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

EVALUATION AND THEMATICS

Evaluation

The primary research question in this study is: What is the state of technology education in teacher preparation programs in Colorado? Four sub-questions guided the inquiry.

First, what leadership, vision, and expectations exist with regard to technology integration in Colorado teacher education programs? Of the fifteen Colorado schools, colleges, and departments (SCDEs) that educate pre-service teachers, seven of them acknowledge that incorporating technology into teaching and learning is a complex and multifaceted process that warrants a place in pre-service teacher curriculum. These institutions require an educational technology course for their students in order to assist them in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to teach in the 21st Century. The common theme in the vision statements of this group of SCDEs is the belief that technology will enhance teaching and improve learning.

Instructors in four of the SCDEs are expected to employ the pedagogical technique of modeling educational technology in their courses. This method of technology exposure is limiting pre-service teachers to a single aspect of a complicated educational discipline, educational technology, encompassing at least six well-defined areas of concentration. Technology modeling is expected of instructors at these institutions, but likely not encouraged via ongoing professional development nor enforced via faculty reward systems, so technology exposure lacks uniformity for pre-service teachers at these institutions. Vision statements among this group refer to the goal of technology integration. This is a misuse of the term integration, which describes technology that is embedded into the curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment practices of an institution and in which students are immersed in technology. A more accurate description of the technology methods at these SCDEs is that they are practicing technology modeling.

The remaining four SCDEs may have individual instructors who model technology in their teaching, but these institutions do not have a technology focus. It appears they fail to provide technology exposure or instruction to their pre-service teachers. A common theme in the vision statements for this group is the expectation that students will use technology in their studies and in their teaching environments, yet these SCDEs fail to provide instruction on the curriculum development, pedagogies, or asses sment practices critical to the utilization of technology in K-12 learning environments.

Second, what role do teacher educators play in providing technology education to pre-service teachers? The seven SCDEs that incorporate a required technology course in their pre-service teacher curriculum employ specialized instructors with varying institutional status and academic backgrounds. Four SCDEs that do not require an educational technology course for their students utilize teacher educator modeling to demonstrate the educational use of technology for students.

Third, what technology curriculum is being provided to pre-service teachers at each institution? In seven of the fifteen teacher preparation programs, the educational technology curriculum required of pre-service teachers includes: instruction in educational technology applications; the opportunity to plan technology-infused lessons and units; pedagogical strategies for implementation of technology-enriched content; consideration of social, ethical, and legal issues related to technology use; and technology-based assessments of pre-service teacher performance. Commonalities exist in content covered and software programs utilized; however, uniformity is not achieved in the technology curricula of these seven institutions. Many facets of the six NETS*T Standards (2003) are covered by the technology curricula of the seven Technology Course Institutions. Obvious omissions in the curricula of the Technology Course Institutions include: the chance for pre-service teachers to design instruction covering technology applications; the opportunity to develop technology-based assessments for their students in a variety of content areas; and the occasion to apply their technology knowledge and skills in a classroom setting under the supervision of a master mentor teacher skilled in technology-enhanced teaching.

Finally, what kinds of collaboration are occurring in preparing pre-service teachers to use technology in their teaching? While a strong theme in the literature related to educational technology integration in teacher preparation programs (Bruni, 2000; Tuana, 2000), the data in Colorado suggest that this type of collaboration is not occurring, or occurring very infrequently, at this time.

Based upon these four sub-questions, there are two major findings in response to the question: What is the state of technology education for Colorado’s pre-service teachers? The major findings of the study are: 1) there are three different approaches to technology education of pre-service teachers in Colorado’s teacher education programs; and 2) in those programs that require an educational technology course, there is a range of technology education experience available to pre-service teachers in Colorado, depending on which teacher preparation program they participate in.

