Research Findings

Future teachers’ disposition toward technology integration

A new research article has been published! The full reference is:

Hughes, J. E. (2013.) Indicators of future teachers’ technology integration in the PK-12 classroom: Trends from a laptop-infused teacher education program. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 48(4), 493-518. Download the pre-press version here (which has color figures – there was a mistake in the printing of the print version and they used the wrong figures, making them uninterpretable).

The brief abstract below describes the study which examines preservice teachers’ positioning for integrating technology into their future teaching endeavors.

This research examined preservice teacher graduates’ positioning toward integrating technology in future teaching. Participants included 115 preservice teachers across three cohorts in 2008-2009 who graduated from a laptop-infused teacher education program. The study implemented a case study methodology that included a survey administered upon graduation.Indicators of positioning toward technology integration included: digital technology self-efficacy, attitude toward learning technologies, pedagogical perspective, personal/educational digital technology behaviors during the program, and TPACK knowledge used to rationalize their most valued technologies for future teaching. Results indicated graduates held moderate digital technology self-efficacy, positive attitude toward learning technologies,and moderate constructivist philosophy. During their preparation,productivity software activities were used most widely for educational purposes.Their most valued technologies for teaching subject matter were predominantly productivity software as well as general hardware, such as computers, projectors, and document cameras. They described teacher-centric uses three times more often than student-centered. Graduates showed low depth of TPACK. Teacher education programs need to consider the degree to which their candidates are exposed to a range of contemporary ICTs, especially content-specific ICTs, and the candidates’ development of TPACK, which supports future technology-related instructional decision making. Such knowledge is developed across the teaching career, and technological induction programs may support continued TPACK development.Future research should employ longitudinal studies to understand TPACK development and use across novice and veteran teachers.

Note that TPACK stands for “technological pedagogical content knowledge,” a conceptual idea that assesses an individual’s grasp on different types of knowledge – specifically technology knowledge, pedagogical (or instructional) knowledge, and content (or subject matter) knowledge and intersections of these three. ICT is the international terms for information communication technologies, what is referred to as educational technologies, learning technologies, or just technology in the United States.

AERA 2013 Presentation: iTeach and iLearn with iPads in Secondary Langauge Arts

Last week, Gregory Russell and I presented our recent research on the use of iPads in high school English language arts classrooms. We attended the American Educational Research Association annual conference, which occurred in San Francisco this year.

The following linked presentation is a slidecast with the actual presentation by Greg. Enjoy! And please let us know if you have questions or comments. We’d love to hear from you.

Update: Please note the audio slidecast feature has been discontinued in Slideshare effective April 30, 2014. After that date, please consult the notes added in the PowerPoint for the content that we shared. Or you may listen to the audiocast of the presentation using the following audioplayer:

 

CEC 2013 Presentation: Teaching and learning with iPads for high school students with disabilities

Please view and share the presentation “Teaching and learning with iPads for high school students with disabilities” by Minwook Ok and Joan Hughes. Minwook presented this paper for us at the Council for Exceptional Children conference in 2013. This presentation reflects research we’ve been conducting in a high school where all the students have iPads. This particular work reflects teaching and learning in a modified biology classroom.

New Book Chapter: iTeach and iLearn with iPads in secondary English language arts

I co-authored a book chapter with Ph.D. student, Gregory Russell, that is due out in Spring 2013. The chapter emerges from my research study iTeach and iLearn with iPads and reflects a year of data collection in a high school that created a ubiquitous environment for iPad-supported teaching and learning. The article is set within what I think will be a superb collection of  chapters in Charles Miller and Aaron Doering’s The new landscape of mobile learning: Re-designing education in an app-based world.

Scholarly Reference to the Book Chapter:

Russell, G. S. & Hughes, J.E. (In Press/Pub Date: Spring 2013.) iTeach and iLearn with iPads in secondary English language arts. In C. Miller & A. Doering (Eds.) The new landscape of mobile learning: Re-designing education in an app-based world. New York: Routledge.

 Following is the abstract of the chapter: 

Tablet computers like the iPad seem to be well-suited for educational purposes, but no empirical research yet exists that examines its potential. This chapter shares the stories of Brett and Julie, two veteran high school English teachers who are integrating iPads into their classrooms for the first time as a part of a 1:1 iPad initiative at Hilly High School. We share an analysis of their practices, developed over the past year via weekly classroom observations, formal interviews and numerous informal discussions. From these risk-taking practitioners, we identify and discuss issues related to pedagogy, assessment, new media literacies, efficiencies, student behavior, engagement, distractability, and academic integrity. Results indicate that the iPad improves the efficiencies of learning activities but also introduces new classroom management issues. Many teaching and learning activities with the iPad can be both engaging or distracting. Our findings may prove useful to districts, schools, and practitioners who venture to establish similar ubiquitous tablet-supported educational innovations.

We welcome questions and feedback regarding our work with this project. We are currently working on a manuscript focused on school leaders’ perspectives on the iPads and support mechanisms or iPad technology integration.

If you are unable to obtain a copy of this work, please email me [joanh at austin dot utexas dot edu], and I will gladly share a copy with you.

SXSWedu proposal: Mythbusters: Year 1 in iPad classrooms

We have proposed a panel presentation for the SXSWedu conference, to be held in Austin, Texas in March 2013. Please go to our proposal page and vote to support our presentation to be included in the 2013 conference. Presentations are selected, in part, by crowd-sourced votes and comments, so please join in!

