2 Journal of Computing in Teacher Education Volume 23 / Number 1 Fall 2006Copyright © 2006 ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 541.302.3777 (Int’l), iste@iste.org, www.iste.org

E d i t o r S ’ r E m a r k S

Glen Bull and Ann Thompson

Editor’s Remarks continued on p. 28

For the past quarter-century, the nation has invested substantial amounts in educational technology each year. Technology has changed almost every other facet of our lives—in commerce,

in entertainment, and our social lives. The Pew Foundation has even documented ways in which technology has changed education outside school. However, it has not yet made appreciable changes in the way that schools themselves operate, or upon student learning outcomes.

The Need for Direction and a Cohesive PlanThe reasons for this are complex. One difficulty is that the power of technology has not yet been focused on specific content areas for the most part. With the exception of the graphing calculator in mathematics, the majority of uses of technology in schools are generic. Because the unique capabilities of technology have not been coupled to specific instructional objectives and methods in each content area, specific learning outcomes have not been demonstrably affected for the most part.

Another difficulty is the lack of research that focuses on student learning outcomes. Surveys of teacher attitudes, for example, are much easier to conduct than research that identifies factors related to learning outcomes. As a result, we have very little research that demonstrates results directly related to learning outcomes.

The lack of solid research on learning outcomes, in turn, makes the process of teacher preparation more difficult. If best practices are not well documented, the specific curriculum that should be incorporated into teacher education will be more difficult to identify. There is consid-erable variability in the way educational technology is integrated even into programs recognized as exemplary, as might be expected under such conditions.

Addressing the NeedWe need research that illustrates how best to affect learning out-comes in each content area. Once this is understood these practices need to be integrated into teacher preparation programs. The ef-forts of the National Technology Leadership Coalition (NTLC) to address these needs have been described by Melissa Pierson in the President’s Column and in previous editorials.

NTLC is a coalition of educational technology journal editors and teacher education associations that has been meeting for sev-eral years with the objective of adoption of a proactive approach to these needs. Representatives from each content area have been meeting with the technology committees of the corresponding teacher education associations to identify needed research for each area. As research priorities are identified, the journal editors will

collectively work together to encourage and facilitate research in the identified areas.

Linking Research to PolicyHowever, these actions, even though desirable, are not by themselves suf-ficient. Funding is needed to support comprehensive research programs, and ensure that such work is systemic rather than isolated. Although legislative advocacy has not been a major agenda item for our commu-nity in the past, it appears that the time has come for all of us to gain expertise in this important area. On one level, we know that by speaking and acting together, we have the potential to influence our legislators to include technology in teacher education in major initiatives. In practice, however, few of us have taken the time to educate ourselves about effec-tive action in this important area.

For that reason, an NTLC legislative advocacy task force has been established. ISTE maintains a legislative advocacy presence in Wash-ington. The current director is Hillary Goldman. The NTLC initiative will build upon and extend current ISTE advocacy initiatives, includ-ing the ISTE Advocacy Tool Kit available on www.iste.org Web site under the advocacy tab and the Education Technology Action Network (ETAN), which provides timely updates on federal education technology activity on the Web at: www.edtechactionnetwork.org

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) has a similar position, the director of government relations, currently held by Jane West. Although this leading teacher education as-sociation and its counterpart in educational technology associations have not coordinated their advocacy efforts in the past, these two organizations are in the process of exploring how they might best work together.

The eighth National Technology Leadership Summit (NTLS) also provides an opportunity for representatives from teacher education asso-ciations in core content areas to meet with journal editors and determine how existing research needs might best be coupled with advocacy efforts. Identification of needed research leading to best practices would be valu-able in any instance. However the convergence of representatives from these respective spheres provides an opportunity to connect our academic work with real-world activities in the policy arena.

Dina Rosen, the NTLC early childhood representative, suggests that it might be advantageous to think of advocacy in broader terms that go beyond legislative action. One activity might include development of a list: “Ten Things an Individual Can Do.” Another strategy might be to consider the use of digital stories to make a difference. For example, stories on successful projects and their impact could be used to seek funding, reinstatement of funding, and related goals.