A secondary research question was considered: Why does the current state of technology education for Colorado pre-service teachers exist as it does and how could it be improved? When examined in relationship to the literature, Colorado pre-service teacher preparation programs are operating at a rudimentary level. Experts who are writing about the integration of technology into teaching and learning are calling for a new learning paradigm that will require a modification of educational values; an entrepreneurial vision; an exercise of innovative leadership; and 21st Century characteristics on the part of educators, policy makers, and business leaders to effectuate.

Three Approaches to Technology Education

For the first major finding, in the fifteen Colorado schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs), there are three distinct approaches to technology instruction of pre-service teachers: those teacher preparation programs in which technology instruction is absent; those that employ technology modeling within the program; and those that require an educational technology course for pre-service teachers.

Technology Course Institutions

The seven Technology Course Institutions, which comprise just under half of the teacher preparation programs, are making strides toward the technology education of their pre-service teachers. They have identified technology objectives and they communicate them to their students. They have determined that technology instruction is imperative for their students and that technology in the teaching and learning process is complex enough to be added as a content area to the curriculum (Carroll, 2000). Commonalities are evident in course content and software applications utilized for digital presentations, word processing, spreadsheets and databases, web authoring, multimedia presentations, and Internet research. Numerous project-based assessments are incorporated in these courses. Their aims to enhance teaching and improve learning are being operationalized in their technology curriculum for pre-service teachers. These are the Colorado teacher preparation programs who are navigating the intricate terrain of incorporating technology in the complex milieu of teaching and learning.

Technology Deficient and Technology Modeling Institutions

The educational technology landscape for pre-service teachers at the other eight SCDEs in Colorado looks rather bleak. Four programs appear to rely on individual instructors who model technology in their teaching. These teacher educators may be working to develop some technology proficiency in their pre-service teachers, but the evidence is unclear. Their institutional aim to produce students who can utilize technology in their teaching is not operationalized by a null technology curriculum.

Four SCDEs employ faculty technology modeling and acknowledge the importance of technology by setting student technology proficiency expectations, yet somehow anticipate that students will acquire these multifarious skills on their own. The intention to achieve technology integration is not met by inconsistent application of teacher educator modeling of technology utilization. Technology integration by newly-educated Colorado teachers into their K-12 teaching and learning environments is unpredictable, in part due to the lack of consistency in teacher technology training.

The characteristics of utopian technology education integration programs described in the literature include the development of evolving technology plans (Bruni, 2000; Thomas, 2000); the retooling of teacher education curriculum to incorporate technology coursework (Cunningham, 2003; Drazdowki, Holodick, & Scappaticci, 1998; King, 2002); the retraining of faculty to integrate technology into their teaching (Bruni, 2000; Carlson & Gadio, 2002; Snider, 2003); and technology implementation opportunities for teacher candidates working in placements with master teachers (Gimbert & Zembal-Saul, 2002; McLaughlin, 1998; Tuana, 2000). With respect to educational technology, pre-service teachers need to observe its use, learn about it, and apply it in practice. To engender technology-enriched K-12 learning environments, pre-service teachers need to learn in a 21st Century context utilizing 21st Century content (OET, 2003). The result of successful implementation of technology integration in teacher education training is that pre-service teachers are immersed in technology throughout their program (Bruni, 2000). Immersion is not possible without institutional acknowledgement that technology education is a content area unto itself that must be included in the curriculum of pre-service teachers.

Achieving pre-service teacher technology integration requires leadership, planning, and implementation (Bruni, 2000; Tuana, 2000) not apparent in the data from this study. However, given the institutional commitment necessary to develop an educational technology vision, and provide faculty professional development to attain teacher educator proficiency and effective practice, it is hard to imagine that these innovations would be excluded from marketing information for new students via SCDE web sites. It is likely that pioneering teacher educators are responsible for modeling technology in teaching, and it is possible some are including instruction on how to use technology in teaching within each of the Colorado teacher preparation programs. The ideal technology integration conditions may not exist until the next generation of teachers, who have had the opportunity to have technology utilized in their teacher preparation programs, become K-12 technology innovators and move into the professoriate.

