Infusing Technology and Literacy into the Undergraduate Teacher Education Curriculum through the Use of Electronic Portfolios.

One of the most pressing dilemmas facing educators today is how to meaningfully infuse technology into the curriculum, a problem that exists at all levels of instruction from kindergarten through college.[1] To compound this dilemma, education departments are often saddled with limited resources and a large number of students. Recently instructors at Winthrop University were asked to develop an innovative activity for student interns that would make the best use of limited resources and provide a meaningful, technology-based activity appropriate for over 100 education students. In addition, instructors were responsible for ensuring that the literacy goals were simultaneously being addressed. To respond to this charge, six core faculty members designed a three-week instructional unit for students prior to their internship. The aim of the unit was for students to construct meaning around some education-related, literacy-based dilemma and use technology as a tool for recording and sharing their responses. The instructors incorporated a constructivist perspective by insisting that the activities: exhibit a relevant context for learning; focus on cooperative and collaborative skills through grouping; and provide opportunities to critically examine the “bigger” ideas. Tired of the traditional textbook approach, the instructors first required students to read some relevant primary source material as the content for the project. To incorporate technology, the responses to the reading would be placed in an electronic work-sampling portfolio and shared with other education students and future employers. To establish a meaningful context for learning, students were asked to read Savage Inequalities, a book by Jonathan Kozol that details the plight of American public education in six school districts across the nation.[2] This book provides real-life scenarios that stimulate future teachers to organize and reorganize their thinking around issues related to poverty, privilege and inequities. To set the stage for the reading, students were asked to attend two preparatory Seminars in which the instructional plan for the three-week activity was unveiled and the overarching goals for the technology experience were discussed. An effort was made to correlate the goals with the new conceptual framework, a paradigm adopted by College of Education faculty that establishes the core learnings necessary for all education students (see Table 1). In addition, the plan for scheduling the activities was presented to students (see Table 2). After the two preparatory sessions, students were randomly assigned to work in groups of five to complete these goals. Table 1. Goals for Technology Project that Incorporate Conceptual Framework Principles Goal Technology-Related Activity To collaborate and cooperate Work in groups of five in a group setting to enhance with one individual cognitive and social learning designated as technology coordinator To engage in problem solving Develop an electronic around literacy-related issues work sampling portfolio that explore the bigger ideas around a literacy-related topic Construct potential solutions Incorporate data, reflections to societal dilemmas presented and critical responses into through the reading electronic portfolio and literacy activities To communicate to others the Share with peers and other deeper processing of content educators the electronic and the critical development of portfolio and its contents literacy skills and strategies Table 2. Schedule for Technology and Literacy Project Week One a) attend two overview sessions b) form groups c) assign group roles d) read Savage Inequalities Week Two a) meet with groups for four sessions b) draft ideas and information for electronic group portfolio c) work with technology coordinator to prepare information Week Three a) technology coordinator places information into portfolio b) groups view and critique portfolios in computer lab c) larger groups view selected portfolios from other chapters d) groups of five convene for post-activity processing Collaborative Grouping Grouping the students was necessary due to the limited technological resources.