Before going to class, I access my e-mail to read responses from two instructors to questions I had, as well as four messages from fellow students. I get to my classes five minutes early to plug in my notebook computer and get organized. All our classrooms are linked to the Internet. . . . I'm working on a portfolio project in the Language Arts class, and I'm in the process of scanning pictures into my Powerpoint presentation. We've all had the opportunity to develop electronic portfolios this semester and are getting ready to turn them into CD-ROMs. NCATE report urges fearless use of technology by teachers
So begins Arthur E. Wise, President of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in Technology and the New Professional Teacher: Preparing for the 21st Century Classroom, which has just been completed by the NCATE Task Force on Technology and Teacher Education. Wise goes on to point out that this statement is "a chronicle of a day in the life of a current teacher candidate at Valley City State University in North Dakota," a more elaborate version of which comprises one of thirteen "case illustrations" in the 34-page report.
While the bottom line of this report is the recommendations it makes to NCATE about its accreditation of schools of education, the statement on page 1 that "Today's teacher candidates will teach tomorrow as they are taught today" makes it clear that the goals for using educational technology raised in this report are as applicable to our classrooms as they are to our schools of education.
". . . being a teacher in American schools too often consists of helping children and youth acquire information from textbooks and acting as an additional source of expertise." the report states. "In most cases, schooling has become a process for understanding, retaining, and reporting what is found on the printed page." But "the business world demands that our schools prepare educated workers who can use technology effectively in the global marketplace," it goes on, admitting that "technologies are already providing an alternative curriculum for students that is scarcely acknowledged by the formal school curriculum."Several reasons are cited for the technological deficiencies in teacher education programs: lack of hardware and software, lack of knowledge and skill by faculty, being unable to afford required technical support, and rewarding individuality among faculty who are sometimes out of touch. Nor are these deficiencies to be remedied by treating technology as a "special addition to the teacher education curriculum." "What is required is a transformation of the culture of teacher education." "Teachers need an 'attitude' that is fearless in the use of technology, encourages them to take risks, and inspires them to become lifelong learners."
In fact, the required "transformation of the culture of teacher education" is not presently determined, because "we are in the early stages of understanding how technology can be used most effectively to support teaching and learning. . . . This is not a time when teacher education programs can confidently predict how technology will change the profession." But change the profession it will: "The new technology will transform the role of the teacher as thoroughly as did the introduction of printed textbooks."
"Re-educating the existing teaching force will not be easy and will require extensive professional development over many years. The problem will be greatly compounded if those teachers entering the profession now and in the future have not been adequately prepared to use new technology." For a copy of the report, contact NCATE at (202)-466-7496 or e-mail to tracy@ncate.org An MSNBC web site, http://www.msnbc.com/news/105983.asp, focuses on the growing effort to train teachers to take advantage of the technology equipment already available in many schools.
Technology Education vs. Educational Technology: Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between technology education and educational technology?
The first is a subject, the second, a tool. Technology education is a school subject designed to develop technological literacy -- the ability to use, manage, and understand technology. Educational technology is another phrase for instructional technology -- using computers, audiovisual equipment, and mass media to enhance teaching and learning.What do I say to my colleagues who think technological literacy means knowing about computers?
Technological literacy is much more than knowledge of computers and their application. It involves a vision where each citizen has a level and ability to use, manage, and understand technology.Doesn't technological literacy develop naturally, just by living in a technological world?
Technological processes and systems have become so complex that the ad hoc approach has clearly failed for most Americans. Most do not even begin to comprehend the basic concepts of today's technological society. Few know how to decide what, how, and when to develop or use various technological systems. Such decision making depends upon all citizens acquiring a basic level of technological literacy.- from Standpoint, a newsletter of the International Technology Education Association and the Technology for All Americans Project, 3(3) (September 1997).
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