Handbook of Research on Literacy and Digital Technology Integration in Teacher Education 9781799814610, 9781799814627

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Handbook of Research on Literacy and Digital Technology Integration in Teacher Education Jared Keengwe University of North Dakota, USA Grace Onchwari University of North Dakota, USA

A volume in the Advances in Educational Marketing, Administration, and Leadership (AEMAL) Book Series

Published in the United States of America by IGI Global Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global) 701 E. Chocolate Avenue Hershey PA, USA 17033 Tel: 717-533-8845 Fax: 717-533-8661 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.igi-global.com Copyright © 2020 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without written permission from the publisher. Product or company names used in this set are for identification purposes only. Inclusion of the names of the products or companies does not indicate a claim of ownership by IGI Global of the trademark or registered trademark. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Keengwe, Jared, 1973- editor. | Onchwari, Grace, 1972- editor. | Information Science Reference (Publisher) | IGI Global. Title: Handbook of research on literacy and digital technology integration in teacher education / Jared Keengwe and Grace Onchwari, editors. Description: Hershey, Pennsylvania : Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global), 2019. Identifiers: LCCN 2019030931 (print) | LCCN 2019030932 (ebook) | ISBN 9781799814610 (Hardcover) | ISBN 9781799814627 (eBook) Subjects: LCSH: Teachers--Training of--Research. | Teachers--Training of--Technological innovations. | Educational technology. Classification: LCC LB1707 .H35434 2019 (print) | LCC LB1707 (ebook) | DDC 371.33--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019030931 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019030932 This book is published in the IGI Global book series Advances in Educational Marketing, Administration, and Leadership (AEMAL) (ISSN: 2326-9022; eISSN: 2326-9030) British Cataloguing in Publication Data A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. All work contributed to this book is new, previously-unpublished material. The views expressed in this book are those of the authors, but not necessarily of the publisher. For electronic access to this publication, please contact: [email protected].

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The Advances in Educational Marketing, Administration, and Leadership (AEMAL) Book Series (ISSN 2326-9022) is published by IGI Global, 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, PA 17033-1240, USA, www.igi-global.com. This series is composed of titles available for purchase individually; each title is edited to be contextually exclusive from any other title within the series. For pricing and ordering information please visit http://www.igi-global.com/book-series/advances-educational-marketing-administration-leadership/73677. Postmaster: Send all address changes to above address. © © 2020 IGI Global. All rights, including translation in other languages reserved by the publisher. No part of this series may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphics, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information and retrieval systems – without written permission from the publisher, except for non commercial, educational use, including classroom teaching purposes. The views expressed in this series are those of the authors, but not necessarily of IGI Global.

Titles in this Series

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Enhancing Teaching and Leadership Initiatives With Teacherpreneurs Emerging Research and Opportunities Pam Epler (Youngstown State University, USA) Information Science Reference • © 2020 • 150pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799820741) • US $165.00 Collaborative Strategies for Implementing Equitable Learning Opportunities Jason Jolicoeur (Washburn University, USA) and Binh Bui (University of Houston, USA) Information Science Reference • © 2020 • 300pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781522593355) • US $185.00 Leveraging Technology to Improve School Safety and Student Wellbeing Stephanie P. Huffman (Missouri State University, USA) Stacey Loyless (University of Central Arkansas, USA) Shelly Albritton (University of Central Arkansas, USA) and Charlotte Green (University of Central Arkansas, USA) Information Science Reference • © 2020 • 329pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799817666) • US $195.00 Addressing Multicultural Needs in School Guidance and Counseling Simon George Taukeni (University of Namibia, Namibia) Information Science Reference • © 2020 • 402pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799803195) • US $185.00 Emerging Methods and Paradigms in Scholarship and Education Research Lorraine Ling (La Trobe University, Australia) and Peter Ling (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia) Information Science Reference • © 2020 • 330pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799810018) • US $195.00 Cases on Global Leadership in the Contemporary Economy Ivonne Chirino-Klevans (Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA & International School of Management, Paris, France) Business Science Reference • © 2020 • 187pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781522580881) • US $195.00 Strategic Leadership in PK-12 Settings Johnny R. O’Connor (Lamar University, USA) Information Science Reference • © 2020 • 291pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781522592426) • US $175.00 Handbook of Research on Social Inequality and Education Sherrie Wisdom (Lindenwood University, USA) Lynda Leavitt (Lindenwood University, USA) and Cynthia Bice (Miami Dade College, USA) Information Science Reference • © 2019 • 556pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781522591085) • US $245.00

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Editorial Advisory Board Joachim Agamba, Idaho State University, USA Douglas Agyei, University of Cape Coast, Ghana Lesley Farmer, California State University, Long Beach, USA Frederick K. Iraki, United States International University Africa, Kenya Ken Kungu, Clayton State University, USA Lydia Kyei-Blankson, Illinois State University, USA Fredrick Nafukho, Texas A&M University, USA Robert Oboko, University of Nairobi, Kenya Patient Rambe, Central University of Technology, South Africa Jerono Rotich, North Carolina A&T State University, USA Peggy Semingson, The University of Texas at Arlington, USA Patrick Wachira, Cleveland State University, USA



List of Contributors

Awoyemi, Robert Akinade / Adeyemi Federal College of Education, Nigeria.......................... 321, 321 Benedict, Maycie / Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA.................................... 124 Bippert, Kelli / Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, USA.......................................................... 261 Chadha, Anita / University of Houston-Downtown, USA................................................................. 300 Creely, Edwin / Monash University, Australia.................................................................................. 359 Dunlap, Karen / Texas Woman’s University, USA................................................................................ 1 Edge, Christi U. / Northern Michigan University, USA..................................................................... 188 Elwood, Susan A. / Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, USA..................................................... 261 Ewing, Payten / Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA......................................... 124 Fredrickson, Rebecca / Texas Woman’s University, USA..................................................................... 1 Glass, Wykeshia W. / North Carolina Central University, USA........................................................ 228 Henriksen, Danah / Arizona State University, USA.......................................................................... 359 Hickman, Desiree G. / Jackson State University, USA...................................................................... 228 Hurlbut, Amanda R. / Texas Woman’s University, USA........................................................................ 1 Kaugi, Ephantus Micheni / Kenyatta University, Kenya................................................................... 282 Kellinger, Janna Jackson / University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA.................................... 109, 214 Kiai, Alice Wanjira / The Technical University of Kenya, Kenya...................................................... 334 Laviers, Kennard / Sul Ross State University, USA............................................................................ 93 Li, Lan / Bowling Green State University, USA................................................................................. 245 Limboro, Charity Mukiri / Kenyatta University, Kenya................................................................... 282 Liu, Laura B. / Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA........................................... 124 Liu, Xiongyi / Cleveland State University, USA................................................................................ 245 Maher, Damian / University of Technology Sydney, Australia............................................................ 29 Mbugua, Peter Getyngo / United States International University Africa, Kenya.............................. 334 McMahan, Sarah / Texas Woman’s University, USA............................................................................ 1 Mehta, Rohit / California State University, Fresno, USA................................................................. 359 Myers, Aimee / Texas Woman’s University, USA.................................................................................. 1 Otieno, Daniel / Kenyatta University, Kenya..................................................................................... 142 Penland, Jennifer (Jenny) L. / Shepherd University, USA.................................................................. 93 Pride, Kayla / Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA............................................ 124 Reid, Doug / Thompson Rivers University, Canada.......................................................................... 171 Robertson, Shawn / St. Joseph’s College, USA................................................................................. 156 Sadat, Bashir / Lehigh University, USA.............................................................................................. 78 Vallera, Farah L. / Lehigh University, USA......................................................................................... 78 Van Allen, Jennifer / Lehman College, City University of New York, USA........................................ 47 Wachira, Patrick / Cleveland State University, USA........................................................................ 245 Zygouris-Coe, Vassiliki “Vicky” I. / University of Central Florida, USA.......................................... 47  

Table of Contents

Foreword............................................................................................................................................xviii Preface................................................................................................................................................... xx Acknowledgment...............................................................................................................................xxiii Chapter 1 From Start to Finish: A Programmatic Approach to Digital Literacy in Teacher Education.................. 1 Amanda R. Hurlbut, Texas Woman’s University, USA Sarah McMahan, Texas Woman’s University, USA Aimee Myers, Texas Woman’s University, USA Karen Dunlap, Texas Woman’s University, USA Rebecca Fredrickson, Texas Woman’s University, USA Chapter 2 Pre-Service Teachers’ Digital Competencies to Support School Students’ Digital Literacies.............. 29 Damian Maher, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Chapter 3 Preparing Teachers to Integrate Digital Tools That Support Students’ Online Research and Comprehension Skills............................................................................................................................ 47 Jennifer Van Allen, Lehman College, City University of New York, USA Vassiliki “Vicky” I. Zygouris-Coe, University of Central Florida, USA Chapter 4 Using Design Thinking Practices to Create Technology-Driven Adult Professional Development Programs................................................................................................................................................ 78 Farah L. Vallera, Lehigh University, USA Bashir Sadat, Lehigh University, USA Chapter 5 Perceptions and New Realities for the 21st Century Learner................................................................ 93 Jennifer (Jenny) L. Penland, Shepherd University, USA Kennard Laviers, Sul Ross State University, USA





Chapter 6 Designing Curricular Games in Teacher Education: Exploring an Evolution of Game-Based Teaching............................................................................................................................................... 109 Janna Jackson Kellinger, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA Chapter 7 How Paper and Digital Children’s Books Support Student Understanding......................................... 124 Laura B. Liu, Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Kayla Pride, Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Payten Ewing, Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Maycie Benedict, Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Chapter 8 Integrating Digital Literacy in Competency-Based Curriculum......................................................... 142 Daniel Otieno, Kenyatta University, Kenya Chapter 9 Student Agency: A Creatively-Focused Digital Critical Pedagogy..................................................... 156 Shawn Robertson, St. Joseph’s College, USA Chapter 10 Indigenizing and Mentoring Technology Usage in Undergraduate Teacher Education...................... 171 Doug Reid, Thompson Rivers University, Canada Chapter 11 Access, Opportunity, and Curriculum Making Through Multimodal Meaning-Making and Technology Integration in Teacher Education..................................................................................... 188 Christi U. Edge, Northern Michigan University, USA Chapter 12 Coding Across the Curriculum: How to Integrate Coding Into Content Areas................................... 214 Janna Jackson Kellinger, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA Chapter 13 Strategies for Improving and Modeling Digital Technology and Literacy Integration....................... 228 Wykeshia W. Glass, North Carolina Central University, USA Desiree G. Hickman, Jackson State University, USA Chapter 14 Understanding Web-Based Peer Assessment in Teacher Education.................................................... 245 Xiongyi Liu, Cleveland State University, USA Lan Li, Bowling Green State University, USA Patrick Wachira, Cleveland State University, USA



Chapter 15 Crab-Walking in the Crosswalk: A Standards and Competency Matrix Using ISTE Educator Standards With Teacher Educator Technology Competencies............................................................ 261 Susan A. Elwood, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, USA Kelli Bippert, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, USA Chapter 16 Technology Integration in Teacher Education: Implications for Policy and Curriculum Reform....... 282 Charity Mukiri Limboro, Kenyatta University, Kenya Ephantus Micheni Kaugi, Kenyatta University, Kenya Chapter 17 Adding Value: Fostering Student Deliberations Across Modes of Instruction and Institutions.......... 300 Anita Chadha, University of Houston-Downtown, USA Chapter 18 Perspectives and Implementation of ICT in Teacher Education.......................................................... 321 Robert Akinade Awoyemi, Adeyemi Federal College of Education, Nigeria Robert Akinade Awoyemi, Adeyemi Federal College of Education, Nigeria Chapter 19 Teaching Argumentation in Higher Education: Narratives From Composition Writing Classrooms in Kenya............................................................................................................................................... 334 Alice Wanjira Kiai, The Technical University of Kenya, Kenya Peter Getyngo Mbugua, United States International University Africa, Kenya Chapter 20 A Profitable Education: Countering Neoliberalism in 21st Century Skills Discourses....................... 359 Rohit Mehta, California State University, Fresno, USA Edwin Creely, Monash University, Australia Danah Henriksen, Arizona State University, USA Compilation of References................................................................................................................ 382 About the Contributors..................................................................................................................... 431 Index.................................................................................................................................................... 440

Detailed Table of Contents

Foreword............................................................................................................................................xviii Preface................................................................................................................................................... xx Acknowledgment...............................................................................................................................xxiii Chapter 1 From Start to Finish: A Programmatic Approach to Digital Literacy in Teacher Education.................. 1 Amanda R. Hurlbut, Texas Woman’s University, USA Sarah McMahan, Texas Woman’s University, USA Aimee Myers, Texas Woman’s University, USA Karen Dunlap, Texas Woman’s University, USA Rebecca Fredrickson, Texas Woman’s University, USA The U.S. Department of Education recently reported that single educational technology courses are not sufficient experiences to properly prepare preservice teachers for future technology-rich K-12 classrooms. Rather, continuous exposure to instructional technology is most effective in improving attitudes and beliefs toward technology and sustaining deep pedagogical practice. It is essential that all attempts to create digitally literate teachers should originate from within a cohesive program design rather than through single “drive-by” courses that integrate technology. The purpose of this chapter is to describe a programmatic approach used to design a comprehensive digital literacy experience for pre-service teachers (PSTs) using the U.S. DOE’s recommendations. The chapter will discuss various examples, including specific course assignments the EPP uses to guide PSTs as they learn to become competent digitally literate educators. Examples of implementation, copies of PST work, and reflective discussions continued challenges to sustain the design are included. Chapter 2 Pre-Service Teachers’ Digital Competencies to Support School Students’ Digital Literacies.............. 29 Damian Maher, University of Technology Sydney, Australia The chapter has two main foci. The first focus is on the types of literacy practices needed by young people to work in a contemporary digital environment. Policies that impact on the development of digital literacy development are explored. The aspects underpinning digital literacy are examined and a sociocultural approach explained. Aspects of safety and ethics are focused on. The first half concludes by discussing digital games and ways these can be used to develop digital literacies in schools. The second focus is on the digital competencies that pre-service teachers can develop to support teaching  



of digital literacies. Different models for developing digital competencies are outlined. The aspect of critical understanding is then examined. This is followed by exploring digital story telling. Important considerations for developing digital competencies within and beyond university training are examined. The chapter then provides some suggestions for further research in this field. Chapter 3 Preparing Teachers to Integrate Digital Tools That Support Students’ Online Research and Comprehension Skills............................................................................................................................ 47 Jennifer Van Allen, Lehman College, City University of New York, USA Vassiliki “Vicky” I. Zygouris-Coe, University of Central Florida, USA Supporting students in acquiring flexible skills for a fast-paced technological world is a challenge. Teachers need access to high-quality training and resources that shape teachers’ beliefs, improve self-efficacy, and build pedagogical knowledge surrounding technology integration. This qualitative exploratory case study explored the implementation and challenges one teacher faced when using small groups to develop upper elementary grade students’ online research and comprehension skills. Using the challenges the teacher discovered, including technology issues, instructional challenges, and students’ lack of computer knowledge, the authors propose several implications for implementing an instructional framework to teach online research and comprehension skills and provide educative curriculum examples for supporting teacher education efforts. Chapter 4 Using Design Thinking Practices to Create Technology-Driven Adult Professional Development Programs................................................................................................................................................ 78 Farah L. Vallera, Lehigh University, USA Bashir Sadat, Lehigh University, USA Instructors are encouraged to train their students to be creative, critical thinkers, and innovative future leaders; unfortunately, most have not been trained in the same way as they are expected to teach. Instructors need to learn how to inspire innovation and 21st century skills by practicing and teaching those skills themselves. One way to do that is by learning the design thinking process, incorporating it into instruction, and using it to develop students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes/beliefs (KSABs) in similar ways. Understanding and employing the design thinking process and combining those tools with relevant and authentic instructional technologies can prepare instructors to develop the skills of tomorrow’s workforce, innovators, and future leaders. This chapter discusses the importance of training teachers to use the design thinking process while using the design thinking process to instruct them. Best practices and examples of such professional development are offered.



Chapter 5 Perceptions and New Realities for the 21st Century Learner................................................................ 93 Jennifer (Jenny) L. Penland, Shepherd University, USA Kennard Laviers, Sul Ross State University, USA Of all the technologies emerging today, augmented reality (AR) stands to be one of, if not the, most transformational in the way we teach our students across the spectrum of age groups and subject matter. The authors propose “best practices” that allow the educator to use AR as a tool that will not only teach the processes of a skill but will also encourage students to use AR as a motivational tool that allows them to discover, explore, and perform work beyond what is capable with this revolutionary device. Finally, the authors provide and explore the artificial intelligence (AI) processors behind the technologies driving down cost while driving up the quality of AR and how this new field of computer science is transforming all facets of society and may end up changing pedagogy more profoundly than anything before it. Chapter 6 Designing Curricular Games in Teacher Education: Exploring an Evolution of Game-Based Teaching............................................................................................................................................... 109 Janna Jackson Kellinger, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA This chapter explores the use of game-based teaching in teacher education courses. It compares a version of a course taught in a traditional manner to the game-based version. It then traces the evolution of the author’s use of game-based teaching and details ways the author overcame various obstacles in subsequent courses. In doing so, it discusses the affordances and constraints of learning management systems and concludes that small changes in learning management systems would greatly improve the ability to use them to create curricular games. Chapter 7 How Paper and Digital Children’s Books Support Student Understanding......................................... 124 Laura B. Liu, Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Kayla Pride, Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Payten Ewing, Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Maycie Benedict, Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA This study builds on previous research regarding digital texts and learner engagement to provide insights on the impact of digital and paper texts on first-grade student learning. Three formats of the same STEM children’s book included (1) a paper version read by the teacher; (2) a digital version read as a class and facilitated by the teacher; and (3) a digital version read independently by individual students, without the teacher. Mixed methods analysis involved a pre- and post-reading worksheet assessing student comprehension and concept retention, followed by teacher interviews. Quantitative and qualitative findings demonstrated the value of paper texts read with teacher guidance to highlight key concepts and sustain student focus. Teacher interviews also noted the value of digital texts to engage student interest, suggesting there is a pedagogical place for paper and digital texts in the classroom. Findings highlight the complexity of learner engagement and need for thoughtful pedagogies.



Chapter 8 Integrating Digital Literacy in Competency-Based Curriculum......................................................... 142 Daniel Otieno, Kenyatta University, Kenya This chapter discusses the integration of digital literacy in competency-based curriculum (CBC). In the introduction, the authors discuss the 21st century skills and their relevance to the competency-based curriculum. The discussion funnels from global, regional, and local contexts. Theoretical perspectives in ICT and the CBC are dealt with to provide a background. Multiple approaches of integrating digital literacy within the curriculum are highlighted later in the chapter. These issues are discussed in the light of the extant literature on digital literacy and the competency-based curriculum. The discussion revolves around the trends, controversies of digital literacy in the CBC with possible solutions put forth towards the end of the chapter. Finally, recommendations and future research directions are made. The chapter concludes with a summary of the major issues discussed in the chapter and recommendations for further reading. Chapter 9 Student Agency: A Creatively-Focused Digital Critical Pedagogy..................................................... 156 Shawn Robertson, St. Joseph’s College, USA This chapter explores the theoretical ideas educators should explore and understand in relationship to developing student agency as a pedagogy. It also examines how using it can potentially inspire digital critical pedagogy. The process by which certified teachers engaged in to become more aware of their own critical pedagogy and skill to implement student agency is discussed throughout the chapter. Their perceptions of what student agency is and should be is explored alongside ideas for instituting creative digital pedagogy and student agency in a practical fashion in a focal point of the chapter. Chapter 10 Indigenizing and Mentoring Technology Usage in Undergraduate Teacher Education...................... 171 Doug Reid, Thompson Rivers University, Canada As a partnership between a teacher education program and a public school, an introductory course in education was modernized to reflect the current technological and cultural contexts of the teaching profession. This was done to ensure the course would still be a transfer credit at other universities in the region and to ensure undergraduate students would receive a current perspective of teaching in Canada. The result of this initiative was the development of an undergraduate course infused with modeling technology used in classrooms today designed upon an indigenous pedagogical model. In theory, this allowed the students to explore the interaction of technology-enabled learning and indigenous pedagogy. In practice, this allowed the students to learn in a low-risk environment designed to reflect current realities and advances in educational practices.



