Survey of instructional technology courses for preservice teachers

Most teacher preparation programs offer one course in which preservice teachers are to develop their basic technology skills. If innovative pedagogy is the goal (of technology use in the classroom), the single instructional technology course may not effectively prepare preservice teachers to meet this goal. Knowledge of the format, content, and emphasis of the formal technology instruction that preservice teachers receive is imperative for establishing technology expectations for future teachers. Furthermore, such knowledge will provide insight into the status of instructional technology within schools of education. The preparation of preservice teachers to effectively use instructional technology is contingent, in part, on the basic attitudes and skills that preservice teachers develop with regards to instructional technology. In this article, the results of a survey of instructional technology courses at 88 teacher preparation institutions are presented. Descriptive statistics of the course format, content, and instructional emphasis are reported. Data analysis indicated that, in the introductory instructional technology courses, significantly more emphasis was placed on integrating instructional technologies into the curriculum than on using technologies for teacher productivity or personal use. The prescriptive and descriptive literature about instructional technology and teacher education depicts the transition occurring within U.S. schools of education. They increasingly acknowledge the need to prepare preservice teachers to use technology, and struggle with methods to provide that preparation effectively. One recurring theme is evident in this literature: integration (Abdel-Haqq, 1995; Gilmore, 1995; Office of Technology Assessment, 1995; Henry, 1993). University faculty, educational researchers, experienced K-12 teachers, and professional organizations call for the integration of technology into the educational curriculum of preservice teachers to foster the ability of future teachers to use technology to expand the learning of K-12 students. Such integration should be provided through improved syntonicity (i.e., more hands-on experiences for preservice teachers with realistic educational assignments) and increased modeling of technology by college faculty in both content and methods courses (P anel on Educational Technology, 1997; Office of Technology Assessment, 1995). Clearly articulated in the prescriptive literature is the premise that preservice teachers' ability to integrate technology into the curriculum will be the result of two factors: their basic technology skills, and the effective modeling of technology integration by teacher educators (Panel on Educational Technology, 1997; Willis & Mehlinger, 1996; Office of Technology Assessment, 1995; Sudzina, 1993; Oke, 1992; Wiburg, 1991). From the descriptive literature, it is reasonable to surmise that most preservice teachers complete one course in instructional technology or media (Milken Exchange on Educational Technology, 1999; Novak & Berger, 1991). Furthermore, it is in this single course that preservice teachers are to develop the basic technology skills that will serve as the foundation for their ability to integrate technology into the K-12 curriculum. If, at most teacher preparation institutions, preservice teachers' instructional technology skills are developed in a single course, then knowledge of the content and format of that course should: * Provide a basis to further identify and investigate factors that contribute to the development of technology-using educators. * Provide insight into the status of instructional technology within schools of education. * Offer a clear depiction of the technology attitudes and skills of the next generation of teachers. Given the dynamic nature of technology, teacher educators and instructional technologists need to know how colleges and universities are preparing preservice teachers to use technology in the classroom. …