Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
order skill sets in their professional growth and development (Wojnar, 2001, pp. 242-243).
It is hoped that they, in turn, will model and expect their students to operate in a problem-
solving mode using critical-thinking skills and instructional technology pedagogy.
The School of Education employs the International Society for Technology in Educa-
tion Standards for teachers and students to guide the program's development and growth
(International Society for Technology in Education, 2001). The six major goals of the ISTE
standards are the foundation of the curriculum developed for the program. Students receive
a solid foundation in basic computer technology operations and concepts, as well as a total
infusion of the social, ethical, and human issues of the use of technology. The students are
able to construct lessons using common productivity tools and to electronically communi-
cate with their peers, professors, and friends synchronously and asynchronously. The first
week immerses the beginning leading teacher in the research process by extensively using
information literacy tools and databases to service all library patrons as well as to perform
meaningful searches from the many Internet-based databases. Finally, the students are
presented with many problem-solving and decision-making scenarios to discuss with their
team members in a collaborative environment. The collaboration continues throughout the
undergraduate experience into the master's program and also into the doctoral program in
Instructional Technology. The program advocates information literacy for all, as McCade
(2001) also proposed in his article. In a similar fashion, Easton and Easton (2002) reported at
the 2002 International Resource Management Association conference in Seattle, Washing-
ton, that a program in the College of Business Administration at San Diego State University,
California, addresses the topics of teaching students the fundamentals of information
technology and teaching students various business-oriented software applications. Addi-
tionally, the School of Education's Instructional Technology program is authorized by the
Pennsylvania Department of Education to award the Instructional Technology Certificate.
In order to acquire the certificate, the candidate must exhibit the competencies of a leading
instructional technologist. The program ensures that all graduates are operationally compe-
tent in the basic technology skills of word processing, spreadsheet, database, and graphic
presentation. It progresses to skill sets in pedagogy, instructional technology management,
and ethical and moral uses of technology to help students learn. It culminates the experience
by providing opportunities for the students to practice the infusion of technology into the
curriculum (Tomei, 2001, unpublished class notes). Students construct integrated thematic
units that use office productivity tools in the context of providing instruction for the students.
They will use word-processing tools to create handouts and study guides as well as
presentation software to create engaging and interactive electronic slide shows for classroom
discussion and individual student use. Virtual tours will be created that take advantage of
free Web page creation tools to provide students with a highly interactive journey into a topic
of interest. The students have opportunities to construct rich experiences using technology
tools to enhance learning. This construction process permits the growth of knowledge from
within each student. This growth enhances problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
These skills grow and mature over the 4 years of undergraduate education at Duquesne
University.
It must be noted that the expectation for professional growth and development is
communicated to the students on the first day of their freshman experience. The Instructional
Technology program begins with an assurance that all students will practice the skills of basic