Chapter 11 Access, Opportunity, and Curriculum Making Through Multimodal Meaning-Making and Technology Integration in Teacher Education..................................................................................... 188 Christi U. Edge, Northern Michigan University, USA This chapter describes an investigation into exploring meaning making through multimodal literacy practices and technology integration for teacher education within the context of an online, secondary reading course for K-12 teachers. Through the use of a collaborative conference protocol, discourse with cross-disciplinary critical friends, and visual thinking data analysis strategies, a teacher educator examined existing multimodal literacy practices and then studied course redesign and technology integration. Results include recognizing opportunities for diverse learners to access and use prior knowledge in the construction of new knowledge, reframing the course delivery platform as a multimodal “text,” increasing opportunity for learners to construct and communicate complex understandings through multimodal texts and technology-infused assessments, and learners’ curriculum making through transmediation mediated by technology. Chapter 12 Coding Across the Curriculum: How to Integrate Coding Into Content Areas................................... 214 Janna Jackson Kellinger, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA This chapter explores why teacher educators should teach teachers how to integrate coding across content areas and how to do so by applying concepts of computational thinking such as using algorithms, flowcharts, and Boolean logic to all fields. Teaching teachers how to teach coding across the content areas offers opportunities to diversify people in a field where intimidation, discrimination, and lack of opportunities has effectively kept the field of programming largely white or Asian and male. In addition, as our lives become more and more infused with technology, Rushkoff warns that we either learn how to program or become programmed. This means that not everyone needs to become a computer programmer, but everyone needs to understand how programming computers works. In other words, coding across content areas would help prepare all students, not just those pursuing the field of computer science, for the 21st century. Chapter 13 Strategies for Improving and Modeling Digital Technology and Literacy Integration....................... 228 Wykeshia W. Glass, North Carolina Central University, USA Desiree G. Hickman, Jackson State University, USA This chapter focuses on the suggestions and strategies of technology being utilized in classroom settings. An emphasis is placed on digital technology and literacy integration. The authors explore the effectiveness of digital technology and literacy integration and identify external and internal factors limiting technology integration commonly found within a typical PreK-12th grade classroom setting. In addition to the authors discussing factors that limit school’s integration, the authors provide solutions and recommendations suggesting resources throughout the chapter to improve and model digital technology and literacy integration in the classroom.



Chapter 14 Understanding Web-Based Peer Assessment in Teacher Education.................................................... 245 Xiongyi Liu, Cleveland State University, USA Lan Li, Bowling Green State University, USA Patrick Wachira, Cleveland State University, USA With the development of technology, web-based peer assessment has been increasingly used as an alternative, formative assessment strategy with great potential for student learning benefits. The purpose of this chapter is to synthesize a series of empirical research studies conducted by the authors to examine factors that can influence the effectiveness of web-based peer assessment with teacher education students. The findings of these studies are discussed within the larger context of general research in peer assessment. Implications are provided to better inform researchers and teacher educators about the use of web-based peer assessment and how it relates to teacher education students’ ability to apply assessment criteria and their ability to take advantage of peer feedback. Chapter 15 Crab-Walking in the Crosswalk: A Standards and Competency Matrix Using ISTE Educator Standards With Teacher Educator Technology Competencies............................................................ 261 Susan A. Elwood, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, USA Kelli Bippert, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, USA Faculty integration of the technology standards and competencies remain a concern in higher education, especially in the movement toward competency-based education and portfolio development. The “CRABwalk within the Crosswalk” occurs as both ISTE educator standards and TETC competencies are collaboratively reviewed and worked. This protocol is designed to help align a team’s multiple standards and competencies within one collaborative assessment tool. It provides a cognitive tool to facilitate partnership collaboration that can result in greater individual and team growth and development. This chapter provides a literature review of K-12 teacher education and university faculty perceptions as a cultural models base to the presented Crosswalk to Rubric Alignment (CRABwalk) protocol. Professional standard or competency needs are of focus and therefore meet the needs of each educator group: preservice, inservice, and teacher educator. Chapter 16 Technology Integration in Teacher Education: Implications for Policy and Curriculum Reform....... 282 Charity Mukiri Limboro, Kenyatta University, Kenya Ephantus Micheni Kaugi, Kenyatta University, Kenya This study examined the availability of computers and internet in the classroom or elsewhere at teacher colleges, teacher preparation and training in technology integration, as well as trainers’ use of technology in classroom instruction. A survey questionnaire was distributed randomly to 63 teacher trainers from three public and one private teacher training college in Kenya. The data was analyzed descriptively using SPSS software. The results indicated that technology integration at the classroom level was too low due to lack of computers and internet access in the classrooms. Teacher trainers were inadequately trained in information and communication technology integration and therefore poorly equipped to integrate technology in the classroom. The study concludes that teacher colleges were not adequately prepared for ICT integration in teaching and learning. It is recommended that teacher colleges’ ICT infrastructure be improved and teacher trainers’ capacity on ICT integration be developed for the success of the current



curriculum reforms. Chapter 17 Adding Value: Fostering Student Deliberations Across Modes of Instruction and Institutions.......... 300 Anita Chadha, University of Houston-Downtown, USA Research finds that fostering reflective deliberation in classes ensures that students reach a high level of achievement in their courses. This chapter evaluates student peer reflective exchanges across a four-year institution and a community college and both face-to-face and online modes of instruction at these differing institutions. Significant evidence reveals that regardless of institution type, students deliberate with academic reflectivity yet deliberate with greater reflectivity in face-to-face classes across both institutions. This study concludes that offering deliberative strategies are a viable means to offer pedagogical content across different modes of instruction and at differing institutions, a concern for educators and administrators in this digital age. Chapter 18 Perspectives and Implementation of ICT in Teacher Education.......................................................... 321 Robert Akinade Awoyemi, Adeyemi Federal College of Education, Nigeria Robert Akinade Awoyemi, Adeyemi Federal College of Education, Nigeria This chapter evaluates teacher education from a technological point of view in relation to its conventional perspectives, where teacher education was appraised in conjugation with ICT. The integration of ICT in teacher education is a means of supporting high quality teaching and learning, involving teacher educators and teachers, which requires how best to explore the utilization of technologies for meaningful learning of students. In the course of this discourse, it was ratiocinated that ICT plays a vital role in teacher education. In the field of teacher education, ICT-based applications and their integration with content and pedagogy are potential catalysts for meaningful learning of students. Finally, the behaviourist theory, the experiential learning theory, and the information processing theory were employed respectively to discuss the theoretical framework of this chapter to assert the pertinence of ICT in teacher education. Chapter 19 Teaching Argumentation in Higher Education: Narratives From Composition Writing Classrooms in Kenya............................................................................................................................................... 334 Alice Wanjira Kiai, The Technical University of Kenya, Kenya Peter Getyngo Mbugua, United States International University Africa, Kenya This study examines teaching methodologies used by composition instructors in a private university in Kenya where composition is taught to all undergraduate students. The study adopted a qualitative approach in the form of narrative inquiry to explore challenging topics in teaching and learning argumentation, methodological interventions, instructors’ use of technology, and to suggest strategies for addressing problem areas. Purposive sampling was adopted, resulting in narratives from three experienced course instructors. Learner-centred approaches were prevalent, especially in addressing challenging topics such as formulation of claims, supporting arguments with evidence, recognising fallacies and appeals, and documentation of sources of information.



Chapter 20 A Profitable Education: Countering Neoliberalism in 21st Century Skills Discourses....................... 359 Rohit Mehta, California State University, Fresno, USA Edwin Creely, Monash University, Australia Danah Henriksen, Arizona State University, USA In this chapter, the authors take a multifaceted critical approach to understanding and deconstructing the term 21st century skills, especially in regard to technology and the role of corporations in the discourses about education. They also consider a range of cultural and political influences in our exploration of the social and academic meanings of the term, including its history and politics. The application of the term in present-day educational contexts is considered as well as possible futures implied through the term. The goal in this chapter is to counter ideas that might diminish a humanized educational practice. Specifically, the authors offer a critique of neoliberal discourses in education, particularly the neoliberal and corporate narrative around 21st century teaching and learning. They raise concerns about what an undue emphasis on industry-oriented educational systems can mean for the core purposes of education. Compilation of References................................................................................................................ 382 About the Contributors..................................................................................................................... 431 Index.................................................................................................................................................... 440

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Foreword

Today’s educators recognize that using innovative practices to disrupt ineffective or antiquated practices is a pathway to improving their future professional practice and that improved practice leads to improved student learning. Yet, even as our understanding of literacy and digital technology integration has evolved over the past decade, many educators continue to rely on ineffective learning constructs exclusively. As such, the central goal of this handbook is to provide options that deter such use even as it provides readers examples of the emerging practices shaping the field today. Specifically, this handbook offers a diverse set of research findings and innovative practices all aimed at assisting educators to effectively apply concepts of literacy and digital technology within their professional practice. Literacy and digital technology concepts are grounded across disciplines and represent a multifaceted set of educators that includes pre-service and in-service educators along with teacher educators and others interested in the field of teacher preparation. What they and this volume have in common is an interest in understanding the knowledge, skills, and dispositional beliefs (i.e., the quality and nature of their practice) of the field, as well as an understanding of the supporting research and ideas related to the continual improvement of student learning. As such, this volume assists readers to recognize that how we teach and engage with our learners can be continually refined and developed through various actions and interactions intended to provide the highest quality learning. For example, within the framework of transforming the practice of teaching, chapter 6 (Designing Curricular Games) and Chapter 14 (Understanding Web-Based Peer Assessment) provide research supported insights regarding emerging pedagogies. Likewise, Chapter 5 (Perceptions and New Realities), Chapter 17 (Fostering student deliberations), and Chapter 20 (Countering Neoliberalism) stand out examining the beliefs associated with effective practice. Of equal importance for readers are the chapters reporting on lessons learned from practice. In these chapters a number of lessons learned from the integration of skill-based technologies are shared. These include use of digital research tools (Chapter 3), design thinking (Chapter 4), augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) (Chapter 5), coding (Chapter 12), and digital gamed based learning (Chapter 6). In fact, a quick review of the Table of Contents reveals that transformation of practice is advocated for across a majority of the handbook’s chapters. Given the broad nature of the information contained within, the handbook is appropriate for academicians, educators, administrators, educational software and app developers, instructional technology consultants, researchers, professionals, students, and curriculum and instructional designers. As such, this volume assists readers to consider where we are as a field even as it provides information about where we are going as a field. Directions for future research are revealed for careful readers of many chapters. This handbook is both instructive and timely in nature, offering many ideas related to the application  

Foreword

of technology into the field of teacher preparation. In summary, readers will gain valuable insights that can both inform practice and future scholarship interests. Beverly B. Ray Idaho State University, USA

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Preface

The integration of digital technology continues to inform teacher preparation for 21st century classrooms. Also, it is critical to understand the different ways that digital technology is used so that appropriate learning experiences can be designed to support learners’ digital literacy development. To support digital practices for young learners, Darvin (2018) identified six different uses which include: (a) Identity representation: e.g., taking selfies, constructing a Facebook profile; (b) Artistic expression: e.g., posting pictures on Instagram, publishing fan fiction stories online; (c) Facilitation of social relations: e.g., chatting with friends on Snapchat; (d) Consumption and production of knowledge: e.g., reading news online, preparing PowerPoint for science class; (e) Exchange of goods and service: e.g., ordering books on Amazon; (f) Entertainment: e.g., playing Minecraft, watching a movie on Netflix. When used effectively in teaching and learning, technology enhances student motivation, attitude, and engagement, and teacher-student and home-school relationships (Zheng, Warshauer, Lin, & Chang, 2016). To this end, there is a pressing need for college faculty not only to prepare current and future teachers for the demands of 21st century classrooms, but also to address the academic readiness skills of their students to succeed in their programs. Therefore, the Handbook of Research on Literacy and Digital Technology Integration in Teacher Education provides peer-reviewed essays and research reports contributed by an array of scholars and practitioners in the field of literacy education, teacher education, and instructional technology. The objective of this scholarship is to highlight research-based practices that address the issues, perspectives, and challenges faced in teacher preparation and teacher education professional development programs. Chapter 1 describes a programmatic approach used to design a comprehensive digital literacy experience for pre-service teachers (PSTs) using the U.S. DOE’s recommendations. Various examples of course assignments implementation process, copies of PST work, and reflective discussions are shared. Chapter 2 has two main foci. The first section explains literacy practices needed by young people to work in a contemporary digital environment, the policies that have impacted the development of digital literacy development, and the aspects underpinning digital literacy through the sociocultural approach. The second focus is on the digital competencies that pre-service teachers can develop to support teaching of digital literacies. Chapter 3 examines how supporting students in acquiring flexible skills for a fast-paced technological world is a challenge. Challenges such as the need for high-quality training and resources that shape teachers’ beliefs, improve self-efficacy, and build pedagogical knowledge surrounding technology integration are explored. The study proposes several implications for implementing an instructional framework to teach online research and comprehension skills and provides educative curriculum examples for supporting teacher education efforts.  

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Chapter 4 discusses the importance of training teachers to use the design thinking process, while using the design thinking process to instruct them. Best practices and examples of such professional development are offered. Chapter 5 proposes “best practices” which allows the educator to use the Augmented Reality (AR) as a tool that will not only teach the processes of a skill but will also encourage students to use AR as a motivational tool which allows them to discover, explore and perform work beyond what is capable with this revolutionary device. Chapter 6 explores the use of game-based teaching in teacher education courses where a comparison of a course taught in a traditional manner to the game-based version is analyzed. Based on an analysis of the evolution of the author’s use of game-based teaching and details of ways the author overcame various obstacles in subsequent courses, a number of affordances and constraints of learning management systems are presented. Chapter 7 explores a study on digital texts and learner engagement and the impact of digital and paper texts on first-grade student learning. Three formats of the same STEM children’s book - a paper version read by the teacher, a digital version read as a class and facilitated by the teacher, and a digital version read independently by individual students, without the teacher are examined. Findings highlight the complexity of learner engagement and need for thoughtful pedagogies. Chapter 8 discusses the integration of a digital literacy in a Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) in one country. Multiple approaches, issues, trends, controversies of integrating digital literacy within the curriculum are highlighted with recommendations for future research directions at the end. Chapter 9 explores the theoretical ideas educators should explore and understand in relationship to developing student agency as a pedagogy. It also examines how using it can potentially inspire digital critical pedagogy. Chapter 10 describes how a partnership between a teacher education program and a public school in an introductory course in education was modernized to reflect the current technological & cultural contexts of the teaching profession. The results of the initiative leading into the development of an undergraduate course infused with modeling technology used in classrooms today designed upon an indigenous pedagogical model are discussed. Chapter 11 describes an investigation into exploring meaning making through multimodal literacy practices and technology integration for teacher education within the context of an online, secondary reading course for K-12 teachers. Chapter 12 describes how traditionally coding has been viewed as a science as in “computer science” and loosely associated with the logic behind mathematics as well as the math behind machine language. The author proposes an even more expansive view of coding that applies even to those areas outside of traditional core subjects such as gourmet cooking, psychology, and physical education. Chapter 13 examines the effectiveness of digital technology and literacy integration and identify external and internal factors limiting technology integration commonly found within a typical PreK-12th grade classroom setting. Factors that also limit school’s integration and possible solutions and recommendations are suggested. Chapter 14 synthesizes a series of empirical research studies conducted by the authors to examine factors that can influence the effectiveness of web-based peer assessment with teacher education students. The findings of the studies are discussed within the larger context of general research in peer assessment.

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Chapter 15 reviews the “CRABwalk within the Crosswalk” as it occurs in both the ISTE Educator standards and TETC competencies. The chapter provides a literature review of K-12 teacher education and university faculty perceptions as a cultural model base to the presented Crosswalk to Rubric Alignment (CRABwalk) protocol. Chapter 16 describes a study examining the availability of computers and internet in the classroom or elsewhere at teacher colleges, teacher preparation and training in technology integration as well as trainers use of technology in classroom instruction. Recommendations for ways to integrate technology in the classroom are discussed from the results. Chapter 17 evaluates student peer reflective exchanges across a four-year institution and a community college and both face-to-face and online modes of instruction at these differing institutions. Effects on student’s reflectivity ability on both mediums are presented. Chapter 18 evaluates teacher education from a technological point of view in relation to its conventional perspectives, where teacher education was appraised in conjugation with ICT. The role ICT plays in teacher education is discussed. Chapter 19 examines teaching methodologies used by composition instructors in a private university in Kenya where composition is taught to all undergraduate students. The study adopted a qualitative approach in the form of narrative inquiry to explore challenging topics in teaching and learning argumentation, methodological interventions, instructors’ use of technology, and to suggest strategies for addressing problem areas. Chapter 20 explores a multifaceted critical approach to understanding and deconstructing the term 21st century skills, especially in regard to technology and the role of corporations in the discourses about education. A critique of neoliberal discourses in education, particularly the neoliberal and corporate narrative around 21st century teaching and learning is provided. Our hope is that each of these scholarly manuscripts will help to address the academic readiness of pre-service teachers as well as help to advance and inform the work of teacher preparation programs particularly in transformation of novice teachers to be able to deliver effective literacy rich practices in 21st technology-rich classrooms. This handbook could benefit school administrators, academic affairs administrators, academic deans, faculty, directors of teaching and learning centers, curriculum, and instructional designers, and other researchers or stakeholders interested in literacy enrichment and digital technology integration in teacher education programs. Jared Keengwe University of North Dakota, USA Grace Onchwari University of North Dakota, USA

REFERENCES Darvin, R. (2018). Digital literacy, language learning, and educational policy in British Columbia. In C. Crandall & M. Bailey (Eds.), Global perspectives on language education policies. New York, NY: Routledge. Zheng, B., Warshauer, M., Lin, C., & Chang, C. (2016). Learning in one-to-one laptop environments: A meta-analysis and research synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 1052–1084. doi:10.3102/0034654316628645

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Acknowledgment

We would like to acknowledge the considerable time and effort put forth by all the chapter contributors. Thank you for your gracious and timely responses to the reviewers’ comments and for your commitment to submit high quality revised chapters. We are very grateful to the Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) team. Your incredibly quick turnaround time in providing invaluable feedback and detailed review notes on the chapters submitted is greatly appreciated. Finally, thanks to the wonderful staff at IGI Global who participated in the overall development and timely completion of this project. Hopefully, we provided you with an end product that you are proud to share with our global readers.



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A Programmatic Approach to Digital Literacy in Teacher Education Amanda R. Hurlbut https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9838-6025 Texas Woman’s University, USA Sarah McMahan Texas Woman’s University, USA Aimee Myers Texas Woman’s University, USA Karen Dunlap Texas Woman’s University, USA Rebecca Fredrickson Texas Woman’s University, USA

ABSTRACT The U.S. Department of Education recently reported that single educational technology courses are not sufficient experiences to properly prepare preservice teachers for future technology-rich K-12 classrooms. Rather, continuous exposure to instructional technology is most effective in improving attitudes and beliefs toward technology and sustaining deep pedagogical practice. It is essential that all attempts to create digitally literate teachers should originate from within a cohesive program design rather than through single “drive-by” courses that integrate technology. The purpose of this chapter is to describe a programmatic approach used to design a comprehensive digital literacy experience for pre-service teachers (PSTs) using the U.S. DOE’s recommendations. The chapter will discuss various examples, including specific course assignments the EPP uses to guide PSTs as they learn to become competent digitally literate educators. Examples of implementation, copies of PST work, and reflective discussions continued challenges to sustain the design are included. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch001

Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.

