Research has identified that pre-service teachers have concerns about technology integration (e.g., their future school would lack technology resources; technology is not applicable in their subject areas). Mentoring has been highlighted as a means of overcoming these concerns. In this study, we present and investigate one strategy -an asynchronous video mentoring session between a class of 199 pre-service teachers and four exemplary award-winning technology-using in-service teachers. A small group of the pre-service teachers (n = 31) voluntarily expressed their concerns. The four in-service teachers were videotaped as they responded to these concerns. All 199 pre-service teachers watched the videos and described how the in-service teachers' responses either alleviated or increased their concerns. A majority of the pre-service teachers (58%) reported that their primary concerns regarding technology integration were less acute after they watched the teachers' presentation. Teacher education programs might consider the use of digital technologies to support student voices and increase the opportunities for interaction between pre-professionals and practising professionals.
Inclusion of technology integration in teacher education programsIn most classrooms in the United States, teachers and students have access to a wide variety of technology resources (e.g., laptops, tablets, video recorders, and interactive whiteboards) (Hall, 2010). According to a recent report conducted by the Pew Research Center (Lenhart, 2015), nearly 75% of US teens have (or have access to) a smartphone. The availability of smartphones has increased dramatically (Project Tomorrow, 2013). Although only 24% in middle school and 28% in high school reported their availability to smartphones in 2008, in 2012 these numbers jumped to 65% and 80% respectively. This increase followed a similar pattern for personal digital readers (from 17% in 2011 to 39% in 2012) and tablets (from 26% in 2011 to 52%) among middle school students (Project Tomorrow, 2013). However, this enormous increase in technology resources among students and teachers does not guarantee teachers' effective use of technology in classrooms (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010).Technology preparation has become a common feature in teacher education programs (Ottenbreit-Leftwich et al., 2012), as teachers are expected to have sufficient technology skills (ISTE, 2014). However, several metaanalysis studies (Mims, Polly, Shepherd, & Inan, 2006;Polly, Mims, Shepherd, & Inan, 2010) have found mixed results as to whether technology coursework in teacher education programs improved pre-service teachers' technology skills or encouraged technology use in the classroom. Pellegrino, Goldman, Bertenthal, and Lawless (2007) suggested that this could result from lack of sufficient modelling of appropriate uses of technology in the classroom by teacher education faculty, and suggest it may be accompanied by the minimal exposure to appropriate uses of technology that pre-service teachers receive dur...