technology and teacher education

The Training of Teacher Educators in Media Methods and Materials Production

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Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu ([email protected]) Department of Education

Bayero University, Kano, NIGERIA 2005

Introduction Teaching is becoming one of the most challenging professions in our society where knowledge is expanding rapidly and much of it is available to students as well as teachers at the same time (Perraton, Robinson, & Creed, 2001). As new concepts of learning have evolved, teachers are expected to facilitate learning and make it meaningful to individual learners rather than just to provide knowledge and skills. Modern developments of innovative technologies have provided new possibilities to teaching professions, but at the same time have placed more demands on teachers to learn how to use these new technologies in their teaching (Robinson & Latchem, 2003). These challenges ask teachers to continuously retrain themselves and acquire new knowledge and skills while maintaining their jobs (Carlson & Gadio, 2002). Then what can be done to help teachers meet these challenges? Today, a variety of ICT can facilitate not only delivery of instruction, but also learning process itself. Moreover, ICT can promote international collaboration and networking in education and professional development. There’s a range of ICT options – from videoconferencing through multimedia delivery to web sites - which can be used to meet the challenges teachers face today. In fact, there has been increasing evidence that ICT may be able to provide more flexible and effective ways for lifelong professional development for today’s teachers. Because of rapid development in ICT, especially the Internet, traditional initial teacher training as well as in-service continued training institutions worldwide are undergoing a rapid change in the structure and content of their training and delivery methods of their courses. However, combining new technologies with effective pedagogy has become a daunting task for both initial teacher training and in-service training institutions. What are ICTs? Information and communications technologies (ICTs) is a term which is currently used to denote a wide range of services, applications, and technologies, using various types of equipment and software, often running over telecom networks. ICTs include well known telecom services such as telephone, mobile telephone and fax. Telecom services used together with computer hardware and software form the basis for a range of other services, including email, the transfer of files from one computer to another, and, in particular, the Internet, which potentially allows all computers to be connected, thereby giving access to sources of knowledge and information stored on computers worldwide. Applications include videoconferencing, teleworking, distance learning, management information systems, stock taking; technologies can be said to include a broad array ranging from ‘old’ technologies such as radio and TV to ‘new’ ones such as cellular mobile communications; while networks may be comprised of copper or fiber optic cable, wireless or

mailto:[email protected]�


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cellular mobile links, and satellite links. Equipment includes telephone handsets, computers, and network elements such as base stations for wireless service; while software programmes are the lifeblood of all these components, the sets of instructions behind everything from operating systems to the Internet. Thus services as basic as telephones are at issue, as well as applications as complex as “telemetering”, for example, to remotely monitor water conditions as part of a flood forecasting system. Indeed, many services and applications can be made available as soon as telephone service is provided: the same type of technologies that are used to transmit voice can also transmit fax, data, and digitally compressed video. The importance of ICTs is not the technology as such, but its enabling function in access to knowledge, information and communications: increasingly important elements in today’s economic and social interaction (European Commission, 2001). ICTs and Teacher Education It has been argued that technology for teacher professional development is not a panacea – it is only a tool (Haddad 2002). To use this tool effectively and efficiently, teachers need visions of the technologies’ potential, opportunities to apply them, training and just-in-time support, and time to experiment. Only then can teachers be informed and confident in their use of new technologies (Bowes, 2003). ICTs are a major factor in shaping the new global economy and producing rapid changes in society. Within the past decade, the new ICT tools have fundamentally changed the way people communicate and do business. They have produced significant transformations in industry, agriculture, medicine, business, engineering and other fields. They also have the potential to transform the nature of education-where and how learning takes place and the roles of students and teachers in the learning process. Teacher education institutions may either assume a leadership role in the transformation of education or be left behind in the swirl of rapid technological change. For education to reap the full benefits of ICTs in learning, it is essential that pre-service and in-service teachers have basic ICT skills and competencies. Teacher education institutions and programs must provide the leadership for pre-service and in-service teachers and model the new pedagogies and tools for learning. They must also provide leadership in determining how the new technologies can best be used in the context of the culture, needs, and economic conditions within their country. To accomplish these goals, teacher education institutions must work closely and effectively with primary and secondary school teachers and administrators, national or state educational agencies, teacher unions, business and community organizations, politicians and other important stakeholders in the educational system. Teacher education institutions also need to develop strategies and plans to enhance the teaching-learning process within teacher education programs and to assure that all future teachers are well prepared to use the new tools for learning. This is more crucial because the young generation is entering a world that is changing in all spheres: scientific and technological, political, economic, social, and cultural. The emergence of the ‘knowledge-based’ society is changing the global economy and the status of education. These new possibilities exist largely as the result of two converging forces. First the quantity of information available in the world-much of it relevant to survival and basic well-being-is