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INTRODUCTION In 2016, The United States Department of Education (U.S. DOE) sponsored a policy brief that identified challenges and offered guidance to teacher preparation programs in an effort to more effectively integrate technology acquisition and competence within the curriculum of new teacher candidates (DOE, 2016). Under its Guiding Principle #3, programmatic considerations, the DOE reported single educational technology courses were not sufficient to properly prepare preservice teachers for the future technology-rich classrooms that await them (Kopcha, 2012). Furthermore, the report noted that continuous exposure to instructional technology, rather than single, stand-alone courses, led to improved attitudes and beliefs toward technology and sustained appropriate pedagogical practice among preservice teachers (Polly, Mims, Shepherd, & Inan, 2010). Therefore, it is vital that any and all attempts to create digitally literate teachers should originate from within a cohesive program design rather than reside within single “driveby” course attempts to integrate technology. Specifically, the U.S. DOE report stated, that attempts to integrate digital technology in teacher education should, “...ensure preservice teachers’ experiences with educational technology are program-deep and program-wide rather than one-off courses separate from their methods courses” (DOE, 2016, p. 14). The purpose of this chapter is to provide a description of the programmatic approach used to design a comprehensive digital literacy experience for preservice teachers using the U.S. DOE’s recommendations. Additionally, this chapter will discuss example course projects focused on the preparation of future teachers to meet the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Educators (2016); specifically, as learners, leaders, citizens, collaborators, facilitators, designers, and analysts in addition to an explanation and integration of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework.

ISTE Standards for Educators One of the guiding principles of the programmatic comprehensive digital literacy experience for preservice teachers is to build upon concepts and ideas developed through the International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Educators, also known as the ISTE Standards for Educators. The ISTE Standards for Educators is a roadmap to support teachers in guiding students in becoming empowered learners through amplified technology. These standards assist educators in collaboration with peers, finding new depths in their practice, and invites them to rethink conventional approaches to education. There are seven ISTE Standards for Educators (ISTE, 2016). 1. Learner - Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. 2. Leader - Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and improve teaching and learning. 3. Citizen - Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world. 4. Collaborator - Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems. 5. Designer - Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability. 2

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6. Facilitator - Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students. 7. Analyst - Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals. Throughout this chapter, examples of coursework will be provided that are grounded in pedagogical theory that is based in these ISTE Standards for Educators.

TPACK Framework The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge model, otherwise known as TPACK, is a curricular framework organized around three intersecting knowledge domains: content, pedagogy, and technology. By using this framework to help merge expertise from all three domains, teachers create lessons/ curriculum that may effectively engage students through innovative and valid strategies grounded in teaching with technology. By utilizing the TPACK model, teachers examine what they know, how they teach, and how technology may be used to impact student achievement and learning. The components of TPACK are defined below:

Content Knowledge (CK) This domain focuses on the “what” of teaching; the specific facts, concepts, and theories of a particular discipline.

Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) This domain focuses on the “how” of teaching; from learning theories to teaching methods, to instructional strategies and assessments. This domain revolves around both the art and science of teaching. Within this space, teacher expertise in the art of instructional differentiation for each student resides.

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) This is the intersection of the two previous domains, Content and Pedagogy. Strategies in this area include those that effectively engage students in learning concepts and skills through differentiated learning choices and scaffolded content instruction.

Technological Knowledge (TK) This domain focuses on the selection, usage, and integration of appropriate technological tools with instruction. Emphasis is on the acquisition of QUALITY content through apps, websites, and games for learning.

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Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) This is the intersection of Technology and Content knowledge and focuses on the use of technology within the content/concept development resulting in deeper learning than that which might occur without utilization of technology. Technology gives students opportunities and the means to collect evidence, make observations, and document results. Interactive software gives students the techniques needed to showcase data findings.

Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) The intersection of Technology and Pedagogical knowledge focuses on the instructor’s ability to effectively choose and manage technology for students by (a) simplifying student workload and (b) providing opportunities for collaborative learning with peers.

Educator Preparation Program Context In the current organization structure at this EPP, teacher education candidates receive content training from professors whose expertise is that particular subject area. Therefore, required content courses are primarily taken by candidates in classes outside the College of Education. Furthermore, the teacher education program is continually challenged to find ways of bridging content and pedagogy in our courses. One way to approach the situation is through effective/ authentic technology integration. We accomplish this goal through several purposeful design elements in the educator preparation program (EPP). Before pre-service teachers are ever accepted into the program, they must take a digital literacy assessment as an admission requirement. This survey operates as a pre-assessment of sorts to measure what students know and can apply about digital literacy and technology before entering the program. The survey is aligned with the ISTE Standards for Educators and is also given the semester of graduation to measure progress in the program and what the PSTs have learned during their time. As mentioned, the program is designed to offer digital literacy integration across multiple courses, rather than in a single shot. Therefore, each course and each course instructor holds ownership in ensuring that students are digitally competent and can use these skills to integrate in instructional settings with students. An additional feature of the program is that we offer a yearly training course in Google 1 educator certification for interested individuals. Because our surrounding school districts and partnerships do not all adopt the same program, we have not mandated this as a requirement for graduation in our program. However, we do offer the Google 1 certification preparation course as a way to continually encourage our PSTs to become digitally competent teachers using an important nationally recognized hallmark. The chapter is organized into three different cases or examples the EEP uses to guide pre-service teachers as they learn to become competent digitally literate educators. The first case study will discuss tools for assessment in education including common education apps used as formative assessment and a digital assessment portfolio that candidates in our program complete as evidence of learning in the appropriate teaching standards. The second case will discuss tools used for instructional design and will look at how certain tools can be used to enhance collaboration among practitioners. The final case will discuss tools used to facilitate reflection and growth as part of enhancing field experiences. Examples of implementation, copies of pre-service teacher (PST) work, and reflective discussions of successes and challenges in this program will also be included in each vignette or section. 4

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CASE STUDY #1 - DIGITAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS Our program utilizes various instructional and technological tools in our teacher education experiences to provide PSTs exposure to different forms of technology applications that exist for instructional and assessment purposes. Teacher education faculty not only model these tools as part of engaging classroom learning experiences, but also integrate these tools into classroom assignments so that PSTs become designers and facilitators of digital assessment. The following details various examples of tools the authors use to integrate formative and summative assessment within the program.

Interactive Assessment Applications EdPuzzle is a tool that allows instructors to create/import or select existing teaching videos and embed quizzes within the video for students to view. The video editing tool allows instructors to not only crop and edit videos for length or importance, but it also allows them to embed voice memos as a way to highlight the most important features. Similar to how a face-to-face teacher might pause a video shown in class to discuss important elements of the film, this feature allows teachers to provide a similar experience in an asynchronous environment where students can watch the video on their own time with teacher input. Additionally, EdPuzzle allows instructors to prevent students from fast forwarding through the video, tracks video completion, and checks for understanding and mastery of the content by allowing instructors to embed multiple choice and open-ended quiz items (Blackstock, Edel-Malizia, Bittner, & Smithwick, 2017). EdPuzzle is best used in our classes that are delivered via a hybrid format in a flipped instruction model. In this format, students read assigned course material and watch videos having to do with the course content for the week. EdPuzzle allows the course instructor to control access to the videos by tracking viewing, tracking completion of the video, and grading the quizzes embedded within for mastery. In a later face-to-face meeting, students expand upon the concepts more in class. Nearpod is another interactive web application that allows instructors to create engaging and interactive teaching presentations for students while combining interactive assessment features such as quizzes, open-ended responses, draw-boards, polls, and collaborative posts that students submit throughout the presentation (Dong, Kavun, Senteney, & Ott, 2018). These activities provide students with active opportunities to engage in the content and learning, but also provide instructors with formative assessment data that can be used to quickly provide learning feedback. Using the interactive features such as the multiple-choice quizzes or matching/fill-in-the-blank activities, students can also get real time answers to their responses on these items. The best part about Nearpod is that it can be used synchronously for face-to-face class meetings or can be set to the student-paced mode where students can asynchronously access the material on their own time. This tool provides a means for instructors to not only even ngage their learners, but to provide multiple opportunities to receive feedback on a learning concept. Other quizzing tools such as Socrative, Poll Everywhere, Kahoot, and Quizlet can accomplish similar goals by providing an outlet for instructors to check on learning progress and provide immediate learning feedback to students. In a differentiated instruction and assessment class, students use their knowledge of these various tools to then explore further in an assigned lesson plan. Students are allowed to choose from these tools or can research more on their own and have to design an integrated presentation that uses technology to differentiate instruction while incorporating tenets of formative assessment within the application. Thus, students experience the technology early-on in the program and then have opportunities to apply it later when they are in their more senior level course before student teaching. 5

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The Digital Assessment Portfolio Portfolio Overview Google Sites provides an optimal platform for our preservice teachers to create a digital portfolio of their work related to teaching across their time in our preparation program. Because of the availability and relatively simply design platform, PSTs create and model a digital portfolio as a summative assessment of their competencies aligned with national, state, and local standards for teaching. Implications of the digital portfolio assessment in the classroom for future K-12 are also covered as part of this project. Junior level PSTs who are just beginning the teacher education program take a differentiated instruction course that includes how to use technology as a way to accommodate for different learning styles. In this course, students also begin to complete the first part of an ongoing assessment portfolio in which they attach various artifacts aligned to The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) national standards for effective teaching, the State Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) standards for pre-service teachers, and the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (TTESS) standards which are specific to Texas in-service teachers (See Table 1 for the alignment of these standards). During upcoming revisions of the course, the goal is to have students align their artifacts with the ISTE standards to demonstrate evidence of technology integration in their pre-service work in the program. However, this is a current initiative and has not yet been implemented. The digital assessment portfolio occurs in three parts or phases, with each phase occurring at a different part in the program.

Portfolio Phase 1 Students first create a Google site to house their portfolio. The main tenet in this phase is to create the Google site complete with a home page that introduces the PST as a potential teaching candidate, a page with their written teaching portfolio, the candidate’s resume, and a navigation page that houses tabs for each of the 10 INTASC standards. In each tab, students must replicate the INTASC standard, the aligned PPR and TTESS state standard, and provide a brief reflection that explains in their own words what the standard means, including look fors in classroom or reflective teaching practice. In all, the finished product for phase one of the portfolio is establishing an overall design, organization, and structure for the assessment portfolio to house the input of future attachments as artifacts of teaching and learning.

Portfolio Phase 2 The next phase of the portfolio project is where students spend the majority of their time. This phase of the project is so big that it is divided into several different steps that occur during a senior level instruction and assessment course. Each step allows the PST the opportunity to explore in further depth the purpose of the project, how to accomplish each step, and how the digital assessment portfolio showcases student growth across the program. Additionally, a substantial amount of time is spent discussing how digital assessment portfolios can be used in K-12 classrooms with future students. PSTs get experience in how to put these together by assembling their own authentic examples. The following details the steps and guidance used to acclimate PSTs to the project, including guiding questions for each step.

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Table 1. Standards alignment for digital assessment portfolio project INTASC Standards

PPR Standards

T-TESS Standards

Standard #1: Learner Development: The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.

Standard #1: The teacher designs instruction appropriate for all students that reflects an understanding of relevant content and is based on continuous and appropriate assessment.

Planning Dimension 1.3 Knowledge of Students: Through knowledge of students and proven practices, the teacher ensures high levels of learning, social-emotional development and achievement for all students. Instruction Dimension 2.1 Achieving Expectations: The teacher supports all learners in their pursuit of high levels of academic and social-emotional success.

Standard #2: Learning Differences: The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.

Standard #1: The teacher designs instruction appropriate for all students that reflects an understanding of relevant content and is based on continuous and appropriate assessment.

Instruction Dimension 2.4 Differentiation: The teacher differentiates instruction, aligning methods and techniques to diverse student needs.

Standard #3: Learning Environments: The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self motivation.

Standard #2: The teacher creates a classroom environment of respect and rapport that fosters a positive climate for learning, equity, and excellence.

Learning Environment Dimension 3.1 Classroom Environment, Routines and Procedures: The teacher organizes a safe, accessible and efficient classroom. Learning Environment Dimension 3.2 Managing Student Behavior: The teacher establishes, communicates and maintains clear expectations for student behavior. Learning Environment Dimension 3.3 Classroom Culture: The teacher leads a mutually respectful and collaborative class of actively engaged learners.

Standard #4: Content Knowledge: The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make these aspects of the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content.

Various Texas content standards - these are covered by an additional content test that integrates pedagogy.

Instruction Dimension 2.2 Content Knowledge and Expertise: The teacher uses content and pedagogical expertise to design and execute lessons aligned with state standards, related content and student needs.

Standard #5: Application of Content: The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic local and global issues

Standard #3: The teacher promotes student learning by providing responsive instruction that makes use of effective communication techniques, instructional strategies that actively engage students in the learning process, and timely, high-quality feedback.

Instruction Dimension 2.2 Content Knowledge and Expertise: The teacher uses content and pedagogical expertise to design and execute lessons aligned with state standards, related content and student needs.

Standard #6: Assessment: The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s decision making.

Standard #3: The teacher promotes student learning by providing responsive instruction that makes use of effective communication techniques, instructional strategies that actively engage students in the learning process, and timely, high-quality feedback.

Planning Dimension 1.2 Data and Assessment: The teacher uses formal and informal methods to measure student progress, then manages and analyzes student data to inform instruction. Instruction Dimension 2.5 Monitor and Adjust: The teacher formally and informally collects, analyzes and uses student progress data and makes needed lesson adjustments.

Standard #7: Planning for Instruction: The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.

Standard #3: The teacher promotes student learning by providing responsive instruction that makes use of effective communication techniques, instructional strategies that actively engage students in the learning process, and timely, high-quality feedback.

Planning Dimension 1.1 Standards and Alignment: The teacher designs clear, well-organized, sequential lessons that reflect best practice, align with standards and are appropriate for diverse learners. Planning Dimension 1.4 Activities: The teacher plans engaging, flexible lessons that encourage higher-order thinking, persistence and achievement.

Standard #8: Instructional Strategies: The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.

Standard #1: The teacher designs instruction appropriate for all students that reflects an understanding of relevant content and is based on continuous and appropriate assessment. Standard #3: The teacher promotes student learning by providing responsive instruction that makes use of effective communication techniques, instructional strategies that actively engage students in the learning process, and timely, high-quality feedback.

Planning Dimension 1.4 Activities: The teacher plans engaging, flexible lessons that encourage higher-order thinking, persistence and achievement. Instruction Dimension 2.3 Communication: The teacher clearly and accurately communicates to support persistence, deeper learning and effective effort.

Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice: The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.

Standard 4: The teacher fulfills professional roles and responsibilities and adheres to legal and ethical requirements of the profession.

Professional Practices and Responsibilities Dimension 4.1 Professional Demeanor and Ethics: The teacher meets district expectations for attendance, professional appearance, decorum, procedural, ethical, legal and statutory responsibilities. Professional Practices and Responsibilities Dimension 4.2 Goal Setting: The teacher reflects on his/her practice.

Standard 4: The teacher fulfills professional roles and responsibilities and adheres to legal and ethical requirements of the profession.

Professional Practices and Responsibilities Dimension 4.3 Professional Development: The teacher enhances the professional community. Professional Practices and Responsibilities Dimension 4.4 School Community Involvement: The teacher demonstrates leadership with students, colleagues, and community members in the school, district and community through effective communication and outreach.

Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration: The teacher seeks appropriate leadership roles and opportunities to take responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the profession.

Sources: INTASC Standards (2013). Retrieved June 15, 2019 from: https://ccsso.org/resource-library/intasc-model-core-teaching-standards-and-learning-progressions-teachers-10. PPR Standards (2018). Retrieved June 15, 2019 from: https://tea.texas.gov/texas_educators/preparation_and_continuing_education/approved_educator_standards/. T-TESS Rubric (2016). Retrieved June 15, 2019 from: https://www.teachfortexas.org/.

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Step 1: What is a Digital Portfolio and Why Do I Need One? An educational portfolio is a comprehensive collection of work that demonstrates growth, learning, and mastery across a period of time. It is typically considered a summative assessment as it shows learning at a specific point in time compared to the learning standards set forth. In this case, your educational portfolio will demonstrate growth and competency as a teacher during the time spent in your educational courses, experiences, and classes in the educator preparation program. The portfolio is meant to accomplish two things. First, a digital portfolio serves as proof that a teacher has all the required prerequisite skills and understanding to be a good teacher. Every student who graduates from the program has to put together a portfolio according to a set of nationally aligned teaching standards known as the INTASC standards. These are nationally accepted standards for teaching that are important for success in this profession. Second, the portfolio is intended to demonstrate growth as teacher candidates progress through the program. Chances are, most teachers would not possess enough confidence to step into the classroom and teach a lesson during the very first education course. But hopefully after this class and especially after student teaching, evidence of a growing skillset and development will be acquired in addition to a greater confidence to teach. The portfolio helps teachers and students to see this important progression over time. Compilation of the portfolio will occur by collecting documentation of learning through previous and current assignments, activities, lesson plans, and other items that show competency as a teacher. These are called portfolio artifacts. This is just the first step and will be much enhanced once the teacher participates in field experiences and student teaching.

Step 2: What Are Portfolio Artifacts? Artifacts are evidence used to demonstrate understanding of a particular concept, in this case understanding of the INTASC teaching standards. Artifacts usually come from coursework or teaching related activities in the program. Experiences that occur outside of the university classroom may also be used to support understanding of what it means to teach. Examples of artifacts include completed tests, papers, lesson plans, video and audio clips, children’s’ work, course assignments and other digital items supporting the INTASC standard. Artifacts can come from this class, other education classes, or other content courses that have prepared you for your teaching degree/profession. When your portfolio is ready for the mid-program evaluation at the completion of this course, it should have at least one artifact supporting each InTASC standard. Every time an artifact is associated with an InTASC standard, there will need to be an accompanying artifact rationale/justification that explains the artifact and tells why it meets the standard. There are TWO components to this checkpoint. First, the candidate will comb through files and activities in previous courses to find potential artifacts that align with the INTASC standards. Second, the candidate will view exemplars of digital portfolios in previous courses to find examples of effective design, rationales, and artifacts.

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Step 3: What Should My Mid-Program Portfolio Look Like? In this final step of the mid-program portfolio compilation, candidates will begin to construct artifact rationales. A rationale is a precise explanation of the artifact’s connection to the INTASC standard and makes clear connections to the knowledge, dispositions and performance indicators of the INTASC standards. In other words, the rationale for the artifact explains why the artifact is evidence of understanding or mastery of the INTASC standard. Rationales link artifacts to INTASC standards and further explain the content and context of the artifact in relation to the course, the standard, and classroom practice. The reader should be able to clearly understand how the chosen artifact illustrates understanding of the standard as well as the importance of that standard to successful teaching practice. When constructing your artifact rationale, consider these questions: 1. By doing this artifact, what did I learn? (Either specifically or globally) 2. How does this artifact demonstrate my understanding of the standard? (Make a few points connecting your artifact to the standard; “This artifact demonstrates my competence of INTASC Standard #__ because it shows my understanding about___ and it shows HOW…”) 3. How will the artifact help you as a teacher and how DID or how WOULD your students benefit from the artifact? When the portfolio is ready for evaluation at this phase, it should have at least one artifact and a corresponding artifact rationale or justification supporting each InTASC standard. Every time an artifact is associated with an INTASC principle, a separate rationale must be included.

