New Literacies: Are Colorado Teacher Education Programs Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Use Technology in Their Learning Environments?

A Dissertation Study - University of Denver - August 2004 - Debra S. Austin, PhD, JD

DESCRIPTION AND INTERPRETATION

The Research Sites

The fifteen schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs) that prepare pre-service teachers for Colorado classrooms can be divided into two institution types. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education classifies eleven of the SCDEs as Four-Year Public Institutions and four of the SCDEs as Accredited Non-Public Four-Year Institutions (CCHE, 2004). The Accredited Non-Public Four-Year Institutions are private colleges and universities which are authorized to award degrees or credits and maintain a place of business in Colorado under the Degree Authorization Act found in Article 2, Title 23, of the Colorado Revised Statutes (CCHE, 2004).

Pre-service teachers may study in a variety of locales. Six teacher preparation programs are located in the Denver Metropolitan area. Five teacher education programs reside in medium-size cities along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. There is one SCDE on the Western Slope and three SCDEs in small mountain towns in the southwest portion of the state.

Teacher preparation programs in Colorado offer both Baccalaureate degree programs and Post-Baccalaureate programs. Individual SCDEs may offer students one avenue for teacher licensure, or they may provide both the Baccalaureate and Post-Baccalaureate options. A Baccalaureate degree program is a content-specific undergraduate program that includes field experience and is intended to be completed in eight semesters. Of the fifteen SCDEs that educate pre-service teachers in Colorado, there are fourteen SCDEs in Colorado that offer teacher licensure in Elementary education and fourteen in Secondary education culminating in a bachelor’s degree. Nine programs offer teacher education bachelor’s degree programs for undergraduates wishing to teach K-12 music, art, or physical education (see Table 11).

Post-Baccalaureate licensure programs focus on pedagogy and field experience in order to meet the needs of students who already have a bachelor’s degree in the content area. Both Baccalaureate and Post-Baccalaureate program candidates must pass content area assessment tests for licensure. Seven SCDEs offer Post-Baccalaureate licensure in Elementary education and eight offer Post-Baccalaureate licensure in Secondary education. Two offer Post-Baccalaureate licensure in K-12 education specialties (see Table 12). Seven Colorado teacher preparation programs offer a Master’s degree with Teacher Licensure for students willing to take an additional nine to twelve credits beyond the licensure requirements (see Table 13).

The regulations promulgated under the Educator Licensing Act of 1991, found at Colorado Revised Statutes §22-60.5-101 et seq, authorize alternative licensure programs and requires that a minimum of 225 clock hours of instruction be provided to the alternatively licensed teacher, in addition to the time spent in the classroom teaching in the relevant content area (CDE, 1991). An individual in this program holds an Alternative Teacher License for one year while participating in an accredited alternative licensure program. In order to qualify for an alternative licensure program, a candidate must hold a bachelor’s degree from an approved higher education institution, must have taken a minimum of thirty credits of coursework in the content area of the teaching assignment, and must have passed the content area assessment examination required by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE, 1991).

According to their web site, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) recognizes four teacher preparation programs who offer approved Alternative Licensure Programs (CDE-ALP, 2004) and six who provide Teacher in Residence Programs (CDE-TIR, 2004). In addition to those acknowledged by the Colorado Department of Education, a fifth SCDE asserts its Alternative Licensure Program meets the CDE requirements (see Table 14).

Teacher Licensure Frequency Tables

Table 11

Colorado Baccalaureate Teacher Licensure Programs

Table 12

Colorado Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Licensure Programs

Table 13

Master’s Degree Beyond Initial Licensure with Additional Credits

Table 14

Colorado Alternative Licensure or Teacher-in-Residence Programs

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The Setting

Colorado

Colorado, a Spanish language reference for colored-red, is this country’s eighth largest state. With its geography made up of mountains, plateaus, canyons, and high plains, it is the state with the highest average elevation. The Continental Divide parts the state in half and Colorado’s Rocky Mountains are the headwaters for six major rivers. Waters west of the divide flow toward the Pacific Ocean, while waters on the east flow toward the Atlantic. Colorado boasts over 300 days of sunshine and more than 300 inches of snow at the mountain resorts each year. Known as Fourteeners, the state has 54 mountains which are over 14,000 feet in altitude, the world’s largest plateau in Grand Mesa, the tallest sand dune in America at the Great Sand Dunes National Park, and the world’s largest natural hot springs pool in Glenwood Springs. America the Beautiful was penned by Katherine Lee Bates after she was inspired by the vistas from Pike’s Peak (Adventure Colorado, 2004; Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration, 2004).

