Abstract
Often, educators teach the way they were taught. To graduate pre-service teachers (PTs) and in-service teachers (ITs) who are power users of innovative web-based technology, teacher educators (TEs) need to enhance their own technology competence and model technology-rich instruction in traditional, online, and hybrid learning environments. TEs can accomplish this by using a technology integration model and professional standards to guide meaningful integration of emerging technology. In this chapter, the authors describe how they used the 2017 ISTE Standards for Educators and the Replacement, Amplification, and Transformation (RAT) Model to redesign six assignments at two universities in the USA. In addition to enhancing TEs' pedagogical technological knowledge, disposition, and skills, these modified assignments enhanced PTs' and ITs' 21st century skills (21st CS).
TopCreating A 21St Century Workforce: Opportunities And Threats
TEs need to reflect on the experiences, activities and assignments included in the curriculum to determine if they are adequately preparing PTs and ITs for a 21st-century workplace. While TEs access to educational technology and related research has grown steadily over the last decade, they are limited by stand-alone technology courses which continue to be popular across the U.S. and the globe. In this section we describe this conundrum and briefly summarize literature that emerged during 2020, which underscores intentional integration of emerging technologies and 21st CS into the design of assignments across teacher education courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Technology-Rich Instruction: Instruction that includes the use of innovative web-based technology.
Frameworks: This could include professional standards that educators use to guide curriculum design, such as the ISTE Standards for Educators or the Common Core State Standards as well as technology integration models like the RAT model, PICRAT model, TPACK model etc.
Assignment Design: The design of an assignment that is included in a course. This could include traditional, online, and/or hybrid courses.
Assignment Redesign: Subsequent changes that educators make to assignments included in courses that were designed or developed earlier.
21st Century Skills: Essential skills that are critically important to success in school, college, the workforce, and adult like. This includes, but is not limited to the 4Cs: communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking.
Online Learning: Learning that occurs completely online, which could be in synchronous or asynchronous format.
Blended Learning: Learning that occurs via a combination of online and in-person instruction.