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exponentially greater than that available only a few years ago, and the rate of its growth is accelerating. A synergistic effect occurs when important information is coupled with a second modern advance-the new capacity to communicate among people of the world. The opportunity exists to harness this force and use it positively, consciously, and with design, in order to contribute to meeting defined learning needs. As is the case for other sectors of the wider economy and society, education will need to come to terms with the new technologies. This could require substantial public and private sector investments in software research and development, purchase of hardware, and refurbishment of schools. It will be difficult for national policy-makers to resist finding the necessary resources, whatever their sensibilities for expenditure on education, although without international co-operation and assistance the poorest countries could fall still further behind. Parents and the public at large, in the industrial countries at least, are unlikely to accept for too long the notion that education should be less well equipped with the new technologies than other areas of social and economic activity (UNESCO World Education Report, 1998, pp. 19-20). Thus education is at the confluence of powerful and rapidly shifting educational, technological and political forces that will shape the structure of educational systems across the globe. Many countries are engaged in a number of efforts to effect changes in the teaching/learning process to prepare students for an information and technology-based society. The UNESCO World Education Report (1998) notes that the new technologies challenge traditional conceptions of both teaching and learning and, by reconfiguring how teachers and learners gain access to knowledge, have the potential to transform teaching and learning processes. ICTs provide an array of powerful tools that may help in transforming the present isolated, teacher-centered and text-bound classrooms into rich, student-focused, interactive knowledge environments. To meet these challenges, schools must embrace the new technologies and appropriate the new ICT tools for learning. They must also move toward the goal of transforming the traditional paradigm of learning. To accomplish this goal requires both a change in the traditional view of the learning process and an understanding of how the new digital technologies can create new learning environments in which students are engaged learners, able to take greater responsibility for their own learning and constructing their own knowledge. Thomas Kuhn suggests that revolutions in science come about when the old theories and methods will not solve new problems. He calls these changes in theory and methods a “paradigm shift.” There is widespread concern that the educational experiences provided in many schools will not prepare students well for the future. Many educators and business and government leaders believe that creating a paradigm shift in views of the learning process, coupled with applications of the new information technologies, may play an important role in bringing educational systems into alignment with the knowledge-based, information-rich society. Framework for ICTs in Teacher Education In planning for the infusion of ICTs into teacher preparation programs, several factors important to a program’s success must be considered. UNESCO provides a generic ICT in teacher education curriculum framework, as shown in Figure 1.


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Fig 1. A Framework for ICTs in Teacher Education

(After Unesco, 2002). In the figure, Context and Culture identifies the culture and other contextual factors that must be considered in infusing technology into teacher education curriculum. It includes the use of technology in culturally appropriate ways and the development of respect for multiple cultures and contexts, which need to be taught and modeled by teachers. Leadership and Vision are essential for the successful planning and implementation of technology into teacher education and require both leadership and support from the administration of the teacher education institution. Lifelong Learning acknowledges that learning does not stop after school. In common with the other themes, it is important that teachers and teacher preparation faculty model lifelong learning as a key part of implementation, and as an ongoing commitment to ICTs in teacher education. Planning and Management of Change is the final theme, born of today’s context and accelerated by technology itself. It signifies the importance of careful planning and effective management of the change process. These themes may be understood as a strategic combination of approaches that help teacher educators develop four core competencies necessary for effective use of ICTs in teacher education programs. The core competencies may be seen as clusters of objectives that are critical for successful use of ICTs as tools for learning. Four Competencies for ICT in Teacher Education Pedagogy The most important aspect of infusing technology in the curriculum is pedagogy. When implementing the pedagogical competencies for infusing technology, the local context and the individual approach of the teacher linked with that of their subject discipline must be paramount. As professional teachers educators continually develop their pedagogical use of ICTs to support learning, teaching, and curriculum development, including assessment of learners and the evaluation of teaching, they will:


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o demonstrate understanding of the opportunities and implications of the uses of ICTs for learning and teaching in the curriculum context;

o plan, implement, and manage learning and teaching in open and flexible learning environments;

o assess and evaluate learning and teaching in open and flexible learning environments. Collaboration and Networking ICTs provide powerful new tools to support communication between learning groups and beyond classrooms. The teacher’s role expands to that of a facilitator of collaboration and networking with local and global communities. The expansion of the learning community beyond the classroom also requires respect for diversity, including inter-cultural education, and equitable access to electronic learning resources. Through collaboration and networking, professional teachers promote democratic learning within the classroom and draw upon expertise both locally and globally. In this process, they will:

o demonstrate a critical understanding of the added value of learning networks and collaboration within and between communities and countries;

o participate effectively in open and flexible learning environments as a learner and as a teacher;

o create or develop learning networks that bring added value to the education profession and society (locally and globally); and

o widen access and provide learning opportunities to all diverse members of the community, including those with special needs.

