Book Description

Over the last thirty years, policy makers and education reformers have expressed the need for integrating technology into K-12 education. Policies developed by current legislation and accreditation organizations dictate that pre-service teachers need to be technology literate. However, there is no conclusive research on the most effective method of providing technology literacy skills. This study used a descriptive case study design to take an in depth look at how an exemplary teacher education program teaches technology literacy using Mishra and Koehler's TPACK framework for incorporating technology instruction into teacher education programs (2006). The Educating Teachers Report: Educating School Teachers (Levine, 2006) has identified the top teacher preparation programs in the United States. Of these exemplary institutions, one School of Education was noted as an exemplary institution in the preparation of pre-service teachers in technology literacy. The data was gathered from interviews of faculty and graduate instructors, observations of content and technology courses, and document analysis of course syllabi. The data gathered was reviewed under the lens of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework and compared and analyzed to determine if the program covered the ISTE National Education Technology Standards. The results of this study showed that technology is integrated throughout the program and is guided by the TPACK theoretical model. While methods of technology integration varied as to individual faculty, the underlying conclusion of the data is that the Teacher Preparation Program uses the TPACK framework and the ISTE NETS-T to prepare their pre-service teachers to effectively integrate and use technology. The findings of this study further the research for institutions to use as a model to act as a guide with recommendations for the pieces necessary to promote technology literacy in pre-service teachers.