One plus One Doesn't Always Equal Two

Web 2.0 applications have exploded onto the scene in the past 2 years resulting in an impressive number of interactive tools and Web services. These online Web services and applications can be integrated into the pedagogical mix to energize student learning and provide participatory learning experiences. Educators can pick and choose favorite applications and online Web services, include user created data, and combine them in unique ways through data mashups. Mashups involve the reuse, or remixing, of works of art, music, content, or data for purposes that usually were not planned or anticipated by the original creators. This chapter will explore the concept, techniques, and strategies of data Web mashups. Educational data mashups are in their infancy. Several significant ethical issues of concern to educators and students are explored including possible mitigating strategies to allow educators to leverage the teaching and learning potential of data mashups in the classroom.

The Online Exhibit Room

National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) reviews offers a serious challenge for many educational institutions. The educational program must provide, through the Internet, documentation for the six NCATE standards. What should be included, when should the process begin, and how is it accomplished? This chapter will provide detailed development of Americans with Disability Act compliant Web (Section 508) sites, detail technical construction of Web sites for an online exhibit room, and examine features such as Adobe Flash animation and appropriate online databases.This chapter gives special attention to the construction of sites that welcome prospective students, highlight the cultural diversity of its campus/institution, and provide relevant information quickly to any site visitors. This chapter represents the best ideals and practices of NCATE-accredited Web sites, and will effectively instruct teacher education candidates and instructors in appropriate electronic methods.

Electronic Portfolios in Teacher Education

Electronic portfolios serve a variety of needs within the field of education as the information technology age collides with the age of educational accountability. This chapter discusses the successes and challenges of an electronic portfolio integration process over five years in a large teacher education program. Specific details for selecting an electronic portfolio system are explained at length. Issues concerning student products, teacher standards, evaluation and accreditation are addressed through the lens of reflective experiences and practice.

New Directions in the Research of Technology-Enhanced Education

This chapter presents the results of a systematic review of literature in which the authors examined instructional technology integration in career and technical education, mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science. Three lenses were used to examine the literature: a research design framework, a teacher knowledge framework (CFTK), and a technology integration framework (TPACK). The research design framework revealed a low percentage of papers that were actually research studies (41.2%), favoring qualitative design (70% of the 41.2%). Consequently, educators may have difficulty sifting through high proportions of non-research to find the most informative, up-to-date instructional technology research. Three CFTK aspects of teacher knowledge were addressed less than others in the research studies: Individual Context (16%), Subject Matter (33%), and Discernment (29%). Pedagogical Knowledge was addressed the most (65%). The TPACK developmental framework revealed an emphasis on the lowest three levels of instructional technology integration (60%), indicating a gap in the research at the upper two levels. Mathematics studies accounted for almost half of all research addressing TPACK developmental stages (47%). From these findings, the authors conclude that pedagogical knowledge alone is not enough to ensure high levels of technology integration and offer recommendations for improving the disjointed nature of research on instructional technology.

Finding Our Way While Leading the Way

ABSTRACTThis chapter will follow two teacher educators at RMIT University in Melbourne in their quest to lead and enable others to lead as they capture and critically reflect upon the constructs that frame the creation and implementation of a virtual primary school for pre-service teachers. The school is now six years old and has moved through numerous iterations, but remains guided by theories of Christensen (1997) and Boler (1999). That is, pre-service teachers, through their interactions with the virtual school, are challenged to question and rethink assumptions through sustained innovations and the disruption of habituated practices in learning and teaching. As the school has evolved, the authors have also had to rethink assumptions and build strong theoretical frameworks to support change.

Online Learning Engages Students of the Digital Age

Technology capabilities are rapidly growing in the world of education. As distance education applications are being designed to be more user-friendly, online learning opportunities are becoming more of a reality in secondary schools and institutions of higher education, with students enrolling in online and blended courses. Many of the early and current distance learners are “digital immigrants,” that is, they are not well-versed in technology systems and need to adjust to a whole new way of learning to succeed in the online environment. However, future students enrolling in online courses will be “digital natives,” students who have grown up surrounded by the ever-evolving technology of the digital age. Digital natives acquire and process information in ways that are far different than previous generations, requiring educators to re-think the design and delivery of relevant curriculum. This chapter will discuss the phenomenon of digital natives and immigrants, current practices and perceptions, and a successful model of online learning in an upper elementary school classroom.

A Multimedia Learning Tool that Allows High School Teachers and their Students to Engage in Scientific Research

This chapter presents a new and different type of multimedia learning tool, the so-called “research module.” This unique, learner-centered, multimedia tool aims to create a learning environment wherein high school teachers and their students engage in higher-order, inquiry-based activities that allow them to “do” actual scientific research in the classroom. This chapter also describes the design and implementation of these computer-based resources, as well as assessment data on student learning, and perceptions of both textbooks and computer-based learning tools. It also reveals high school teachers’ attitudes toward the use of both computer-based resources and textbooks.

Creating Electronic Evidence Rooms for NCATE Accreditation

For nearly a century the clarion call for more accountability at all levels of education across the USA has been made. As a result, we find accreditation bodies (national, regional and specialized), in the USA being independent of the Department of Education. In this chapter, the focus will be on creating electronic evidence rooms for The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). NCATE was developed over 50 years ago requiring concrete evidence that teacher candidates are prepared rigorously to acquire the relevant body of knowledge and field experiences needed for them to be successful teachers. With technological advances, NCATE accredited institutions are given the charge to produce electronic evidence rooms as a means of show-casing tangible evidence of students, departments and colleges of education progress. This chapter will provide a comprehensive overview of how electronic evidence rooms are created using College LiveText Solutions for NCATE accreditation.

Synergy

Synergy describes a situation where the combined efforts are greater than individual parts. Service learning ties together academic content, in this case instructional technology, while providing service. This chapter offers an orientation to an exceptionally rewarding service learning activity in an instructional technology course. Based upon a case study and extensive literature review, this chapter provides best practices for fostering the synergy between service learning and instructional technology courses. This approach increased teacher candidates’ exposure to diversity, served community needs, and facilitated candidate practice of skills from instructional technology class.

Gender Differences in Online Communication of Teacher Preparation Students

Research has shown that gender disparities exist in online communication. Understanding the factors that enable students to effectively communicate online and ultimately manage their own discussions has important learning and pedagogical implications. This study examined the communication and interactional processes of peer-directed online discussions. Gender disparities were found in communication styles and in the use of socio-emotional content. Men were expository whereas messages posted by women were of an epistolary nature. Women used socio-emotional content more than men. However, interactions, such as the extent to which men and women persisted in message threads as well as responded to one another, were comparable overall. Although not significant, women posted more messages of longer length but men received more replies to their messages. The findings have important pedagogical implications for educators who wish to engage students in peer-directed text-based asynchronous discussions.