Continuum of Technology Education Experiences

Technology Modeling and Technology Deficient Institutions

For the second major finding, the data suggest that in eight, or just over half, of the Colorado teacher preparation programs, candidates are getting spotty to no education on how to incorporate technology into their teaching and learning environments. Teachers tend to teach the way they were taught ( Bell, 2001), so with no formal instruction or demonstration it is unlikely that they will spontaneously adopt technology in their K-12 classrooms. Children are using and learning technology at home, so those who do not get to use it either at home or at school are not acquiring 21st Century knowledge or skills, and may not be developing at the same rate of speed as those students with technology access (Tapscott, 1998). Students want to use digital media in their education (NetDay, 2004) and those with technology experience will precipitate the evolution of learning environments. The disconnect between educational programs and the needs of society may become less acceptable over time as digital-age students make their way through K-12 education.

Technology Course Institutions

Seven SCDEs require that their pre-service teacher candidates take an educational technology course. Thus, new graduates from 47% of the teacher preparation programs in Colorado have some exposure to relevant educational technology applications, technology-based curriculum planning, technology-enhanced pedagogy, and technology-enriched asses sment practice. These courses create a continuum of student technology education experiences in Colorado. The criteria used to examine these experiences include the number of credits required for the course, the educational experience and institutional status of the instructors, and the course content, pedagogy, and assessments.

These black diamond institutions devote a variable number of credits to technology education, ranging from 3 credits to 1 credit. The number of credits required of a course is an indication of institutional priority and value of course content within a program. With this variation among technology course credits, pre-service teachers in Colorado likely spend a wide range of time working with technology course content and working on technology course assessments.

Another indicator of significance of technology instruction to a program may be the qualifications and institutional status of the technology instructors. Again we see a range of credentials and academic rank in instructors of the educational technology courses. Three SCDEs employ Professors with PhDs to teach the educational technology courses. This suggests that these SCDEs have a long-term commitment to the technology curriculum via the retention of specialized instructors. The other four SCDEs utilize instructors with a much more tenuous employment status, which may indicate a lower level of commitment to technology education in their teacher preparation program. These instructors include Visiting Professors, one with an MA and the other an MBA; Affiliate Faculty, one with a PhD and three others with MAs; three Public School Teachers whose educational status was undetermined in the study; and four graduate students. In addition to a great variety in education level and institutional status, there may be a considerable difference in teaching experience among this group as well. These variations could impact the effectiveness of the technology education received by pre-service teachers.

Commonalities exist in content topics, software utilized, and course assessments among the technology education courses. Digital presentations, word processing, web authoring, and the use of spreadsheets are considered priorities. Microsoft Office products are the preferred software packages and there is a strong focus on technology integration. The collective assessments tend to follow course content and software precedent.

When measured against the ISTE NETS*T Standards (2003), a number of exclusions in the current technology education courses are apparent. For Colorado to achieve double black diamond status for sophisticated technology education provided to all pre-service teachers in the state, and resulting in a 21st Century pre-collegiate student population and workforce, the first step would be collaboration among the vested to establish a network of goals; the means with which to meet those objectives; and a schema that outlines the way in which every part of the technology education curriculum contributes to the educational aims of the program.

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Thematics

Implications

The data from this study present implications for local educational policy, teacher educator development, and teacher education program design. Colorado educators and policy makers must become aware of the national educational technology policy landscape and research on 21st Century learning in order to shift the educational reform focus away from standards and toward the kinds of educational practices that will prepare digital-age students for the workforce. Teacher educators must be prepared to embrace change and support technology integration efforts at their institutions in order to develop, model, and teach the 21st Century curriculum, pedagogical, and assessment practices required to educate Colorado teachers. Teacher education programs must be redesigned to incorporate instruction on educational software applications and technology-enhanced curricular, pedagogy, and assessment practices. Finally, Colorado educators, policy makers, and business leaders must work together, using 21st Century skills and tactics, to devise a 21st Century Learning Agenda so that Colorado students can become the leaders and employees needed to support the state’s current and future technology objectives.