Mythbusters: Year 1 in iPad classrooms

Description

There are some wild claims about the impact iPads can have on PK-12 education, and more and more schools are moving toward 1:1 iPad initiatives…but what can schools realistically expect during the first year of a large scale iPad implementation (and beyond)?

In this panel, we will examine and debunk some of the myths related to the use of iPads in education. By doing so, we hope to help schools set reasonable expectations for the early stages of iPad integration. All phases of iPad implementation will be discussed from the moment the idea sparks into someone’s head to the implementation of iPads into school curricula and student learning.

Busted myths include:

  • Access to iPads is all you need.
  • Everybody wants an iPad.
  • There are over 100,000 quality apps for learning!
  • iPads will revolutionize teaching and learning!
  • If you let students use iPads in class, they’ll always be off-task.
  • iPads will save teachers time.

Questions Answered

  1. How to prepare? From day one of an iPad initiative, the technology must work. Adjustments to technology infrastructure are absolutely necessary, but beyond technical needs, there are a number of other preparatory tasks to achieve, including: completing administrative tasks (e.g. developing acceptable use policies), communicating with concerned parties (e.g. parents, board members), providing professional development (e.g. for teachers and technology specialists), and developing school norms.
  2. What happens to teaching and learning? Are iPads a panacea for revolutionizing education? In the first year, teaching pedagogies change little with the influx of the technology. Yet, opportunities for innovation are immense. Communication amongst students and teachers improves. New media literacies are prevalent, and the amount of time spent on administrative classroom practices decrease. With continued development and support, teaching and learning are apt to shift.
  3. How will iTeach and iLearn in the future? The key to transformations in teaching and learning is content-specific, teacher professional development. Identifying apps that specifically target content areas, student needs, and problems-of-practice (e.g. Celtx) is necessary to untap the full potential of the iPad technology cluster. iPad technology integrationists, teachers, curriculum specialists, and media specialists must collaboratively learn and innovate together. School leaders must model.

Tags

educational intervention, ipad, mobile, technology and pedagogy

Meta

Event: EDU

Format: Panel Discussion

Category: Best Practices and Pedagogy

Level: Beginner

Speakers

  • Gregory Russell, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Audrey De Zeeuw, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Minwook Ok, The University of Texas at Austin

Organizer

Joan Hughes The University of Texas at Austin

Additional Supporting Materials

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jn459qq5hhir4bk/mythbusters_graphic_SXSWedu.jpg

 

Research Presentations at the SITE (tech & teacher education) Conference

The SITE (Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education) conference is starting tomorrow, hosted right here in Austin, TX March 5-9. I am involved in several presentations at the conference. First, Min Wook Ok (Ph.D. student in Special Education) and I will be co-presenting our paper titled “The impact of 1:1 laptop initiatives on pre-service special educators”. Second, I’ll be participating in a roundtable discussion “Exploring tablet computing in teacher education: The UT COE iPad working group” with other UT-affiliated staff and faculty in the College of Education. Below is more detailed information about each of these presentations.

Exploring Tablet Computing in Teacher Education: The UT COE iPad Working Group
ID: 35606
Type: Roundtable   Topic: Information Technology Diffusion/Integration
Room: 13 Mon, Mar. 5 11:30 AM-12:30 PM
Authors: Karen French, The University of Texas at Austin, USA; Michelle Read, The University of Texas at Austin, USA; Detra Price-Dennis, The University of Texas at Austin, USA; Hyo-Jin Yoon, The University of Texas at Austin, USA; Haydee Rodriguez, The University of Texas at Austin, USA; Joan Hughes, The University of Texas at Austin, USA; Barbara Pazey, The University of Texas at Austin, USA

Abstract: The College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin has formed a cross-disciplinary working group to explore the uses and learning implications of incorporating iPad tablet computers into classroom activities in higher education settings. At this roundtable, representatives from the working group and the instructional technology support team with whom they are working will discuss with their peers what they have learned about implementing a project of this kind in a teacher education program. Presenters will engage participants in an active discussion of their own experience, knowledge and ideas. Topics will include implications for teaching methods, student response and outcomes, and the logistics required to ensure the success of an initiative of this kind.

 

The impact of 1:1 laptop initiatives on pre-service special educators
ID: 35453
Type: Poster/Demo   Topic: Special Education
Room: 14

Wed, Mar. 7 6:30 PM-8:00 PM
Authors: Min Wook Ok, The University of Texas at Austin, USA; Joan Hughes, University of Texas at Austin, USA

Abstract: This paper provides results of a pilot study investigating the impact and effects of the technology-integration program on pre-service special educators. Results of survey data comprehensively analyzed and interpreted will be reported. Moreover, the study will provide not only the impact of the program but also any need to change or improve in the program for supporting pre-service special educators.

Picture of Min Wook Ok presenting our poster

Min Wook Ok presenting our paper at SITE

WordCloud: Article on Preservice Teachers’ Technology Development in a Laptop Preparation Program

Here’s a WordCloud representation of a recent article we have written about preservice teachers and their use of technology in their program as well as how they are thinking in terms of their future use of technology as classroom teachers. In academia, there are stringent limits of “publishing” one’s work before release in a journal, and journals consider publication on the web as “already published.” In order to safeguard our ability to publish our work, but also share some of our work in a more timely fashion, we are doing so through the use of wordclouds. This cloud below represents what we wrote in the approximately 6,000 words, including our introduction, literature review, methods, results, and discussion.

if this inspires your interest, feel free to email Joan Hughes (joanh @ austin dot utexas dot edu) for more information or to discuss this in more detail.

Representation of recent manuscript in word cloud

 

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