Social and Health Issues The power to access information and communication technologies brings increased responsibilities for everyone. Legal and moral codes need to be extended to respect the intellectual property of freely accessible information. Copyright applies to web resources, too, regardless of the ability of the user to purchase the rights. This respect can be modeled in classroom practice with students from an early stage. The challenges faced by society, locally and globally, by adoption of technology should become part of the curriculum in a way that involves learners and helps them to develop an effective voice in the debates. Health issues of ICTs also need to be addressed. For example, pro-longed engagement with ICTs (including screens and keyboards) requires appropriate support for the body, especially the hands and back. Professional teachers need to understand social and health issues surrounding ICTs and apply that understanding in their practice. Specifically, they need to:

o understand and apply the legal and moral codes of practice, including copyright and respect for intellectual property;

o reflect upon and lead discussion of the impact of new technology on society, locally and globally; and

o plan and promote healthy use of ICTs, including seating, light, sound, and related energy sources (including electricity and radio signals).

Technical Issues Technical issues regarding integration of ICTs into the curriculum include the technical competencies and provision of both technical infrastructure and technical support for technology use throughout the curriculum. Technical competencies of the individual are perhaps the most obvious but perhaps the least important in the long-term because use of technology should ultimately become transparent. Simply providing the technology for


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learners and teachers is not enough. The type and level of access is also important. Professional teachers, provided with reliable technology infrastructure and technical assistance, demonstrate continual growth in their skill with ICTs and knowledge of their current and emerging applications within education and local and global society. Specifically they are able to:

o use and select from a range of ICT resources to enhance personal and professional effectiveness; and

o willingly update skills and knowledge in the light of new developments. The Context For ICT and Multimedia Development A decade and more ago, national efforts to introduce ICTs in education anticipated increases in efficiency (Jalaluddin, 1996) without attending to the nature of learning and cognition, or to the distinction between skills mastered in abstraction and knowledge built to be used, expanded, and eventually transcended. Thus as Gaible, Cesar and Nunes (2002) argued, to build resources that enable learners to build knowledge, we must broaden our perspective beyond building skills and memorizing facts in the abstract; if these are our educational goals, technology will prove neither cost-effective nor effective in absolute terms. If our goals include enhancing analysis, synthesis, communication, and the grasping of interrelationships in the ways in which we rep-resent our world, we will find that technology supports and empowers all of our efforts along these lines. They further argued that the use of multimedia as engines of learning is conditioned by several dynamic contexts, including our evolving understanding of cognitive factors with direct bearing on learning and changes in school environment ranging from infrastructure to resources to teacher development. The Cognitive Context Their review shows that the emergence of technology as a change factor in education coincides with the sweeping influence of cognitive science and brain studies as a factor in the transformation of teaching and learning (Bransford et al 2000). The influence of both of these forces has increased with the recognition of globalization, the concomitant demonstrations of the value of innovation (Atkinson and Court, 1998) and the prevalence of strong “knowledge-work” sectors (Walcott, 2000). The Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning of the National Research Council (Bransford et al 2000) identified five themes that changed the conceptions of learning: memory and structure of knowledge; analysis of problem solving and reasoning; early foundations; meta-cognitive processes and self-regulatory capabilities; and cultural experience and community participation. Beyond thinking skills, thinking dispositions are important— students must have sensibility to know when and how to apply their skills. Development of such competencies can be fostered by the creation of a culture of thinking in the classroom (Tishman et al 1994). In this way students are able to develop successful strategies to transfer their learning to other situations (Perkins and Solomon, n.d.).


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From these concepts about learning, and more recently from discussion of the skill sets needed in the “global, knowledge economy,” (DeVol, 1998) new pedagogical rubrics have emerged that include cooperative learning, collaborative learning, active learning, project-based learning, problem-based learning, situated learning and, most recently, “learning by doing” (Roschelle 1995). These approaches all aim at a transfer of emphasis away from rote-based methods and assessment, and the teacher as the “producer” of knowledge. Instead, they emphasize the roles that analysis, synthesis, and other higher-order cognitive skills play in learning, with particular focus on learners building their own knowledge. Expanding our view of multimedia must also take into account multimedia examination formats. Students and faculty feel that incorporation of rich media in assessment can provide additional support for learning and teaching (Liu 2001). Advances in technology, cognitive science, and measurement also show the need to reinvent large-scale assessment (Bennet, 2001) and this process of reinvention may stand to benefit from incorporation of multimedia. Dynamic stimuli, such as audio, video, and animation, may make performing such tasks as problem solving more relevant to student experience (Bennet et al 1999). To accomplish this objective, multimedia development must consider cognitive complexity, sensitivity to instruction, meaningfulness, reliability, fairness, and linguistic appropriateness (Baker and Mayer 1999). Multimedia material produced for teaching and learning must be produced for assessment as well, with compatible goals, similar depth, and equal quality. The Instructional Context When developing educational multimedia resources, it is important to take into account objectives at the level of the individual learner, the school, and the state. Each has different characteristics, expectations, and needs, and the means to fulfill them are all interrelated. For this reason, development of learning resources is linked, strategically, with processes of educational reform and the transformation of teaching and learning. Consequently, four points of focus are suggested for planning the development of multimedia educational material (Bransford 2000). Learner-Centered

