Reflections on the implications of technology-mediated learning: A teacher educator perspective

Abstract

In this paper, I report on how my practice was influenced by redesigning an existing introductory teacher education course that included an online component. The purpose of the study was to explore the degree to which integrating technology affected my professional relationship with pre-service teachers and with sessional seminar leaders who taught the seminar portion of the course. The findings indicate positive benefits associated with the information technology. Two major themes characterizing my experiences are discussed: (1) relationships with students (seeking personal connections, engaging students in learning, and maximizing communication and expectations) and (2) relationships with seminar leaders (being an administrator and being a supporter). Overall, results indicate a number of issues: students embrace the technology as a way of learning, the electronic component of the course benefited face-to-face contact among students and instructors, and the online features of the course encouraged cooperation among students and instructors.Across most university campuses, there is a growing trend around the use of technology to support instruction and learning. It is widely assumed that developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) are fundamentally transforming and improving higher education (Advisory Committee for Online Learning, 2001). It's one thing to have the technology available; it's quite another for university professors and instructors to know how to use it effectively to engage students in learning. While it may be tempting to simply attach technology to existing courses, Gaver (1996) and Kirschner (2002) highlight the importance of paying careful attention to the process of technology design and implementation.At the University of Regina, the Educational Professional Studies (EPS) subject area provides a developmental core of compulsory courses in the Faculty's Teacher Education Programs. EPS courses attend to the professional development of students becoming teachers by attending to, in part, an exploration of specific skills and strategies for teaching. All EPS courses contain a field component for practice and reflection. EPS 100 is the first course preservice teachers take which is to help them learn about the nature of inquiry into their emerging thinking and practices. Students (n=150) attend weekly large group presentations and small follow-up seminars (n=30) which engage them in __________________________________________________________________ Sal Badali is Associate Dean and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, University of Regina.