New Learning Paradigm

The nascent state of technology education for Colorado’s pre-service teachers may be due to: current educational policy that focuses on standardized testing for accountability; administrative issues involving funding; or internal political issues such as educator reluctance to embrace technology in teaching or to incorporate technology content into the curriculum to the exclusion of an established content area. Eisner’s framework for school reform (1994) suggests that if you make a change in one component of schooling, consisting of curriculum; pedagogy; school structure; evaluation; and school-community relations, you necessarily impact all the aspects of schooling.

The current state of K-12 education focuses on official curriculum that is standards based and has been described as a mile wide and an inch deep (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, 1999, online). Standardized testing is a cost-effective and simple system for trying to evaluate school success. However, this kind of education will not meet the needs of society in the 21st Century Digital Age.

School structure issues include the administrative concerns of funding for faculty development, equipment, and technical support. Shifting precious resources will impact the educational program taking a loss to provide this funding.

Curricular and pedagogical changes are political issues in higher education. Supplemental content added to teacher educator curriculum results in the expulsion of existing content. This professorial turf is not easily ceded. Faculty have a significant interest in maintaining the status quo in the management of their work. Teaching is often the lowest priority of a faculty member with research and service requirements, viewed as more important for tenure and promotion. Faculty reward systems provide little incentive for participating in technology professional development and adopting innovative and emerging pedagogies.

Changes are currently required in four of Eisner’s components: curriculum, pedagogy, school structure, and evaluation. What Eisner’s reform framework neglects are the notions of educational values and the vision required for effecting a change in the learning paradigm necessary to the implementation of a 21st Century Learning Agenda. Transformation of the learning paradigm is critical to the success of realizing the potential of the 21st Century.

Educators, policy makers, and business leaders were all educated under the existing learning paradigm utilizing an instructor imparting knowledge to students without the assistance of current forms of technology. The changing needs of society require new literacies and thought processes. Learners must acquire 21st Century skills (digital age literacy, inventive thinking, effective communication, and high productivity) developed using 21st Century tools (technology) taught in a 21st Century context (the new learning paradigm) (enGuage, 2000; OET, 2003). This educational reform renovation compels a modification of educational values only possible by the adoption of an entrepreneurial vision and the demonstration of innovative leadership on the part of educational stakeholders in Colorado. These leaders must possess the 21st Century characteristics they are hoping to impart to Colorado students: creativity, risk-taking, complex cognition, and digital age literacy (technological, information, cultural, global, in addition to basic and scientific literacy).

The goals of the current administration in Colorado, as supported by the literature in the field of Instructional Technology in Teacher Education and the current national educational policy objectives, necessitate the implementation of a 21st Century Learning Agenda, developed collaboratively by the state’s educators, policy makers, and business leaders, guided by current literature, policy, theory, and practice.

Policy

When considered in totality, the various experts in using technology in teaching and learning, policy makers, and business leaders are fashioning 21st Century education directives (CDE, 1999; EETA, 2002; enGauge, 2000; OET, 2003; OET, 2004) that are likely to blend with the current content standards to form the new 21st Century Learning Agenda. National mandates to incorporate technology into the learning process are in place (EETA, 2002) and the national strategy for implementation is forthcoming (OET, 2004). Colorado is well-positioned to implement the 21st Century Learning Agenda with the leadership in place at the Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT, 1999), the comprehensive technology infrastructure being planned by that office (OIT, 2004), e-government initiatives (Berry-Helmlinger, 2004), and teacher educator expertise in technology curriculum and modeling.

