Pre-Service Teachers Use E-learning Technologies to Enhance Their Learning

Abstract

Executive SummaryThe purpose of this study was twofold. The primary purpose was to improve pre-service teacher education by using technology to help pre-service teachers bridge the gap between academic preparation and practice. The secondary, but still important, objective was to familiarize preservice teachers in the use of technology to support their future pedagogical activities. Therefore, this research sought to develop a method for training undergraduate students in designing, implementing, and evaluating lesson plans to solidify the relationship between research, pedagogy, and teaching practice. Specifically, this study investigated the implementation of e-learning as a method of instruction to help pre-service teachers evaluate and improve upon the implementation of their lesson plans during their real world practicum experiences. The study was guided by the following research questions: 1) What successes, challenges, and benefits do university instructors and pre-service teachers experience in using and analyzing video in teacher education methods coursework? 2) In what ways did the use of e-learning help the pre-service teachers improve their teaching during the practicum experience? Results showed that participants reported improved lesson planning, improved lesson implementation, visual interpretations of best practices, modeling, and peer and university instructor feedback as successes of the e-learning project. Challenges included participants' frustrations of being overworked and overwhelmed with the technical problems associated with e-learning. Overall participants judged the e-learning project as a very positive aspect of their teacher training.Keywords: e-learning, teacher education, 21 st century learners, teaching and learning IntroductionOne of the multiple realities of implementing quality preparation and support of teacher educators is inclusion of 21 st century "technology" skills in teaching. To prepare K-12 students for the future, we must ensure that our teachers are equipped for the future as well. Therefore, as teacher educators, we are challenged to revise our teacher preparation programs to reflect the needs of 21 st century learners so that we produce teachers who effectively and comfortably use technology to enhance student learning. While today's college students may be very familiar with social networking sites, digital music, and video sharing, they are not as familiar with many of the opportunities technology offers to enhance Material published as part of this publication, either on-line or in print, is copyrighted by the Informing Science Institute. Permission to make digital or paper copy of part or all of these works for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage AND that copies 1) bear this notice in full and 2) give the full citation on the first page. It is permissible to abstract these works so long as credit is given. To copy in all other cases or to republish or to post on...

Impact of Electronic Portfolios on Prospective Teachers’ Participation, Motivation, and Autonomous Learning

“…To address these key issues for improving university teaching, the investigation focuses on the application of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to teaching and learning-that is, on technology-enhanced learning in university institutions (Pollard & Pollard, 2004;Price & Kirkwood, 2014) and the gap between academic preparation and practice (Smith & Greene, 2013). ICTs provide a series of tools that fulfil certain needs detected in teaching practice, such as lack of space and time for student work (individual and group) and for teaching tasks such as monitoring and tutoring students.…”

Analysis of an Asynchronous Online Discussion as a Supportive Model for Peer Collaboration and Reflection in Teacher Education

“…In our opinion, the focused reflection and discussion of students who were included in the online discussion contributed to the higher quality of their thinking in the phase of preparing for teaching and in the phase of evaluating their teaching, thus resulting in a higher grade of their own progress. Smith and Greene (2013) have conducted a research in which they described the learning process of students who watched each other's lesson recordings online and analyzed them. Students reported that the experience of watching the videos, reflecting on them and getting feedback from peers helped them evaluate and improve their own planning, implementation and evaluation of instruction.…”

“…Future research could be expanded by including the other phases of teaching. Similar to Smith and Greene's (2013) study design, students could record their lessons, share the video in the online discussion forum and other students could evaluate their lesson through peer assessment. This kind of task would provide more learning input, enable stronger collaboration and more in-depth learning through critical reflection of each other's teaching.…”

Student Attitudes to Traditional and Online Methods of Delivery

“…Student preference for a more traditional style of teaching was also reported in a more recent study by Osgerby (2013), which investigated students' perception of the introduction of a blended learning environment and concluded that whilst students appeared to have a positive attitude to the adoption of an organised and well-resourced ICT based learning process, they preferred face-to-face lectures and step-bystep instruction. Smith and Greene (2013) examined the use of e-learning technologies to enhance learning. While the benefits of e-learning were recognized by the participants, these were somewhat compromised by the technological difficulties experienced.…”