o What kind of approaches and materials would be flexible enough to consider students’ previous knowledge, cultural practices, and beliefs while connecting them to academic tasks?

o How can the processes of teaching and learning benefit from each student’s special interests and strengths?

According to Wiske (1998), project-based learning activities are just one way to achieve these goals. Technology also may enable us to support these goals through a combination of pre-authoring (i.e., design) tools, classroom work, portfolio-organization systems, publication systems, and collaboration tools. In such an environment, the most useful multimedia material might be small bits and pieces of software that are plugable and insertable in student’s pages and projects (applets18, Flash and Shockwave files, video clips), perhaps allowing user customizations. Examples of this combination of a tool-based learning environment and preexisting content can be found in “microworlds,” often written in Java, such as Proyecto Descartes (http://www.descartes.es). In this environment, students are motivated not only by the drive for visual quality in their work, but by the opportunity to use


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and discuss material that they, working independently in the classroom-based learning environment, would be unable to produce on their own. Knowledge-Centered

o How can we design curricula to promote understanding instead of the acquisition of disconnected sets of facts and skills?

o How can we develop in students the ability to think and solve problems by accessing appropriate knowledge?

Multimedia may help in making accessible themes that would be very hard to understand or to connect to reality— as demonstrated by the site, Physics 2000 (http://www.col-orado.edu/physics/2000). It also can help in enabling learners to reframe knowledge. They may use conceptual maps linked to Web pages that highlight different aspects of a content domain: how knowledge is acquired by experts; how problems are solved; what language is used in that domain; the current pathways of deepening knowledge; and the different possibilities of presentation for different publics of different ages. Multimedia also can broaden the scope of school learning environments by enabling experiments that otherwise would be too dangerous, too expensive, or take too long. (There are already some excellent CD-ROMs available in this niche.) And visualization and modeling tools give students the opportunity to enter into much more complex knowledge-contexts (so many of which are now necessary in our world than ever before), while continuing to build their comprehension of the core knowledge of those domains. Assessment-Centered

o How can we provide opportunities for students to revise and improve the quality of their thinking and understanding?

o Technology can help facilitate self-assessment and other meta-cognitive activities in students, in part by giving frequent feedback. Collaborative tools and communication tools may promote reflection and learning as a social activity, enhancing the potential for conceptual change.

Interactive multimedia can play a crucial role in helping students overcome misconceptions in other ways as well. Students can be enabled to develop their hypotheses as far as possible, aided by the capabilities of well-planned multimedia Nunes and Davis (2001). At that extreme point of development, visual feedback can intervene, providing alternatives or deconstructing their beliefs. It is possible to produce simulations and animations that feature embedded “expert-systems examples,” demonstrating how experts have addressed the same problems or arrived at true conclusions, only after students tried the simulations on their own. Community-Centered

o To what extent are students aware of the differences in learning in school and in their social environment?

o Do they identify the building blocks of knowledge, and what knowledge they already have is applicable to real-world problems?


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o How can students become aware of their role in a globalizing world and understand the importance of formal education in that world?

Technology can play a crucial role in connecting schools to professionals in their communities and around the world, and by allowing the school to develop ideas and positions and make them public. What types of multimedia material support more community-centered environments? People need to see and reflect on real and very often dramatic situations. Discussions can be sparked by showing videos. It may be useful to begin with small problem sets, in which only the most relevant variables are shown; then other variables can be inserted step by step. All of these features can be implemented in well-planned simulations. Clearly, there are no boundaries among these four focal areas. When we construct an assessment-centered learning environment, we create elements of a learner-centered environment. When we build a community-centered environment, we satisfy our criteria for a knowledge-centered environment. Well-designed systems combine characteristics of all four (Riel 2000). One way to ensure the interweaving of characteristics of all such environments is to ask what resources would be required for “hands-on, minds-on, and reality-on” learning activities. Constraints to ICT in Teacher Education The importance of training of teachers for successful integration of ICTs into education is finally recognized but not well financed and implemented. There are many prevailing issues that constrain the effectiveness of such teacher training. Many programs are limited to computer literacy and do not train teachers in the

instructional use of technology. Most programs are supply driven – if we supply training we ensure classroom

success. The demand side is equally important. We have to consider the demands of teachers, their needs, interests, attitudes, etc. Why don’t teachers make better use of instructional ICTs? Do they see a practical use of ICTs in their classrooms, or do they consider technology as a threat and a waste of time? Does the school environment (nature of the curriculum, role of teacher and student, allowance for innovation) demand or at least allow for the use ICTs to add value to the teaching/learning process?

