Using Technology to Enhance Teacher Education

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss how to use technology to enhance teacher education through the discussion of teacher education programs at two Maryland universities. University of Maryland University College, a public university, was founded to address the needs of the military overseas following the end of World War II, as an offshoot of the University of Maryland College Park. It has become the largest primarily online public, not for profit, university in the United States. Its Master of Arts in teaching program was reinstituted in 2009, after a several year hiatus. The second university, Bowie State University (BSU), is a more traditional, historically black university (HBCU) founded as a teacher education institution in the 1800s and has been training teachers ever since. Both institutions of higher education are part of the University System of Maryland and the teacher education programs are certified by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). These two universities were selected to highlight how different types of universities are implementing technology into their teacher education programs. The distinction illustrates a fully online teacher education program and a fully face-to-face teacher education program and the nuances between the two. These distinctions offer a broader view of how technology is used to enhance teacher education and to offer equal opportunity to students who want to become teachers. The chapter focuses on the uses of technology for the instruction of teacher candidates’ field experiences and internships. Technology enhancements provided in teacher preparation courses for student academic instruction and university faculty and school personnel training in the use of technology and Web 2.0 tools are discussed.