Posts Tagged ‘technology’

Radio Show Profiles Ky. Statewide Collaboration, New AACTE Leadership

Education Talk Radio host Larry Jacobs (center) shares a light moment with AACTE Board Chair Wanda Blanchett (Rutgers University, NJ) and President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone during their interview in March.

In a recent radio show recorded at AACTE’s 70th Annual Meeting, Education Talk Radio host Larry Jacobs interviewed several leaders in educator preparation about their work, including AACTE members from Kentucky as well as Board of Directors Chair Wanda Blanchett and President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone.

The first interview of the show focused on work in Kentucky to use technology and create a statewide system for sharing teacher preparation program data and accountability (as presented in a session elsewhere in the conference). The following guests joined the interview:

Radio Interviews Spotlight ‘Nevada Leads,’ Advocacy, Innovation in Teacher Prep

AACTE members Melissa Burnham and Jafeth Sanchez of the University of Nevada Reno were featured guests on a recent Education Talk Radio show, discussing the “Nevada Leads” principal preparation initiative with their district partner Salwa Jafi. Other guests included AACTE’s Deborah Koolbeck, highlighting current advocacy work in Washington, and Interim Dean Vanessa Anton and Interim Provost Deb Landry of Northeastern State University (OK), who described their award-winning Robotics Academy of Critical Engagement (RACE) program.

The interviews took place in person with host Larry Jacobs at the AACTE 70th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, last month.

Robotics Academy at Northeastern State to Win AACTE Technology Award

northeastern-state-ok-robotics-academy

On behalf of the AACTE Committee on Innovation and Technology, I am delighted to announce the winner of the 2018 AACTE Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology: the College of Education at Oklahoma’s Northeastern State University (NSU), for its Robotics Academy of Critical Engagement (RACE) program. Representatives from NSU will receive the award on Saturday, March 3, during the Closing Keynote at the AACTE Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.

This annual award celebrates and recognizes the innovative use of educational technologies in a school, college, or department of education in ways that stretch beyond established practice to enable change in teacher education programs.

Address Challenges of Integrating Technology in Teacher Preparation at #AACTE18 Preconference Symposium

Is it time to upgrade your candidates’ tech competency? Please join us for a free half-day symposium before AACTE’s Annual Meeting, organized by the AACTE Committee on Innovation and Technology (I&T), to share leadership strategies for better integrating technology in teacher preparation.

AACTE Tech Committee Joins Fall Summit, Plans Preconference Symposium for #AACTE18

group photo of aacte committee on innovation and technology
Members of AACTE’s Committee on Innovation and Technology at the 2017 National Technology Leadership Summit in Washington, DC

AACTE and its Committee on Innovation and Technology (I&T) are committed to being a leading voice in the preparation of educators to integrate technology within teaching and learning. The latest examples of this commitment include active participation in the 2017 National Technology Leadership Summit (NTLS) and plans for a preconference symposium at the 2018 AACTE Annual Meeting.

AACTE hosted the 18th annual NTLS September 28-29 at the Association’s headquarters building in Washington, DC. AACTE President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone welcomed NTLS attendees, acknowledging the importance of the work to be done during the summit. Six members of the I&T committee attended the event, including Chair Arlene Borthwick (National Louis University, IL), Jon Clausen (Ball State University, IN), Elizabeth Finsness (Minnesota State University-Mankato), Charles Hodges (Georgia Southern University), Lara Luetkehans (Indiana University of Pennsylvania), and Guy Trainin (University of Nebraska-Lincoln).

UNC Greensboro Celebrates Continued Funding for Tech-Focused TQP Work

In 2014, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) received a federal Teacher Quality Partnership grant for a proposal called Transforming Teaching through Technology (TTtT), winning Year 1 funding of nearly $1.7 million, renewable for up to 5 years. Now, as the partners move into their fourth year of grant-funded collaboration, I asked Principal Investigator and Project Director Christina O’Connor for an update on their work and what it takes to secure continued funding from the U.S. Department of Education year after year.

The partnership among UNCG, Guilford County Schools, and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools aims to prepare 300 teacher candidates per year with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to incorporate technology to promote academic learning for all students. The idea is to produce teachers who can embed technology and hands-on, problem-based instruction across all content areas. By approaching this work through partnerships, O’Connor noted, the strategies and lessons benefit not only preservice teachers but also the school-based educators and UNCG faculty.

Deadline Extended! Apply by Oct. 20 for AACTE Awards

The deadline to apply for a 2018 AACTE Best Practice Award or Professional Achievement Award has been extended to Friday, October 20. Act now to win recognition for your program or colleagues and to contribute to “Celebrating Our Professional Identity” at the 2018 Annual Meeting when the awards are given in Baltimore, Maryland!

