Instructional Media & Technology

Tweed W. Ross

Kansas State University

twross@ksu.edu

Einstein Alive and Well

• “Problems cannot be resolved at the same level of consciousness that

created them.”

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Setting the Discussion

• Most pre-service teachers throughout the country take one or more ICT courses.

• These courses vary considerably and are developed to meet complex local contexts and needs.

• Research on the effectiveness of these courses in student teaching experiences and on the job is spotty.

Defining our Context

• Instructional Media & Technology is a two credit hour required course.

• Generally taken early in the professional program at COE-KSU.

• 300+ students per semester in an on-line environment.

• One tenured faculty + 3 graduate assistants

• “Use technology to teach technology.”

K-State College of Education Environment

• No computer lab classrooms.

• Mobile computer labs.

• Completely wireless for 4 years.

• Checkout laptops (Macs) for student use.

• Extensive in house faculty and IT support.

• Some classrooms equipped with advanced technology-portability equipment for the others.

Outside Driving Forces

• State licensing.

• NCATE.

• COE-KSU Conceptual Framework.– Charlotte Danielson, Framework for Teaching.

• ISTE.

Personnel Driving Forces

• Tenured faculty perceptions.• Inability to find faculty or graduate assistants

with technology skills AND classroom experience.

• Students with new skills and attitudes the embrace technology to--– Communicate.– Access information.– Share.

• K-12 environment changing

Course anomalies

• Entirely on-line.– Only one face to face meeting for orientation.– Three tests

• Efforts to insure test security.• Students can take test as anytime in the semester.

– Contain two parts: randomly generated multiple choice + skill demonstration.

• Course is asynchronous– Students can complete the course in anytime frame they

choose prior to the end of the semester.– Seat time is not a factor.

• Student maturity and time management are factors.

What We Know

• Employer perceptions– Modest satisfaction

• Technology to meet local environmental needs, application software, and level of sophistication.

• Student perceptions– Ross & Wissman (2001) Redesigning Undergraduate

Technology Education, Journal of Technology and Teacher Education 9(2), 231-44.

– OEIE (2002) Technology Use in COE Methods and Clinical Courses, Manhattan, KS.

– Center for Extended Studies/OEIE (2002-2004) Undergraduate Program Evaluation.

What We Don’t Know

• How to insure that all students are able to ISTE NETS*T in:– Their methods classes.– Their supervised teaching experiences in our PDS

schools.– Their actual classroom experience.

• How to reach out to different non-KSU campus environments, particularly in SW Kansas.

• Insure methods faculty have the technology skills to effectively evaluate and guide student technology in technology-rich content teaching experiences.

Changing Models of Perception=Unresolved

Complex Issues• University courses undefined by clock

hours.• On-campus classes offered to off-campus

students.• Ownership and portability of course

materials in a world where universities compete for students.

• Defining success in a ways that do not rely on student relativity.