New Maps for Technology in Teacher Education

Abstract

The ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Standards have put technology integration “on the map” for teacher educators, creating a useful reference point for guiding new teachers toward appropriate technology uses. The authors reflect on their work at a progressive teacher education college, assessing the strengths and limitations of a standards-driven approach to integrating technology. They describe a framework that organizes faculty and student technology learning around four themes: communication and dialog, inquiry using primary data, student constructive projects, and digital literacy. This “map” is not proposed as a specific model to be adopted by other teacher educators, but rather as a stimulus for other faculty to build their own maps, reflecting their institutions’ core goals, values, and circumstances.