Nicknamed the Centennial State because it became a state in 1876, one hundred years after the birth of the nation, Colorado has a colorful history. Home to numerous Native Americans including the Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Navajo, and the Utes, perhaps the most fascinating were the Anasazi, believed to have lived in multi-story cliff dwellings in the canyons of southwestern Colorado approximately four centuries prior to the arrival of Columbus. Spanish explorers, led by Coronado, were the first Europeans to visit Colorado. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson acquired eastern Colorado from France in the Louisiana Purchase. Two military explorers, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike and Major Stephen Long, have notable mountains named for them: Pike’s Peak and Long’s Peak. Mexico ceded the remainder of Colorado to the United States in 1848 in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Adventure Colorado, 2004; Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration, 2004).

Violence marred the displacement of Colorado’s indigenous people by white settlers. As Colorado’s natural resources are discovered, such as gold in 1858 and oil in 1862, Forts were established to protect settlers from attacks by various Indian tribes. In 1864, Cheyenne and Arapaho families were attacked and killed in their encampment by soldiers and settlers in the Sand Creek Massacre. The final battle between Indians and the military occurred in 1869. Mining and agriculture became primary industries and in 1894 Colorado became the second state to extend women the right to vote (Adventure Colorado, 2004; Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration, 2004).

Education has always been important in Colorado. The first school opened at Auraria in 1859 and the Colorado Seminary, which became the University of Denver, was established in 1864 in the Colorado Territory prior to statehood. The University of Colorado in Boulder opened its doors with two teachers and 44 students in 1877, followed by the establishment of the Colorado College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in Ft. Collins in 1879, and the State Normal School in Greeley, now the University of Northern Colorado, in 1890 (Adventure Colorado, 2004; Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration, 2004).

Colorado is now known for high-technology businesses, tourism, its service industry, and the production of grains, beef, fruit, and vegetables. Quality of life is critical to the inhabitants of Colorado and it is the only state in history to turn down the opportunity to host the Olympics due to the cost, pollution, and population boom that was expected in preparation for the 1976 games (Adventure Colorado, 2004; Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration, 2004). The accommodating weather provides residents with access to numerous outdoor recreational pursuits, but Colorado is best known as a winter sports mecca for skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts. There are 34,568 skiable acres, 2,062 trails, and 296 lifts available to skiers and riders in Colorado. Snowboarders will find 38 terrain parks, 20 half-pipes, and five super-pipes here. During every season, 11.5 million skiers and riders visit Colorado, which easily surpasses California at 7.4 million and Utah at 3.1 million. Serious skiers and riders will find nearly twice the advanced/expert terrain in Colorado, at 15,645 acres, than in Utah, at 8,839 acres. Mountain terrain at Colorado’s 24 ski resorts is well-designated for all skill levels of skier and rider. A green circle indicates a beginner slope, a blue square marks an intermediate trail, a black diamond specifies advanced terrain, and double black diamonds are reserved for the most challenging runs (Colorado Ski Country, 2004).

Cyberspace

With the exception of one personal interview, the data for this study was gathered in what has been coined “cyberspace” by William Gibson, author of the cyberpunk novel Neuromancer (Wikipedia, 2004). Cyberspace can be thought of as the virtual reality within the world’s computer networks where transactions occur between computers (New Dictionary, 2002) or the imaginary realm where electronic information is exchanged (MSN Encarta, 2004). RhymeZone (2004) provides a more technical definition and states that cyberspace is “a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange.” Like prior technology such as the telegraph and telephone, cyberspace allows for the enhancement of human contact.

In cyberspace, we can talk, exchange ideas, and assume personae of our own creation. We have the opportunity to build new kinds of communities, virtual communities, in which we participate with people from all over the world, people with whom we converse daily, people with whom we may have fairly intimate relationships but whom we may never physically meet. (Turkle, 1995, p. 9)

Technological media, those extensions of our human senses, are among the staples or natural resources of American society and they shape the scale, pace, or pattern of human contact (McLuhan, 1964, p. 21). The Internet, the global system of computers linked via satellites, cable modems, telephone lines, and wireless networks, has made digital exchange instantaneous. This interaction has been called a smooth ride by Paul Levinson (1997, p. 136), “digitally coated all the way.”