Some training sounds like a selling pitch, amplifying the great benefits of ICTs for the teacher, the students, the school and the world at large! This is a recipe for fanaticism and frustration. Training should be grounded in realism and educational context: ICTs’ potential, limitations, and conditions for success.

No training, no matter how good, can be a one shot intervention. Training in the use of ICTs for instructional and learning purposes takes time and individual handholding. The reasons are many: even the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic energetic teachers face time constraints and competing demands to learn new things; technologies are unreliable – the more sophisticated and promising they are the more they break down; both hardware, software and educational applications keep changing; and, teachers need time to figure out a comfortable and beneficial zone of use of ICTs in their classrooms. It is usually assumed that training for educational technologies is an in-service or a specialized activity. What about integrating it into pre-service or initial teacher education? Can new teachers be prepared to teach in a digital age? A 1999 study – commissioned by the Milken Exchange and conducted by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) – “found that teacher


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preparation programs, while well-intentioned, are not providing the kind of training and exposure teachers need if they are to be proficient and comfortable integrating technology with their teaching.”

In the UK, ICT is now an integral part of the initial teacher training National Curriculum. “The curriculum aims, in particular, to equip every newly qualified teacher with the knowledge, skills and understanding to make sound decisions about when, when not, and how to use ICT effectively in their subject teaching.” The Teacher Training Agency, a governmental body whose purpose is to raise standards in schools by attracting able and committed people to teaching and by improving the quality of teacher training, has also produced exemplification materials on the use of ICTs in subject teaching.

Thus, according to Carlson (2002), teacher professional development in the use of technology should embody and model the forms of pedagogy that teachers can use themselves in their classrooms. For example, these training programs should: Empower teachers to develop their knowledge and skills actively and experientially,

in a variety of learning environments, both individual and collaborative. Include a variety of learning strategies, including direct instruction, deduction,

discussion, drill and practice, induction and sharing. Aim at higher-order thinking skills. Provide an authentic learning environment so that teachers engage in concrete tasks

within realistic scenarios. Emphasize ways that technology can facilitate and enhance teachers’ professional

lives. Encourage teachers to be mentors, tutors and guides of the students’ learning process

(rather than simple presenters of knowledge and information). Develop teachers’ skills in learning how to learn (define learning objectives, plan and

evaluate learning strategies, monitor progress and adjust as needed). Promote cooperative and collaborative learning. Be sensitive to the culture and diversity of teachers as learners, using a multifaceted

approach so as to respond to different learning styles, opportunities, environments and starting points.

Enable learning independent of time and place (anytime, anywhere learning). One of the most revealing studies of technology integration is a ten year study of Apple Computer’s Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT). These are elementary, middle, and high school classes in average or low income districts that have been infused with technology; each student and teacher has a computer in school and another at home. Teachers receive intensive support and training. Over the course of the project, researchers have been looking at the changes in teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors and have identified stages of development that teachers go through on their way to fully integrating technology into their instructional programs. These stages and concomitant characteristics are summarized in the chart on the next page as adapted from Dwyer et al., (1991).


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Stage Characteristics Entry • As the classrooms begin to change, teachers have doubts about

technology integration. Adoption • Teachers use technology to support traditional text-based drill

and practice. • Student achievement showed no significant decline or

improvement. • Self-esteem and motivation were strong. • Student attendance was up and discipline problems were few.

Adaptation • Teachers thoroughly integrate technology into traditional classroom practice.

• Student productivity is increased; students produce more, faster.

• Students are more actively engaged in learning Appropriation • Teachers and students personally appropriate technology.

Teachers gain a perspective on how profoundly they can alter the learning experience.

• Students have highly evolved technology skills and can learn on their own.

• Student work patterns and communication become collaborative rather than competitive.

Invention • Teachers are prepared to develop entirely new learning environments that utilize technology as a flexible tool.

• Teachers view learning as an active, creative, and socially interactive process.

• Knowledge is something students construct rather than something that can be transferred.