It is a less daunting task to imagine increasing the number of Colorado students who are interested in math, science, and technology in order to strengthen Colorado’s presence as a technology leader, than to envision educating all Colorado students to use technology to increase their productivity and be successful in the Information Age. However, there are many jobs that require the use of technology and 21st Century thought processes, but that do not necessitate a scientist, mathematician, or computer expert. Educators, legislators, and business leaders in Colorado can strive in concert to achieve the No Child Left Behind (2002) democratic ideal that every student be technologically literate by the end of eighth grade by designing a 21st Century Learning Agenda for Colorado. In this scenario, some of those students who might previously have lacked adequate opportunities to use technology in their learning, may turn out to be Colorado’s technology leaders of the future.

In order for the 21st Century Learning Agenda to be implemented in Colorado, a number of objectives must be accomplished. Educators, policy makers, and business leaders need a better appreciation of how complex intellectual activity, or 21st Century cognition, takes place (Donovan, Bransford & Pellegrino, 1999; Tileston, 2000). Powerful educational environments, which provide depth of exploration and understanding in our technology-enriched world, allow us to move beyond the current generation of education reform that is highly focused on standards and low-level learning (Donovan, Bransford & Pellegrino, 1999; Tileston, 2000).

American educators have achieved a concentration on core subjects with the standards movement, but those interested in educating competent digital-age citizens must become familiar with 21st Century content, skills, context, and assessment practices (OET, 2003). Digitality allows human beings to form different relationships with information and to produce knowledge in new ways. In order to cultivate the 21st Century characteristics of digital-age literacy, inventive thinking, effective communication, and high productivity (enGauge, 2000), American students must spend part of their time in school developing a deep understanding of content using project-based learning and utilizing current technological tools (Donovan, Bransford & Pellegrino, 1999). Policy makers and the public will need to adjust their thinking about education and how to evaluate schools, teachers, and students in the age of digital noesis.

Teacher Educators – 21st Century Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Assessment

Developing the 21st Century Learning Agenda will not be as easy as determining content standards and executing standardized assessments that evaluate low-level cognition. Implementation will be the task of instructors who have not had technology integration modeled for them in their educational pursuits. These same teacher educators have a wide variety of technology skills themselves and may be resistant to enhancing them.

Professional development for teacher educators must include the opportunity to learn educational technology applications, to redesign teacher education curriculum to incorporate appropriate technology, and to practice technology-based pedagogies and assessments in their content area. Innovative educational technology specialists must be hired to educate teacher educators, in-service and pre-service teachers, and assist in curriculum re-development. Teacher educators require access to adequate hardware and software, as well as technical support. Adjustment of faculty rewards must encourage technology professional development and acknowledge technology curriculum products as contributions to knowledge.

Teacher educator evolution is a critical component of successful implementation of the 21st Century Learning Agenda. Until SCDE faculty come to value 21st Century knowledge, skills, and learning context, it will be hard to move educational reform forward. The ultimate goal for teacher educators is for them to infuse technology throughout their own teaching and fully integrate technology into the teacher education program. This process has several steps. The first is acknowledging the importance of educational technology as a foundation within the pre-service teacher curriculum. The second is developing teacher educator proficiency with technology applications and effective technology-enhanced curriculum development, pedagogical, and assessment practices. This will require a shift in the role of the faculty member from the instructivist to the constructivist facilitator or collaborator.

Technology Education Curriculum for Pre-Service Teachers

While complete technology integration into pre-service teacher education programs is the ideal, initially pre-service preparation programs in Colorado should adopt the NETS*T Standards and develop technology education courses designed to meet them. Core software should be identified so that teacher education programs and in-service development can focus on software that is owned and available in Colorado school districts. Courses should include instruction in the design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning environments, as well as technology-based assessment practices. Pre-service teachers should be experiencing technology education in a 21st Century learning context in order to begin implementing technology in their K-12 teaching and learning environments.