Step 4: Presentation of the Portfolio At the end of the instruction and assessment course, students have attached at least one artifact per INTASC standard that mostly includes informal experiences with students through course field application. PSTs then have to give a formal presentation that discusses their compilation of the portfolio, their growth during the semester and the program, and future goals for teaching. Each course instructor chooses to organize this component in different ways, especially considering that it takes considerable time to evaluate and present on the entire portfolio for all PSTs in the program. However, one common element in all presentations is that PSTs: • • • •

Provide a brief professional introduction that includes professional goals, reasons for becoming a teacher, etc. Share a strong or favorite InTASC standard/artifact and discuss why; Share a challenging InTASC standard/artifact and discuss why; Reflect upon what was learned so far about the course/the program related to the digital assessment portfolio. Describe your professional goals moving forward.

Some PSTs choose to use a screen recording/presentation feature such as Screencastify or Loom to digitally record their portfolio presentation so that they have an additional artifact for their assessment portfolio. The following two figures exemplify just a snapshot of the final product from PSTs (used with permission): 9

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Figure 1. PST example portfolio philosophy statement

Figure 2. PST example portfolio standards page

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Portfolio Phase 3: The Final Portfolio While the majority of time spent compiling the portfolio occurs during the mid-program phase, the most important time for PSTs is often when they update and submit their final portfolio. In this phase, PSTs mainly collect artifacts as evidence in this step, and is essential because it occurs during the student teaching semester when the more formal teaching experiences have occurred. In this experience, PSTs have more digital artifacts to include such as recorded videos of themselves teaching, examples of feedback and graded work given to students, delivered lesson plans vs. written ones, and digital lesson integration with live students. The expectation at this phase is less formal than at the mid-program phase because PSTs have already established the compilation and expectations of the portfolio and are just adding to it. PSTs present their final portfolios in the final meeting with their university liaison supervisor and their assigned classroom mentor teacher. The authors believe that the digital assessment portfolio is one of the most important projects that our PSTs complete in the program. This is due to the fact that the ownership lies within three distinct program experiences, from entry into the program and setting up the portfolio, to just before graduation, when students are putting the final touches on it. Each course in the program has a distinct part to play in the development of this online portfolio. Additionally, many of our PSTs use their digital portfolio as an interviewing tool when they begin to look for teaching positions upon graduation. Students can easily publish their Google site, add a unique QR code to their resume, and then can provide the portfolio as evidence of their teaching ability, including technology integration in instruction. Through this case study focus of digital technology as assessment integration tools, PSTs gain experience with ISTE standards as learners, designers, and analysts of technology integration. As learners, PSTs first experience new technology applications in learning settings where course instructors model and implement technology to facilitate instruction through formative assessment. They also experience this in the student role when creating their digital assessment portfolio. PSTs first practice as a learner before transitioning to their role as a designer and analyst of learning with real and hypothetical students. In these two roles, PSTs conceptualize and create their own lessons as they implement assessment using a chosen tool and learn to analyze and interpret the results to impact instruction.

CASE STUDY #2 - TECHNOLOGY AS TEACHING TOOLS A plethora of digital teaching tools exist to assist instructors in meeting all instructional needs of students. This section of the chapter will focus on examples of how instructors use digital technology to not only accommodate and differentiate learning experiences for students but as a way to engage and support learning in digital environments through online and hybrid course offerings. One such tool that the authors integrate into courses is VoiceThread. This is an online tool that allows instructors to create narrations using previously established teaching materials (Vickers & Shea, 2017). Using an iPad or similar device, the instructor creates or imports visual presentation slides and then records a narrated teaching lecture while moving through the presentation. The recording is then posted online using a link that can be imported into a learning management system. Similarly, Screencastify is a tool that allows instructors to record teaching presentations, but uses a feature that records a screen image or screen recording on a computer. An option of this feature allows instructors to record their image as a way to establish presence in the teaching sequence. Instructors model usage of these tools in 11

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Figure 3. Flipgrid example screenshot topic

their classes, but expect students to experiment with and create hypothetical assignments for students using their choice of tools.

Flipgrid Another tool that is frequently used in our program is Flipgrid. This tool has gained massive popularity in Kindergarten through Twelfth grade learning contexts and is slowly catching on in higher education settings (Greene & Greene, 2018). In teacher education, this is important since our PSTs will be expected to demonstrate proficiency with the latest engagement strategies using technology. Quite simply, Flipgrids are social-media inspired video discussion boards. In traditional or online classes, students are often required to post written questions and/or responses to questions on a digital discussion board or aloud in a discussion forum. Students often have a minimum posting/sharing requirement and are required to read and respond to others’ posts. Using Flipgrid, the format of this has changed to accommodate the ease of new video recording capabilities since nearly all students have a camera on their smartphone. Using Flipgrid, students access the grid board, view the prompt, and then record a brief oral response using their camera or smartphone device. The video can be re-recorded and saved as many times as the student wishes before being posted. Students can then view others’ videos and record their own responses. Flipgrid provides students with benefits of meaningful discussion centered around content, with the ease, flexibility, and novelty of using a common device. This tool can provide a means for extending learning in the classroom by switching to more online forums through blogs and other web-hosting capabilities. In the following example, the course instructor sets up the online discussion topic about how the school has changed over time and PSTs post their thoughts regarding this post. Students use their computers or smartphone to respond to the video post. A new feature of Flipgrid is the ability to transcribe words to provide open captioning capabilities for learners needing this accommodation. Course instructors can view the discussion threads in the app, and can record a video or type specific feedback directly to each student. The following two figures show an example screenshot of what this looks like from the instructor/student view.

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Figure 4. Flipgrid example screenshot instructor view post

Cloud Applications Prior to cloud-type applications, students working on a group project traditionally had to save their work to a hard drive, copy and distribute to group members, edit and revise as necessary, and then scramble to piece together a finished product using multiple copies of a single project. Or students had to be physically present to provide equal input. Synchronous cloud technology such as the capabilities of Google Suite applications have completely changed the way that groups can work on a project by allowing students access to a shared document that can be accessed, edited and viewed by all members at the same time, and then saved automatically for immediate access. This technology has greatly contributed to the accessibility and ease of using online platforms for learning. For example Google Docs has been used to facilitate class lectures and discussions (George, Dreibelbis, & Aumiller, 2013), to promote student inquiry through group collaboration in an online class (Chu & Kennedy, 2011), to conduct and complete lab experiments and document in real time (Spaeth & Black, 2012), to map important themes and analytical processes in a literature course (Kucukalic, 2009), and to implement collaborative writing processes among students (Brodahl, Hadjerrouit, & Hansen, 2011). Multimedia tools that allow students to create and edit presentations are hallmarks of higher education.

Data Chat Project Data literacy is a required skill with the current enhanced focus on standardized testing in today’s classrooms. It is vital that teachers are well equipped to read, analyze, and use data to inform instruction for the growth of their students (Mandinach, 2012). Research suggests that data literacy can influence teachers’ instructional practices by allowing them to formulate instructional goals, use assessment information to drive instruction, and provide more specific feedback to students (Gambell & Hunter, 2004; Gearhart & Osmundson, 2009). However, research evaluating techniques and strategies to best prepare future teachers to become data literate is scarce (Greenburg & Walsh, 2012; Reeves & Honig, 2015). Data literacy is complex because it is often requires a team mentality and varying degrees of proficiency to evaluate and adequately analyze for patterns.

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The data chat project presented in this section is a collaborative group project that provides PSTs with authentic data to examine. PSTs begin the project by filling in a Google form that allows them to choose their first, second, and third choice topic. This is an important step because it shows the PSTs how to use Google Forms as a survey method and provides them the ability to give input on their particular interests. It also serves as a way to assign students in strategic groups. The project occurs over several class periods and occurs in several steps. The first class period is getting students familiar with the various reports that they will be accessing. Students complete a digital scavenger hunt in which they must watch assigned videos and answer corresponding questions by filling out a Google form. This helps the course instructor to know who has prepared for the project by grading it as a quiz grade. The second step is one of the most important steps because it models for students how to analyze the various reports. The three reports that students access include a demographic report on student characteristics, and a blueprint report that looks at the various components of the assessment such as the standards tested, the frequency of the standards, the number of questions, and the standard categories. The final report is the actual item analysis report that breaks down each test question with the correct/incorrect responses and the percentages of students who choose each answer choice. This helps PSTs to begin to see patterns in particular areas of strength and weakness and to address these areas in instructional interventions aligned to the standards. For practical and accessibility purposes, the data used is released data from the Texas State Assessment of Academic Readiness or STAAR (Texas Education Agency, n.d.) test given to Texas school children during the 2017-2018 academic school year. These scores are readily available and allow teacher educators to protect student confidentiality while teaching PSTs about data use in authentic contexts. During this step of instruction, course instructors use Nearpod as the formative assessment method to ensure that PSTs are analyzing the data correctly and performing math calculations with accuracy. The whiteboard feature of Nearpod allows students to submit their calculations in real-time and the instructor can correct misunderstandings immediately. Once they have performed proficiently in this step, PSTs work collaboratively in their assigned groups to complete the data analysis worksheet which guides students through the various data analysis functions they must perform. PSTs analyze the data set, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the data, hypothesize underlying causes for the data results, and create an instructional plan of action based on the information available. By working in a group environment, the goals of the project are better able to simulate an authentic data meeting that would occur on a K-12 campus. Because the face-to-face time frame for students to work on this is limited (due to field observations and other course limitations), PSTs are encouraged to work on these steps through collaborative work in Google docs and Google slides. After PSTs finish data analysis and interpretation process, the final phase of the assignment is to continue peer collaboration by creating an informational data presentation for the rest of the class. The purpose of this phase of the project is to create a simulated environment for PSTs to practice talking about student performance data in a professional setting. PSTs share their important data conclusions, instructional strategies, and assessments and then create a visual presentation to deliver. The expectation is that the presentation will be oriented towards a collaborative team of instructional professionals (campus principal, intervention specialist, special educator, etc.). A list of the presentation expectations are provided below.

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Figure 5. STAAR data chat content slide

Figure 6. STAAR demographic slide

Data Chat Presentation Requirements •

• •

•

Data group and overall performance. ◦◦ Number of students. ◦◦ Test blueprint. ◦◦ Demographics. ◦◦ Charts and visual displays. Data strengths. ◦◦ Reporting categories, standards, test questions. Data weaknesses. ◦◦ Reporting categories, standards, test questions. ◦◦ Instructional strategies to remedy weaknesses. ◦◦ Formative assessments. ◦◦ Summative assessments. Final overall conclusions.

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Figure 7. STAAR challenging question slide

Figure 8. STAAR challenging question instructional strategies slide

Figure 9. STAAR challenging question re-assessment slide

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The following figures demonstrate what a final product would look like in the final Google slide data presentation given by the PSTs. Figure 5 shows the content, Figure 6 shows an example of the demographic information that was analyzed, and Figures 7, 8, and 9 show a relevant challenging question, how it was analyzed, how it will be addressed instructionally, and then how it will be re-assessed. The wide variety of instructional-based technology tools allows PSTs numerous opportunities to develop their capabilities as digital collaborators, designers and facilitators, and leaders of learning. Similar to the assessment tools in the first vignette, PSTs have opportunities to design and facilitate instruction through lesson planning assignments that incorporate technology integration and later teach them in field-based settings and the practicum semester. But what is unique about our program is that PSTs also experience true collaboration through our Google cloud integration assignments. PSTs have traditionally experienced, “group work,” but this does not always translate to true collaboration. However, purposefully designed technology integration in the assignments better facilitates collaborative technology skills through authentic tools, sharing ideas and approaches to problems, and identifying appropriate technology resources to address the stated problems. Furthermore, PSTs have opportunities to act as leaders in their ability to create a presentation, communicate a vision using data, and advocating for equitable access for their students through the data chat project.

CASE STUDY #3 - USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE FIELD EXPERIENCES EPPs have long struggled to enhance the quality and quantity of field experiences during teacher preparation coursework (Zeichner, 2010). This final section details the initiatives and ideas that the EPP explored in using technology to enhance these experiences. For example, teacher candidates in the program have opportunities to practice teaching in simulated field environments known as TEACHLive before beginning the clinical student teaching experience. TEACHLive allows the PST to interact with digital avatars as a way to plan and reflect upon their teaching practice using simulated classroom settings. The department also utilizes digital recording tools as reflection devices in field settings. Using tools such as Swivl, PSTs can digitally record themselves teaching, can upload the videos to send to course instructors and university supervisors, and can continually reflect upon the teaching and learning process. However, the use of digital recording tools requires extra careful attention and close partnerships with sponsoring K-12 districts since minor children are involved. Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) clear partnership agreements, and our challenges and successes with using such tools in the classroom will be discussed here. This is an especially important conversation in light of recent conversations surrounding the need for more performance-based assessments of preservice teaching before graduation from the EPP.

Using TEACHLive to Facilitate Authentic Pedagogical Practices EPPs continue to refine and implement various meaningful experiences in PST preparation. Research on the importance of early field experiences has been studied for the past 2 decades (Curtner-Smith, 1996; Godt, Benelli, & Klein, 2000; Zeichner, 2010). Unique approaches to pedagogical practices coupled with high quality field experiences assist PSTs in developing and implementing high leverage practices to better meet K-12 students’ needs. While field experiences are imperative to PST development, it is important that high quality field experiences are created to better prepare PST for entry and 17

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sustainability in the classroom. Field experiences in school-based settings, along with other forms of field experiences where PSTs are able to practice skills are beneficial to PST learning. Various means of field experiences have transpired over the years to include augmented and virtual reality simulations. Virtual learning environments allow PSTs opportunities to practice skills in a low-stakes environment (Peterson-Ahmad, Pemberton, & Hovery, 2018). Virtual reality platforms such as TEACHLive and Mursion allow PSTs opportunities to interact with digital avatars as a way to plan and reflect upon their teaching practice using simulated classroom settings. Our EPP uses TEACHLive with PSTs in connection with their traditional early field experiences in K-12 settings. PSTs engage in traditional early field experiences (small group teach, observe, teach a mini-lesson) before entering the clinical student teaching experience. Additionally, we couple the traditional early field experience with TEACHLive. This gives PSTs additional opportunities to practice and refine skills that they need to improve upon.

Establishing Teacher Presence Early field experiences give students opportunities to practice content and skills learned in coursework in a practical environment. Field experiences also afford PSTs opportunities to establish their professional presence as an educator. PSTs often find it challenging to shift from that of a “college student” to that of an “educator.” This is an important paradigm shift that PSTs must develop before entering into the classroom. One way we help PSTs establish their teacher presence is through the use of practice in a virtual environment. Early into admittance into the EPP, foundational courses include experiences where PSTs can practice interacting with kids. One way our EPP gives students experiences to establish their teacher presence is through the TEACHLive lab. PSTs in foundations of education classes as well as learning theory and development encounter a demo in the lab prior to ever teaching a lesson. The demo includes opportunities for PSTs to introduce themselves and establish a rapport with the students in the TEACHLive lab. In essence they get to “feel out” the students and see more of their personality traits. Moreover, they have opportunities to engage with the students with a professional presence. For example, PSTs introduce themselves as Mr. So and So or Ms. So and So. For many PSTs, this is the first time they have referred to themselves with a professional title. PSTs are also encouraged to use their “teacher voice and presence” when talking to the student avatars. This first demo interaction serves as a powerful experience for PSTs early into their program of study.

Refining Skills The TEACHLive lab is also used to help PSTs refine and practice specific techniques. In the traditional (school-based) field experiences our PSTs implement a mini-lesson activity in their field placement where they teach a mini-lesson in collaboration with their assigned mentor teacher. Following their self-reflection immediately following their implementation of the mini-lesson, they reflect on things that worked well, didn’t work well, area of growth etc. In particular, the mentor examines the types of questions asked, wait-time, active engagement of all learners, redirection as needed, etc. PSTs note reflections such as not giving enough wait time for students to respond when prompted or they note that they call on certain students but not the entire class. With this information gleaned from their self-reflection, students come into the TL lab and teach the same mini-lesson to the avatars where they work on targeted skills such as

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questioning, probing, wait time, redirection, etc. This allows PSTs additional opportunities to practice specific skills in a low-stakes environment where they can truly reflect and improve on such skills.

Difficult Conversations Moreover, the TL lab allows PSTs opportunities to practice skills that they would not typically get in a traditional field experience. For example, PSTs are often nervous and anxious about dealing with difficult situations involving parents and guardians. During the field experience PSTs have limited (if any) opportunities to interact with parents, thus making the virtual experience exponentially important in PST development. Since they have limited opportunities to interact with parents and other stakeholders (much less difficult conversations), we are able to use the TEACHLive lab to create simulated situations for parent-teacher conferences. In the beginning, we situate the PST to facilitate a parent teacher conference where they interact with parents to discuss their students’ progress. This allows the PST to practice interacting in a positive and productive way, utilizing learned communication skills. The PST begins the conference talking about the child’s academic progress. The parents ask questions such as “what can we do at home to help our children improve in math.” The PST responds with specific technology applications to help build the students’ knowledge of the specific concept (i.e. fractions, multiplication). The parents also ask the PST to communicate more via emailed weekly newsletters so the parents can be better informed. The conference ends on a positive note and then the professor is able to debrief with the PST immediately following the conference. Giving PSTs opportunities to practice interacting with parents in a positive manner also builds their confidence to interact with a parent during a challenging or difficult conversation. A few weeks later the PST is assigned a case study with a parent sharing his/her concern about the amount of homework given out for a 3rd grader (or older if the PST is a secondary student). The email communication to the PST includes direct language that could be interpreted as intimidating or more negative. For example: I am concerned about the amount of homework given to our son (Mark) during the week. He is only in 3rd grade, yet has homework of that of a middle school student. I do not have time to sit down and work with him on his homework 3 nights a week. He is involved in football practice on Tuesdays, piano lessons on Thursdays, and Wednesday night is church. This leaves me little time to work with him since we often don’t get home till after 8pm and he is exhausted. I would like to meet with you so we can talk about how to cut down on the homework. After all, this is 3rd grade and it is crazy to have this much homework at this level. Following the email, the PST engages in a parent-teacher conference using the TEACHLive lab. The PST practices the “Oreo” technique they have learned in class (start with something positive, get to the issue using facts/not judgements, and close the conversation with something positive). During the conference, the PST practices using positive and productive language to resolve the concern. This is often the most challenging assignment in the course as it requires PSTs to deal with a challenging parent. It also requires students to practice preparedness, professionalism, and conflict resolution skills. PSTs who have participated in the difficult conversation activity shared that “it was the hardest thing we did in the class. It was terrifying responding on the fly to the parents when they told me I was wrong.” However,

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PSTs also share that it is also one of the more meaningful, relevant tasks as they realize these types of encounters will be faced in their future classrooms.

Culturally Responsive Teaching Project Preservice teachers in a diversity class utilize Google Forms and a Digital 2.0 tool during their field experiences as part of the coursework through a Culturally Responsive Teaching Project (CRT Project). The class is heavily founded on a research-based framework for culturally responsive teaching (BrownJeffy & Cooper, 2011). Through the CRT project, students collect primary data from in-service teachers by creating a survey based upon the CRT framework. The survey, created with Google Forms, asks teachers which of the five CRT principles is the most important in a classroom today and which is the most difficult to implement. Once they have collected the survey data, they choose 3 teachers from the field to interview in order to gather more in-depth data. Students then share their summary and analysis of collected data using a web 2.0 tool of their choice (examples: Piktochart, Weebly, PowToon, etc.). After they have shared their data, they must create and implement an activity for the classroom that supports the principle most emphasized in the data they collected from in-service teachers during their field experiences. While the CRT project assists in deepening their knowledge of CRT, the project also supports preservice teachers’ digital literacy. It is important that new teachers be more than just be consumers of digital information; future teachers need to also be creators of digital information (Cherner & Curry, 2017; Kuyatt, Holland & Jones, 2015). The purpose of the CRT project is founded in four key areas.