During the course of the practicum, we will go over these stages to adapt them to learning circumstances in Nigeria. You will also be shown a video of these stages. An expanded version of these key stages is given in Appendix 1. Conclusion Multimedia resources—considered in terms of both products and processes—have great potential to enhance education. New modalities and instruments for development and delivery have radically increased the support that these resources can give students across a wide range of learning activities. Despite the glamour of technology-rich environments, focus must remain on learners and their motivations and challenges, on the knowledge domains to be explored, and on the communities in which learning will take place. We also must keep in mind that developers, teachers, and students all have roles to play in the creation of multimedia, and one of the chief goals of policy must be to support appropriate activities by each of these groups. Flexibility is a key property of multimedia contentware, and must be marshaled effectively in our development efforts. Despite the complexity of their interaction, the contexts for development and implementation—cognitive, instructional, and technological—can be balanced so as to advance strategic goals and plans within our education systems. Cognitive science, in particular, can guide and give shape to innovation in the development of learning environments, multimedia resources, and teaching and learning practice. As always, factors outside the development processes and even outside the educational systems affect the creation of effective resources. It is vital for policy makers to influence funding, licensing, and standards for the development of educational multimedia by the


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private sector. Leading-edge technologies, including tools for adaptive and collaborative learning, will be introduced only with appropriate guidance and effective incentives, yet such tools are vital to realizing the promise that technology holds for personalized instruction and for the integration of higher-order thinking into all aspects of education. ICTs for teacher education and teacher education for ICTs are two complementary endeavors. They hold significant potential. But like any innovation that involves individuals and organizations, success does not happen through mere application. There are intricate, multi-faceted and uncertain conditions that must be provided, continuously assessed, and modified accordingly. As with any ICT application, the learner (in this case the teacher) should continue to be the center of any strategy and the measure of any success.

The Training of Teacher Educators in Media Methods and Materials Production References Atkinson, R., & Court, R. (1998). The New Economy Index: Understanding America’s Economic

Transformation. Washington: Progressive Policy Institute. Baker, E.L., & Mayer, R.E. (1999). Computer-Based Assessment of Problem Solving. Computers in Human

Behavior, 15: 269-282. Bennett, R.E. (2001). How the Internet Will Help Large-Scale Assessment Reinvent Itself? Education Policy

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Multimedia in Large-Scale Computer-Based Testing Programs. Computers in Human Behavior, 15: 283-294.

Bowes, J. (2003). The emerging repertoire demanded of teachers of the future: Surviving the transition, retrieved, September 1, 2004, from http://crpit.com/confpapers/CRPITV23Bowes.pdf.

Bransford, J.D., et al. (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (Expanded Edition), National Academic Press.

Carlson, S., (2002), The Missing Link in Educational Technology: Trained Teachers. TechKnowLogia, October - December 2002, pp 7-11.

Carlson, S., & Gadio, C. T. (2002). Teacher professional development in the use of technology. In W.D. Haddad & A. Draxler (Eds.), Technologies for education: potential, parameters, and prospects, Paris and Washington, D.C.: UNESCO and AED, retrieved April 25, 2005 from http://www.schoolnetafrica.net/fileadmin/resources/Teacher_Professional_Development_In_the_use_of_Technology.pdf.

DeVol, R. (1998). America’s High-Tech Economy: Growth, Development and Risks for Metropolitan Areas. Santa Monica, CA: The Milken Institute.

Dwyer, D.C., Ringstaff, C., & Sandholtz, J.H. (1991). Changes in teachers’ beliefs and practices in technology-rich classrooms. Educational Leadership.

European Commission (2001), Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament; Information and Communication Technologies in Development. The role of ICTs in EC development policy; Brussels 14.12.2001; COM(2001)770 final; p.3).

Gaible, E., and Cesar A, and Nunes, A., (2002) Development of Multimedia Materials, in Haddad, Wadi D. and Draxler, Alexandra (eds.)(2002)., Technologies for Education: Potentials, Parameters and Prospects. Paris, Unesco.

Haddad, W (2002), Technology and Teacher Education: Making the Connection, Editorial, TechKnowLogia, October - December 2002, pp 5-6.

Jalaluddin, A. (1996). Opportunities and Strategies for Change in Education. In Ahmet, M., & Gaible, E. (eds.). Education for All Technology Roundtable. Berkeley: People’s Computer Company.

Lamke, C., and Coughlin, E., (1998), Technology in American Schools: 7 Dimensions for Gauging Success – a Policymaker’s Guide. Milken Exchange on Educational Technology at http://www.milkenexchange.org/

Liu, M., Papathanasiou, E., & Hao, Y-W. (2001). Exploring the Use of Multimedia Examination Formats in Undergraduate Teaching: Results from the Field Testing. Computers in Human Behavior, 17: 224-248.

