March+ISTE+Research+Paper+Summary

Preparing Preservice Teachers for Teaching in a Digital Age [|Link]

The purpose of this reasearch study was to find out the willingness and the approach of beginning teachers' use of technology for their teaching in social studies. They took a group of students and sent them into 2 different classes to show them how to use technology in the teaching of social studies. They found this to be a difficult process as it required frequent opportunities to develop an understanding through teacher education programs. They also found that teachers need to practice their technology knowledge in authentic settings to become familiar with their potential use of technology. They needed this extra practice to become more risk takers and problem solvers who can deal with computer problems. Overall, these classes did inprove the students' understanding of ways to approach the use of technology in their classrooms as well as their willingness to use this technology. They did find that they need to put continuous emphasis on the fact that these are tools for helping students learn the important skills of social studies. Also, they need to help with the students' concern about dealing with technology glitches.