Posts Tagged ‘technology’

Surveying Attitudes Toward Game-Based Learning in Teacher Education Program

Virtual reality has a number of applications for pedagogy and teacher training; simulation training in these much-needed areas may add an essential component to the field of teacher education (Tondeur, Pareja-Roblin, van Braak, Voogt, & Prestridge, 2017). Computer simulations can provide guided practice for a variety of situations that pre-service teachers wouldn’t frequently experience during their teacher education studies (Mason, Jeon, Blair, & Glomb, 2011; Mason, 2011). Simulations can help pre-service teachers develop the skills that it takes to properly run a classroom without the high-stakes risk of causing harm to actual students (Matsuda, 2005).

There are numerous benefits to game-based learning, including improved learner motivation and engagement, constructive knowledge frameworks, exploratory and independent learning and, at times, higher achievement outcomes over traditional pedagogy (Boyle et al., 2016; Cheong, Flippou, & France, 2015; Peterson, 2019). Simulations can allow pre-service teachers to see their students from a different perspective, gain insight into the best ways to manage their future classroom, and understand the direct consequences of their actions in the classroom (Ferry et al., 2004).  Including simulations in pre-service teaching coursework has demonstrated an increase in the confidence and effectiveness of first year teachers (Englebert, 2010).

Preparation to Teach in Technology-Rich K-12 Classroom Environments

In today’s schools, the ability to integrate technology into the teaching and learning environment is a necessary and crucial skill. Many K-12 classroom environments are technology-rich, with 1:1 devices, blended learning, and even distance instruction taking place. However, new teachers often enter the classroom unprepared to successfully utilize educational technology and navigate the technology-rich classroom environment. The research study, Preparation to Teach in Technology-Rich K-12 Classroom Environments, examined the preparation of preservice teachers to teach with technology in today’s classrooms and explored the gap between the preparation teachers received in their teacher education program and what they needed to be able to do to be successful as classroom teachers. The study was conducted during the spring of 2022, and a total of 217 K to 12th grade teachers in their first three years of teaching in the United States participated in the survey, with ten participating in an in-depth follow-up interview.

CoSN Releases New Resources on Cybersecurity Mitigation

Historically, school and district information technology units have positions designed to enable and support devices and connectivity, but not cybersecurity. Cybersecurity represents a comprehensive challenge facing all staff in K-12 organizations and requires the creation of a culture of cybersecurity within each K-12 organization.

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) has released two new resources for K-12 schools and districts seeking to address the need for advanced cybersecurity skill sets within their technology teams.

Top 3 Reasons to Apply for 2023 AACTE Best Practice Awards

What are the three best reasons to apply for a 2023 AACTE Best Practice Award?

  1. Showcase your educator preparation program as a model for other higher education institutions
  2. Receive national recognition from your peers
  3. Celebrate your team’s contributions that are revolutionizing education for all learners

Call for Entries Now Open for 2023 AACTE Awards

AACTE is currently accepting entries for the 2023 awards. The AACTE Awards Program recognizes excellence in both member institutions and individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of educator preparation.

For most of the awards, programs and individuals can be either self-nominated or nominated by a third party. The deadline to apply is October 31, 2022Learn more about the 2023 AACTE Awards, eligibility and criteria.

AACTE Members Pledge their Support for Digital Equity at Signing Event

Today, representatives from several AACTE member institutions, along with AACTE staff, representatives from both the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), and colleagues from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE), committed to leveraging their resources to support the adoption of the EPP Digital Equity and Transformation Pledge.

In a signing ceremony at the U.S. Department of Education with Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten, the following AACTE members, on behalf of their respective institutions, committed their educator preparation programs to expanding and scaling digital equity and transformation in learning:

AACTE Participates in STEM Roundtable with Department of Education

STEM education. Science Technology Engineering Mathematics. STEM concept with drawing background. Magnifying glass over education background.AACTE is a member of The STEM Education Coalition whose mission is to raise awareness among policymakers about the critical role STEM education plays in enabling the United States to remain the economic and technological leader of the global marketplace of the 21st century. The Coalition recently participated in a roundtable discussion with Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten and Assistant Secretary of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development Roberto Rodriguez on how best to advance STEM education for all students. Meredith Kier, associate professor of science education at the College of William and Mary, represented AACTE at the round table. 

