PREPARING NEW TEACHERS FOR TECHNOLOGY-RICH SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS

Capacity Building Grant

September 1999 - September 2000

Funded by U S Department of Education --- PT3 Initiatives

The Preparing New Teachers for Technology-Rich School Environments project described below is one of 138 Capacity Building grant projects funded by the U S Department of Education PT3 program during 1999-2000.

The faculty within NKU's School of Education recognize the need for more technology-literate teachers. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Recommended Foundation Standards in Technology were adopted by the College of Education for all NKU students enrolled in a pre-service teacher education program along with a five-year Technology Plan for the College of Education in 1998. The technology plan has four major goals that will guide the College in our future curricular reforms and professional development. This Capacity Building Project focuses on three of the four goals.

PROJECT GOAL 1: TECHNOLOGY-RICH ENVIRONMENT: providing a technology-rich environment for students and faculty, both on-campus and in their field placements.

Objective 1.1: Creation of one multimedia classroom for use by faculty and students in the School of Education.

Objective 1.2: Increased availability of technology for use in other classrooms, whether on-campus or at partner schools for field placements.

(Future) Objective 1.3: Increased mentoring capabilities between NKU pre-service teacher education students, the NKU faculty, and the teachers & students in identified high-risks schools.

PROJECT GOAL 2: FACULTY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: designing and implementing professional development for faculty.

Objective 2.1: Providing the training to NKU faculty on how to use the new technology.

Objective 2.2: Providing technical assistance to NKU faculty and partner school faculty in the development and implementation of appropriate instructional uses of technology.

PROJECT GOAL 3: STUDENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: ensuring that undergraduate students have the necessary skills and resources to use technology in their teaching and learning.

Objective 3.1: Integration of technology-related experiences in undergraduate courses for pre-service teacher education students, especially in relation to the ISTE Recommended Standards and Kentucky's newly proposed Technology Standard

Objective 3.2: Integration of technology-related experiences in field-based courses and practica for pre-service teacher education students.

(Future) Objective 3.3: Providing technical assistance to NKU pre-service teacher education students in the design and implementation of professional applications of technology.

The project which is described here is being implemented within NKU's College of Education as well as with our PT3 partner districts (Covington, Newport, Dayton, Campbell County) and Region 4 Education Service Center. This project will also help NKU's College of Education begin to prepare new teachers according to Kentucky's recently implemented Technology Standard.