Learning to Listen to Stakeholder Voices It is important that we hear from theorists and educational experts. However, it is also imperative that we listen to the voices of those who are in the field working every day. Students and teachers are our biggest stakeholders; however, their voices are often overlooked when it comes to educational reform and policy (Scott & Halkias, 2016). Therefore, students in the diversity course participate in the CRT project to encourage their engagement with the voices of those significantly impacted by CRT.

Developing Their Inner Researcher As students in a teacher education program, they are constantly engaging with research, but they are mostly reading research developed by scholars. Doing secondary research is foundational to their understanding of various pedagogical concepts; however, it is also important for our students to engage as a researcher (Cornelissen & Van den Berg, 2014). The CRT project assists with their practice and knowledge of gathering primary research. In addition, students are required to do field hours in the diversity course. The CRT research can be a way of connecting and learning with the teachers and K-12 students at their field experience site.

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Sharpening Their Technology Skills School administrators expect 21st century teachers to engage with technology and develop content with technology (Bigham, Hively, & Toole, 2014; Rehmat & Bailey, 2014). To gather their primary research, students in the diversity course create a digital survey using Google Forms. Google Forms is an invaluable tool for collaborating digitally and gathering data from students, fellow teachers, or parents. In addition, Google Forms analyzes the results for researchers and organizes results into beautiful, easy to understand charts. In addition to Google Forms, students must use a Web 2.0 tool to create a visual representation of their data summaries, analysis, and application. Again, the purpose for this component is meant to assist future teachers in becoming creators of digital information, not just consumers.

Becoming a Collaborator “Group work” is a notoriously torturous phrase for many college students (Shimazoe & Aldrich, 2010). Nevertheless, the teaching profession has collaborative expectations, and practice being a collaborator is necessary for preservice teachers (Gardiner & Robinson, 2011). Doing group work and being a collaborator are not necessarily the same thing. Through the CRT project, students learn about being a good collaborator through a collaboration guide provided to them. Collaboration is further supported through digital tools supported through the learning management system. These digital tools allow the professor to develop formative assessments of their collaboration and offer feedback early in the project development. In addition, similar to the expectation of being technologically proficient, many school administrators want new teachers who know how to collaborate with both content teams and interdisciplinary teams.

Project Procedures Procedures for the CRT Project begin by utilizing digitally collaborative spaces like Google Docs. PSTs create a Google Doc where they can begin building the project by referring to the Collaboration Guide for the first steps. Using the Google Doc, PSTs collaboratively create a Task Sheet that includes the names of all the group members and their agreed upon responsibilities/roles in the project. Included in the task sheet is a timeline for all the project steps. The Google Doc is then shared with the professor, who is then able to offer feedback on the document and make suggestions or ask questions for group consideration. Next, the group creates a draft of the survey using Google Forms. The survey will assist in gathering data to explore three research questions. PSTs are also asked to include a brief paragraph at the top of their Google Form survey that explains the project to the participant teachers. The survey questions are built around a research-based framework that synthesizes seminal work done around culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching. Students are informed that the first two questions need to be through a multiple-choice format in order to gather quantitative results. The third research question should be a short answer format in order to gather more in-depth qualitative information. The three research questions are as follows:

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Figure 10. Example CRT project using Venngage

Source: https://infograph.venngage.com/ (Individualized link not included to protect student confidentiality).

Research Question 1: Which of the 5 CRT principles is the most important in today’s classrooms? Research Question 2: Which of the 5 CRT principles is the most challenging to implement? Research Question 3: What are some classroom strategies for making sure we are responsive to all of our students? PSTs send out this survey to as many in-service teachers as possible. PSTS can begin by asking their field experience teacher and also asking that teacher to send it out to other educators on the PSTs’ behalf. In addition, PSTs can send it out to any family/friends who are teachers. Since they are working in groups, PSTs are expected to have a minimum of 10 teachers complete the survey. This means they need to send out the survey to much more than 10 because many teachers might not be able to complete the survey. After PSTs collect at least 10 responses from teachers, they choose 3 teachers to interview. The interview should help PSTs gain a deeper understanding of the survey responses. They are given suggested interview questions, but are allowed to develop additional questions on their own. Some of the suggested interview questions include:

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Figure 11. The What: Example CRT survey data

• • • • • • •

Why do you think most teachers felt the _________ CRT principle was the most important? Were you in agreement with the other teachers? Why or why not? Why do you think the _______ CRT principle was reported as being the most challenging? Which classroom strategy did you share on the survey and how does it allow you to be responsive to your learners’ needs? Can you tell me more about ________? Why do you feel this way about ______? How have you seen _____ done before?

Once PSTs have completed the survey data collection and interview phase, they create a product that shares what they learned through the CRT project. First, the group chooses a Web 2.0 tool for the final product. The digital Web 2.0 tool can be any tool that the group agrees upon. A list of tool ideas is provided to PSTs, but they are allowed to choose a tool not included in the list if they feel it is better suited for their group. Figure 10 shows an example student presentation of the final product, including the presented survey data, that was created using the free infographic maker, Venngage:

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Figure 12. The What: Example CRT strategy

Figure 13. So What: Example CRT analysis

PSTs must also include in their final product the following basic content: the “what” (summary), the “so what” (analysis), the “now what” (application). PST groups are encouraged to add additional information that they deem relevant and meaningful. Below is the project guideline information that is provided to PSTs about the summary, analysis, and application components: What: The “what” is a summary of your data collection. First, summarize the results of the first two research questions. This can be done in a paragraph, a short sentence, or a chart. Also, choose just one classroom strategy from the third research question and summarize it for us. Lastly, provide a summary of the interviews you conducted (ex: what type of teachers, ages taught, years being a teacher, name of school/district, and some of the major questions you asked, etc.) Be sure to use pseudonyms to protect

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Figure 14. Now What: Example CRT implications

participant confidentiality. Figures 11 and 12 below show an example presentation of, “the what” and the example strategy that PSTs learned about connected to survey data. So What: The “so what” is your analysis and interpretation of the research you gathered. This is where you give us the big idea moment. Ask yourself, why is this information important? You should offer an analysis of what you learned from the survey and the interviews. Figure 13 shows an example of the, “so what.” Now What: The “now what” is your planned application based on what you learned. It can also be a call to action. Tell us what we should “do” with this information as educators. Tell us what you plan to do as future educators. Your “now what” can be as micro or macro as you choose. You can focus on actions needed by individual teachers, a K-12 district, teacher education programs, the state department of education, our community, etc. Figure 14 shows how this was displayed. These two examples are strongly aligned with the ISTE standard of educators as digital leaders, designers, and analysts. In the first TEACHLive example, PSTs have one of their first experiences facilitating authentic experiences such as working with simulated student and parent audiences in a virtual reality environment. They are leaders as they work to implement their newfound skills in this simulated setting. In the second example, PSTs collect, analyze and present data using appropriate technology tools that enhance the purpose of a culturally relevant pedagogical practice.

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CONCLUSION Creating, implementing, and maintaining a program-wide digital literacy program to prepare PSTs to become digitally literate educators is no doubt a daunting task. It takes much commitment and energy to continually monitor the quality and quantity of experiences that PSTs receive in technology integration. We no longer teach in the days when a single program course can take ownership for teaching PSTs about how to use technology in the classroom. Instead, teacher educators must continually demonstrate, model, and allow time for exploration in how to integrate technology into nearly every feature of teacher preparation. From assessment and instruction practices, to high quality field experiences, to classroom management integration, to culturally relevant teaching pedagogies, PSTs must begin to see how technology and instruction are inextricably linked and are no longer two separate pedagogies of practice. We write this chapter, drawing from our own experiences in teaching and in teacher education, while much of it is drawn from our own failures to see how the two connect. We realize that while our program excels at providing PSTs with a wealth of experience as learners, facilitators, designers, and analysts, that educators as citizens is a week area that we have yet to address. Teacher educators have a “mile wide, inch deep” curriculum to cover with PSTs and often our time with them is limited before they must take content or methods courses or move into their student teaching experiences. Therefore, our efforts, while ongoing and work-in-progress, to facilitate a truly integrated technology program embedded within teaching and learning philosophy and pedagogy are by no means the standard that other programs must follow. However, we believe that the advice and examples provided in this chapter serve as a starting point for many programs seeking to achieve the same alignment and continuum in preparing future generations of teachers.

REFERENCES Bigham, S. G., Hively, D. E., & Toole, G. H. (2014). Principals’ and cooperating teachers’ expectations of teacher candidates. Education, 135(2), 211–229. Blackstock, D., Edel-Malizia, S., Bittner, K., & Smithwick, E. (2017). Investigating interactive video assessment tools for online and blended learning. In International Conference on e-Learning (pp. 3139). Academic Conferences International Limited. Brodahl, C., Hadjerrouit, S., & Hansen, N. (2011). Collaborative writing with web 2.0 technologies: Education students’ perspectives. Journal of Information Technology Education, 10, 73–103. Brown-Jeffy, S., & Cooper, J. E. (2011). Toward a conceptual framework of culturally relevant pedagogy: An overview of the conceptual and theoretical literature. Teacher Education Quarterly, 38(1), 65–84. Cherner, T., & Curry, K. (2017). Enhancement or transformation? A case study of preservice teachers’ use of instructional technology. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 17(2), 268–290. Chu, S. K., & Kennedy, D. M. (2011). Using online collaborative tools for groups to co-construct knowledge. Online Information Review, 35(4), 581–597. doi:10.1108/14684521111161945 Cornelissen, F., & van den Berg, E. (2014). Characteristics of the research supervision of postgraduate teachers’ action research. Educational Studies, 40(3), 237–252. doi:10.1080/03055698.2013.870881

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Curtner-Smith, M. (1996). The impact of an early field experience on preservice physical education teachers’ conceptions of teaching. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 15(2), 224–249. doi:10.1123/ jtpe.15.2.224 Dong, Y., Kavun, N., Senteney, M., & Ott, J. (2018). Interactive presentation tools using mobile devices. In E. Langran & J. Borup (Eds.), Proceedings for the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 743-748). Washington, DC: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved August 29, 2018 from https://www.learntechlib.org/ primary/p/182605/ Gardiner, W., & Robinson, K. S. (2011). Peer field placements with preservice teachers: Negotiating the challenges of professional collaboration. Professional Educator, 35(2), 1–11. George, D. R., Dreibelbis, T. D., & Aumiller, B. (2013). How we used two social media tools to enhance aspects of active learning. Medical Teacher, 35(12), 985–988. doi:10.3109/0142159X.2013.818631 PMID:23902318 Godt, P., Benelli, C., & Klein, R. (2000, February). Do preservice teachers given early field experiences and integrated methods courses do better than students in the traditional teacher education program? A longitudinal plan to evaluate a universities redesign of its teacher education program). Paper presented at the annual meeting of American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Chicago, IL. Greene, T., & Greene, J. (2018). Flipgrid: Adding voice and video to online discussions. TechTrends, 62(1), 128–130. doi:10.100711528-017-0241-x International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2013). Standards for Educators. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators Kopcha, T. J. (2012). Teachers’ perceptions of the barriers to technology integration and practices with technology under situated professional development. Computers & Education, 59(4), 1109–1121. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.05.014 Kucukalic, L. (2009). Mapping literature courses with google docs and “The Grid.”. English Language Notes, 47(1), 115–124. doi:10.1215/00138282-47.1.115 Kuyatt, A., Holland, G., & Jones, D. (2015). An analysis of teacher effectiveness related to technology implementation in Texas secondary schools. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 8(1), 63–70. doi:10.19030/cier.v8i1.9091 Peterson-Ahmad, M. B., Pemberton, J., & Hovey, K. A. (2018). Virtual learning environments for teacher preparation. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 54(4), 165–169. doi:10.1080/00228958.2018.1515544 Polly, D., Mims, C., Shepherd, C. E., & Inan, F. (2010). Evidence of impact: Transforming teacher education with preparing tomorrow’s teachers to teach with technology (PT3) grants. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(4), 863–870. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2009.10.024 Rehmat, A. P., & Bailey, J. M. (2014). Technology integration in a science classroom: Preservice teachers’ perceptions. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 23(6), 744–755. doi:10.100710956-014-9507-7

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Scott, J. A., & Halkias, D. (2016). Consensus Processes Fostering Relational Trust Among Stakeholder Leaders in a Middle School: A Multi-Case Study. International Leadership Journal, 8(3). Shimazoe, J., & Aldrich, H. (2010). Group work can be gratifying: Understanding & overcoming resistance to cooperative learning. College Teaching, 58(2), 52–57. doi:10.1080/87567550903418594 Spaeth, A. D., & Black, R. S. (2012). Google Docs as a form of collaborative learning. Journal of Chemical Education, 89(8), 1078–1079. doi:10.1021/ed200708p U.S. Department of Education. (2016). Advancing Educational Technology in Teacher Preparation: Policy Brief. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://tech.ed.gov/teacherprep/ Vickers, J. C., & Shae, P. (2017). Future directions for social presence. In A. L. Whiteside, A. G. Dikkers, & K. Swan (Eds.), Social presence in online learning (pp. 191–206). Sterling, VA: Stylus. Zeichner, K. (2010). Rethinking the connections between campus courses and field experiences in college- and university-based teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(1-2), 89–99. doi:10.1177/0022487109347671

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Cloud Base: A digital learning tool where collaborative writing and work occurs in a shared space that is stored independently of a computer device. Digital Assessment Portfolio: An online collection of work usually housed in a blog, website, or other digital web hosting service. Educator Preparation Program: A program that occurs at a university or accredited institution that prepares, trains and certifies teachers to teach in K-12 educational contexts. ISTE Standards: International Society for Technology in Education nationally adopted standards that verbalize what teacher educators, educators, and educational leaders should be able to do regarding technology integration in educational contexts. TeachLive Lab: A virtually simulated learning environment that includes programmable avatar personalities to help PSTs gain authentic experiences in teaching lessons to groups of students or leading important stakeholder meetings.

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Chapter 2

Pre-Service Teachers’ Digital Competencies to Support School Students’ Digital Literacies Damian Maher University of Technology Sydney, Australia

ABSTRACT The chapter has two main foci. The first focus is on the types of literacy practices needed by young people to work in a contemporary digital environment. Policies that impact on the development of digital literacy development are explored. The aspects underpinning digital literacy are examined and a sociocultural approach explained. Aspects of safety and ethics are focused on. The first half concludes by discussing digital games and ways these can be used to develop digital literacies in schools. The second focus is on the digital competencies that pre-service teachers can develop to support teaching of digital literacies. Different models for developing digital competencies are outlined. The aspect of critical understanding is then examined. This is followed by exploring digital story telling. Important considerations for developing digital competencies within and beyond university training are examined. The chapter then provides some suggestions for further research in this field.

INTRODUCTION The use of connected digital devices such as smart phones and computers as well as the online sites associated with these devices is becoming almost ubiquitous in many developed countries. In the United States for example, the Pew Research Center reported that 95 per cent of teens aged 13-17 have a smart phone or access to one with 45 per cent stating they are online on a near constant basis (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). The types of sites these teens visit include Youtube (85%), Instagram (72%) and Snapchat (69%) amongst others. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch002

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 Pre-Service Teachers’ Digital Competencies to Support School Students’ Digital Literacies

Similarly in Australia, smartphone ownership for people aged between 12-24 years of age is 95 per cent (Statisca, 2019). Internet use by young Australians aged 15-17 years of age is 99 per cent (ABS, 2016). In households with children under 15, 97 per cent had access to the internet going online an average of 18 hours each week (excluding school use) with access to an average of seven internet connected devices per household (ABS, 2016). The figures indicate that young people are accessing a variety of web sites using their own devices or devices provided in the home in large numbers. Such a high percentage of use means that the way young people consume and produce information for both personal and educational uses is changing. Such a change means that the ways they are supported to develop their digital literacies in schools is becoming increasingly important. In examining the concept of digital literacy the first half of this chapter will investigate firstly, the nature of digital literacy. Policies of different countries in relation to digital practices for young people in schools are examined. This is followed by an examination of some practices in schools to develop school students’ digital literacy. In order for young people to develop digital literacies which they can then build upon in the workforce, it is important that they are supported and taught accordingly in primary and high schools. The expertise of teachers is important in supporting this process. The second half of this chapter examines how digital competencies are being developed for pre-service teachers in universities. Whilst the terms digital literacy and digital competence are often used interchangeably, in this chapter these terms are used to denote different areas of education. The term digital literacy/literacies is used to refer to school education while the term digital competency is used to refer to teacher education.

