This study investigated how preservice teachers' beliefs about the nature of knowledge influence how they learn from, and interact with, a case-based hypermedia system designed to highlight exemplary elementary literacy instruction. Specifically, we examined if teacher preparation students' epistemological beliefs influenced what cases they…

This research investigated the use of electronic journaling to promote collaboration between special education and general education preservice teachers. During the field experience component of their methods courses, the participants responded to weekly prompts, shared experiences with each other, and frequently offered advice about events their…

The National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS*S) were developed to provide guidelines for effective and meaningful technology use with K-12 students. In the present study we used the NETS*S as a framework to analyze ways that teachers integrated instructional technology use and provided opportunities for their students to…

The purpose of this study was to determine if modeling by university professors and practicum and cooperating teachers was related to preservice teachers' perceptions of their computer technology skills and if preservice teachers' use of technology in academic and other settings was related to those perceptions. Seventy-nine preservice teacher…

Teacher educators have a dual responsibility. They must not only deliver the content of their courses but also model the pedagogical beliefs and instructional strategies they espouse. Perhaps no area more explicitly demonstrates the difference between "talking the talk" and "walking the walk" than the integration of technology into teacher…

We have been exploring the potential of a web-supported professional development system, the Inquiry Learning Forum (ILF), that integrates videotaped classrooms and discussion forums for use in preservice science methods classrooms. This article examines pre- and inservice teachers' perceptions about using the ILF and how their participation in…

Case studies are frequently used to prepare preservice teachers through reflection and analysis of classroom situations. Previous research suggests asynchronous online discussions provide more opportunity for reflection and analysis than face to face environments. Online case study discussions of two groups of preservice teacher education…

Field experience is a core element in an initial or preservice teacher education programme. It allows students to enact and reflect on their developing philosophies of teaching and is the "testing ground" for theory/practice links. Educational theorists and programme planners in distance delivered teacher education programmes acknowledge the…

In this article we present a model of content-area specific technology preparation. This approach was premised on the fact that even if preservice teachers know how to operate technology, they need help to understand how to flexibly incorporate new technology resources into their knowledge of a content area in ways that enhance student learning.…

The research study presented here was conducted by two educational technology faculty members, one from special education and the other from general education, and their respective undergraduate classes. This study applied an action research model (Hubbard & Power, 1999; Mills, 2000), coupled with a pre and posttest design, in examining the…

This study was undertaken to better understand the nature of preservice teachers' reflective thinking during case discussions about classroom management in two online formats: synchronous versus asynchronous. Findings indicated that when participants engaged in synchronous online case discussions they had higher levels of critical reflection than…

This study investigates conditions and factors that affect preservice teachers' decisions to use handheld computers in scientific investigations and explores aspects of student learning and classroom practices that would be affected by handheld-based science activities. A Handheld-Based Laboratory (HBL) was designed to model strategies for…

This study examines the use of electronic networking technologies in the context of a secondary science methods course and an accompanying student teaching experience. Specifically, we examined the effects of social context on the student teaching reflections written by students randomly assigned to one of three different online settings: (a) a…

If colleges of education are going to successfully prepare teacher candidates to meet NETS-T standards (Kelly, 2002), then teacher education programs must begin developing strategies to assess technology competencies of beginning college students. Colleges must then move beyond these assessments to providing student support for achieving…

This study was developed to examine a university's preservice teachers' initial self-assessments of their use of instructional technology and perceived growth at the conclusion of an introductory course. Study results suggest students are confident in their abilities to use educational technologies and are reaching new stages in technology…