Teacher education programs are the key to successful implementation of the 21st Century Learning Agenda. Teacher educators will need to participate in ongoing work, together with critical members of the business and policy making communities, to continue to refine the 21st Century Learning Agenda and its attendant best educational practices. With guidance provided by current literature and policy (enGauge, 2000; NETS*T, 2003; NETS*S, 2003; OET, 2003; OET, 2004), this 21st Century Learning Agenda Leadership Team can redefine and determine what it means to be educated in Colorado. Over time, learner-centered education will become more individualized and less standardized. There will be less difference in what is accomplished in school and what is needed by society as students learn how to learn and to create knowledge in the digital age.

Colorado’s 21st Century Learning Agenda – Recommendations

21st Century Learning Agenda Vision Team

Local educators, policy makers, and business leaders must collaborate to formulate a state-wide strategy for successful implementation of the 21st Century Learning Agenda, including providing educator professional development and technology funding to make this kind of education affordable and attainable for all Colorado students. Colorado’s educational stakeholders must possess entrepreneurial vision to achieve 21st Century education reform. The political and business leadership in the Centennial State is primed for educational innovation like the skier on the chairlift anticipating the first run of the day. Opportunity radiates like the Colorado sunshine on a fresh spring snowfall. The qualities that led explorers to the Colorado Rockies and prospectors to gold will be necessary for implementing the 21st Century Learning Agenda in Colorado. Inventive thinking, creativity, risk-taking, effective communication, prioritizing, planning, and managing for results, identified by enGauge (2000), will be essential characteristics of the vision team if Colorado is to prepare it’s citizenry for the future. Critical to becoming a technology power is a 21st Century strategy. I recommend that Colorado’s educational stakeholders convene an action committee, made up of key educational technology experts; legislators; and business leaders, to formulate a strategy for educating digital-age citizens in Colorado. Because technology is evolving at an increasing rate of speed, the work of the 21st Century Learning Agenda Leadership Team should be viewed as perpetual.

Colorado Teacher Education Programs

Deans

All Colorado SCDEs should evaluate their role in the market place and the trends this study elucidates. Programs that continue to deny the impact of technology on teaching and learning environments face a loss of credibility in the short term and potential extinction over time. Students consider the availability of technology in higher education institutions when they select among them and services such as the ColoradoMentor, an online college planning website found at http://www.coloradomentor.org/, list technology as a criteria their Consumer Guides.

Technology as a factor in teacher quality will be among the issues dealt with in the National Education Technology Plan due out later this year. Students wishing to be fully qualified will seek out programs that provide education in technology-enriched curriculum development, pedagogies, and assessment practices. Those programs focused on developing best practices in technology-supported teaching and learning techniques, conducting research on the evolution towards technology integration, and implementing constructivist, collaborative, and knowledge-centered learning environments will be Colorado’s leading programs in the preparation of 21st Century teachers.

Strategies for funding technology education will be critical to the success of a teacher education program. Consideration should be given to hiring a full-time grant writer to secure the necessary technology funding for equipment and software necessary for both teacher educators and students, and professional development costs for faculty. Technology is an appealing funding opportunity for donors wanting to leave a legacy of transformation.

Those SCDEs without technology instructors should hire tenure-track professors to develop and deliver technology curriculum for all students of education. These innovators should also be contracted to act as technology consultants to existing SCDE faculty. In addition to learning the appropriate technology applications, current teacher educators need an understanding of the changing role of the teacher from the instructivist to the constructivist and the kinds of 21st Century knowledge and skills they are expected to foster. These are suitable uses of the instructor’s talents, they make a logical contribution to the future of the program, and they could fulfill university service requirements. Access to full-time technology mentoring from a similarly situated colleague is likely to result in the gradual evolution of teaching practices required by teacher education programs and the modeling critical to K-12 teachers’ successful adoption of technology. Those programs with technology instructors should consider their institutional status and duties given these recommendations.

