Journal of Computing in Teacher Education (JCTE)

Editors: Ann Thompson and Denise A. Schmidt
Iowa State University
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Center for Technology in Learning and Teaching
N031 Lagomarcino Hall
Ames, IA 50011-3192
E-mail: eat@iastate.edu or dschmidt@iastate.edu

Columns

Editors' Remarks
New Literacies for Students and New Challenges for Teacher Educators (PDF, 154 KB)
Ann D. Thompson and Denise Lindstrom
This year’s AERA conference featured several sessions on the topic of new literacies for students and the effects of these literacies on classrooms and learning. A general definition of new literacies includes, “…the skills, strategies and dispositions necessary to successfully use and adapt to the changing information and communication technologies and context that continuously emerge in our world and influence all areas of our personal and professional lives.” (Leu, Kinzer & Coiro and Cammack, 2004 p.1572).

President's Message
SIGTE Connects Along the Way to San Antonio (PDF, 122 KB)
Arlene Borthwick
The theme for this summer’s National Educational Computing Conference in San Antonio emphasizes the opportunity to “convene, connect, and transform.” Although most of us have but one time per year (NECC) to convene as a face-to-face group, our SIG continues to expand opportunities for meaningful connections throughout the year. As described below, we have engaged in professional development and leadership activities in an effort to transform teachinglearning environments. These activities have included the SIGTE book discussion, input to the revision of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T), participation in national efforts related to 21st century uses of technology and related assessment, and use of the SIGTE wiki to expand our support to one another.

Articles

Reflecting on the Affordances and Constraints of Technologies and Their Impact on Pedagogical Goals (PDF, 365 KB)
Joseph R. Freidhoff
Teacher educators must examine how technology selection facilitates and constrains the learning outcomes of the courses they teach. This article introduces a process for selecting and evaluating technologies that meet the important principles of each learning task. As an example from his own practice, the author details how he used the process to evaluate two technologies—discussion boards and blogs—as potential technologies for teacher reflection and to assess whether implementing blogs as part of a semester-long teacher education course yielded evidence to support his evaluation. These findings speak to both the potential and difficulty of developing sustainable practice.

Developing Technology Together, Together: A Whole-School Metacognitive Approach to ICT Teacher Professional Development (PDF, 163 KB)
Renata Phelps and Anne Graham
Professional development of teachers in information and communication technology (ICT) continues to be an urgent educational imperative. While many teachers are integrating ICT (with varying degrees of confidence and creativity), a significant number still remain hesitant, reluctant and daunted by the rapid rate of technological change. Far from being a simple process, ICT professional development necessitates not only personal and professional changes for individuals, but changes in school culture including institutional attitude and support for professional learning, reflection and professional discussion, readiness to embrace change, collegiality, trust and encouragement to take risks. Grounded in research about what influences teachers’ adoption and integration of ICT, this paper describes a three-year action research initiative that led to the development of a whole-school metacognitive approach to ICT teacher professional development known as Technology Together. The paper will describe the approach and findings from the research, indicating that the metacognitive approach can be successfully implemented within a whole-school environment. Data suggests that the process can have a positive impact on the culture of the school and that the outcomes were most significant at schools who implemented the process most consistently with the foundations of the metacognitive approach.

Costs and Benefits of Electronic Portfolios in Teacher Education: Faculty Perspectives (PDF, 2.75 MB)
Neal Strudler and Keith Wetzel
This descriptive study investigated the benefits and costs of using electronic portfolios (EPs) in preservice teacher education. Grounded within change theory, the study examined the perspectives of faculty in six programs in which EPs have been used on a large scale for two or more years. Benefits identified include increased opportunities for students to reflect and learn, better student understanding of teaching standards, better faculty access for assessing student work, increased faculty communication with students, and improved tracking of student performance for purposes of accreditation and program improvement. The costs or disadvantages include issues pertaining to the amount of time and effort expended and to the lack of compatibility with faculty members’ beliefs, values, and needs. Overall, the authors conclude that faculty satisfaction with EPs appears strongly associated with their values for student-centered teacher education and in some cases, their willingness to sacrifice individual preferences to accomplish program goals.

Are We There Yet?: The Power of Creating an Innovation Configuration Map on the Integration of Technology into Your Teacher Education Program (PDF, 259 KB)
Colleen Swain
“I called you at home because I wanted to check with you about what Wes thinks he heard in class today.” This was the start to a phone call I received when I taught junior high school mathematics earlier in my career. I remember this conversation distinctly because as I listened to what Wes told his mother, I remember thinking “Wow—where on earth did he get that idea?” Wes completely misunderstood an important component for the project demonstrating his understanding of the mathematics concept we were studying. Situations such as this remind us to not neglect the importance of the social aspect of understanding that occurs when dealing with what we might consider commonplace terms or concepts. This incident from my earlier teaching career came to mind after listening to different comments made by colleagues in the college of education where I teach regarding the effective use of technology in our teacher education programs. I began to wonder if we were all operating from the same working definition when we talk about integrating technology into our teacher education program.