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The influence of technology in the classroom is even evident in the ways School of Education students are trained. While traditional face-to-face observation is useful, this cohort will integrate technology into field experience through video conferencing observation. This addresses the need to inform KU instructors about technology as well as identify the dialogue that needs to take place with P-12 participants to address their needs and concerns.
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Field experience is an integral component of the teacher education curriculum in the School of Education. It supplements classroom study and provides pre-service teachers with practice and skills before they begin teaching in classrooms of their own. Because classrooms are becoming more and more supportive of technology, it is necessary that field experiences include technology components. This need was the focus of the Using Technology for Field Experience Observations cohort.
The cohort, led by SoE professor Fred Rodriquez, replaced the traditional face-to-face field experience with a videoconference. The cohort worked with SoE students enrolled in PRE 200. Using videoconferencing technology, the students were able to observe a public school classroom. A technology coordinator assisted in the conferencing and operated the camera in the public school classroom so that students could observe interactions between the teacher and the students and among students as well. The videoconferencing field experience also included a question and answer session that allowed both the SoE classroom and the public school classroom to interact directly.
After conducting videoconferencing sessions, the cohort reported positive and negative results. While 65% of the SoE students who participated in the cohort said they gained less insight from the videoconference than from typical field observation, 79% rated the conference as a positive experience. However, these results can be used to improve technology integration into field experiences. Because the videoconference sessions were recorded, others in the SoE can use the footage to gather data and to learn how to better implement other technologies into field experiences. Therefore, this cohort demonstrated that even when technology does not always provide a more beneficial learning experience than typical instructional tools, its implementation itself is a learning tool that can be used to improve technology integration in future projects.
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