Technology educators should be expected and given time to conduct research and to write about their work. The employment of tenure track faculty with a combination of publishing expectations, teaching commitments, and professional development duties will set apart institutions that rely solely on staff-level technology support or hire affiliated faculty who must make their living at day jobs.

Faculty reward structures should be reconfigured to acknowledge technology-based curriculum projects as contributions to knowledge. These are time consuming to develop and without incentives, learning environments are unlikely to change. Administrators cannot expect educators to simply add these new strategies and practices to their current workload.

Finally, teacher education programs that develop cutting-edge technology education curriculum should consider sharing their knowledge and expertise with current K-12 educators. Those SCDEs demonstrating leadership should contract their services to districts and individual educators in professional development programs to be conducted in their grant-funded innovative facilities.

Teacher Educators

Faculty at Colorado SCDEs is critical to the successful implementation of the educational reform desired by society and required by current employers. Teacher educators should familiarize themselves with the literature and policy on 21st Century learning environments. These experienced instructors should gradually learn new educational software programs and pedagogical techniques that allow them to redesign their courses and utilize technology that enhances their teaching and improves learning for their students. Teacher education programs accepting the technology leadership challenge will foster an environment that will make it attractive for faculty to embrace the necessary changes to move toward technology integration and the development of constructivist learning environments which focus on knowledge creation.

Technology Curriculum

In order to initiate a dialogue on Colorado’s 21st Century Learning Agenda, I propose Colorado teacher educator programs adopt the ISTE NETS*T Standards (2003) as a set of comprehensive guidelines for providing technology education to teachers. The following is an initial outline of proposed technology education proficiencies, gleaned from the Technology Course Institution data and investigator antecedent knowledge, and organized under the appropriate NETS*T Standard.

NETS*T 1 - Technology Operations and Concepts

Technology operations and concepts represent technology terminology and applications that are applicable to the teaching and learning environment. The following is a list of potential technology application proficiencies for the 21st Century Learning Agenda: File Management; Internet Research and Resource Evaluation Criteria; Word Processing; Digital Presentation; Spreadsheets; Multimedia; Web Authoring; and Hand Held Computers. Advanced study might include proficiencies in Advanced Web Authoring, Desktop Publishing, Graphic Design, and Photo Editing.

NETS*T 2 - Planning and Designing Learning Environments & Experiences

This standard encompasses technology-based curriculum development. The following proficiencies could be included in the 21st Century Learning Agenda: Educator Resources on the Internet; Curriculum Planning Resources on the Internet; Characteristics of Digital Age Students; Technology Integration; Instructional Design Theory; and Developing Distributed Learning Environments.

NETS*T 3 - Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum

Technology-enhanced pedagogy is the focus of the third standard. The proposed proficiency list includes sub-topics set out in parentheses for consideration for the 21st Century Learning Agenda: Federal and State Educational Technology Policy (NCLB, National Education Technology Plan, enGauge, and Learning for the 21st Century: A Report and Mile Guide for 21st Century Skills); Technology Standards (CDE Performance-based Standards for Colorado Teachers: Standard 7, NETS*T, and NETS*S); Learning Theory (Bloom’s Taxonomy, Multiple Intelligences, Learning Styles, and Multiple Forms of Representation); and Teaching Strategies.

NETS*T 4 - Assessment and Evaluation

The fourth standard deals with technology-enriched assessment practice. Proficiencies for deliberation under this standard include: Problem-Based Learning; Authentic Assessment Practices; Assessment Rubrics for Problem-Based Learning Projects; Data-Driven Assessment; Email Journaling; Listservs and Discussion Groups; Multimedia Presentations; Spreadsheets; Web Authoring; and Online Portfolios.

NETS*T 5 - Productivity and Professional Practice

The standard for professional practice and productivity could encompass proficiencies listed under a number of other standards. Some suggested proficiencies include: Professional Development Opportunities and Planning; Spreadsheet Gradebooks; Technology-Based Teaching and Learning Support; Multimedia Presentations; Listservs and Discussion Groups; Web Authoring; and Online Professional Teaching Portfolios.

