Cases of Technology Applications
in Teacher Education

Working with institutions of higher education, North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) found that college faculty across the country are seeking effective and innovative ways to integrate technology into the preservice teacher education curriculum. In response to this demand, NCREL conducted a search for examples of effectively infused technology into curriculum. The creative documentations listed below proved the search a success. It is NCREL's hope that this inventory will be used as a resource to assist faculty in the integration of technology into curriculum and aid in preparing future teachers for the technology skills needed in tomorrow's classrooms.

 The Junior Professor Project

Urban elementary students from the community surrounding Indiana's Butler University get to switch roles and teach preservice students how to use various computer software. In turn, preservive students get a real-life lesson in children's learning capabilities.

 Technology-Enriched Elementary Mathematics Education

The mathematics education faculty of the Elementary and Kindergarten program at Penn State have integrated research-based instructional software into their teacher preparation program to address the issues of promoting elementary teachers' use of the computer as a tool for developing powerful mathematical thinking in themselves and in their future teachers.

 Reflecting on Elementary Science

Purdue University has developed a series of interactive videodisc case materials for use in teacher education courses relating to elementary school science. The Reflecting on Elementary Science materials feature classroom teachers and their students engaging in science lessons aimed at conceptual understanding.

  Activate Technology Across the Curriculum

The University of Southern Indiana has integrated effective uses of technology across the teacher education program by providing opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to develop and apply technology skills. Hands-on, practical projects allow students to manage and integrate a variety of technologies in the K-12 curriculum and to focus on information and communication rather than merely on hardware and software.

 An Integrated Approach to Educational Technology for Preservice Teachers

Graceland College has integrated technology into all of their teacher preparation courses in a way that requires students to use Internet resources as primary research and communication tools. This documentation will lead you through the process they used to integrate technology into each of their teacher preparation courses.

 A Multiuniversity Internet Course Collaboration

The course "Teaching Across the Content Areas" was designed to develop a multiuniversity Internet collaboration that would use the strengths of the Internet and the strengths of on-campus, real time instruction to study the issues surrounding interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The incorporation of technology enabled the university's undergraduate students to share with and learn from students on other campuses, graduates and undergraduates, experienced teachers and novices, and different cultures and geographic areas.

 Documenting Effective Practices: Integrating Technology into Teacher Education

To help her undergraduate students gain experience through technology, the author designed a course around a multiuniversity collaboration using the Internet and classroom instruction to study interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The technology enabled undergraduate students to share knowledge and experiences with and learn from graduate and undergraduate students on other campuses, from both experienced teachers and novices, and from different cultures and geographic areas.

 Embedding Information Technology in the Reading and Language Arts Curriculum

The onslaught of information technology (IT) has created a serious problem for educators who want to use IT in elementary schools. The challenge for this program was to make IT a vital component of the reading and language arts curriculum. How can this goal be achieved without an "add-on" approach in the teacher education program? How can preservice teachers learn to incorporate IT (instead of worksheets or simple drill and practice) into their curriculums?