Digitality, the most contemporary form of media, transforms speech and affects the manner in which humans obtain knowledge. Digital noesis describes the process of coming to know via digital media (Dance, 2003).

Electronic text creates not only a new writing space but a new educational space as well. Not only the humanities curriculum, but school and university structures, administrative and physical, are affected at every point, as of course is the whole cultural repository and information system we call a library. (Lanham, 1993, p. xii)

Cyberspace may be an unfamiliar, and therefore unnerving, terrain to adults. It is forever in a state of “unfinish”, as authors and web content producers of all ages add to its subject matter with software and access to a web server (Lunenfeld, 1999). New skills and aptitudes are necessary to navigate and manipulate this space. Acquisition of these skills is analogous to learning a second language, to play the piano, or to ski. It is simply easier when you are younger.

Children, the indigenous inhabitants of cyberspace, are evolving before our eyes as they grow up in digital culture (Maclachlan, 1999). They are able to use their digital tools to solve problems in a non-linear and experimental fashion. Electronic bricolage is the technique of these young pioneers and the world is at their fingertips. American youth find digital tools naturally engaging and available for communicating with their friends, doing homework, shopping, and becoming entrepreneurs (Tapscott, 1998). They are not afraid of taking risks to accomplish their goals. They employ the spirit of adventure necessary to learn to ride a bike or survive playground politics when creating web pages and blogs to commemorate their escapades. Much of this learning takes place during that glorious phase prior to developing concern about failure or what others may think of our performance. Students yearn to use the tools of their era in their formal education. They believe school would be more satisfying and they would perform better on projects and assessments if technology played a greater part in their education (NetDay, 2004). The young are society’s cultural harbingers (Turkle, 1995) and “we will soon have to teach students who have been brought up on interactive electronic ‘texts,’ and we will have to prepare them for a world of work that relies on the electronic word” (Lanham, 1993, p. 10).

It is this digital space, using the electronic word, in which nearly all the data were collected for this study. The schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs) in the state of Colorado select and post information on their web sites that they wish to use to market their programs to potential students and to share information with the members of their existing community, current students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Digital text was exchanged and nearly half of the SCDE cyber-colleagues, who have never met nor heard of me prior to my requests for data, were willing to share information.

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The Technology Education Groups

The decision to include or exclude technology in the curriculum of pre-service teachers and/or education graduate students can be a highly-charged and political determination. Some educators remain unconvinced that technology has a place in teaching and learning. This may be due to a lack of technology in their own education or because they are unfamiliar with current software programs, and therefore cannot imagine the ways in which technology could assist them or their students. It may be due to an effort to maintain the teaching methods that they are comfortable with. This issue may involve academic turf, in that adding technology to the curriculum may reduce the focus on other program content. It may be a budgetary issue because adding technology education results in the expense of hardware, software, and an instructor.

It is likely that some of the research sites in this study do not wish to publicize the state of technology education at their institution. In this initial examination of technology education provided for pre-service teachers in Colorado, I am looking at the state as a whole and not attempting to evaluate individual programs. It is constructive to use groups of similarly-situated institutions with regard to their approach to technology instruction for pre-service teachers in unpacking the data from this study.

For the purposes of exploring the technology education provided to pre-service teachers in Colorado and preserving the anonymity of my research sites, I group the teacher education institutions into three major categories. First, is the group of SCDEs for which I could find no evidence of technology instruction provided to pre-service teachers. The exploration of artifact and interview data of this group revealed no institutional focus on technology for pre-service teachers, resulting in a null technology curriculum and a lack of technology-based pedagogy utilized by teacher educators. Made up of four SCDEs, this group is known as the Technology Deficient Institutions and its members are much like beginner snow boarders or bunny slope skiers. Perhaps they view the issue of technology in pre-service teacher education with great caution due to a lack of experience in using technology in the teaching and learning process. The Technology Deficient Institution topography, marked with a green circle, may cause these institutions to be moving at a slow rate of speed toward technology adoption due to financial restraints or lack of teacher educator training.

