Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Integrate Technology in the K-12 Language Classrooms

Introduction

In 2022, purposeful teaching and learning with technology in the classroom and awareness of digital citizenship and literacies are essential components of teacher preparation. Today’s teachers, not only teach and perform other teacher-related duties, they also educate and prepare P-12 children to be respectful global citizens who possess 21^st century skills. These skills include digital literacies competences such as the capacity to employ technology for learning and sharing knowledge; the ability to find, evaluate, and use digital content; and the confidence and skills to succeed in college and/or the workforce (Morgan et. al., 2013; Phillips & Wong, 2010). Teaching P-12 learners to create and share knowledge digitally while courteously connecting and communicating with others is especially important because they may connect with local and global audiences (Care et. al., 2018; Gursoy & Goksun, 2019). Nowadays, P-12 learners are described as digital natives, which means that “[t]echnology and digital media are …embedded in [their] daily lives” (Alelaimat, et al, 2020, p. 299). Learners’ familiarity and comfort with technology enable educators to prepare learners for a future that will most certainly include technology but that may not yet exist (Gunderson et al., 2004; Vogel, 2015). This means that teacher candidates (TC) need to know how to asses and implement technologies and digital tools for teaching and learning, understand how these tools have impacted learners’ lives and learning, and expand learners’ current knowledge base to effectively use these tools for learning purposes.

Educators potential impact on student learning becomes instantly magnified when using these tools; however, over two decades of research has established that mere access to digital tools in a teacher’s classroom, may not result in effective teaching or robust student learning. In reality as Yildiz-Durak (2021) demonstrates, “many teachers do not use technology effectively while teaching… even [when]… there may be a technological infrastructure (Orhan et al., 2014)” (p. 5366), which points at a need for teacher preparation programs to include more examples of “technology integration in practice, and how to engage learners in activities using technology and digital media” (Alelaimat et al., 2020, p. 299). Pre-service training “is the most important stage when teachers learn about integrating technology into their teaching” (Yildiz-Durak, 2021, p. 5365), which Aadmiral et al. (2016) suggest should be embedded in methods courses rather than in “[s]tand-alone technology courses, [which] are found to be ineffective” (p. 106). Practical experiences at the intersection of technology, pedagogy, and content teaching and learning are more effective if experienced during TCs’ participation in teacher preparation programs and when working with learners and mentor teachers in schools (Cuckle & Clarke, 2003; Hollins, 2011; Larose, Grenon, & Hasni, 2009; Tearle & Golder, 2008). Without these experiences TCs are less equipped and less likely to take instructional advantage of technologies to support learner engagement, growth, participation, and motivation; thus, negatively impacting learners’ experiences in and out of school (see also Admiraal et al., 2017). Influenced by current world needs and research many teacher preparation programs now prepare TCs to utilize and integrate these tools in their planning, teaching, and curricula by

• 1.

  Showing them how to align teaching with technology to state and national standards

• 2.

  Highlighting the value of integrating technology into teaching

• 3.

  Discussing potential challenges when incorporating these tools in teaching and learning