DIGITAL LITERACY IN SCHOOLS The definition as to what constitutes digital literacy is a contested area and there is no one set definition. The terms used to describe this concept has changed over time as authors and researchers have sought to understand the field. ‘Computer literacy’ was the term used during the 1980s with ‘information literacy’ gaining popularity in the early 1990s (Bawden, 2008). Early use of the term digital literacy was used throughout the 1990s by a number of authors, who used it to refer to the ability to read and comprehend information items in the hypertext or multimedia formats which were at that time becoming available (Bawden, 2001). As defined by Gilster (1997), the term digital literacy refers to the ability to understand and to use information from a variety of digital sources and includes the ability to read, write and otherwise deal with information using technologies. A definition of what constitutes digital literacy also includes “knowing how to act safely and responsibly online” (Australian Government, cited in NSW Education Standards Authority, 2017, p. 7). Thus, digital literacy is about mastering ideas, not keystrokes where: “Not only must you acquire the skill of finding things, you must also acquire the ability to use these things in your life” (Glistner, pp. 1–2). The concept of digital literacy is therefore multifaceted. Bawden (2001) set out skills and competencies under the umbrella term ‘digital literacies’ which includes:

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• •

knowledge assembly,” building a “reliable information hoard” from diverse sources retrieval skills, plus “critical thinking” for making informed judgements about retrieved information, with wariness about the validity and completeness of internet sources • reading and understanding non-sequential and dynamic material • awareness of the value of traditional tools in conjunction with networked media • awareness of ‘people networks’ as sources of advice and help • using filters and agents to manage incoming information • being comfortable with publishing and communicating information. (p. 20) In this chapter, the concept of digital literacy is rooted in a social cultural foundation. From this perspective, rather than thinking of literacy as one unified practice, it is better understood as literacies. According to Lankshear and Knoble (2008), such an understanding has two important implications. The first is that reading and writing vary enormously. The second implication is that the different ways of reading and writing and the way these are culturally situated and learnt are themselves digital literacies. Accordingly, from a sociocultural perspective, learning is referred to “... as the appropriation and mastery of communicative (including conceptual) and technical tools that serve as meditational means in social practices” (Säljö 1996, p. 91). “Meaningful digital literacy education should encompass a broad suite of skills reflecting young people’s social and cultural engagement in a networked society, their self-expression, identity formation and participation in an online world” (Connolly & McGuinness, 2018, p 77). Many school-aged people worldwide who have been labelled Gen Z and Gen Alpha have grown up in a digital community. The importance of young people learning digital literacies has been fuelled in part by the rise in use of mobile devices, social networking and the use of the internet more broadly. In response to digital practices by young people, school jurisdictions have started to develop policies relating to digital literacy skills. Part of the Europe 2020 strategy is a digital agenda to promote digital literacy, skills and inclusion. This strategy, as well as supporting individuals, is also designed to benefit the Union by helping with climate change and the aging population amongst other social and environmental reforms (Europe 2020 Strategy, n.d.). Countries within the European Union are developing policies to guide practice. Norway, for example developed a policy in 2006 in relation to digital literacies making it one of the first countries to do so. Digital skills is one of the five basic skills which also include oral skills, reading, writing and numeracy as set out in a basic skills framework (Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, 2012). In focusing on digital skills, the fields set out in the framework include; searching, processing, production, communication and digital judgement. Ireland has produced a document called the ICT Skills Action Plan, 2014-2018 (Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, n.d.). At the primary and secondary schooling levels, the aim is to promote STEM career opportunities and career pathways open to students. Some of the strategies providing courses in digital literacy as well as programming and coding, embedding the key skill of digital technology into all subjects, and ensuring all teachers receive continuous professional development. Australia has also undertaken some work in this area. In June 2008, a Joint Ministerial Statement issued by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) and the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education (MCVTE) stated that: “Australia will have technology enriched learning environments that enable students to achieve high quality learning outcomes and productively contribute to our society and economy” (MCEETYA, 2008). In response to this a national curriculum has been developed which has technologies embedded into it. However,

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it is claimed that Australia is falling behind ... “with other countries including higher level computing activities in the curriculum at a much younger age than in Australia” (Thompson, 2015). In moving to examine young people’s digital practices it is important to understand the different purposes young people use technology for so that appropriate learning experiences can be designed to support their digital literacy development. Darvin (2018) identified six different uses which include: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Identity representation: e.g., taking selfies, constructing a Facebook profile Artistic expression: e.g., posting pictures on Instagram, publishing fan fiction stories online Facilitation of social relations: e.g., chatting with friends on Snapchat Consumption and production of knowledge: e.g., reading news online, preparing PowerPoint for science class 5. Exchange of goods and service: e.g., ordering books on Amazon 6. Entertainment: e.g., playing Minecraft, watching a movie on Netflix. Clearly, there are a wide range of uses that young people access online spaces for, both for the purposes of consumption and production of digital content. One of the issues impeding the development of digital literacies for young people in schools is lack of full integration into the curriculum, which is resulting in a disconnect between young people’s in-school and beyond-school experiences. According to Haugue and Payton (2010): The use of technology [young people] experience in schools often bears little relevance to the ways in which they are communicating and discovering information outside of school ... Young people’s own knowledge, ideas and values are not reflected in the education system and school learning can have little or no bearing on their lives, concerns, interests and perceived or aspirant futures. (p.11) One recent example of this disconnect between home and school has been banning of the use of mobile phones in schools in some countries. At the time of writing this chapter, France had banned all mobile devices (including smart phones, tablets and smart watches) in schools for students under 15 years of age. Some schools in other countries have also banned the use of mobile devices. In New South Wales, Australia, for example, a ban was placed on the use of mobile phones in all public primary schools in 2019 (NSW Department of Education, 2019). There is debate in NSW where school principals are suggesting the use of mobile phones should be incorporated into the curriculum. As one principal stated “children should be learning digital citizenship to address issues like cyber-bullying rather than banning devices, which could be used for research or sharing work” (Hunter, 2019). Discussion is needed at both national and school levels to ensure that the technologies needed to support learning are available in schools to provide important learning opportunities to develop digital literacies for young people.

Learning How To Be Safe Online As highlighted earlier, one aspect of digital literacy for young people is have the knowledge as to how to act safely and ethically online. Companies and individuals target young people through setting up online sites with the knowledge that they lack some of the cognition skills whilst not necessarily the digital skills. Young people access to legitimate sites can also end in difficulty, through them not following procedures or not understanding the implications of their actions. “Young people can get themselves 32

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into mental, physical, emotional or financial difficulties if they do not have the skills to safely navigate in an online world” (Maher, 2013, p. 71). It is therefore important that young people are equipped with both cognitive and digital skills, which go hand-in-hand. Some of these skills as outlined by Cassidy, Faucher and Jackson (2013) include empowering students in terms of technological skills, critical thinking skills, netiquette, e-safety skills, assessment of online risks, and how to protect themselves, as well as their reputation and privacy online. Student reception of cyber-safety programs and initiatives is an emerging area of research, in part because the various cyber-risks are rapidly evolving with technological developments e.g., “concerns over teen sexting have more recently become associated with their use of the application Snapchat …” (Adorjan & Ricciardelli, 2019, p. 3). In a study conducted by these authors with participants aged between 13 and 19, it was found that the concentration of cyber-safety messages is being received in junior high school, with less emphasis by the time students reach senior high school. They argue it appears high school students are expected to have successfully internalised the directives for online safety received in earlier grades. This is problematic as the types of experiences younger students have in comparison to older students are very different and the types of skills needed are also different. In a study focusing on student opinions regarding cyber safety, the most frequently raised concerns were that school curricula were deemed outdated, providing too much generic information, and emphasizing extreme cases which were unconvincing and not relevant to the students’ daily experiences (Fisk, 2016). However, Fisk (2016) reported that younger students found the programs more relevant than older students. He stated that high school students are tired of youth internet safety. School-related learning requires young people to engage online with content and other people both at school and at home. Given this, it is important that schools provide opportunities for young people to be able to interact online where they develop the skills and knowledge they need to ensure safety and well being. The role of authorities in supporting such education is important. One example is the Qatar’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, known as ictQATAR who work alongside teachers and parents to teach children internet responsibility and safety (Spires, Paul, & Kerkhoff, 2019). In Australia, the office of the eSafety Commissioner (funded by the Australian Government), provides resources for use in schools as well as information for parents/carers.

Developing Digital Literacies Through Serious Digital Games One way that students can develop digital literacies is through the use of serious digital games. A serious game has been defined as a game in which education (in its various forms) is its primary goal, rather than entertainment (Breuer & Bente, 2010). Such games provide students with opportunities to learn from their involvement within a structured experience (Maher, 2019). According to Prensky, (2012), it is important that teachers find ways to create 21st century citizens, which requires fully integrating skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, video and programming into teaching. In this respect, serious games may help teachers in this area (Lorenzi, et al., 2019). Many young people engage in digital games in their homes. In a Digital Australia report for example (Brand, Todhunter, & Jarvis, 2017), it was found that 97 per cent of homes with children had video games. This figure is also similar for teens aged 13 to 17 in the United States where it was found in one study that 84 per cent of teens say they have or have access to a game console at home, and 90 per cent say they play computer games (whether on a computer, game console or cellphone) (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). Clearly, a high percentage of young people play digital games. In education, digital games are 33

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being introduced into the classroom that are aligned with the school curriculum and more easily integrated into instruction (DeCoito & Richardson, 2018). This makes them a useful tool to support learning. There are a number of benefits for young people through learning with series digital games. Some of these benefits include increasing learning effectiveness, interest, and motivation (Boyle, Connolly, & Hainey, 2011). Digital games also provide an engaging and safe environment, where students can try alternatives and observe the consequences, learning from their own mistakes (Prensky, 2007). An example of a digital game that has educational benefits is Mindcraft. This game was highly popular around 2011. According to Dezuanni, Beavis, and O’Mara (2015), it has educational potential. According to Dezuanni (2018): “Minecraft digital making provides new possibilities for thinking about media literacy in digital contexts that necessarily complement established media literacy knowledge and skills” (p. 246). Whilst there have been concerns addressed about the overexposure of digital games to young people and the content such as violence, online grooming, gambling addiction etc. (eSafety Commissioner, n.d.), there are many important skills and bodies of knowledge that young people learn through playing games as discussed. It is important that these sophisticated skills and knowledge young people develop at home through digital game playing can be captured so that other students in schools can benefit. It is important therefore, that teachers have an understanding of the digital games young people play and how they can develop skills and knowledge that align with curriculum outcomes. Such an understanding should be part of the curriculum that they undertake as pre-service teachers.

PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ DIGITAL COMPETENCIES Teachers’ digital competencies are different from the digital competencies for those in other professions (Guðmundsdóttir, Loftsgarden, & Ottestad, 2014). That is because they are required to model appropriate use of digital resources and tools through their practice, whilst drawing on theoretical and pedagogical underpinnings to foster skills/knowledge. As regard to what constitutes teachers’ digital competencies, Krumsvik (2012) argues that proficiency in using digital technologies with sound pedagogical and theoretical underpinnings, and being mindful of the implications of such use in schools defines a teacher’s digital competence. Krumsvik (2008) suggests that teachers’ technological capability also comprise knowledge of socially, culturally ethical and responsible use of technology. One of the early digital literacy models is the Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Curriculum and Competency framework developed by UNESCO in 2011. The aim of the framework is to provide teacher education systems with “a framework to construct a program for turning out teachers who are media and information literate” (UNESCO, 2011, p. 19). The framework includes three key interrelated thematic areas: 1. Knowledge and understanding of media and information for democratic discourses and social participation, 2. Evaluation of media texts and information sources and 3. Production and use of media and information A more recent and tightly focused framework on digital competence is the Digital Competence Framework for Educators (DigCompEdu) (Redecker, 2017), which has been developed for the European Union. The six DigCompEdu areas focus on different aspects of educators’ professional activities. Each area is explained as follows:

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Area 1: Professional Engagement Using digital technologies for communication, collaboration and professional development. Area 2: Digital Resources Sourcing, creating and sharing digital resources. Area 3: Teaching and Learning Managing and orchestrating the use of digital technologies in teaching and learning. Area 4: Assessment Using digital technologies and strategies to enhance assessment. Area 5: Empowering Learners Using digital technologies to enhance inclusion, personalisation and learners’ active engagement. Area 6: Facilitating Learners’ Digital Competence Enabling learners to creatively and responsibly use digital technologies for information, communication, content creation, wellbeing and problem-solving. (Redbecker, 2017, p.16). This model is useful as it supports educators at all levels of education, from early childhood to higher and adult education, including general and vocational education and training, special needs education, and non-formal learning contexts. Introducing it (and others like it) in pre-service teaching training courses provides pre-service teachers with an important framework which can be then be adopted and/ or applied in schools.

Dealing With Fake News In using the Digital Competence Framework, area 6 focuses in part on enabling learners to be able to responsibly use digital technologies. In accessing a large amount of online material, it can be difficult to assess the authenticity of such material. It is therefore important that young people in schools be provided with opportunities to critically evaluate content on the internet. In turn, pre-service teachers should be provided with opportunities to develop such skills in teacher training courses. One issue that has gained prominence recently that draws attention to the importance of digital competence is the aspect of ‘fake news’. Whilst the term was popularised by US President Trump the term fake news has existed since the 1890s, and prior to that, the term was referred to as ‘false news’ (Watson, 2018). One of the significant enablers of fake or false news was the printing press. The advent of the internet has meant that anyone is now able to publish information that is not subjected to any editorial or other vetting processes.

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One method that has been taught to pre-service teachers to evaluate websites has been to use a checklist. The approach has been suggested by prominent United States and Canadian organisations such as Common Sense Media, the News Literacy Project, Canada’s Media Smarts, and the American Library Association. However, according to Breakstone, McGrew, Smith, Ortega and Wineburg (2018), this is not the most useful strategy. Some of the questions in checklists include: who is the intended audience, when was the information published, who publishes it etc? One of the common checklists is known as the CRAAP test, where the reader is asked to look at currency, relevance, authority, accuracy and purpose. Such tests are of limited use as they do not help the reader to understand the authenticity of the information. A better strategy according to Breakstone et al. (2018) in observing fact-checkers is to leave the website under scrutiny and search across the web to see what they could find about the trustworthiness of the source of information. Websites can include manipulated features such as logos and domain names, giving them a deceptive official appearance, when in reality, they may not be. Breakstone et al. proceed to suggest that …”teachers must be provided professional development about how to evaluate online information. Teachers also need instruction in how to integrate these new digital strategies into their classrooms and time to plan with colleagues in other subjects and grade levels to ensure integration across the curriculum” (p. 31). Such training should also be part of pre-service courses so that teachers start their career with skills that they can build upon.

Digital Story Telling One particular area of focus in relation to digital and media literacy in teacher education is story telling. According to Robin (2009): At its core, digital storytelling allows computer users to become creative storytellers through the traditional processes of selecting a topic, conducting some research, writing a script, and developing an interesting story. This material is then combined with various types of multimedia, including computerbased graphics, recorded audio, computer-generated text, video clips, and music so that it can be played on a computer, uploaded on a web site, or burned on a DVD. (p. 222) One focal project in this area was the e-MEL project that was conducted between 2014 and 2017 with six European organisations including universities (Ranieri & Bruni, 2018). Results of the study, focusing on undergraduate primary school pre-service teachers, found that “digital storytelling as a practice engages students in learning by doing processes may provide rich opportunities to improve pre-service teachers’ skills of media analysis and production’ (2019, p. 107). In particular, the program was found to be effective for the improvement of media skills linked to the analytical process of understanding images, while there was less progress in the area of media production and media education skills. The authors suggest that the design and the management of media production activities within university contexts require more attention. Not only can engagement in digital storytelling support the development of the practical skills and knowledge as outlined above, an important outcome of engaging in digital story telling is that it can support the development of reflective skills. Such skills are important for pre-service teachers as they relate to the development of practitioners’ self-awareness and critical thinking (Finlay, 2008). According to a study by Challinor, Marin and Tur (2017), who examined both pre-service teachers and social care workers 36

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in UK and Spanish universities, it was found that deeper levels of self-awareness were apparent through the process of developing digital storytelling skills. The authors concede however, that these skills are not innate and must be scaffolded through well-crafted pedagogical interventions over a period of time. Other studies have focused on how areas are combined in pre-service courses, such as mathematics and digital story telling. In one study with pre-service teachers in the U.S., analysis of data was conducted using the technology, pedagogy and content knowledge (TPACK) framework model (Walters, Green, Goldsby, & Parker, 2018). Walters et al. found that the pre-service teachers were able to develop maths content knowledge and embed technology into their teaching when taught problem-solving teaching strategies for mathematics that included digital storytelling, which provided a context that connected mathematics and literature. In Slovenia, Istenic Starčič, Cotic, Solomonides, and Volk’s (2016) study, focusing on the interrelation of maths and digital storytelling, also highlighted the importance of pedagogical, technical and content knowledge competencies as a way of helping to develop PSTs’ multimodal literacy and composition mathematical problem solving and their ability to teach mathematics. The authors stress the importance of integrating the use of ICT within the education of pre-service teachers rather than making it adjunct to this process. However, while learning with technologies is important there are times when learning about digital technologies can be equally important, but this should always be contextualised around subject matter and with pedagogical practices in mind. Another field examined in relation to digital story telling is English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching. Similar to findings above, the authors of one study noted that: “If teacher education programs want to prepare ESL student teachers to teach ESL in innovative ways with ICT, then teacher educators and mentor teachers need to reflect on how they use these digital tools in their own teaching practice” (Røkenes & Krumsvik, 2016, p. 17). The authors found in relation to ESL that while the pre-service teachers rated themselves highly in regards to the digital competence, observational and interview data indicated that they only used elementary and basic digital skills in their teaching practice. The authors suggest that preparation of ESL student teachers should also involve … “promoting the more complex dimensions of digital competence including didactic ICT-competence, learning strategies, and digital Bildung” (Røkenes & Krumsvik, 2016, p. 17). The notion of Buildung forms part of a digital competency framework developed by Krumsvik (2014) and relates to the: awareness of ethical considerations, social implications, and effects that ICT has on human development, how to deal with these issues, and how to foster positive moral behaviour and use of ICT by discussing ethical pitfalls and dilemmas involved with pupils’ increasingly digital lifestyle inside and outside of school (e.g., cyberbullying, plagiarism, source criticism, illegal downloading, privacy, online anonymity, escapism) (p. 4).

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Motivation was also found to be an important factor for foreign language pre-service teachers as reported by Guillén-Gámez, Lugones and Mayorga-Fernández, (2019). In this study, conducted with 134 Primary Education students from the Pontifical University of Salamanca, the authors report that motivation is the variable that most positively influences pedagogical digital competence development and that it is important that “foreign language teachers must make use of the tools available to them to teach languages” (Guillén-Gámez et al., p.13).

Conditions Needed For Successful Learning And Teaching Within And Beyond The University It is important that for the training of pre-service teachers that there are a number of conditions to support this process. The first condition is the competence of the educators training the pre-service teachers. Without this, the skills and knowledge that pre-service teachers develop will be limited. A second important condition is that pre-service teachers have time to develop and apply their digital competencies in schools and have time to reflect upon their experiences. As pointed out by Ng (2011), trained teachers begin their profession with a baseline level of knowledge on content and pedagogy, but do not posses appropriate digital skills because of a lack of dedicated time to develop such competence through education and training. Another important aspect in relation to development of digital competencies for pre-service teachers is self-efficacy. A point made in relation to this is that often students will have low levels of mastery (Calderhead, 1991) which can affect self-efficacy. Through practise, at both the mastery and self-efficacy level, levels of mastery will develop. As suggested by Elstad and Christophersen (2017), it can inferred that mastery and self-efficacy are useful for motivating individuals toward continued improvement. It is important, therefore, that pre-service teachers have opportunities to develop mastery both at the university and in schools. Based on their research, Gudmundsdottir and Hatlevik (2018) found that pre-service teachers report that the quality and contribution of ICT training through their teacher training education is poor (Gudmundsdottir & Hatlevik, 2018). The authors report that one of the factors impacting on self-efficacy was teachers’ development of professional digital competence during initial teacher education. Providing opportunities in schools can be problematic as not all school classrooms have technologies and if they do, the teacher may not use them in ways that support the pre-service teachers’ understanding. It is pertinent to note that the initial training is part of a teacher’s lifelong learning journey. Pre-service teachers can only be trained broadly as it is not generally unknown where they will subsequently teach, much less the nature of a 40-year career span. Ways that in-service teachers will engage with technology to support their teaching and learning will be impacted by external factors when they start teaching. One external factor is the culture of the schools that teachers work in can have a significant impact on the way they work with digital technologies. For successful integration to occur it is important that a whole-of-school approach be taken by school executive where there are appropriate means of available technology and that this be enabled by technical support. The role of the Principal for example, can have a big impact on the culture of the school and thus the ICT use by teachers (Hadjithoma-Garstka, 2011; Tezci, 2011). As well as digitally competent leaders, technical help and encouragement are required to integrate technology successfully into schools (Omwenga, Nyabero, & Okioma. 2016). In line with this is the importance of on-going opportunities teachers have to further develop their skills and knowledge. The pedagogical dimension is also important. 38

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Many pre-service teachers have grown up in a time of digital technologies and are what Prensky (2001) call digital natives. This idea has been critiqued by a number of authors. Jones, Ramanau, Cross and Healing (2010) for example, suggest digital natives are not necessarily able to use digital technologies in a knowledgeable or critical way. Not only do pre-service teachers need knowledge and skills to be able to use technologies, they also need pedagogical understandings associated with their educational use. Universities and other training organisations provide an important starting point to equip pre-service teachers with the skills and knowledge they will need to incorporate technologies into their teaching practice. Once they start teaching, on-going support and training opportunities by schools and educational authorities are essential as well as informal learning opportunities that teachers themselves initiate. It is important that learning at university lays a strong foundation in digital competency which in-service teachers can build upon.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS As noted by Ranieri and Bruni, (2018), research on media and digital literacy in the university context is limited. They believe that a greater orchestration among disciplinary perspectives would derive benefits from the different disciplines studying media and digital literacy and lead to a more systematised curriculum for teachers’ preparation. The challenge here is influences of cultural, social and political contexts. Stemming from this, they suggest that … “a better understanding of pedagogical models for teacher preparation would improve the quality of learning, especially in the context of higher education, where factors such as the size of the classroom, the rigidity of the organization, the institutional mission, the need for final examinations and so on, impact highly on the instructional approach” (p.107). The aspect of policies has been examined in the chapter. Whilst some research has been undertaken there is a need for further research. Krumsvik (2014), as well as Instefjord and Munthe (2016) point out the need for further research on how digital competence policies can be integrated into institutions so that teachers can meet the requirements of today’s digitalised schools. Wastiau et al. (2013) suggest the need for a solid formalisation in policy of teachers’ professional development activities in relation to their digital competencies in both schools and universities. Finally, there is a need to link different levels of the educational systems to build further knowledge on digital competence in educational contexts (Pettersson, 2018). Future research should therefore elaborate on how a more comprehensive theorisation of pedagogical aspects of digital competence can be set out to develop the types of learning at university and how this then informs in-service teachers’ work in the school sector. In this regard there is very limited research.

