A Service Learning Model: Meeting NCATE Standards Through Educational Technology

Service learning can be described as learning experiences that serve the needs of a specific community and enable students to draw meaningful connections between theory and practice. Through service learning, students observe and model the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. It is important that education programs are built upon NCATE standards in order to ensure quality. This service learning model is based on an undergraduate level educational technology course. Through their participation in Introduction to Computers in Education, future teachers gain practical experience in a school-based environment that prepares them in the use of educational technology for teaching and learning

Faculty Development Initiative for Converting F2F Courses into Online Courses

With faculty development changes in practice from traditional face-to-face to online delivery modalities, this paper describes an initiative for faculty at a College of Education whereby pre-existing courses are converted for online delivery. Opportunities and challenges are examined and used in the development of best practices for faculty development that embrace the use of online modalities. What strategies can Online Learning Mentors use to achieve the expected outcomes when mentees differ in technology competencies, pedagogical skills and have minimal online experience? Implications for faculty preparation, professional growth, and considerations for online conversion are discussed

Methods for Marine Ecosystems Research through the Use of PDAs with Preservice Teachers

Science teachers are charged with the task of providing students in grades K-12 with opportunities that will enable them to make sense of science and develop habits of mind. One goal of science education is to prepare well-rounded citizens who are scientifically literate. Through inquiry-based learning, students formulate questions, perform investigations, and construct new understandings. It is important for preservice science teachers to be introduced to current techniques, discoveries, and debates in the field of science. The use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) can provide K-12 students with increased opportunities for exploring and learning through scientific investigations. In order for these devices to be successfully integrated into classroom instruction, changes in teaching methodologies must be adopted. This paper presents a model lesson that can be used to guide preservice teachers in the use of PDAs for studying a marine ecosystem. The field experience takes place on the shoreline of Long Island Sound at Stratford Point, in Stratford Connecticut

Methods for Marine Ecosystems Research through the Use of PDAs with Preservice Teachers

Science teachers are charged with the task of providing students in grades K-12 with opportunities that will enable them to make sense of science and develop habits of mind. One goal of science education is to prepare well-rounded citizens who are scientifically literate. Through inquiry-based learning, students formulate questions, perform investigations, and construct new understandings. It is important for preservice science teachers to be introduced to current techniques, discoveries, and debates in the field of science. The use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) can provide K-12 students with increased opportunities for exploring and learning through scientific investigations. In order for these devices to be successfully integrated into classroom instruction, changes in teaching methodologies must be adopted. This paper presents a model lesson that can be used to guide preservice teachers in the use of PDAs for studying a marine ecosystem. The field experience takes place on the shoreline of Long Island Sound at Stratford Point, in Stratford Connecticut

Informal Technology Coaching: Using Pre-Service Teacher Field Experiences to Support K-12 Flipped Classroom Instruction

This paper describes a pilot field experience component that is part of an online graduate level course in educational technology for pre-service teacher candidates. As part of the field experience, teacher candidates develop a model lecture video and learning activity screencast that are used to coach certified teachers in the methods for “flipping” their classrooms. The field experience is used by course instructors to determine the ability of their teacher candidates to plan technology-enhanced learning experiences, deepen their content knowledge, and improve their abilities to select and use developmentally appropriate technologies. Certified teachers benefit through informal coaching by pre-service teacher candidates that provides these teachers with professional development opportunities in technology integration along with the latest methods for increasing K-12 student learning and engagement in the content areas

Increasing Peer Collaboration in Digital Learning Environments

Presentation made at the Fall Faculty Institute Sacred Heart University October 15, 2013

Teaching the Catholic Intellectual Tradition through an Experiential Learning Program

A Catholic University has a specific mission of preserving, transmitting and developing the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. This paper proposes an experiential learning program to support this mission of the catholic universities. This program aims to provide integrated and practical learning of fundamental moral values of catholic intellectual tradition and issues related to social justice while developing the critical and analytical thinking through exposure to real world problems, their possible solutions and a personal reflection. In this paper, we use a microfinance program in an underdeveloped country as the premise for the experiential learning program specifically for business students. Moreover, the proposed program has a clearly defined 5-step module with flexibility to adapt to different academic discipline