You can follow these efforts on the NTLS Web site (www.ntls.info). Periodic updates regarding these efforts will be posted on this site. An

Advocating for Educational Technology

2� Journal of Computing in Teacher Education Volume 23 / Number 1 Fall 2006Copyright © 2006 ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 541.302.3777 (Int’l), iste@iste.org, www.iste.org

Appendix: Talk Aloud / Thinking Aloud ProtocolMain instructions“I’m going to ask you to do several short tasks involving looking through a couple Web sites. The basic idea in the talk aloud exercise is to have you describe everything that you’re doing, seeing, and thinking while you go through each task. It’s more than just talking aloud to yourself as you might do in other situations, since you’ll be reporting all your thoughts while going through this exercise. But, it’s not the same thing as being a teacher, either, trying to explain the reasoning behind everything you do with the Web site. Just think, reason in a loud voice, tell me everything that passes through your head while you work through the task. There is no right or wrong way to go through this task.”

RemindersAfter 20 seconds of silence, the experimenter should say, “What are you thinking about?”

TasksPractice Task: From the university’s homepage, find the current hours for [name of the main] library.

posals. We’ll post further guidelines for possible SIGTE financial support to graduate student presenters at NECC 2007, as a way of encouraging future teacher educators to get involved in SIGTE activities.

Although recognition of our 2005-2006 SIGTE volunteers took place at the SIGTE business meeting, I want to repeat my thanks to Melissa Pierson for her outstanding service as President from 2004-2006; her gracious and enthusiastic leadership increased active participation of SIGTE members. Thanks also to Karen Grove who was elected to a second term as Treasurer. Finally, at the Business Meeting, we recognized deceased member Bill Halverson’s many fine contributions to SIGTE and the educational community. As a community, we have much to be proud of and thankful for in the way of member contributions to the profession, both past and present.

President’s Message continued from p. 3

Editor’s Remarks continued from p. 2

accompanying blog will also be made available so that you can participate by contributing your thoughts.

This IssueThe four articles in this issue provide further rationale for the need for advocacy discussed in this column. Each of these articles suggests some of the exciting affordances of technology to enhance both teacher educa-tion and student learning.

In “A Comparison of Teacher Education Faculty and Preservice Teacher Technology Competence” Jim Carroll and Patricia Morrell share results from a study comparing teacher education faculty members and preservice teachers with respect to self-perceptions of technology com-petence. Findings from this study point to both faculty members and students as having technological expertise and that each group might benefit from the capability of the other. The study presents a positive picture of teacher education faculty members and their abilities to develop student knowledge of meaningful technology applications.

The work of Beverly Ray and Martha Hocutt reported in “Teacher-created, Teacher-centered Weblogs: Perceptions and Practices” provides

Task #1: Use the eTech Web site to find one new idea for integrating technology into a science lesson for fourth grade students.Task #2: Use the eTech Web site to find a simple guide to decide whether technology is appropriate to use in a lesson.Task #3: Use the eTech Web site to find one new idea for integrating technology into a geometry lesson for eleventh grade students.Task #4: Use the eTech Web site to find one resource to aid in teaching other preservice teachers about technology integration.

Interview QuestionsIs there any topic listed on the Web site that you didn’t explore but would have liked to look at?Did you find it easy or difficult to navigate around the Web site? What made it easy or difficult?What do you think is most useful about this Web site as a resource for teachers?What do you think is least useful about this Web site as a resource for teachers? What improvements, if any, can you see that would make the Web site a better resource for teachers?

useful insights for teacher educators interested in exploring the possibili-ties of Weblogs for classroom teachers. This qualitative study focuses upon determining possible themes that emerge as teachers create and use Weblogs to enhance their professional practice.

Teacher educators and classroom teachers working to design online environments for teacher professional development will find the work of Christine Greenhow, Sara Dexter and Eric Riedel useful as they provide three useful tools for evaluating both the pedagogical design and user-centered functionality of these sites.

Using technology to enhance opportunities for teacher reflection is also the major theme for Lynn Bryan and Art Recesso in their study of the use of a video analysis tool to help enhance science teacher reflective practice. In “ Promoting Reflection among Science Student Teachers us-ing a Web-based Video Analysis Tool,” the authors explore a user-friendly video analysis tool in helping both preservice and inservice teachers engage in more reflective practice.

All four of the articles in this issue represent innovative approaches to improving our use of technology in teacher education and provide a glimpse of some of the possibilities for future work. The urgent need for legislative advocacy suggested in this column is further reinforced by the forward-looking projects highlighted in this issue.