What do teachers need to know about educational technology?
Technology proficiency was conceptualised as a wide range of competencies for teachers to master (Wiebe & Taylor, 1997), including concrete skills (e.g., keyboarding, connecting a computer to the network), software applications (e.g., word processing, spreadsheets), key technology concepts (e.g., networking, distributed computing), and transformative uses of technology in the classroom (e.g., learner-centred inquiry, using real-time data).
From the way I had my previous professional development courses and the way it is designed (by some of the big names in the technology providers industry), I have always had the same questions:
- How can I implement this into my practice?
- What are the pedagogical features necessary to deliver my course?
- Who are my learners?
- What drives and motivates them?
- How can I align technology to facilitate learning based on the pedagogical features of the course and the learners' needs?
The only answer I have ever had (which was not necessarily the best) was originated from the way I understand the course or the material received, perhaps it would have been better -in my opinion- if it was shared and discussed with peers and colleagues during the workshop or the course coming to a clear consensus as a team will provide for a more consistent experience.
Traditional methods of technology training for teachers-mainly workshops and courses-are ill-suited to produce the "deep understanding" that can assist teachers in becoming intelligent users of technology for pedagogy (Brand, 1997; Milken Exchange on Education Technology, 1999; US Department of Education, 1999).
These traditional approaches for teachers’ training and workshops lead to teachers becoming technology consumers only by knowing how to use the tools, rather than, appreciating the complex set of interrelationships between artefacts, users, tools, and practices.
One of the ways to improve teacher training quality and link it with pedagogy is learning by design, as teachers learning by doing through design-based activities for learning within the context of social constructivism (Cole, 1997; Vygotsky, 1978) or constructionism (Harel, 1991; Harel & Papert, 1991), design projects lend themselves to sustained inquiry and revision of ideas.
“This allows teachers to explore the ill-structured domain of educational technology and develop flexible ways of thinking about technology, design and learning, and thus develop Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge” (Koehler M. J. & Mishra P., 2005).
Teacher change cannot be achieved merely through direct instruction. It requires teachers to experience, as learners, the kinds of novel learning environments that can facilitate and enhance learning through the appropriate use of technology (Salomon, 1998).
Kindly access the personal Padlet board for more relevant artefacts and pieces of literature.
References:
Brand, G. (1997). Wh1t research says Training teachers for using technology. Journal of Staff Development, 19(1), 1 0-13. Retrieved June 28, 2004, from http://www.nsdc.org/library/jsd/brand191.html
Cole, M. (1997). Cultural psychology: a once and future discipline. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Harel, I. ( 1991). Children designers: Interdisciplinary constructions for learning and knowing mathematics in a computer-rich school. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Harel, I, & Papert, S. (1991). Constructionism. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing
Koehler M. J. & Mishra P. (2005) Teachers Learning Technology by Design, Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 21:3, 94-102
Milken Exchange on Education Technology. (1999). Will new teachers be prepared to teach in a digital age? [Online]. Retrieved June 28, 2004, from http://www.mff.org/publications/publications.taf?page= 154.
Salomon, G. (1998). Technology's promises and dangers in a psychological and educational context. In A. De Yaney, (Ed.), Theory to practice: Technology and the culture of classrooms (pp. 4-10). Columbus, OH: College of Education, The Ohio State University.
U.S. Department of Education, National Centre for Education Statistics (2003, April). Weaving a secure web around education: A guide to technology standards and security. Retrieved June 28, 2004, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003381.pdf.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wiebe, J. H., & Taylor, H. G. (1997). What should teachers know about technology? A revised look at the ISTE foundations. journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 13(3), 5-9.
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