Nunes, M., & Davis, C. (2001). New Technologies, New Ways of Learning? Presented at The Future and Challenges of Educational Assessment in the 21st Century, 27th Annual IEAE Conference. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Perkins, D.N., and Salomon, G. (n/d) The Science and Art of Transfer. Harvard Project Zero. Available at: http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/trancost.pdf.

Perraton, H., Robinson, B., & Creed, C. (2001). Teacher education through distance learning: technology, curriculum, evaluation, cost, Paris: UNESCO.

Riel, M. (2000). Measuring the Impacts and Shaping the Future, White Paper, Secretary of Education, Conference on Educational Technology, Washington, DC.

Robinson, B., & Latchem, C. (2003). Teacher education: challenges and change. In B. Robinson, & C. Latchem (Eds.), Teacher education through open and distance learning, London: Routledge Falmer, 1-27.

Roschelle, J. (1995). What Should Collaborative Technology Be? A Perspective from Dewey and Situated Learning. Proceedings of the Computer Science and Collaborative Learning Conference. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Tishman, S., Perkins, D.N., & Jay, E. (1994). The Thinking Classroom: Learning and Teaching in a Culture of Thinking. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

http://crpit.com/confpapers/CRPITV23Bowes.pdf�

http://www.schoolnetafrica.net/fileadmin/resources/Teacher_Professional_Development_In_the_use_of_Technology.pdf�

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UNESCO (1998), World Education Report, Paris, Unesco. UNESCO (2002), Information and Communication Technologies in Teacher Education: A Planning Guide.

Paris, Unesco. Wiske, M.S. (1998) What Is Teaching for Understanding? In Wiske, E. (ed.). Teaching for Understanding:

Linking Research to Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Wolcott, P. (2000). The Diffusion of the Internet in the Republic of India. Omaha, NE: The Global Diffusion of the Internet

Project.

Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu ([email protected])

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Appendix 1

Examples of Best Practices that Work

Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) (With accompanying video)

Recognizing and Supporting Teaching with Technology Promising Practices in Technology

The Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) research project was both exploratory and open-ended. The project was initiated in 1985 by Apple Computer, Inc. in the United States to answer the question: What happens to students and teachers when they have access to computers whenever they need it? Over the following four years, sites were selected, computers were provided for ACOT classrooms, and training was provided for teachers. In 1990, the first reports were published, and ACOT project staff began making presentations at conferences and educational meetings. By 1995, the message was clear: the conversation should be about learning, not computers. During the decade of study from 1985 to 1995, the ACOT teachers used technology as a motivator for change. They enriched their lessons with technology and turned the assignments into collaborative learning activities. The ACOT study determined that teachers progress through certain stages as they incorporate technology into teaching and learning in their classrooms. These stages can be described as shown in the chart below.

Stage Examples of What Teachers Do Entry Learn the basics of using technology Adoption Use new technology to support traditional instruction

Adaptation Integrate new technology into traditional classroom practice (Here, they often focus on increased student productivity and engagement by using word processors, spreadsheets, and graphic tools.)

Appropriation Focus on cooperative, project-based, and interdisciplinary work-incorporating the technology as needed and as one of many tools

Invention Discover new uses for technology tools, for example, developing spreadsheets macros for teaching algebra or designing projects that combine multiple technologies.

From Changing the Conversation About Teaching, Learning, & Technology: A Report 10 Years of ACOT Research. Apple Computer, Inc.

Teachers experienced varied stages with different types of technology and teaching strategies. As teachers advanced through the stages, they became guides, while the students took more ownership of their own learning, frequently doing so in cooperative groups. The chart below shows the shift that occurred in the classrooms, from traditional instruction to extended knowledge construction.

Traditional Instruction Extended Knowledge Construction

Activity Teacher-centered and didactic Learner-centered and interactive Teacher role Fact teller and expert Collaborator/sometimes learner Student role Listener and learner Collaborator/sometimes expert Learning emphasis Facts and replication Relationships and inquiry Concept of knowledge Accumulation Transformation Demonstration of success Quantity Quality

Assessment Norm-referenced and multiple guess Criterion-referenced and performance portfolios

Technology use Seat work Communication, collaboration, information access and expression

From Changing the Conversation About Teaching, Learning, & Technology: A Report 10 Years of ACOT Research. Apple Computer, Inc

You will be shown the video during the practicum stage of the workshop. The video will be available to you as

RealPlayer (.rm) files which you can burn to a CD during the workshop.