Third is the group that requires an Educational Technology Course for their pre-service teachers. This is the largest group, made up of seven SCDEs, and will be known as the Technology Course Institutions. This group functions like an advanced skier, aggressively educating pre-service teachers in technology applications, developing technology-enhanced learning environments, and utilizing technology-based assessments in black diamond fashion. The technology education programs of this group are well-developed and taught by specialized instructors. They appear to have adopted technology at a higher rate of speed than the other groups and eagerly traverse the challenging terrain of technology instruction for pre-service teachers.

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The Data Presentation Framework

As previously mentioned in Chapter 3, this study utilizes Eliot Eisner’s educational criticism and connoisseurship methodology (1976), and Eisner’s five dimensions of educational environments (1998) as a framework for presenting data. The dimensions available for exploration by the educational critic include the intentional, the structural, the curricular, the pedagogical, and the evaluative (Eisner, 1998).

The data are interpreted using the standards (NETS*T, 2003) for the application of technology in educational environments by pre-service and in-service teachers, which contain six standard areas that define the scope of the discipline for Instructional Technology in Teacher Education specialists: Technology Operations and Concepts; Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences; Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum; Assessment and Evaluation; Productivity and Professional Practice; and Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues. This comprehensive framework can be simplified and described as technology applications; technology-based curriculum development, pedagogies, and assessment practice; professional productivity; and the social, ethical, and legal issues of technology use.

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The Intentional Dimension

Educational policy makers are providing leadership by drafting and implementing legislation (EETA, 2002) and promulgating technology standards for teachers and students (CDE, 1999; NETS*S, 2003; NETS*T, 2003). Business leaders, parents, and educators are devising literacies and skills necessary for achievement in the Digital Age (enGauge, 2000; OET, 2003). A National Education Technology Plan, to be released later this year by the U.S. Department of Education, will provide guidance for improving student achievement with technology (OET, 2004). There is an implicit understanding that administrators will implement programs designed to meet the requirements of these policies and standards.

The educational connoisseur’s framework for evaluating instructional settings begins with consideration of the intentions in the environment. An examination of educational objectives or plans provides insight into what is valued at the institution and how those values are prioritized and operationalized (Eisner, 1998). This study uses the NETS*T Standards (2003) and Eisner’s dimensions of educational environments (1998) to elucidate the aims of the technology education groups and ascertain three areas of institutional intent that relate to technology education for pre-service teachers: statements of intent; faculty development plans; and technology education facilities.

Statements of technology intent are a product of institutional vision, the first fundamental condition necessary to the creation of high-performance learning environments (enGauge, 2000). The second condition, the existence of systems and leadership, is embodied by educational institutions in this study in strategies for faculty development and the availability of technology education facilities (enGauge, 2000). While institutional vision, faculty development plans, and the existence of technology education facilities are separately conceived and specific to each SCDE in Colorado, they share common characteristics.

Institutional Statements of Technology Intent

The SCDEs in this study utilize different methods and document labels to communicate their pre-service teacher technology aims and objectives. Analysis was gleaned from either interview responses or artifacts as delineated in Chapter Three of this study. Statements of intent indicate the quantity and quality of institutional or instructor thinking on a curriculum topic, discipline, or educational objective. Each SCDE expression of technology vision is discrete in that it was developed in-house per institution; however, the vision statements of each share some common attributes: instructional technology is viewed as an important educational issue; and while the NETS*T Standards (2003) provide a comprehensive framework for instructional technology in teacher education, none of the expressions of technology intent incorporate all six aspects of the NETS*T Standards (applications, planning/design, pedagogy, assessment, professional productivity, social/ethical/legal issues) in their educational technology philosophies for pre-service teachers. The following discussion is a compilation of institutional intent, organized by Technology Education Group, in which direct quotes come from either SCDE artifacts or interview responses.

Technology Course Institutions

The seven SCDEs that require students to take a course on educational technology articulate a range of technology education intentions. The statements of intent within Technology Course Institutions group can be subdivided into two sub-groups. For the first sub-group, the vision statements are centered on the broad educational goals of enhancing teaching and improving student learning. In the second group, technology mission statements focus on student outcomes.

Improve Teaching and Learning

There are three Technology Course Institutions that center their technology vision on the aim of improving teaching and learning. The aim of improved learning in the first SCDE’s statement of intent is followed by a focus on technology applications and current technology issues, but does not define those issues. It discusses technology integration skills which could incorporate curriculum development, pedagogy, and assessment, but this must be implied by the reader.

