that pre-service teachers were exposed to or explored for classroom use in this study were, however, older generation applications such as PowerPoint presentations, magazines, or environmental signs and symbols. Additionally, teacher educators’ and their students’ access to basic reading software, including fluency and comprehension programs, was limited. Implications from these findings are further discussed

Transforming pre-service teacher curriculum: observation through a TPACK lens

This paper will discuss an international online collaborative learning experience through the lens of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. The teacher knowledge required to effectively provide transformative learning experiences for 21st century learners in a digital world is complex, situated and changing. The discussion looks beyond the opportunity for knowledge development of content, pedagogy and technology as components of TPACK towards the interaction between those three components. Implications for practice are also discussed. In today’s technology infused classrooms it is within the realms of teacher educators, practising teaching and pre-service teachers explore and address effective practices using technology to enhance learning

Teaching and learning in virtual worlds: is it worth the effort?

Educators have been quick to spot the enormous potential afforded by virtual worlds for situated and authentic learning, practising tasks with potentially serious consequences in the real world and for bringing geographically dispersed faculty and students together in the same space (Gee, 2007; Johnson and Levine, 2008). Though this potential has largely been realised, it generally isn’t without cost in terms of lack of institutional buy-in, steep learning curves for all participants, and lack of a sound theoretical framework to support learning activities (Campbell, 2009; Cheal, 2007; Kluge & Riley, 2008). This symposium will explore the affordances and issues associated with teaching and learning in virtual worlds, all the time considering the question: is it worth the effort

Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action

Outlines a community education movement to implement Knight's 2009 recommendation to enhance digital and media literacy. Suggests local, regional, state, and national initiatives such as teacher education and parent outreach and discusses challenges

Beginning Teachers\u27 Technology Integration Self-Efficacy Based on Level of Technology Infusion in the Undergraduate Program

Four-year educator preparation programs in North Carolina are tasked with producing teachers capable of effectively integrating technology in the curriculum. The state created The Digital Learning Competencies for Classroom Teachers as the guidelines for what teachers are expected to know and be able to do with regards to digital technology integration. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between beginning teacher self-efficacy with technology integration and the extent to which technology was infused in their undergraduate four-year educator preparation programs (stand-alone course versus technology infusion across the undergraduate curriculum versus a combination of both a technology course and technology infusion). This study used a non-experimental ex post facto causal-comparative design to examine the survey responses of 126 elementary school teachers in North Carolina who graduated from four-year educator preparation programs and were in the first three years of their teaching careers. The scale used was an electronic version of the Technology and Teaching Efficacy Scale (TTES). The data was analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS. The study did not identify any statistically significant differences in the beginning teachers’ total technology integration self-efficacy scores based on the level of technology infusion in their undergraduate teacher education programs. Recommendations for further research include replicating the study across the state, follow-up qualitative research, and longitudinal research on beginning teacher technology integration self-efficacy over the first three years

The Interface of Technology in Culinary Arts Education

Introduction: A culinary educator must make many decisions that affect the day-to-day activities in both the classroom and the lab. One of the more important decisions is how to select the most appropriate technology to implement for use in teaching and administrative activities. The research presented here is intended to help the educator identify specific needs, decide where the use of technology is desirable, and offer information designed to help the educator make an informed decision about using technology as a teaching tool. Purpose Statement: The purpose of this paper is to inform the culinary educator about the technology available for use in both the classroom and the lab setting. There is an ever-increasing pool of technology, making it more important than ever that the educator choose the appropriate lab/kitchen equipment and software programs for use in a specific culinary program. Making an informed decision ensures maximum usefulness of the technology in the setting

Designing Open and Distance Learning for Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: A toolkit for educators and planners

Everyone remembers a good teacher. Good teachers are the key to educational expansion and improvement. In many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is an urgent need to expand the number of primary and secondary teachers. In all African countries, there is an equally important need to improve the quality of teaching. To achieve this, it is clear that new approaches to teacher education are essential. Existing institutions of teacher education will continue to play an important role, but, alone, they will not meet the goals of Education for All (EFA) by 2015. It is fortunate that, just as the twin needs to improve the quantity and quality of teachers become imperative, so new forms of education and training are becoming available. The world is witnessing a revolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs), which can offer training and support of a type and at a cost hitherto impossible to consider, and thus, must be fully explored given the scale and urgency of demand. In doing so, however, it will be necessary to build on existing and well-tested strategies, including the best models of open and distance learning. This toolkit is the third in a series of recent publications by the Africa Region Human Development Department of the World Bank to share knowledge and experience on how distance education and ICTs can support education in Sub-Saharan Africa. It emphasizes the rigorous process by which new forms of distance-education programs for teacher education can be planned and implemented. The best models of established programs are considered along with the potential for incorporating, as the means become available, new modes of communication. Most forms of teacher education, particularly those concerned with qualification upgrading and ongoing professional development, will have to be based in schools. The authors demonstrate how school-based programs, appropriately resourced and supported, have the potential not only to raise significantly the number and quality of teachers, but also to improve classroom practice and school organization, generally. The guidance and advice, which is drawn from many years of experience in design and implementation, and embraces a range of case studies from across the region, will be of considerable value to those preparing new policies and programs of teacher education and to those seeking to improve existing programs

Profiles, perceptions, and practices related to customizable computer-aided instructions (MacGAMUT) among postsecondary aural-training instructors