Award winners are honored during the general sessions at the opening and closing of the conference, providing inspiring bookends to the experience with examples of outstanding achievement and best practice.

Introducing the New AACTE Video Wall

Today, we are excited to unveil the new AACTE Video Wall as a tool to better showcase members’ impact and amplify their voices. Please check it out at videos.aacte.org!

For several years, AACTE has encouraged members to “tell their stories” so local communities and policy makers can learn more about the positive work educator preparation professionals do every day. Storytelling is indeed essential to getting your message out in a way that creates lasting impressions in people’s minds and hearts. AACTE is now integrating storytelling, video and technology to more broadly disseminate member stories.

Using NICs to Engage More Minority Males in STEM Learning

A member of the North Carolina A&T State University team shares its work during the May event at Morgan State University.
Abiodun Fasoro of Central State University discusses his campus’ minority male STEM program during the Verizon Innovative Learning Showcase.

Last month, I had the privilege of participating in the Building a Networked Improvement Community Around Engaging Minority Males in STEM Workshop at Morgan State University. The workshop focused on advancing the work of the Early STEM Engagement for Minority Males (eSEM) Initiative, a network of 16 minority-serving institutions (MSIs).

Led by Morgan State and in partnership with Verizon Innovative Learning Programs, SRI Education, the National CARES Mentoring Network, and local school districts, eSEM is a growing collaborative seeking to address STEM achievement challenges and improve outcomes for middle school minority male students through the development of a Networked Improvement Community (NIC). The initiative is supported through grants from the National Science Foundation and includes the following universities:

Apply Now for 2018 AACTE Awards

Nominations for the 2018 AACTE awards are now open on AACTE’s online submission site (except the Outstanding Book Award, which closed May 30). Applications for the Outstanding Dissertation Award are due August 18, and all other award submissions are due October 12.

Now in its 22nd year, AACTE’s awards program recognizes member institutions’ exemplary programs as well as individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to education preparation. For an overview of last year’s winners, see this press release.

Coming Soon: Teacher Educator Technology Competencies

The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

To help educator preparation programs address calls for better preparing new teachers to integrate technology in their practice, we recently led a collaborative research effort to develop a set of teacher educator technology competencies. An article outlining the competencies and our underlying methodologies is currently in review for publication, and we look forward to disseminating the details soon – but for now, we’d like to share some background on what spurred the project and how we decided to approach it.

Arizona State University to Win AACTE Award for Infusing Technology in Methods Courses

AACTE’s Committee on Innovation and Technology has selected the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University to receive the 2017 AACTE Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology. The award will be presented during the Speaker Spotlight Session on Saturday, March 4, at the AACTE Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida.

About 5 years ago, the college eliminated its stand-alone educational technology course and instead began infusing the tech content into methods courses. Because of the college’s large size, this undertaking required massive support and commitment among dozens of faculty and administrators. Their infusion initiative was based on a vision to prepare students to teach and learn with technology, achieved through four components:

Teacher Educators Convene at National Innovation Summit

AACTE collaborated with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology last month to host a 2-day summit focused on advancing educational technology in teacher preparation. Participants were chosen based on their pledged commitment to the “Educational Technology in Teacher Preparation Challenge” announced last fall.

AACTE President and CEO Sharon Robinson welcomes attendees to the Advancing Educational Technology in Teacher Preparation Summit.

More than 30 AACTE members and partners attended the first day of meetings in the AACTE building, with workshops highlighting how to develop a culture for active use of technology in teacher preparation programs; promote standards, competencies, and credentials for higher education faculty and preservice teachers in educational technology; and build a sustainable system of professional learning.

On the second day, participants visited the White House for the Advancing Educational Technology in Teacher Preparation Innovation Summit. The event highlighted the forward-thinking work of providers advancing the four principles of educational technology in teacher preparation as outlined in the 2016 National Educational Technology Plan:

Invitation to ‘Ed Tech in Teacher Prep’ Challenge

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology (OET) invites educator preparation providers (EPPs) to publicly commit to the four key principles identified in the 2016 National Educational Technology Plan for the use of educational technology in teacher preparation.

EPPs that pledge to uphold the four principles will be eligible to receive an invitation to an “Innovators’ Briefing” hosted by OET December 14 in Washington, DC, along with an afternoon workshop hosted by AACTE the day before. Space at the event is limited, so to be considered for participation, be sure to complete the online challenge form by December 1.

Award Application Deadline EXTENDED to Oct. 26

AACTE has extended the application deadline for the 2017 Best Practice and Professional Achievement Awards until October 26! Now you have an extra 2 weeks to submit an entry through AACTE’s online submission site or to finish an entry you have already started. For detailed submission information, please refer to the official Call for Entries.

Our Best Practice Awards recognize your institution’s exemplary and innovative work in one of three areas:

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