September 2001 — Features
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Technology in Secondary Teacher Education
In addition, the course includes the following technology objectives: understanding the uses of technology on changing teacher roles and diverse learning environments; understanding the ethical implications of technology; and using a variety of computer applications in developing class projects. Now, every secondary education pre-service teacher will take the course, whether they are in the innovative I-STEP section or any of the traditional program sections.
Two graduate assistants, former classroom teachers who are skilled in technology, now teach the technology strand in both the I-STEP and traditional programs. However, in each case, the regular faculty members are also present at the time of laboratory instruction so that in the future they will be able to teach these technology components themselves. Thus, professional development of university faculty, as well as pre-service training, is taking place simultaneously. This direct instruction takes place in either a Mac or PC lab for a block of time no less than an hour and 15 minutes per session. This technology integration includes direct instruction and the production of student artifacts in the areas of multimedia presentations, Internet investigations, spreadsheets and desktop publishing.
During the semester, each student will be a member of two interdisciplinary teams that will be charged with solving authentic school-related problems. These teams do research on the Internet, as well as in appropriate books and journals to formulate possible solutions to each problem. The final projects are presentations to mock-school boards and special education evaluation teams. A required component of these presentations is electronic supporting documentation using Microsoft's PowerPoint.
Each student will also be required to create a WebQuest that they would use with their high school or middle school students in each of their respective content areas. WebQuests are inquiry-oriented activities in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet. After completing a longer term WebQuest, a learner will have deeply analyzed a body of knowledge, transformed it in some way, and demonstrated an understanding of the material by creating something that others can respond to, online or off.
Students will also become familiar enough with spreadsheets to understand their multiple uses for everything from setting up a worksheet to calculating grades, to keeping athletic team statistics or club accounting records. Students can keep budget information for a school store, enter hours of work, or set up "what if" situations for solving math and statistical problems. Spreadsheets are tools of practical value that require minimal math skills to accomplish tedious calculations and gain understanding of mathematical concepts (Brownell, Young and Metzger 1999).
A final technological artifact that will be produced by each student will be a newsletter they might send home to parents, or their own students might be taught to create. Using word processing or desktop publishing allows students and teachers to create newsletters for their classrooms, clubs or parents. They learn appropriate formatting and uses of graphics and text for communicating ideas and issues, or just reporting on current activities. Throughout the semester, students are investigating and reading articles about the ethical implications of technology in classrooms, pondering such troubling issues as gender equity, equity of access, students with special needs, copyright and responsible use of the Internet.
