Education Technology in Teacher Education: Overcoming Challenges, Realizing Opportunities

Organization Background

The College of Education at Massey University (New Zealand) provides teacher education to pre-service and in-service teachers in a range of educational contexts, including a significant number of early childhood, primary and secondary school teachers. The College offers undergraduate Bachelor of Education programs for pre-service teachers without degrees, Graduate Diplomas in Teaching for those with degrees but not teaching qualifications, and Master of Education and Doctor of Education programs for in-service educators in a range of contexts.

As New Zealand’s leading provider of higher education at a distance, Massey University has been at the forefront of distance education for teachers in New Zealand. This focus has included the integration of digital technologies into educational programs as part of efforts to improve the flexibility and quality of programs delivered at a distance. More recently, this use of educational technologies has also featured in on-campus delivery as part of ‘hybrid’ or ‘blended’ learning in which individual courses or programs are offered using a blend of not only modes of delivery but also approaches to teaching and learning.

The case study discussed in this chapter is part of the professional practice course for the Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary), a one year pre-service teacher education program for secondary teachers offered by the College of Education at Massey University. The 120 credit program consists of two Integrated Teaching Studies courses (45 credits), three subject studies courses (45 credits), and two professional practice courses (30 credits). The program enrolls an average of 160 students each year