Below is a summary of the discussion:

You’re Invited: Complete a Needs Assessment on Technology in Educator Prep

The menu of the CIDDL website consists of Home, Resources, Events, and CIDDL Community. The message conveyed on the landing page is: Welcome to CIDDL. We are the Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning (CIDDL), a national center to improve faculty capacity to use educational technology in special education, early intervention, related services preparation and leadership personnel preparation programs.

The Center of Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning (CIDDL) is seeking voices and inputs about innovative use of technology in teacher preparation programs from all AACTE members. 

CIDDL is the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)’s funded center focused on increasing the capacity of faculty to use educational technology in special education, early intervention, related services personnel preparation, and leadership personnel preparation programs.

You’re Invited: Join Community Focused on Innovative Use Educational Technology

Various graphs and connectivity points  against boy using a virtual reality deviceThe Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning (CIDDL) is inviting you to join a community of higher education faculty members focused on sharing tips and tricks, research-based practices, and strategies for innovative use of educational technology in educator or leadership preparation programs. CIDDL’s mission is to influence change that supports the appropriate use of educational technology in all early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE), related services, and K-12 learning environments to improve outcomes for all students, especially those with disabilities.

Using Video Reflection to Expand Support During Teacher Clinical Experiences

John HenningClinical experience is critical to the success of teacher candidates. It allows them to receive real classroom experience while they foster relationships with students and build their own instructional skills.

But, even with the skills they learn leading up to the clinical experience, teacher candidates can’t just enter the field and be expected to succeed. There’s a whole host of skills that cannot be taught in a college classroom or via a textbook. And, teacher candidates—just like classroom teachers themselves—need ongoing coaching and feedback to continuously improve their practice.

CSUDH Receives $5 Million Gift to Address Equity Gaps in Computing Education

Teacher working with student using technology

This article originally appeared on the California State University, Dominguez Hills news site and is reprinted with permission.

Snap Inc., developer of Snapchat, announced a $5 million gift to California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) for the creation and endowment of a new institute focused on addressing equity gaps in computing education. The gift comprises the largest single donation ever given to the CSUDH campus.

UW College of Education Launches Competition to Spark Interest in Teaching

University of Wyoming - WY TeachThe University of Wyoming College of Education and UW Trustees Education Initiative (TEI) have partnered with Mursion, a company that develops virtual reality training simulations, to present the inaugural College WYTeach competition.

UW and Wyoming community college students who are freshmen or sophomores and interested in becoming teachers can participate in the contest. The top three participants will be awarded scholarship money to UW or a Wyoming community college.

In Wyoming and across the nation, schools are experiencing a shortage of teachers. The WYTeach competition was developed to get students interested in teaching careers and provide a stream of highly qualified teachers into classrooms. This exposure will provide students the opportunity to practice their professional skills and put their teaching abilities to the test by leading a class of students inside a virtual reality simulation.

Jack Be Nimble: Series 1 Final Podcast Episode Discusses Authentic Field Experience

Revolutionizing Education

Series one, episode six of the AACTE Podcast, Revolutionizing Education, is now available.

The latest and final episode of series one features a discussion surrounding the critical question: How do we design authentic field experiences that equip students with evidence-based skills to support a sustainable career? Tara Mathien from the University of Florida shares how the adaptations that her educator preparation program made throughout this past year has led to lasting change that will continue to be implemented in the future.