Successful professional educators…utilize technology to improve teaching, advance learning, and enhance development. We believe that the infusion of technology throughout the curriculum should be a hallmark of our professional education programs. We believe that candidates should be provided ample opportunities to explore content-specific applications of computing, print, and telecommunications technologies, as well as to analyze current issues related to the utilization of technology by the education community. We further believe that candidates must be afforded opportunities to develop skills in integrating a variety of instructional delivery systems and technologies, and to learn to exploit extant technologies to develop, manage, convey, and assess information necessary to advance effective teaching, learning, and research. (Artifact)

The second member of this group follows its increased student achievement objective with a reference to learning technology applications and the student performance expectation of technology-based curriculum and assessment development. Pre-service students are also told to expect that their instructors will be walking the walk, and demonstrating technology in their teaching. This SCDE

is committed to preparing teachers to use technology as a tool to raise student achievement and to manage many planning and assessment tasks of teaching. All students complete an instructional technology class before admission to education, in which they learn, among other applications, to develop personal websites. Throughout their teaching preparation, students will elaborate on the website as they develop their electronic teaching portfolio. All education classes model state of the art applications of technology, and students are required to utilize technology in planning and asses sment activities through the program. (Artifact)

The statement of intent from the final SCDE in this group has a strong focus on the goal of improved teaching and learning, asserts technology integration is the means to achieve the improvement, but does not provide a definition of integration.

Traditionally, educational technology plays the role of a ‘substitute’ in class instruction; i.e. substituting a power point presentation for overhead transparencies. However, the ‘substitute paradigm’ greatly underestimates the power of these educational tools, as they are becoming ever more affordable, useful, and capable. The power and strength of educational technology stems from its ability, when appropriately integrated into instruction, to support, augment, and enhance classroom teaching and learning. (Artifact)

Student Outcomes

The technology vision statements of members of the second sub-group within the Technology Course Institutions are distinguishable from the statements focused on improved learning because they maintain minimal public statements of intent and they target student outcomes. The first teacher preparation program in this group

provides a curriculum that recognizes the role of technology in instruction. The teacher candidate will be able to apply teaching methodologies and media techniques appropriate to a range of teaching contexts and student needs. (Artifact)

The second member of this group states

Students must…demonstrate the ability to utilize technology and audio-visual aids based on the material to be presented and the needs of the classroom pupils with whom they work. (Artifact)

The members of Technology Course Institutions have individually determined the best course of action to ensure pre-service teacher technology proficiency is to require an educational technology course. Vision statements are often the result of planning and decision-making processes. While the Technology Course Institutions publicize statements of intent with regard to technology education of pre-service teachers, they tend to provide only nominal insight into the institutional thinking behind the decision to require technology course for pre-service teachers and they fail to incorporate all the NETS*T (2003) proficiencies.

Technology Modeling Group

The institutions in this group do not offer or require an educational technology course for their pre-service teachers; however, their statements of intent do not ignore the importance of technology in the learning process and they do promote the significance of technology in education. The common theme of institutional intent among the members of this group is that they address technology within their programs by integrating it throughout the curriculum.

Integration

The first SCDE in this group

envisions educational technology as an important and integral part of our teaching and learning. Educational technology will be effectively and meaningfully integrated into all appropriate courses and content areas. (Artifact)

Technology integration is a theme within the Instructional Technology in Teacher Education literature. The word integration has been used by some authors interchangeably with the terms infusion and immersion (Armstrong, 2000; Thomas, 2000). The implementation technique of providing “full integration into regular courses rather than courses specifically on technology” is unclear (Interview). While technology integration is the goal in the above-mentioned SCDE, there appears to be a lack of accountability for the effectiveness of this approach.

Technology is to be integrated across all courses in the teacher preparation program. This is part of the culture of the program, not an institutionalized process. All members are expected to follow the vision, but this is not enforced or part of the evaluation procedures. (Interview)

Technology integration as practiced by the Technology Modeling Institutions appears to amount to technology-based pedagogies practiced by teacher educators. While an expectation that technology-enriched teaching take place in all pre-service teacher courses, there seems to be no institutional evaluation of this process, nor consequences for those teacher educators who are not modeling technology use.