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Appendix 2

Gauging Success of ICTs and Multimedia Applications in Teacher Education (Adapted from Lamke, C., and Coughlin, E., (1998), Technology in American Schools: 7 Dimensions for

Gauging Success – a Policymaker’s Guide. Milken Exchange on Educational Technology at http://www.milkenexchange.org/).

o Fluency: Are learners proficient using technology and communication networks for whatever

endeavors they choose? o Strengthening The Basics: Does this use of technology make it possible for the learner to acquire

the basic skills with more depth? o Developing Higher Level Skills: Does this use of technology make it increasingly possible for the

learner to engage in learning practices that lead to new ways of thinking, understanding, constructing knowledge and communicating results?

o Increasing Relevancy: Are learners using contemporary technology, communication networks and associated learning contexts to engage in relevant, real-life applications of academic concepts? Does his/her work parallel the way in which professionals in the workforce use technology?

o Motivation To Learn: Is quality access to technology and telecommunications increasing the intrinsic motivation of learners to learn?

o Recognition of Tradeoffs: Are learners cognizant of the tradeoffs inherent in the application of technology in society as they make life choices in a global, technological society?

o Learning Context: Are educators establishing a learning context that requires and enables

students/student teams use of contemporary tools to research issues, solve problems and communicate results?

http://www.milkenexchange.org/�

Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu ([email protected])

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o Learning Content: Do the standards, curriculum, instruction and assessment reflect the knowledge-based, global society of today? Are educators reflecting societal changes in school practice?

o School Culture: Is the school culture one that encourages, enables and rewards educators individually and collectively to improve the learning and teaching processes through the effective use of technology and communication networks?

o Technology Access: Do teachers and learners have sufficient access to productivity tools, online services, media-based instructional materials, and primary sources of data in settings that enrich and extend their learning goals?

o Information and Communication: Is the learning environment a place where the effective use of information and communication technology is modeled for and by students?

o Core Technology Fluency: Are the faculty and staff proficient, knowledgeable and current with

con-temporary technology? o Curriculum, Learning and Assessment: Has the teacher’s fluency with technology translated into

unique opportunities for students to learn more quickly, with more depth and understanding? Is the teacher’s knowledge about technology’s impact in his/her field of study reflected in the context of his/her students’ learning?

o Professional Practice and Collegiality: Are teachers using technology and communication networks to advance their professional practice? Are teachers knowledgeable and current with the technology and its impact in their field of study and the larger society?

o Classroom and Instructional Management: Through their use of technology and telecommunications are teachers creating learning contexts that require students to take on more independent roles in their own learning?

o Vision: Has the system engaged key stakeholders plus the broader community in defining and

clearly stating a compelling vision and expectations for technology in schools? Is that vision embraced by the entire system?

o Leadership And Planning: Has the system developed a comprehensive, long-term plan? Is there alignment between the plan for technology in schools and existent policies and practices (e.g., rules and regulations, fiscal priorities, operating practices, allocation of resources, investment in human capital and accountability)?

o Ensuring Capacity: Is the system ensuring that educators, communities and components of the system itself have the capacity to translate that vision into compelling, meaningful learning activities for children, youth and adults?

o Systems Thinking: Is there a team of leaders that embraces the vision and is in a position to facilitate the system changes that are necessary to reach that vision? Is the vision for improved learning through technology a design factor across the entire education system?



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o Commitment: Are key community stakeholders committed and involved in planning,

implementing and evaluating the system’s use of learning technology? o Collaboration: Has the system identified the full range of mutually beneficial partner-ships,

exchanges and collaborations? Are any of these opportunities currently being developed? o Clarity: Do all technology partnerships, ex-changes and collaborations include clear articulation of

expectations, implementation plans, time lines and accountability systems? o Communication: Are there mechanisms for ongoing communication among partners and the

broader community for the purposes of celebrating successes, building awareness, monitoring progress and encouraging wider participation?

o Installed Base: Do schools have an installed base of modern technology equipment (computers,

calculators, digital cameras, projection devices, scanners, printer, etc.) to support the learning, communication, and administrative goals of the education system?

o Connectivity: Is the connectivity adequate to support current and rapidly growing demands created by the learning, communication, and administrative requirements of the education system?

o Technical Support: Is there adequate technical support to provide timely, expert trouble-shooting, technical assistance, ongoing maintenance, operation and upgrades?

o Client Orientation: Are client needs being met? Is there a high level of customer satisfaction? o Facilities: Are the facilities within the system “technology-ready?” Do standards for facilities and

infrastructure include technology requirements?

o Deliverables and Benchmarks: Have clear goals been set, accompanied by logical implementation

and change strategies, measurable objectives and associated metrics? o Data Collection/Interim Progress: Is there a well designed data collection and analysis process

that tracks progress, leads to data-driven decision making and provides evidence as to whether or not the intervention is leading toward the goals?

o Data-Driven Decision Making: Is the data analysis appropriately informing decision making related to technology?

o Communication: Is the communication plan keeping stakeholders informed and does it provide a feedback mechanism for continuous improvement?

technology and teacher education

Documents