Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
the program with technology skills to communicate and complete assignments. They quickly
acquire and increase the skills in information technology so that they can obtain sufficient
data, synthesize that data into useful information, and create interactive visual presentations
and exciting virtual tours (Tomei, 2001). Finally, the leading teacher must be aware of the rapid
advancements and changes in technology and how those changes affect the learning
process. The teacher must know how to adapt to the changes and to infuse the new
technology into the curriculum of the future.
BACKGROUND
The federal government recognized the need to bridge the digital divide to ensure that
all students have the opportunity to advance themselves and the U.S. economy. The nation
and the nation's businesses need individuals who can acquire data and transform that data
into meaningful information. The citizens of this land need to communicate and collaborate
with their peers without regard to time and space limitations. To accomplish these goals and
anticipate future needs, the workers of tomorrow need to practice the technology skills of
today. These workers, university students and military personnel of tomorrow, will come from
the current bank of students in the K-12 space. With a high attrition rate for teachers, it
appears logical to concentrate on the students in teacher training institutions and inspire
them to fulfill the role of guide, facilitator, and leading teacher of our nation's children. Teacher
training institutions need to set the expectation that preservice teachers will possess an expert
level of instructional technology skills to gather data and synthesize information, to create
insightful interactive visual presentations, and to construct meaningful virtual tours of the
vast resources of the Internet. This chapter will explore these concepts as they relate to an
existing leading teacher program.
MAIN THRUST OF THE CHAPTER
In this chapter, the preparation of preservice teachers as technology leaders will be
discussed. While a tremendous amount of money was expended on equipment to bridge the
“digital divide,” a smaller amount was used to train existing teachers. Given the attrition rate
of teachers, a closer examination of the preservice teacher arena is warranted. The teacher
preparation institutions have an opportunity to proclaim an admirable program based on
standards, post-high school needs, and organizational support. A few of these topics will
be examined in this chapter in order to better understand the process of preparing leading
teachers that are facilitators and guides in the learning process. Also, the distinction is made
between information technology, technology literacy, and instructional technology.
The preparation of preservice teachers as technology leaders will be discussed. The
expectation is that students graduate from high school technologically literate to enter post-
secondary education, the military, or the private corporate sector. To accomplish this goal,
K-12 teachers must be technologically literate to help prepare the students. The current
group of K-12 teachers must operate at this level, and new preservice teachers must be trained
to operate at this level also. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania alone dedicated approxi-
mately $50 million to staff development from 1996 to 2000 (Edwards, 2001). This effort provided
the funding to raise the information technology skills of existing faculty. However, recent