Technology Deficient Group

Although an analysis of data from the remaining group in the study shows no evidence of technology instruction or integration, the statements of intent acknowledge the importance of technology to pre-service teachers. This group can also be subdivided into two groups: those that focus on student technology outcomes and those tout their technology facilities.

Student Outcomes

The common theme running through these institutional vision statements is a focus on technology knowledge and skill acquisition for pre-service teachers. While stating expectations for student technology use, these institutions appear to provide no avenue for student attainment of these skills. There is no evidence in the data of how these objectives are accomplished by pre-service teachers attending these institutions.

Our goal is to produce graduates who are progressively more able to…demonstrate technological literacy. (Artifact)

In order to survive in the new millennium, all students must acquire the ability to use educational technology for problem solving, critical thinking, and learning knowledge and skills to transport learning far beyond the walls of the classroom and the confines of the school day. (Artifact)

Technology Facilities

Finally, the statement of organizational intent at this Technology Deficient SCDE; “Students learn in state-of-the-art facilities including ‘ smart’ classrooms, high-tech science labs, 21st century visual arts facilities, and cutting-edge computer labs;” (Artifact) does not seem to be operationalized in its teacher education program.

Like most public institutions, we are always about 3 years behind in innovations. Machines are often passed from one faculty member to another for 7-8 years, without software updates. Multimedia, which is flourishing in many institutions, is non-existent here (except in cases where a professor has a serious interest). (Interview)

In order to make changes in the status here, it would take massive infusion of funding, and lots of in-service training. Basically, most of the faculty here are simply too busy working with students to take, or want to take time to learn new technologies, which seem to change rapidly. (Interview)

Technology Aims and Objectives

Each of the technology education groups acknowledges that technology is an educational issue of some importance. The Technology Course Institutions, the black diamond group, publicize the most advanced set of objectives and justifications for inclusion of technology education in their coursework. They intend for technology content and skills to be a part of pre-service teacher preparation and expect that it will enrich teaching, enhance learning, and improve student achievement.

The aims and intensions of the blue square intermediate group, the Technology Modeling Institutions, are not as fully developed as the black diamond institutions. This group asserts that technology is integrated across all its education courses; however, little detail is expressed in the statements of intent. In fact, there is an indication that while technology integration is an expectation of teacher educators, it is not included in performance evaluation.

The technology education vision of the green circle Technology Deficient Institutions is expressed in terms of student expectation and innovative technology facilities. While the very “survival” of pre-service teachers depend on educational technology skill acquisition, there is no mention of how those skills are to be acquired. Finally, one SCDE advertises its innovative, technology-enhanced learning facilities, but additional data indicate faculty are under-equipped and ill-prepared to utilize technology in their teaching.

Statements of intent are only an indication of institutional and/or instructor values and do not necessarily reflect the actual practice of the institution. Other indicators of intent include the existence of faculty professional development plans and the availability of technology education facilities.

Faculty Development Plans

The existence of plans or programs for the technology training of teacher education faculty remains largely undocumented in the body of data used for this study. These types of documents may be deemed to contain internal information and therefore do not appear on SCDE web sites. Interview participants at twelve of the fifteen research sites failed to confirm the existence of institutional strategies for assisting education professors in their use of technology in higher education classrooms. However, artifact data and interview data from three participants turned up an important exception to the evidentiary void in this study with regard to faculty technology development. Those institutions with PT3 grants used part of the funding to train teacher educators to use educational technology.

Technology Course Institutions

Technology Modeling Institutions

The utilization of PT3 grants to train faculty was not limited to institutions with required technology courses for their pre-service teachers. One of the goals of the PT3 grant at a Technology Modeling Institution was “to educate and support teacher education faculty in integration efforts so that they may model and deliver technology infused curricula, pedagogy, and assessment” (Artifact). At this school, twenty-nine courses were supported over three years, seven online lessons, and four online teaching portfolios were created.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are institutions whose faculty members garner no organizational support, nor incentives, for technology education or integration. At this Technology Modeling Institution,

There are no institutional-based incentives for faculty to integrate technology into their teaching. They are ‘emotional and professional only.’ (Interview)

This above-mentioned institution has faculty who use technology in their teaching, but they may not be the professors who work with pre-service teachers.

The culture of the institution supports technology use and faculty are encouraged to develop online courses, but these are generally not part of teacher preparation. (Interview)

Technology Deficient Institutions

Teacher educators in the Technology Deficient Institutions also face an environment where they receive no training in educational technology.

