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Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is becoming common place in the preparation of teachers. This chapter will focus on the application of CMC and will provide insight on how technology can be used in P-12 classrooms and potentially impact student learning. The purpose of the chapter is to: (a) describe the development, implementation, outcomes, and sustainability of a pre-service teacher (PST) supervision model arranged around digital technology and telecommunications, providing supervision and support for PSTs engaged in a student teaching internship, and (b) to discuss how the technology utilized may later be utilized by participating PSTs in their future classrooms (specifically videoconferencing, instant messaging, video sharing, and the critical analysis and reflection of current practices). The authors created a virtual-geographical third space in the form of a Teaching Lab that was mediated with a multimedia platform and designed around the principle of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). The authors also provided opportunities for PSTs to interact within that space for reflection and the sharing of best practices.

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The proliferation of computers and the emergence of digital technologies have led us to a dynamic period in our social history. Communication occurs at lightning speed, information is easily disseminated, and movement is redefined as technology bridges the space between people and ideas. Along with creating a global community, we are in the process of defining ourselves in an evolving cyberculture. Pierre Levy, professor of hypermedia at the University of Paris, provides a vision for this emerging network of ideas in his book Collective Intelligence: Mankind's Emerging World in Cyberspace.Levy's thesis is straightforward. He is convinced that cyberspace has the potential to have immense repercussions for our economic, political, and cultural lives. According to him, cyberspace is a "mode of creation and navigation within knowledge" (10). Contemporary humankind's new frontier is the knowledge space, and we are in the unique position to develop and use information technology not to replace humanity but to "promote intelligent communities in which our social and cognitive potential can be mutually developed and enhanced" (10).Levy draws from the fields of anthropology, history, economics, sociology, and philosophy, weaving themes from these disciplines in his analysis of the communication revolution. He explains how we are ushering in a new model of humanity and culture in a computer-based society, much like the earlier transition from oral culture in the medieval period to the print-based culture of the Renaissance. Further, he argues that unlike our ancestors whose lives were driven by emerging technologies, we are in a unique position to define how new technologies are used, who controls them, and what their ultimate goals will be. His arguments, though abstract and diverse, explore the often-ignored human component of technology and forge a series of new ideas, which, although somewhat romantic and utopian, inspire the charting of a new course as we navigate the ever-widening complexity known as cyberspace. close their book Brave New Schools: Challenging Cultural Illiteracy Through Global Learning Networks with a comment and question:Clearly issues of culture, education and technology merge at the crossroad of the twenty first century. Do we plan for the common good by enabling all students to navigate difference, develop intellectually and academically and gain expertise in employing technology for enhancing democratic participation or do we curtail the development of these social, intellectual and technological skills in order to restrict potential changes to the current distribution of power and resources in our society. (176)