Redesigning undergraduate technology instruction one college of education's experience

The purpose this article is to discuss the redesign of an introductory education technology course required for all teacher education students at a midwestern university. Challenges that prompted the revision are discussed and redesign requirements established by the College of Education Technology Advisory Team are identified. A traditional lecture/laboratory introductory course was redesigned resulting in a course with technology instruction delivered through videotape. The redesigned course kept features from the traditional lecture/laboratory course including the use of professional society standards as a basis for content, electronic mail for instructor-student communication, and the employment of undergraduate students for technical support in computer laboratories. Comparisons of student perceptions related to content, delivery, and time involved in the traditional and redesigned courses are reported. A discussion of research findings, course trends, and recommendations are included. With the influx of computer based technologies and digital devices, and the arrival of students who grew up with Nintendo, Internet, and MTV, teacher educators are challenged to prepare a future generation of K-12 teachers to use new and emerging technologies for learning and teaching. This article identifies challenges encountered when planning an introductory education technology course and describes how the College of Education at a midwestern university redesigned an introductory technology course required for students in all preservice programs. Student responses to the content, delivery, and time commitment for the traditional and redesigned course are reported and discussed. CHALLENGES The College of Education Technology Advisory Team was established to provide a vision and a plan for technology, identify technology problems, and make resource and curriculum recommendations for all teacher education programs. In 1995, this advisory group recognized the need to address new and recurring problems associated with the required introductory technology course. Although the course bore little resemblance to its' origin as a prestudent teaching media laboratory course designed to prepare students to develop projection and bulletin board skills, there was consensus that revision of the course was a prerequisite to the long term goal of integrating technology into all professional education courses. Stetson and Bagwell (1999) reminded readers that effective integration of computer technology into teacher education depends upon effective initial teaching, as well as integration into methods course, and accessible, adequate resources. Members of the Technology Advisory Team identified that the major ch allenges for this introductory course were associated with curriculum, staffing, and delivery. Curriculum Because the introductory technology course is fundamental to all professional education methods courses and most field experiences in the college, the guiding question was, "What should preservice students know about and be able to do with technology at the conclusion of the introductory technology course?" After the decision was made to use the national technology foundation standards for all teachers developed in 1995 by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (1999), the major curriculum related problem stemmed from the fact that preservice students who enrolled in the course had a wide range of technological abilities and experiences. Students who came to class adequately prepared with technology based instruction in high school found the course requirements redundant, time consuming, and boring while some students described the course as too difficult and too fast paced. Staffing Staffing problems dealt with a relatively small qualified instructional staff of faculty and graduate teaching assistants assigned to teach approximately 250 students in 10 sections each semester. …