NETS*T 6 - Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues

Proficiencies under standard six could include: Ethical Technology Use (Diversity and Equitable Access); Information Literacy (Information Needs Assessment, Resource Identification and Retrieval, Information Authentication and Resource Credibility including Stranger Danger, Plagiarism and Ethical Use of Information; Information Synthesis, Interpretation, and Application); Copyright and Fair Use Laws; and Acceptable Use Policies.

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Future Research Questions

The primary objective of this study was to answer the question: What is the state of technology education for Colorado’s pre-service teachers? The data pointed to three different approaches to preparing Colorado’s pre-service teachers to use technology in their teaching and learning environments: technology coursework; technology modeling by teacher educators; and the absence of technology from pre-service teacher training. Those teacher education programs making visible efforts to provide technology education endow their pre-service teachers with a wide range of technology education experiences.

While this study aimed to determine the state of technology education for new teachers, it is a cursory examination. Additional studies are needed to discern the various technology-enhanced pedagogies as practiced in each of the seven SCDEs that require a technology course for their pre-service teachers. A comprehensive inquiry of the professional artistry of this group of local experts would assist in the development of a statewide technology education strategy.

Future studies need to be conducted in Colorado SCDEs where technology modeling is the method of providing technology exposure to pre-service teachers. This study was unable to evaluate this technique as implemented in Colorado teacher preparation institutions.

Once pre-service teacher technology courses are examined in greater depth, research should be conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of those courses by following pre-service teachers into their classrooms to evaluate their use of technology in their K-12 teaching and learning environments. In addition to looking at technology utilization, research should be performed to elicit information as to impact of the 21st Century Learning Agenda on student achievement, standardized tests, and 21st Century assessments.

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Conclusion

Incorporating technology into American learning environments has been an issue since the 1920s (Cuban, 1986). Use of computers in classrooms has been scrutinized by educational researchers for several decades (Cuban, 2001) and recent studies indicate teachers are not being adequately prepared to utilize technology in their teaching (Moursune & Bielefeldt, 1999; OTA, 1995). Surveying the current state of technology education in teacher preparation programs has been deemed necessary for the progress of the field (Willis & Mehlinger, 1996; Willis, Thompson, & Sadera, 1999).

This study examines the state of technology education for pre-service teachers in the fifteen teacher education programs in Colorado. It explores the institutional technology aims and objectives, mandatory technology coursework, educational level and institution status of technology instructors, and technology curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment practices.

Data for this qualitative educational criticism and connoisseurship study was gathered over a three-month period using email interviews and digital artifact collection. Data was coded and profiles of the data points were developed to determine educational patterns and themes. Findings were reported using Eisner’s five dimensions of educational environments (1998) and the NETS*T Standards (2003) in order to preserve the anonymity of the research sites.

Two major findings emerged from the study: 1) there are three different approaches to technology education of pre-service teachers in Colorado’s teacher education programs; and 2) in those programs that require an educational technology course, there is a continuum of technology education experience available to pre-service teachers in Colorado.

The investigator put forward the proposition that educational reform necessary to achieve national and state educational technology objectives requires a shift in the learning paradigm currently in place in American education. This transformation requires an evolution of educational values, the entrepreneurial vision and leadership of educational stakeholders, and implementation by committed teacher educators.

This study concluded that technology education for Colorado’s pre-service teachers is inconsistent across and among teacher preparation institutions, therefore a statewide technology education strategy would provide greater constancy within teacher preparation programs. The intended result of implementing a statewide technology strategy would be greater access to and equity in technology utilization in Colorado K-12 teaching and learning environments. This research has the potential to impact state educational policy, the design of teacher education programs, and teacher education technology curriculum.

The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it,

and exploits it as an opportunity.

- Peter F. Drucker -

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