Climbing the stairs: pre-service social studies teachers' perceptions of technology integration (original) (raw)

2004, International Journal of Social Education

In a recent study of two San Francisco area high schools, education researcher Larry Cuban introduces readers to Alison Piro, an eleventh-grade humanities teacher with five years in the classroom, as an exemplar of technology use. 1 When Piro is first introduced, one of her students is using an overhead projector as a spotlight to draw attention to a dramatic speech from Frederick Douglass. Even though this use of technology is fairly typical by most standards, Cuban contends that this episode showed the heart of her teaching, "dramatic, diligently planned, and even innovative in its use of technology." 2 Piro regularly integrated various computer technologies into her classroom, but recognized that technology was not always the best means by which to accomplish her objectives. While Cuban acknowledges several other teachers with similar attributes, he contends that these examples were exceptions in the classroom and not the norm. Despite having access to computers and other technologies, the teachers he observed generally clung to more traditional, teacher-centered practices and did not attempt to enhance their teaching with technology. Howard Mehlinger and Susan Powers emphasize the significance of schools of education in how future teachers learn to integrate technology into their teaching. First of all, they refer to technology as the "new electronic media, such as computers and video and the associated hardware, networks and software that enable them to function." 3 While many schools of education concentrate on the productivity advantages that technology offers, Mehlinger and Powers argue that the proper focus should be on its ability to improve instruction. They acknowledge that a variety of factors limit the efforts of college faculty to integrate technology. These factors include lack of funding, of professional development opportunities, of support for experimentation, and no technology plan. Yet, they argue that it is a challenge worth pursuing. Mehlinger and Powers particularly draw attention to this challenge by arguing: The need for teachers who can employ technology successfully in their classrooms has never been greater than it is today. The public expects SCDEs (schools, colleges and departments of education) to prepare teachers that the schools require; the schools are demanding teachers who can use technology. The challenge to teacher education institutions is great…but those that do meet the challenge will gain new respect from their colleagues within the college or university and from the schools they serve. 4