16.

Journal of Computing in Teacher Education

http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Membership/SIGs/SIGTE_Teacher_Educators_/J
CTE/Past_Issues2/Volume23/Number4Summer2007/Summer_2007.htm

vol 23, n.4, Summer 2007

Reexamining the Practicum Placement: How to Leverage Technology to Prepare

Preservice Teachers for the Demands of the 21st Century (PDF, 268 KB, PDF Instructions)
Rachel Karchmer-Klein
While many factors are taken into account when identifying appropriate practicum placements,
effective technology use by the classroom teacher is rarely considered. This is disconcerting
given the recent emphasis on teacher technology preparation. The research described in this
article studies 30 preservice teachers’ participation in a six-week virtual practicum. The
practicum took place completely over the Internet and allowed the preservice teachers to
interact with and observe experienced classroom teachers as they implemented high-quality
technology-supported literacy instruction. Using constant-comparative methods, field notes, e-
mail correspondences, and survey responses were analyzed in relation to the three research
questions: (1) How does a virtual practicum create opportunities to learn ways to manage
technology integration in the classroom? (2) How does a virtual practicum create opportunities
to learn ways to integrate technology into literacy instruction? and (3) How does a shared
practicum experience allow preservice teachers to engage in class discussions and problem-
solve issues confronted in their host classrooms?

Benefits and Challenges of Using Live Modeling to Help Preservice Teachers

Transfer Technology Integration Principles (PDF, 273 KB, PDF Instructions)
Richard E. West and Charles R. Graham
One method underutilized in training teachers to use technology is to use live modeling
sessions. This study qualitatively investigates how the use of modeling sessions impacted
students. In this study we found that modeling was perceived by most students to be effective at
teaching technology skills and ideas for integrating technology as teachers. However, we
identified several breakdowns in the ability of students to transfer their understanding of
technology integration to their own situations. We explain this difficulty of transfer of learning
and describe five situations when these breakdowns were likely to occur. Implications include the
benefits of using live modeling if adapted to address students’ unique needs, as well as future
research into the impact of contextual differences on the transfer of students’ learning.

Developing Pedagogical Technology Integration Content Knowledge in Preservice

Teachers: A Case Study Approach (PDF, 879 KB, PDF Instructions)
Laurie Brantley-Dias, Wanjira Kinuthia, Mary B. Shoffner, Christopher de Castro, and Neil J. Rigole
This research examined the effects of case-based instructional strategies on the development of
Pedagogical Technology Integration Content Knowledge (PTICK) in alternative teacher
preparation students. The study was part of the Crossroads Project funded by the Preparing
Tomorrow’s Teachers for Using Technology (PT3) grant from the United States Department of
Education. Thirty-three students completed a six-week course in technology integration in
teaching methods at a large Southeastern university. Content analysis was used to examine
student data: case responses, case reflections, and course reflections. Although there were
mixed responses to the case analysis process, findings indicated that as the semester
progressed the preservice teachers began to display an understanding of integrated concepts of
PTICK and valued learning from the group case discussions.

A Task-Oriented Framework for Stand-Alone Technology Integration Classes (PDF,

803 KB, PDF Instructions)
Thomas C. Hammond
A long-standing challenge for schools of education is how to prepare teachers to effectively
integrate technology into classroom instruction. A widespread practice in training preservice
teachers is the stand-alone technology class. These classes have evolved over time. This article
suggests a further development in stand-alone technology classes: a task-oriented framework.
In this approach, instruction focuses on common classroom activities of teachers and students,
such as collaboration, research, presentation, and composition. Technologies appropriate for
each activity are then explored. The task-oriented framework described here was developed in
the context of a stand-alone technology course for preservice secondary humanities teachers.

Vol 23, n.3, Spring 2007

 Strategies for Creating Community in a Graduate Education Online Program (PDF,
144 KB, PDF Instructions)
Penny Silvers and Jody O'Connell, and Martha Fewell
This article describes the practical application of social learning theory to build and sustain
community in an asynchronous online learning environment. It presents ways that community-
building can occur in a graduate online education program through the shared meaning-making
processes occurring among students within and across interdisciplinary online courses as
communities of practice emerge. Three professors share their experiences and strategies for
developing, teaching, reflecting, and learning about creating communities of practice. Strategies
include using interactive learning experiences, flexible grouping, extended online discussions, e-
mail and journaling, video, digital storytelling, and power point presentations. Examples of online
discussions show how student learning is situated in the group interactions revealing shared
values, beliefs and practices generated within the online community.

Shaping Teacher Candidates' Digital Portfolios: What Administrators Want for

Hiring (PDF, 700 KB, PDF Instructions)
By Rick Snoeyink and Joy Meyer
Abstract
This qualitative study investigated P-12 school administrators' perceptions of teacher education
candidates' online digital portfolios for hiring purposes. Over the course of three semesters,
focus group interviews and an online questionnaire gauged administrators' perceptions of
selected candidates' portfolios and how they might be used to help select teachers to hire.
Based on preliminary feedback from administrators, candidates had opportunity to modify their
portfolios each semester. Findings give evidence that administrators will use digital portfolios as
a tool in the hiring process if they can easily access them, navigation is clear, and items they
have traditionally used are still available. Administrators also viewed online video clips of
candidates as a potentially powerful tool to help in selecting teachers to hire.