CONCLUSION In this chapter aspects relating to teachers’ digital competencies have been examined. The first half of the chapter examined practices relating to schools and external factors including policies. It is clear that young people of school age are developing their own digital literacies at home which can be supported and further developed in schools.

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The second half of the chapter focused on practices within the tertiary context and beyond. As has been stated in this chapter, it is important that pre-service teachers have opportunities to develop their digital competencies in tutorials at university and also whilst on professional experience in schools. It is also equally important that they be provided with opportunities to continue their development once they become teachers. There are a number of areas suggested in this chapter for further research which represent only a small percentage of what is needed now and into the future. As digital technologies become further embedded into the day-to-day lives of young people and into education, this will increase the need for further research. Such research includes, but is not restricted to, aspects relating to practice to ensure that pre-service teachers are equipped with the digital competencies they need to support the digital literacy development of young people.

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Tezci, E. (2011). Turkish primary school teachers’ perceptions of school culture regarding ICT integration. Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(3), 429. Thompson, S. (2015). Policy insights: Australian students in a digital world. Australian Council for Educational Research, 3. UNESCO. (2011). Media and Information Literacy (MIL). Curriculum and Competency framework. Paris: UNESCO. Walters, L., Green, M., Goldsby, D., & Parker, D. (2018). Digital storytelling as a problem-solving strategy in mathematics teacher education: How making a math-eo engages excites 21st century students. International Journal of Technology in Education and Science, 2(1), 1–16. Wastiau, P., Blamire, R., Kearney, C., Quittre, V., Van de Gaer, E., & Monseur, C. (2013). The use of ICT in education: A survey of schools in Europe. European Journal of Education48(1), 11–27. Watson, C. A. (2018). Digital Literacy: Detecting fake news in a post-truth era. Continuing Legal Education Presentation, 8. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi?article=1064&context=cle

ADDITIONAL READING Ata, R., & Yıldırım, K. (2019). Exploring Turkish pre-service teachers’ perceptions and views of digital literacy. Education in Science, 9(1), 40. doi:10.3390/educsci9010040 Blayone, T. (2018). Reexamining digital-learning readiness in higher education: Positioning digital competencies as key factors and a profile application as a readiness tool. International Journal on ELearning, 17(4), 425–451. Bordalba, M. M., & Bochaca, J. G. (2019). Digital media for family-school communication? Parents’ and teachers’ beliefs. Computers & Education, 32, 44–62. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2019.01.006 Connolly, N., & McGuinness, C. (2018). Towards digital literacy for the active participation and engagement of young people in a digital world. Young people in a digitalised world,4, 77. Delacruz, S. (2018). Building digital literacy bridges: Connecting cultures and promoting global citizenship in elementary classrooms through school-based virtual field trips. TechTrends, 1–12. dos Santos, M. S., Peres, C., Schmitt, M. A., & Peres, A. (2019). Digital dame design tutorial for use in the basic school: A pedagogical proposal. In A. Loureiro Krassmann, E. Marcelo Hoff do Amaral, F. Becker Nunes, G. Bierhalz, & M. Constantino Zunguze (Eds.), Handbook of research on immersive digital games in educational environments (pp. 63–88). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-15225-5790-6.ch003

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George-Palilonis, J., & Watt, T. (2018, October). Professor Garfield’s 21st century digital literacy project: Supporting K-5 teachers in their digital literacy instructional efforts. In E-Learn: World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (pp. 1105-1114). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Gillen, J., & Kucirkova, N. (2018). Percolating spaces: Creative ways of using digital technologies to connect young children’s school and home lives. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(5), 834–846. doi:10.1111/bjet.12666 Gillett‐Swan, J. K., & Sargeant, J. (2018). Voice inclusive practice, digital literacy and children’s participatory rights. Children & Society, 32(1), 38–49. doi:10.1111/chso.12230 Gne, E., & Bahivan, E. (2018). A mixed research-based model for pre-service science teachers’ digital literacy. Computers & Education, 118(C), 96–106. Greene, K. (2018). Transferable digital literacy knowledge. The Language and Literacy Spectrum, 28(1), 3. Gudmundsdottir, G. B., & Hatlevik, O. E. (2018). Newly qualified teachers’ professional digital competence: Implications for teacher education. European Journal of Teacher Education, 41(2), 214–231. doi:10.1080/02619768.2017.1416085 Hobbs, R., & Coiro, J. (2019). Design features of a professional development program in digital literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62(4), 401–409. doi:10.1002/jaal.907 Hsu, H. P., Wenting, Z., & Hughes, J. E. (2018). Developing elementary students’ digital literacy through augmented reality creation: Insights from a longitudinal analysis of questionnaires, interviews, and projects. Journal of Educational Computing Research. Kelentrić, M., Helland, K., & Arstorp, A. T. (2018). Professional digital competence framework for teachers. The Norwegian Centre for ICT in education, 2017. Retrieved from https://edudoc.ch/record/131449/ files/pfdk_framework.pdf Kenna, J. L., Russell, I. I. I., William, B., & Bittman, B. (2018). How secondary social studies teachers define literacy and implement literacy teaching strategies: A qualitative research study. History Education Research Journal, 15(2), 216–232. doi:10.18546/HERJ.15.2.05 Kral, I., & Renganathan, S. (2018). Beyond school: Digital cultural practice as a catalyst for language and literacy. In G. Wigglesworth, J. Simpson, & J. Vaughan (Eds.), Language practices of indigenous children and youth (pp. 365–386). London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-60120-9_14 Kuzminska, O., Mazorchuk, M., Morze, N., Pavlenko, V., & Prokhorov, A. (2018, May). Study of digital competence of the students and teachers in Ukraine. In the International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies in Education, Research, and Industrial Applications (pp. 148-169). Springer. Langset, I. D., Jacobsen, D. Y., & Haugsbakken, H. (2018). Digital professional development: Towards a collaborative learning approach for taking higher education into the digitalized age. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 13(01), 24–39. doi:10.18261/issn.1891-943x-2018-01-03

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Maher, D. (2018). Supporting pre-service teachers’ understanding and use of mobile devices. In J. Keengwe (Ed.), Handbook of research on mobile technology, constructivism and meaningful learning. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-3949-0.ch009 Maher, D. (2019). The use of course management systems in pre-service teacher education. In J. Keengwe (Ed.), Handbook of research on blended learning pedagogies and professional development in higher education. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5557-5.ch011 McDougall, J., Readman, M., & Wilkinson, P. (2018). The uses of (digital) literacy. Learning, Media and Technology, 43(3), 263–279. doi:10.1080/17439884.2018.1462206 Mirra, N., Morrell, E., & Filipiak, D. (2018). From digital consumption to digital invention: Toward a new critical theory and practice of multiliteracies. Theory into Practice, 57(1), 12–19. doi:10.1080/00 405841.2017.1390336 Mnyanda, L., & Mbelani, M. (2018). Are we teaching critical digital literacy? Grade 9 learners’ practices of digital communication. Reading and Writing, 9(1), 1–9. Nedungadi, P. P., Menon, R., Gutjahr, G., Erickson, L., & Raman, R. (2018). Towards an inclusive digital literacy framework for digital India. Education + Training, 60(6), 516–528. doi:10.1108/ET-03-2018-0061 Patmanthara, S., & Hidayat, W. N. (2018). Improving vocational high school students digital literacy skill through blended learning model. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1028(11), 1–12. Ranieri, M., Bruni, I., & Kupiainen, R. (2018). Digital and media literacy in teacher education: findings and recommendations from the European Project e-MEL. Italian Journal of Educational Research, (20), 151-166. Spiteri, M., & Rundgren, S. N. C. (2018). Literature review on the factors affecting primary teachers’ use of digital technology. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 1-14. Zhao, P., Kynäshlahti, H., & Sintonen, S. (2018). A qualitative analysis of the digital literacy of arts education teachers in Chinese junior high and high schools. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 50(1), 77–87. doi:10.1177/0961000616658341

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Digital Competency: These refer to the technical skills as well as the pedagogical skills needed. by teachers to support teaching of digital literacy. Digital Literacy: Refers to the skills and literacies needed for the average person to be able to learn and navigate in contemporary society. Digital Story Telling: Story telling where the use of digital technologies are used to support the process. Serious Digital Games: Digital games that support educational outcomes. STEM: This acronym covers science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The subjects can be considered separately or collectively.

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Chapter 3

Preparing Teachers to Integrate Digital Tools That Support Students’ Online Research and Comprehension Skills Jennifer Van Allen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2939-8249 Lehman College, City University of New York, USA Vassiliki “Vicky” I. Zygouris-Coe University of Central Florida, USA

ABSTRACT Supporting students in acquiring flexible skills for a fast-paced technological world is a challenge. Teachers need access to high-quality training and resources that shape teachers’ beliefs, improve self-efficacy, and build pedagogical knowledge surrounding technology integration. This qualitative exploratory case study explored the implementation and challenges one teacher faced when using small groups to develop upper elementary grade students’ online research and comprehension skills. Using the challenges the teacher discovered, including technology issues, instructional challenges, and students’ lack of computer knowledge, the authors propose several implications for implementing an instructional framework to teach online research and comprehension skills and provide educative curriculum examples for supporting teacher education efforts.

INTRODUCTION I think they are quite knowledgeable about the Internet. Even from that first day, when they went on the web without prompting and she typed in her website and the other student was typing in Wikipedia over here, I’m thinking ok I’m not needed here. I can just leave the room! Anyway, it’s really more so something they do at home. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch003

Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.

 Preparing Teachers to Integrate Digital Tools That Support Students’ Online Research

- Fifth Grade Teacher, Bronx, NY Digital literacy is a hot topic in education today for many reasons. New technologies are continually shifting conceptualizations of literacy and global communications in the world. Over the last decade, there have been increased calls by business leaders, policymakers, and leading educational organizations to meaningfully integrate digital literacies into the school curriculum (International Literacy Association [ILA], 2018; International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE], 2017; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2015; Pew Research Center, 2014; Wagner, 2008). These calls focus schools on preparing graduates to locate information, critically evaluate and analyze information, collaborate and connect with others, and produce and share information to achieve personal, professional, and academic goals (Coiro & Dobler, 2007; OECD, 2015). Yet, schools have a long way to go to support students in acquiring flexible skills for a fast-paced technological world, particularly with teaching students skills and strategies for reading and researching online. Students who aren’t adept at accessing and using information found on the Internet will not have “full access to education, employment and social opportunities afforded by digital devices” (OECD, 2015, p. 91). While some studies report classrooms with successful technology integration (Salyer, 2015), others report missed opportunities for developing and supporting 21st-century literacy skills (McDermott & Gormley, 2016; Paciga, 2019). Some research even suggests that, when accounting for digital literacies, the reading achievement gap is larger than expected. Leu et al. (2015) reported that economically advantaged seventh-graders outperformed their economically disadvantaged peers on an online research assessment, but all performed at low levels, especially when evaluating and communicating information on the Internet (Leu et al., 2015). Internationally, this problem has been noted as well. In 2015, student performance on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) indicated that only 8% of fifteen-year-olds internationally performed as skilled online readers, while 18% performed at low levels demonstrating basic ability to locate simple information in short digital texts when provided with explicit instructions for doing so (OECD, 2015). This performance gap exists even as 72% of students indicate using digital devices at school, with students spending an average of 25 minutes a day using the Internet at school (OECD, 2015). Despite this gap in classroom instruction and student performance in 21st-century literacy skills, teachers perceive instruction in these skills to be important (Hutchison & Reinking, 2011; Van Allen & Zygouris-Coe, 2019). A survey of literacy teachers conducted by Hutchison and Reinking (2011) found that these participants rated the importance of integrating technological tools into their instruction higher than their reported use of these same tools. In addition, when asked to define technology integration, participants’ responses indicated “they see integration more often as enhancing conventional instructional goals or using technology for its own sake as opposed to adopting new instructional goals involving new activities” (Hutchison & Reinking, 2011, p. 323). The quote from a practicing teacher at the beginning of this manuscript starts to examine some of the possible causes of this complex problem, ranging from teachers’ perceptions of their students’ skills to teachers’ own lack of knowledge and limited experiences with technology. For these reasons and many more, it is clear that teachers need more support integrating instruction in online research and comprehension skills within existing classroom structures and instructional contexts in order to develop and support students’ digital literacy skills. In this chapter, we present findings from a qualitative exploratory case study intended to explore the implementation and challenges one teacher faced when using small groups to develop upper elementary grade students’ online research and comprehension skills. The results of the study were used to develop an educative curriculum that utilized an online guided reading framework to support both the students’ 48

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developing online research and comprehension skills and the teachers’ instructional approach. This book chapter reports the results of the study, describes the resulting educative curriculum materials, and explores implications for preservice and inservice teacher preparation.

BACKGROUND Significance of the Problem Eager students arrive in classrooms at the start of each school year ready to learn about the world. The technological tools provided in their classrooms and schools often motivate these students, who come with various experiences using technology, to engage in schoolwork. When technology is used effectively in the classroom, student motivation, attitude, and engagement increase, and teacher-student and home-school relationships are improved (Zheng, Warshauer, Lin, & Chang, 2016). Transformed teaching and learning makes use of challenges, creativity, exploration, choice, collaboration, and active student engagement with instruction in online research integrated and used as a tool for discovering and expressing ideas (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Sadik, Sendurur, & Sendurur, 2012). While many causes and factors contribute to students’ lack of online research and comprehension skills, two of the greatest challenges are providing access to reliable, up-to-date technology and Internet connectivity and preparing teachers to integrate these skills into their instruction.

Barriers to Technology Integration Ertmer et al. (2012) have identified two types of barriers that influence teachers’ use of technology in classrooms. Fortunately, first-order barriers, those referring to external barriers beyond the teacher’s control, such as lack of resources, are being overcome in schools today. Significant progress has been made in ensuring that classrooms are equipped with technology for student and teacher use and that schools across the United States have access to reliable, high-speed Internet connections (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, 2017). National initiatives such as the ConnectEd initiative, which strives to provide high-quality Internet access, technology, and professional development on technology integration to schools and teachers, have been implemented widely (Office of Educational Technology, n.d.). As a result, in 2015, 71% of children ages 3 to 18 had access to the Internet, with 65% of those children using the Internet at school (McFarland et al., 2018). However, structural and financial barriers still remain as schools struggle to provide access to timely technical support when devices malfunction, find funding to update technology in a rapidly advancing age, and ensure student equity of access outside of the school environment (Neuman & Gambrell, 2015; U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, 2017). Second-order barriers, those referring to internal barriers related to the teacher, are noted to be the most pervasive and challenging to overcome (Ertmer et al., 2012) and are the focus of our work. Factors such as teachers’ pedagogical knowledge of technology integration (Hutchison, 2012), own self-efficacy with the Internet (Liu, Ritzhaupt, Dawson, & Barron, 2017; Wu & Wang, 2015) and beliefs and attitudes about technology (Ertmer et al., 2012; Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, & Tondeur, 2014) affect if and how instruction is transformed in individual classrooms. Recently, Liu et al. (2017) found that teachers who had higher self-confidence and comfort with technology and used technology more frequently in their 49

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personal lives incorporated more technology into their classroom instruction. Wu and Wang (2015) examined the Internet self-efficacy of elementary teachers in China and found that those teachers who indicated that they used elaborate search strategies and evaluative standards of experts when viewing websites had a greater Internet self-efficacy and were more likely to teach these skills to students. In addition, Ertmer et al. (2014) note that teachers with more traditional beliefs include technology as a supporting role in classrooms, such as presenting a lecture with a PowerPoint presentation or using online games to support drill and practice of skills; while teachers with constructivist beliefs tend to use technology in more integrated ways that support students as researchers, designers, and problem solvers, such as facilitating students’ use of blogs to reflect on their learning and encouraging parents and other students to comment on the blog posts. Much of the preparation provided to preservice and inservice teachers currently occurs in short, decontextualized workshops or classes that focus on introducing and using specific applications, websites, and other digital tools (Blocher, Armfield, Sujo-Montes, Tucker, & Willis, 2011; Hutchison & Woodward, 2018). Yet, this type of training does little to address second-order barriers, such as impacting the dispositions of teachers who are intimidated by technology or do not believe that technology use in the classroom improves student learning. In addition, this type of training does not support teachers in envisioning actual use of these applications and tools in a constructivist learning environment (Tondeur, van Braak, Ertmer, & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2017). Therefore, it is imperative that teacher education provide preservice and inservice teachers access to high-quality training and resources that shape their beliefs, improve their self-efficacy, and build their pedagogical knowledge surrounding technology integration, and more specifically online research skills.