There is no ongoing, planned faculty development for use of technology. The extent to which an instructor (faculty) integrates the technology into coursework and instruction varies from person to person and depends to a large extent on the individual’s interest and motivation, as well as time. (Interview)

Intent to Provide Faculty Development for Teacher Educators

While information made available for this study on the topic of institutional intent to train teacher educators how to utilize technology in their teaching may be scarce, the data gathered is important. The PT3 grant program enabled four Colorado SCDEs to provide technology education to members of their faculties. This national funding initiative provided release time and resources to teacher educators willing to investigate the potential of educational technology. The inclusion of technology education in pre-service teacher preparation curriculum is not likely to be highly valued or given priority in institutional planning if teacher educators remain among the uninitiated.

The NETS*T Standards (2003) delineate the complex nature of the six-pronged approach to developing proficiency in technology utilization in teaching and learning environments: technology applications; technology-based curriculum planning, pedagogies, and assessments; professional productivity; and social, legal, and ethical uses of technology. Just as middle-aged novice skiers are unlikely to become ski instructors, senior teacher education faculty may not become educational technology specialists. However, even if you learn to ski in adulthood, you can appreciate snowy mountain vistas, the Colorado sunshine on your face, and the health benefits of participating in winter sports. Learning environments are not likely to evolve to 21st Century capacity without acculturation of teacher educators.

Technology Education Facilities

The planning for and construction of technology education facilities is critical to the implementation of technology instruction for pre-service teachers. Training is not possible without computers, software, and other devices. Technology education facilities can be divided into two groups: student technology labs and technology instructional spaces.

Technology Course Institutions

Student Technology Labs

Technology education facilities vary a great deal among the SCDEs. Several Technology Course Institutions have student technology labs. One SCDE lab contains four computers, digital cameras, a scanner, and video editing capability. The second SCDE lab houses PCs and Apples, educational software, digital cameras, video cameras, scanners, laptops, a VCR/TV, and LCD projectors. At a third SCDE, there is a Mac lab and a PC lab, each with thirty computers (see Table 15).

Technology Instructional Spaces

Several institutions in this group also maintain technology instructional spaces. At the first of these SCDEs, there are presentation systems in the classrooms, Smartboards in twenty-five percent of the classrooms, a room dedicated to distance education, and a forty laptop mobile lab. Although the second SCDE has three Smartrooms with thirty computers in each, there is no software on the computers because the institution could not afford to purchase licenses for them (see Table 16).

Technology Modeling Institutions

Student Technology Labs

Technology facilities are not limited to Technology Course Institutions. The first Technology Modeling Institution SCDE has a lab with eight PCs and one Mac with access to educational software; online tutorials in webmail, PowerPoint, Excel, Inspiration, iMovie, Fetch 4, and Netscape Composer. Other equipment available here includes projectors, a mobile computing lab, digital cameras, a Smartboard, digital video cameras, Alpha Smarts, an Intel computer microscope, and CD and DVD burners (see Table 15).

Technology Instructional Spaces

The above-referenced Technology Modeling Institution also has a Smart classroom with six Macs and an instructor station and a mobile computing lab, but no information on the number of computers was available (see Table 16).

Intent to Provide Technology Education Facilities

It is very difficult to improve your skills on the slopes without the right equipment. Conventional skis take greater skier strength during turns. At the same time the new skier is trying to perform short arc turns on these old-fashioned boards, they pick up more speed than the novice can typically handle. Parabolic skis, the new technology in ski equipment, are hourglass shaped making them easier to turn at a manageable speed.

It is critical to technology implementation efforts for pre-service teachers and teacher educators to work with current equipment and software. Three smart rooms in a Technology Course Institution containing a total of 90 computers are rendered unusable due to the financial constraints of software license fees. Educators suffer extreme frustration over a lack of adequate equipment and this is a consistent obstacle to technology use in educational endeavors. Innovation cannot be cultivated, nor NETS*T Standards (2003) activated when educators acknowledge that “given budget cuts, technology purchases for teacher preparation are unlikely” (Interview).

Table 15

Technology Education Facilities – Student Labs –Data Displayed Per Institution

Table 16

Technology Instructional Spaces – Data Displayed Per Institution

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