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston UniversityThe purpose of this study was to examine relationships between demographic and educational characteristics of postsecondary aural-training instructors and their practices using CAI (here, MacGAMUT). Instructors who use MacGAMUT (N = 278) were surveyed about their profiles, perceptions, and practices using a pilot-tested, researcher-designed online questionnaire. Two separate four-way MANOVAs were chosen to simultaneously analyze whether respondents differed on eight dependent variables. Significant main effects were found for the whole model (p = .010), gender (p = .018), and years using MacGAMUT (p = .006) in MANOVA 1; and the whole model (p = .022), years teaching aural skills (p = .015), and years using MacGAMUT (p = .001) in MANOVA 2. Significant interaction effects included the influence of gender on monitoring student usages of MacGAMUT (p = .017), years using MacGAMUT on the impact of CAI on learning dictation skills (p < .0001), years using MacGAMUT on the impact of instructors' interactions and involvement with MacGAMUT on learning dictation skills (p < .0001), and years using MacGAMUT on the impact of customization on learning dictation skills (p = .004) in MANOVA 1; and the influence of years using MacGAMUT on the importance of requiring students to use MacGAMUT in Mastery Mode (p = .005), and years using MacGAMUT on how often students are required to submit MacGAMUT assignments (p = .011) in MANOVA 2. Conclusions focus on the instructional uses of MacGAMUT as having a positive impact on student learning of dictation, thus placing a greater responsibility on the instructor to coordinate their uses of CAI thoughtfully with the curriculum. Suggestions for further research include gender differences using more complex types of music technology, in-class practices of aural training, reasons for default changes, userfriendliness, reasons for discontinued use, professional development, graduate training in technology, foundational assumptions among Digital Natives, and a replication of the study

Academy Students\u27 and Pre-Service Teachers\u27 Perceptions of the Use of Electronic Technology in Their Personal Life and School Experiences in a Selected Union Conference

Problem. The influx of N-Gen students into the classroom of teachers of earlier generations has created a digital generation gap. This gap has serious consequences for schools. For example, only half of the public school teachers who had computers or the Internet available in their schools use them for classroom instruction. However, today’s students are very technology savvy, feel strongly about the positive value of technology and rely upon technology as an essential and preferred component of every aspect of their lives. It appears that the slow speed at which technology is changing the classroom is providing challenges to educators and students. -- Method. This study used the survey research design method to examine the perceptions towards the use of technology based on the NetDay SpeakUp Day studies. As this study investigated students’ and pre-service teachers’ perceptions of technologies used in and out of the classroom, the survey research design was used to obtain information from students and pre-service teachers. This study gathered information related to the status of technology use by pre-service teachers and by 11th- and 12th-grade students. These research data were collected through surveys of students and pre-service educators. Students were asked to participate through the school principals, and pre-service teachers were asked to participate through their educational training department chairs of their schools of the selected Union of Seventh-day Adventists. -- Results. The first research question asked: “What are the perceptions of high school students’ use of technology and their advanced technological abilities?” Almost all (96.4%) of students in Grades 11-12 consider technology as important for their education. A small group (3.6%) seems to have significantly different views on technology and their education. About half of the students (50.8%) claim to get help with their school work using technology at school more than at place of residence. Less than half (46.1%) said they get help from place of residence. The students report showed that almost half of the students (47.5%) use the computer lab at school more than the classroom computers or the library computers. Few of the students (2.6%) seem not to use computers regularly at school. Research question 2 asked: “What are the perceptions of senior pre-service teachers in their technological abilities?” In response to the question, “Teachers’ who consider themselves well prepared by the school program use technology-related tools to enhance teaching,” more than threequarters (84.0%) indicated (Agree or Strongly Agree) they feel they are prepared to use computer productivity tools, whereas almost three-quarters (72.0%) believe they can handle using integrated technology tools in specific curriculum-related work. About twothirds (68.0%) believe they can handle using integrated technology tools in general curriculum-related work. A little more than half (52.0%) feel they can use instructional technology tools. And less than half (44.0%) believe they can handle using technology instructional tools for management of their classroom or work. Research question 3 asked: “What selected variables contribute to the advanced technological perceptions of students and pre-service teachers?” To answer these questions two linear regressions were run, one for students and one for pre-service teachers. First to determine if a linear regression would be appropriate, a correlation test was run for the students between overall tech-savvy scores and technology variables of the perception of students. Three significant correlations were found as follows: (a) Products used on a regular basis at school, r = .83, (b) products used in all subject areas, r = .58, and (c) experiences in Internet use, r = .84. Based on these strong correlations, I then moved to a linear regression analysis. --Conclusion. What do we know about Adventist high-school students through this study? They are active computer users; they use desktop computers and laptop computers more regularly at their place of residence than at school. They may not have a variety of technology at school but seem to have a variety of technology at their place of residence since they use more computers there than at school. They are perceived to be savvy users with the technology available to them, although they did not have a great range of experience using much of the technology referred to in the survey. They seem to have an interest in knowing how to use the technology at school since they said that not knowing how to use the technology was an obstacle to their productivity. Male students appear to be savvier than female students and this was due to the various out-of-school technologies they were using and/or exposed to. The results from this study reaffirm that there is a need for more training and support in the use of technology integration and interaction in Adventist schools. What do we know now about the preparation and use of technology by preservice teachers because of this study? Pre-service teachers feel that the preparation programs at Adventist colleges are adequately preparing them for use of technology in the classroom but they are still more likely to use computers at their home than at school to do professional preparations. It is important to note that the pre-service teachers in this study did not feel adequately prepared to handle most of the social and security issues in the classroom. Thus teachers’ training programs should include training in computer security issues and how to handle these issues in the computer environment at school. Pre-service teachers desire faster updates of hardware, software, and peripherals. They also want technical support available in their institution. They support a lab that would be open after school and during the weekends for professional practice and preparation for their teaching in the classroom. The pre-service teachers in this study rated their preparation to engage students in learning with technology as relatively weak when compared with other areas. This indicates the need to improve both pre-service and in-service training for technology integration in the learning process