Listen now to Episode 6: Jack Be Nimble

Revolutionizing Education Podcast -  AACTE Podcast AACTE is excited to announce its first ever podcast, Revolutionizing Education, is now available. The new podcast examines ways to innovate educator preparation and education for all learners. The first podcast series highlights case stories shared by AACTE members during the 2021 Annual Meeting. New episodes from the first series will be released throughout the summer. In fall 2021, the AACTE podcast will feature live interviews with members, national education leaders, students, and other influencers in the education industry.  AACTE has partnered with Resonate Recordings for high-quality podcast production that will expand the reach of members’ work in educator preparation throughout the world. AACTE’s podcast episodes are available on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Spotify. On these platforms, you can search for and access the podcast, learn about it, listen to the episodes as well as leave ratings and reviews.  Follow the AACTE Podcast on Twitter at #AACTEPodcast and #RevolutionizingEd. Be sure to tune in and spread the word!              Revolutionizing Education    Episode 1: Joy in Teacher Education In this episode, we’ll hear from AACTE members Kyle Harrison, Kelly Hayek, and Irene Ann Resenly from the University of Wisconsin on the role of joy in teacher education. They share the process of noticing, understanding, and replicating joy as critical work in teacher education, using autoethnography as a methodological tool. Through sharing their findings, we hope listeners will leave with a renewed capacity for noticing moments of joy and a protocol that will provide a baseline for naming, claiming, and considering how to leverage joy in teaching.     Episode 2: From Takeover to Take Back In this episode, Eva Zygmunt from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana details the creative efforts of a mid-sized midwestern community collaborative to reclaim its school district from a state-takeover, resulting in the legislated granting of authority over the local district to the state university. Eva shares how community voice has been privileged in school reform through a concerted advocacy effort on the part of faculty and community activists. This is an inspiring story that showcases how community and educational partnerships can make a huge impact in a community’s educational system.     Episode 3: The RockTEACH Program In this episode, we will learn about the efforts of Slippery Rock University of PA to diversify the teacher workforce by recruiting underrepresented minority high school students to the field of teaching, providing financial assistance and mentoring support through the RockTEACH Program. AACTE members Monique Alexander, Jeremy Lynch, Christine Walsh, and Linda Zane from Slippery Rock of PA share the story, the situation, and the results of the program. Through these insights, listeners will gain insight into a burgeoning and multifaceted program to support a diverse teacher pipeline and develop an understanding of the critical elements and challenges of our story.     Episode 4: Learning Together The latest episode features the story of an educator preparation program facing multiple challenges in its work to prepare teacher candidates for the classroom. Additionally, covering how their local school district faces its own pressures impacted by teacher shortages, poor teacher performance, high burnout, and issues with retention. In the fourth episode of the Revolutionizing Education Podcast, Jeff Bill and Ashley Smith from Pitt County Schools and Christina Tschida from Appalachian State University share three case stories featuring the use of co-teaching and demonstrating a partnership between university and schools that builds capacity, efficacy, and resilience in teachers at various levels of preparation.     Episode 5: Transforming Teacher Preparation One of the largest Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the nation, UTRGV, has embarked on a transformation of its teacher preparation program centered on the college mission, vision, and three priorities: quality, culture of inquiry, and positionality. In this episode, Sandra Musanti and Alma Rodriguez from University of Texas Rio Grande Valley share what they’ve identified to be the three areas of emphasis to guide the transformation work: a practice-based teacher education model, culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogies, and technology for the 21st century.     Episode 6: Jack Be Nimble

How to Try Out PlanWise™ to Deliver Formative Assessment Practices

Planwise logoThis fall, AACTE is excited to continue supporting an opportunity for members to try out the PlanWise tool, a Chrome Extension developed by ETS and focused on delivering formative assessment practices and strategies. The PlanWise™ tool meets teachers where they are in a number of ways, including providing suggestions for formative assessment strategies to teachers and pre-service teachers while they are lesson planning in Google Docs.

Five AACTE member institutions have participated in introductory sessions and have determined that they are interested in trying out the PlanWise™ tool with their pre-service teachers. We are welcoming an additional five institutions to try out the tool this fall.

Listen to Latest Revolutionizing Education Podcast: Transforming Teacher Prep

Revolutionizing Education

Series one, episode five of the AACTE Podcast, Revolutionizing Education, is now available.

The latest episode features one of the largest Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the nation, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), embarking on a transformation of its teacher preparation program centered on the college mission, vision, and three priorities: quality, culture of inquiry, and positionality. In this episode, Sandra Musanti and Alma Rodriguez from UTRGV share what they have identified to be the three areas of emphasis to guide the transformation work: a practice-based teacher education model, culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogies, and technology for the 21st century.

Listen now to Episode 5: Transformiing Teacher Preparation 

Episode 5: Transforming Teacher Preparation