Technology Integration: Closing the Gap Between What Preservice Teachers are Taught To Do and What They Can Do

The digital divide exists not only between those who have technology and those who do not. A gap also exists between what we teach preservice teachers about technology and what we expect them to do with technology as classroom teachers. This gap is easily seen between the knowledge and skills preservice teachers have acquired through the required technology course, and the knowledge and skills they are expected to possess to successfully integrate technology in their elementary methods classes. This study was conducted with a group of 26 self-selected preservice teachers to examine this gap between teaching the use of technology and the use of technology in learning to teach. The study investigated whether the integration of technology practices into the elementary method courses for preservice teachers would positively influence their self-reported confidence levels in integrating specific technologies in elementary classrooms. Teaching preservice teachers how to integrate specific technologies into their teaching methods helped increase their level of confidence. The findings indicated that the opportunity for preservice teachers to be exposed to the technologies while learning teaching practices in their method courses and to see the technologies modeled by the faculty increased the preservice teachers' confidence level. TECHNOLOGY IN PRESERVICE EDUCATION The past three decades have brought an increased use of technology in many sectors of society. However, the integration of technology into the teaching methods and practices of elementary school teachers has not been fully implemented. Technology equipment and software have arrived in school districts across the nation through sources such as federal funding received through government sponsored grants and through partnerships with major corporations. The influx of technology into the schools has also created a challenge for many higher-education teacher preparation programs. By the year 2008, it has been projected that the K-12 schools will hire approximately two million new teachers (Gerald & Williams, 1998). This increase in the number of new teachers places a burden on colleges and universities to address the technological needs of these new preservice teachers. Colleges of Education must be proactive in implementing teacher education programs that integrate technology through the entire teacher education program by providing opportunities for preservice teachers to observe the modeling of effective uses of technology by faculty and to use this technology and software in a supportive environment (Hill & Somers, 1996). Yet, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA, 1995) noted that most teachers who graduate from teacher education programs do so with an inadequate knowledge of how they can implement technology into their teaching practices. Although most teacher education graduates reported that they were prepared to use basic programs such as drill and practice, tutorials, or writing software, only 1 in 10 believed that they could use more advanced programs such as electronic presentations or problem-solving software. These teachers also reported that they developed lesson plans or teaching materials for technology use in the classroom on a very limited basis. The report issued by OTA revealed that, "Overall teacher education programs in the United States do not prepare graduates to use technology as a teaching tool" (p. 184). A study completed by the National Center for Education Statistics (1999) also found that educators reported technology was important to the educational system's reform. However, only 20% of the teachers believed they were prepared to integrate technology into classroom instructional practices. Trotter (1999) reported on another study conducted by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) which surveyed 416 colleges of education and found that the future graduates of these programs were not receiving the experiences they needed to effectively integrate technology. …