Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Integrate Technology: The Utility of the Intel "Teach to the Future" Program

Abstract

Pre-service teachers often do not possess the necessary skills, knowledge and experiences to effectively use technology for instruction and learning in their classrooms. This is due in part to the inexperience of many education faculty in integ rating and modeling the use of technology in their courses. Finding ways to address this gap in skills has proven challenging for teacher education programs. This paper explores the process utilized by one university to begin to remedy this problem through the Intel "Teach to the Future" Pre-Service Program. The curriculum is both described and critiqued using results from a survey of education faculty participating in this 4 day program. While the overall evaluation of the program was quite positive, program participants offered many suggestions to improve the program curriculum. The success of this pre-service program has led to further discussions of implementing components of this program curriculum into several courses, and a commitment to host the Intel in-service for K-12 teachers and the Intel Leadership Forum for K-12 administrators in 2005.