Chapter 3: High-Tech Mentoring: Evaluating the Impact of a PT3 Project

The inclusion of technology into teacher preparation programs has become a necessary and important component in most, if not all, teacher education programs. Many state departments of education now require teachers to pass technology competencies in order to maintain certification or become certified to teach. The National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) incorporates technology into five of its six new standards and requires colleges of education to include plans for integrating technology into their conceptual frameworks (Wise, 2000).

For the past 16 years the integration of technology into teaching methods courses has been suggested as an effective model for helping teacher education candidates develop a vision of the role of computers in an integrated curriculum (Brownell & Brownell, 1991; Willis, 1997). It is believed that the ideal way to prepare preservice teachers for incorporating technology into classrooms is by integrating technology-based learning environments into the college curriculum, with university faculty modeling usage (Sprague, Kopfinan, & de Levante Dorsey, 1998). According to Carroll (2000a), “Future educators should learn with these modern learning tools integrated into their studies by teachers and faculty who are modeling technology-proficient instruction, particularly in those courses where they acquire the subject area expertise they will use in the classroom” (p. 179). However, a survey by the Milken Exchange (1999) revealed that most faculty, whether in colleges of education or in the disciplines, do not model the use of technology in their courses.