An Academic Technology Initiative for Teacher Preparation Candidates:

Implications for Preservice Teacher Programs (PDF, 637 KB, PDF Instructions)
Jennifer Vermillion, Michael Young, and Robert Hannafin
Schools of education (SOEs) are experiencing increased pressure to prepare teacher candidates
for the effective and innovative integration of technologies. Lack of both ubiquitous on-campus
access and effective modeling by SOE faculty are two often-cited barriers to reaching this goal.
The Academic Technology Initiative (ATI) at a large Northeastern university provided laptops and
support for all preservice teachers and faculty in an attempt to address these barriers. Using a
grounded theory, ethnographic approach, this study examines how the removal of access and
infrastructure barriers affects technology integration and faculty technology modeling. Our
findings may help inform new technology strategies at both this and other universities designing
such programs. We expect to identify new barriers and limitations that hold important
implications for the future of the ATI and teacher preparation programs in general.

Filling the Gap with Technology Innovations: Standards, Curriculum,

Collaboration, Success! (PDF, 790 KB, 73 seconds, PDF Instructions)
Mia Kim Williams and Teresa S. Foulger
Filling the Gap with Innovations is a study of a higher education professional development model
used to infuse a teacher education program with technology innovations in order to address
curriculum gaps. Professional educators at the university level are not traditionally collaborative.
Yet, when an assessment of program alignment to state professional teacher standards
identified six areas inadequately addressed by program content, instructors participated in a
collaborative process to eliminate the deficiencies using innovative technology solutions. The
three processes from the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) helped instructors better
collaborate during the change process as well as provided summative data. The results indicate
collaborative practices had the most impact on the level to which the innovation was used and
adopted by participants

vol 23, no.2, Winter 2007

Voices in Videoconferencing: Technology Integration in Teacher Education

Courses (PDF, 687 KB, PDF Instructions)
Katherine A. O’Connor, Terry S. Atkinson, Melissa N. Matusevich, H. Carol Greene, Carol Pope,
and Amy J. Good
This manuscript describes the efforts of several instructors who incorporated videoconferencing
in their teacher education courses at two large universities in the southeastern United States.
Professors preparing teachers to teach elementary and middle school examined their interactive
videoconference experiences linking preservice teachers with students in real classroom
settings. Three projects are described. The first project involved “teleobservation” whereby
professors co-taught with K–6 classroom teachers while preservice teachers observed. The
second project focused on a middle-grades English Language Arts professor whose preservice
teachers observed middle school students in real time. In the third project, a university professor
served as a live audience for an elementary Reader’s Theatre performance. The lessons learned
through the evaluation of these three projects are discussed.

Exemplary Technology-using Teachers: Perceptions of Factors Influencing

Success (PDF, 562 KB, PDF Instructions)
Peggy A. Ertmer, Anne Ottenbreit-Leftwich, and Cindy S. York
Exemplary technology-using teachers achieve meaningful technology use in learner-centered,
constructive environments despite the presence of both internal and external barriers. In this
study, we discuss factors that enabled teachers to overcome these barriers, as identified by 25
winners of statewide technology teacher awards. In addition, we explored teachers’ perceptions
of the relative value of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors that were perceived to play key roles
in their success.

Using Distance Technology to Sustain Teacher Education for Student Teachers in

Isolated Areas: The Technology Supported Induction Network (PDF, 636KB, PDF
Instructions)
Sara Winstead Fry and Carol Bryant
This qualitative study evaluated the Technology Supported Induction Network’s (TSIN) effect on
15 elementary education student teachers in isolated rural schools. The student teachers were
50-300 miles away from their university; thus, it was difficult for faculty to provide support and
supervision. The TSIN provided student teachers with professional development opportunities
and virtual connections to their peers and university through distance technology, including an
online discussion board and compressed video. Findings indicate that the TSIN supported
reflective practice, curricular and emotional support, and connections to peers, but not
connections to the university. TSIN participants also developed their technology skills and
confidence. The strengths and limitations of using distance technology to support student
teachers are discussed along with recommendations for improving the TSIN design.

Integrating Technology during Student Teaching: An Examination of Teacher

Work Samples (PDF, 595 KB, 73 seconds, PDF Instructions)
John E. Henning, Victoria L. Robinson, Mary Corwin Herring, and Terri McDonald
This study examined the teacher work samples of 197 student teachers to determine their level
of technology integration during student teaching. Findings indicated that most student teachers
planned to use some kind of technology, although only 40% planned to include computers and
less than 20% planned for the use of computers by students. The barriers to technology
integration were most often related to instruction (e.g., the technology did not serve the learning
goals and the technology was not
developmentally appropriate) rather than a lack of available resources and time. These findings
may be explained in part by the unique character of the teacher work sample (TWS) data, which
prompts student teachers to report on their technology use during a single unit of instruction.