Supporting Technology Integration Since the role technology plays in a classroom is predicated on a teacher’s conceptions of effective teaching and learning, supportive professional development (PD) is essential in schools and teacher preparation programs. Preservice and inservice teachers need more professional preparation on technology integration that is timely and provides appropriate background knowledge, on-going support, multiple exposures to content, time to explore, practice and prepare content, and access to models of instruction (Hutchison, 2012). Studies show that shifting teacher preparation to emphasize how to apply these tools to reach instructional goals and support students is much more effective and widely received by teachers (Blocher et al., 2011; Hutchison & Woodward, 2018). In addition, in order to shift teachers’ existing beliefs and practices, these efforts should be long-term and include mentoring and communities of practice in supportive school environments that encourage teacher inquiry (Tondeur et al., 2017). One example of a successful PD effort was the Technology Integration Planning Cycle Model of PD, which emphasized the “range of possible pedagogical approaches to using technology in the classroom, as well as in how to plan [literacy] instruction that effectively utilizes digital tools to create meaningful learning experiences for students” (Hutchison & Woodward, 2018, p. 3). In this sense, the yearlong PD model focused teachers on creating meaningful learning opportunities for students using the affordances of technology to collaborate with others and communicate information, rather than solely on how to use the technological tools. Teacher participation in this comprehensive, situated model included wholegroup PD sessions, a long-range planning session, access to instructional coaches for support, weekly participation in professional learning communities facilitated by an instructional coach, teaching observations with reflective feedback, weekly emails with digital tools and lesson plan examples, and access 50

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to a website that held resources, ideas, and opportunities for social networking. As a result, the teachers in the study achieved true curricular integration with a better understanding of the role of technology in instruction, their shifting roles as teachers, and more effective planning and use of technology to support instructional goals. In addition, the model overcame many second-order barriers, such as low teacher confidence using technology and negative beliefs about technology integration in schools (Hutchison & Woodward, 2018). While a situated approach to supporting technology integration has been found effective, other approaches are also effective in supporting teacher knowledge and pedagogy through existing curriculum. Teachers are continually building knowledge as they plan and implement lessons, assess student learning, collaborate with colleagues, and communicate with parents (Davis & Krajcik, 2005). Therefore, teachers are constantly developing and integrating their knowledge about content and pedagogy and applying their knowledge to make professional decisions about how to implement curriculum and curriculum materials (Davis & Krajcik, 2005). Since teachers’ continuous learning and development of teaching practices are situated through the enactment of the curriculum materials and teaching resources they are provided, these materials provide an opportunity to support pedagogy (Davis, Palinscar, Smith, Arias, & Kademian, 2017). Educative curriculum materials, those designed with the intention of promoting teacher learning, have been proposed as one way to provide “just in time” support as teachers build and integrate their knowledge of new and existing content and pedagogical practices (Davis & Krajcik, 2005; Davis et al., 2014). A central element of educative curriculum materials is a quality base curriculum that includes complete and accurate content and effective pedagogy (Davis & Krajcik, 2005). Then, educative features for teachers that focus on instructional approaches, rationales, and recommendations for use are embedded within the base curriculum to support teacher knowledge and teacher learning by connecting theory to practice. These components are meant to help teachers predict and understand students’ responses to instruction, support their own learning of disciplinary content and practices, consider how to connect curriculum units, understand the pedagogical rationales of the developers, and “promote a teacher’s pedagogical design capacity” (Davis & Krajcik, 2005, p. 5) as they enact and adapt the curriculum to fit their needs (Davis et al., 2017). Many studies point to the potential of educative curriculum materials to support teacher learning (Cervetti, Kulikowich, & Bravo, 2015; Land, Tyminski, & Drake, 2015; Schneider, 2013). A case study of one teacher’s implementation of a science curriculum with educative curriculum features emphasizing inquiry-based science techniques indicated that the teacher’s knowledge development of inquiry practices greatly improved as she interacted with the curriculum materials and students (Schneider, 2013). Another experimental study examined the extent to which educative curriculum features focused on supporting English Language Learners’ (ELs) needs influenced teachers’ enactment of strategies to support these learners and improve their achievement (Cervetti et al., 2015). Results indicated that the treatment group used a wider range of strategies that supported student learning as they modified the curriculum for ELs than the control group, although no significant differences in student achievement were noted (Cervetti et al., 2015). Land et al. (2015) explored how educative curriculum materials supported preservice teachers’ learning of best practices in teaching elementary mathematics. While the preservice teachers did not immediately recognize the educative potential of these features for their own learning, the authors concluded that focused close reading and purposeful questions posed by an instructor may help build prospective teachers’ knowledge of curriculum materials, content knowledge, and pedagogical approaches simultaneously (Land et al., 2015). Educative curriculum materials provide 51

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a valuable method of supporting teacher learning through timely resources and information that can be readily implemented in teaching. However, some researchers indicate that without accompanying situated, guided, and/or differentiated PD, educative curriculum materials alone are not enough (Krajcik & Delen, 2017; Schuchardt, Tekkumru-Kisa, Shunn, Stein, & Reynolds, 2017). Given the need to support students’ digital literacy skills in online research and the need to support teachers’ learning of how to instruct students in these skills, we wondered about the challenges associated with implementing instruction in online research and comprehension through a widely used framework in schools today, guided reading. In this study, we examined how one fourth-grade teacher adapted her guided reading instruction with a group of above-average readers to develop their online research skills. We used what students and the teacher learned, along with the challenges they experienced with implementing instruction on online reading and comprehension, to propose educative features that may support teachers’ knowledge about technology integration, providing specific examples that focus on developing students’ online research and comprehension skills. In addition, we explore how existing curriculum structures may be adapted to support technology integration efforts and instruction in online research and comprehension skills.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS Several theoretical frameworks informed this study including New Literacies Theory, particularly lowercase new literacies theory surrounding online research and comprehension (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, Castek, & Henry, 2017), the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Model (TPACK; Mishra & Koehler, 2006), and the guided reading framework (Fountas & Pinnell, 2012). While the guided reading framework served as our curriculum structure, New Literacies Theory provided the target online research and reading comprehension skills to be taught and the TPACK model supported our understanding of the teaching decisions and challenges the teacher and students faced.

New Literacies Theory As technology continues to develop and more advanced forms emerge, what it means to be literate also evolves with different forms of skills, knowledge, and dispositions needed to read, write, and communicate (Leu et al., 2017). The Internet continues to have a profound effect on the ways we communicate with others and share knowledge in a global society. These effects are felt not only in our personal and professional lives, but also in policy, including educational policy initiatives such as the Common Core State Standards (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) in the United States, and the Digital Technologies in Focus project (Australian Curriculum, n.d.) supporting the implementation of digital technologies in Australia. The dual level theory of new literacies proposed by Leu et al. (2017) examines multiple perspectives of the continuously changing definition of literacy ranging from the broad assumptions and common patterns in uppercase new literacies theory to literacies and patterns found within specific technologies and areas of new literacies in lowercase new literacies theory. Some of the common assumptions that guided our work from uppercase new literacies theory were:

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• • • •

The Internet and related technologies require additional new literacies to fully access their potential. Critical literacies are central to new literacies. New forms of strategic knowledge are required with new literacies. Teachers become more important, though their role changes, within new literacy classrooms. (Leu et al., 2017, p. 5)

The lowercase new literacies of online research and comprehension skills had the largest impact on our work as it describes how students conduct online research and read in online environments and defines specific skills needed (Leu et al., 2017). According to Leu et al. (2017), online research involves a problem-based inquiry process that requires new skills, strategies, dispositions, and social practices. Online researchers must direct their own reading paths as they construct text and knowledge across a variety of multimodal sources using traditional reading comprehension strategies, as well as an extended set of skills and strategies specific to reading on the Internet. Five broad processing practices, each encompassing various skills, strategies, and dispositions, are required for online research and comprehension: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Identify important problems or questions. Locate information. Evaluate information critically. Synthesize information. Communicate information (Leu et al., 2017, p. 8).

In our study, these skills, strategies, and dispositions were the focus of the teaching and learning that occurred.

Guided Reading Many states, districts, and schools require elementary teachers to provide small group, targeted literacy instruction as part of their curriculum. Guided reading is one such small group instructional context commonly utilized in diverse classrooms (Iaquinta, 2006). The guided reading framework emphasizes responsive teaching through explicit teaching and prompting of strategic behaviors good readers employ to read and understand text (Fountas & Pinnell, 2017). Small groups are typically formed with readers who are on the same reading level or exhibit similar reading behaviors, which allow the teacher to carefully select texts and focus skills for targeted instruction. These skills are based on a system of strategic actions readers should employ when thinking within the text (e.g., decoding words and identifying important information), thinking about the text (e.g., making connections and synthesizing information), and thinking beyond the text (e.g., analyzing the writer’s craft and evaluating ideas). Instruction occurs in a three-part lesson consisting of before reading, during reading, and after reading portions. Before reading, the teacher briefly introduces a text to students and invites them to share what they notice about the text through discussion. During reading, the students read the text and the teacher observes students’ reading behaviors, interacting with students to prompt and support for strategic actions when a challenge occurs. After reading, the teacher engages the students in a discussion about the text, inviting their own personal responses, and provides one or two teaching points during which students return to the text for

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close reading and skills practice. Teachers may also extend the lesson for word work or writing instructional opportunities (Fountas & Pinnell, 2017). Fountas and Pinnell (2012) note that when guided reading is used as part of a comprehensive, balanced literacy curriculum, readers build more effective processing systems over time. However, others argue that using a supported approach with instructional level texts does not provide students with enough opportunity to grapple with frustrational level texts and falls short of preparing students to sufficiently meet the rigorous standards proposed in the Common Core State Standards (Shanahan, 2013). The research base focused solely on guided reading is limited. Yet, the research that does exist suggests that guided reading is effective in supporting students’ strategic reading actions. For example, research with ELs have indicated that guided reading improved English print literacy development of adolescents (Montero, Newmaster, & Ledger, 2014) and the reading comprehension and reading accuracy skills of Chinese students learning English in Hong Kong (Nayak & Sylva, 2013). In addition, when used as an intervention with at-risk second-graders compared to typical school instruction, the guided reading approach resulted in improved word reading skills (Denton, Fletcher, Taylor, Barth, & Vaughn, 2014). Technology use has also proven to be effective in guided reading instruction. Delacruz (2014) used an iPad application, Nearpod, to embed interactive activities within a text during guided reading lessons and found increased student engagement and enhanced teacher monitoring of students’ understanding throughout the lessons. Salyer (2015) investigated how Internet Reciprocal Teaching and guided reading could be utilized to support an Internet inquiry task implemented with second-grade students in an after-school program. These results showed that students became more strategic online readers, better able to able to ask questions, use search engines, read and evaluate search results, preview texts in different modes, predict information in websites, and synthesize information across sources (Salyer, 2015). Since guided reading is an instructional context that is widely implemented, many teachers are familiar with the format of a guided reading lesson. However, implementation has been found to vary widely from isolated skills instruction to critical examinations of text (Fletcher, Greenwood, Grimely, Parkhill, & Davis, 2012; Ford & Opitz, 2008). Teacher definitions of guided reading and training on how to implement it clearly influence individual teachers’ use in their classrooms (Ford & Opitz, 2008). Due to its widespread popularity and emphasis on supporting strategic actions, we wondered how one teacher might modify her guided reading curriculum to teach and support students’ online research and reading skills.

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Model (TPACK) Incorporating technology into instruction in meaningful ways does not happen by simply equipping classrooms with computers or other devices. The TPACK model, shown in Figure 1, illustrates the complexities and forward thinking involved in the successful integration of technology into curriculum and instruction (Koehler & Mishra, 2009). This model examines teacher decisions regarding the intersection of a teacher’s technological knowledge, content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge. Koehler and Mishra (2009) posit that teachers must first consider their content and then merge effective instructional methods for teaching that content with technology to plan meaningful learning experiences and make effective teaching decisions. Additionally, teachers must have technological knowledge of how to work the devices, how to troubleshoot device issues, how to navigate the applications, and other general knowledge about the devices. As teachers actively design curriculum using content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, they must make decisions on how to best incorporate technology into the 54

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Figure 1. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Model (TPACK). (© 2012, tpack.org, Used with permission.)

curriculum, with an emphasis on when and why to use specific technologies for a particular concept or teaching approach (Koehler & Mishra, 2009). The TPACK model supported our understanding of the types and breadth of skills needed by a teacher to effectively integrate online research and comprehension skills into guided reading instruction.

RESEARCH STUDY This qualitative exploratory case study (Baxter & Jack, 2008; Creswell, 2013) examined the challenges and successes a fourth-grade teacher and her students experienced as she incorporated instruction of online research and comprehension skills into her small group guided reading block. Case studies allow the researcher to conduct an in-depth examination of a real-life case bounded by time and place to better understand the experiences of individuals during an event or activity (Creswell, 2013). In this study, a case study design provided a context to explore how guided reading may be potentially used as an instructional context for teaching online research and comprehension skills. We wanted to understand the teacher’s and students’ experiences, including the barriers, challenges, and successes they faced to better identify specific supports that may need to be provided to teachers as they adapt curriculum, and instructional contexts, to teach digital literacy skills. Therefore, the teacher’s perspective of the experience was the main focus of the study. As part of this study, we examined the following research questions:

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• •

How does a teacher adapt small group guided reading instruction to develop students’ online research and comprehension skills? What barriers and challenges, if any, do the teacher and students experience with the introduction of online research and comprehensions skills within the guided reading framework?

Context of the Study A purposive, convenience sampling (Creswell, 2013) resulted in one participant, a fourth-grade teacher at a moderately sized Title 1 elementary school located in a large urban school district in the southeastern United States. A diverse group of approximately 650 students attended the school with 43% Black, 27% White, 24% Hispanic, and 2% other races. Teachers and students at the school had adequate access to technology with two computer labs housing 25 desktop computers, two carts with 25 laptops each that were shared among the intermediate (4th and 5th grade) classrooms, at least five desktop computers in each classroom, and a SMART board in each classroom. Despite sufficient access, authentic use of technology was rare with students mostly using the devices to access computer-based instructional programs and take assessments mandated by the district and school. Although teachers used the SMART board daily in their literacy instruction, it was mostly used to display PowerPoint presentations, display texts, or as a whiteboard. Of the state and district required 120-minute daily literacy block, teachers were required to use at least 60 minutes to target specific students’ needs in guided small group instruction. Teachers within the school had received training on and utilized Fountas and Pinnell’s (2017) guided reading framework to guide their instructional routines with these small groups. This school was selected as the context for the study because teachers were familiar with the guided reading framework and the first author had a working relationship with the participant as the literacy coach at the school. According to Creswell (2013), more authentic information can be obtained in case study research when the researcher has established a relationship with the participants. Intermediate grade teachers (4th and 5th grade) who provided daily literacy instruction, demonstrated effectiveness in teaching literacy, as indicated by students’ proficiency and growth on the state standardized English/Language Arts test, and demonstrated effectiveness in applying the guided reading framework daily to instruction, as indicated by observational feedback provided by the principal and literacy coach, were invited to participate in the study. Erin, a white, middle-aged, fourth-grade teacher volunteered to participate and met the inclusion criteria. Erin was an experienced teacher who had been teaching a total of seven years in her own classroom after receiving a bachelor’s degree in child development but had previous experience as a substitute teacher and tutor in an after-school program. Erin considered herself a proficient user of technology, noting that she was raised with the newest technology and was a “quick learner” when exposed to new devices and tools, displaying comfort with technology use in both her personal and professional life. Within her classroom, she had previously led students in conducting online research and creating PowerPoints, and used applications, such as ZipGrade, to support her work as a teacher. However, due to school mandates, she had not had an opportunity to implement these projects with the class she taught during the study. Erin valued 21st-century literacies noting, “everything is technology bound . . . 21st-century literacies are the skills that our students will need when they graduate.” Yet, Erin was hesitant to engage students in online inquiries without her direct supervision for fear they would access sites with inappropriate content. In addition, she noted that she had little experience explicitly teaching online research and comprehension skills to students.

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Data Sources and Analysis The study included an analysis of Erin’s lesson plans, daily reflection logs submitted by Erin, and three interviews. All data collected was self-reported by Erin and describes her own observations and perceptions of her teaching and the students’ learning experiences. Since the purpose of the study was to understand the teacher’s perception of barriers and challenges associated with the implementation to inform solutions, the teacher’s perspective was vitally important to this study. The first author, who was employed at the school as the literacy coach during the study, conducted work with the teacher, including PD and support in understanding online research and comprehension skills, and collected data, while the second author, who was not connected to the school or involved with the participant, served as “peer debriefer” of the analyses (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Through a Google document, the teacher submitted her lesson plans and a daily reflection log intended to provide insight into the teaching decisions Erin made during her lessons. The reflection log was created by the researchers and asked Erin to briefly note the learning target and teaching approach for the lesson, with a short rationale. In addition, Erin provided brief reflections on the successes and challenges that occurred during the lesson. Semi-structured interviews (Creswell, 2013) were conducted by the first author in Erin’s classroom during her teacher planning time or after the students’ school day and lasted approximately 15 minutes each. The first interview took place prior to the study implementation to gather detailed information about Erin’s previous teaching experiences, experiences and comfort with technology and online research, and her perceptions about new literacies and technology in the classroom. Two follow-up interviews were conducted after every five to seven lessons, approximately weekly, to further inquire about Erin’s implementation, including the barriers, challenges, successes, and roles that both the teacher and students encountered during the lessons. Prior to the interviews, the first author reviewed Erin’s lesson plans and reflection log submissions to probe for further, more detailed information about Erin’s perceptions of her teaching and her students’ learning experiences. Thematic analysis methods were used to analyze all data collected (Creswell, 2013). Each interview was fully transcribed and the lesson plans and daily reflection logs were compiled into an organized file by the first author. The first author then read through all of the data, memoing about key information. Using categorical aggregation methods, the first author examined instances of repeated information from the data and formed initial codes. Codes were verified through triangulation with the codes generated in the interviews and reflection logs and color-coded within the entire data set. Once the first author grouped codes into like categories based upon patterns in the data set, the second author reviewed the categories as a peer debriefer. According to Lincoln and Guba (1985), peer debriefing is a “process of exposing oneself to a disinterested peer in a manner paralleling an analytic session and for the purpose of exploring aspects of the inquiry that might otherwise remain only implicit within the inquirer’s mind” (p. 308). As both authors reviewed the data set and codes considering their relationship to the research questions, the second author engaged in questioning to help the first author probe and clarify interpretations of the data and consider biases (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). These discussions resulted in final themes for describing and interpreting the case (Creswell, 2013). Once the final report was completed, the participant was provided an opportunity to read and comment on the findings. This member checking ensured the accuracy of our findings (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).

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Implementation Prior to implementing the study, Erin participated in a one-time hour-long PD session conducted by the first author that was personalized specifically for her based off of the information collected during the initial interview. This PD was meant to review and clarify Erin’s understanding of the online research and comprehension skills she would target in her instruction and provide her with instructional ideas and resources to support her teaching. During the PD, Erin engaged in an activity in which she conducted an online search and noted the strategies she used as she searched for information. The first author then had her compare these strategies to the processing practices identified as necessary for online research and comprehension by Leu et al. (2017). Next, Erin identified specific learning targets she might use in instruction using the Teaching Internet and Comprehension Skills to Adolescents (TICA) checklist (Leu et al., 2008). After discussing research-based instructional strategies for supporting students’ online research and comprehension skills, including Internet Reciprocal Teaching (Leu et al., 2008) and think alouds (Coiro, 2011), Erin viewed videos of these strategies in practice. Finally, Erin briefly explored resources she might find useful in lesson planning, such as Google’s Search Education and Common Sense Media, which she used to envision a lesson in action with the first author. During the study, Erin chose to work with her above average reading group, which reflected the school demographics with two Black students, two Hispanic students, one White student, and one Asian student. She selected this group because she believed they possessed the necessary reading skills to persist with the complex text they might encounter on the Internet. She did not feel comfortable implementing these lessons with her lower level students due to their struggles with reading comprehension or word decoding skills. Sung, Wu, Chen, & Chang (2015) found that students who struggled with offline reading skills had great difficulty with online reading tasks, which supported Erin’s decision to work with higher level students. Over the course of three weeks, Erin was provided with six Lenovo ThinkPad laptops from the shared computer cart housed in the fourth-grade classrooms. She implemented guided reading lessons with instruction focused on online research and comprehension skills approximately three or four days each week during the course of the study. Erin implemented a total of 10 lessons focused on the inquiry question, “Who has controlled Florida and how has their control or actions affected others?” Erin selected this inquiry question to build background knowledge in preparation for an upcoming social studies unit. In choosing the question, she thought students would learn skills from investigating the first part of the question that would support their search for information for the more complex second part of the question. Her first two lessons provided an introduction to the devices, since students had limited experiences with the laptops, and allowed Erin to assess students’ current search skills when conducting a basic web search. She then conducted two lessons that helped students deconstruct the questions and generate search terms. The next three lessons supported students in selecting sources from the search results page and finding specific information on websites, with the last three lessons emphasizing strategies for evaluating information across multiple websites. During the lessons, Erin explained that her role was to provide brief teaching points on specific online research and reading strategies and then let the students engage in independent online research. While students were searching for information, Erin described her role as “facilitator of questioning.” She prompted them to make strategic decisions as online researchers through questioning and supportive reminders when they were problem-solving challenges. Her guidance and prompting with questions such as, “What’s your question? What are you looking for? Does this site give you any information? You found 58

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this, what does it mean? Where do we need to go next?” were necessary to help students stay focused on their purpose, use the web browser features effectively (e.g. back and forward icons), and manage the multiple layers of a website successfully. In one reflection, Erin discussed how she prompted a student to corroborate conflicting information. One of them read something about Cuba and took it as Cuba controlling Florida. I said, Ok, wait, but you’ve read and you’ve seen the timeline. Is Cuba on there, on the timeline and on the site? She said no, it wasn’t. I then asked her how she felt about Cuba controlling Florida. She’s like, I don’t know, it doesn’t make sense. So I said, ok, well how would we find out if Cuba controlled Florida? She said, well, I’d just do another search . . . so she opened up another window and searched . . . so she made that connection. Erin was surprised at the amount of student collaboration that occurred during these lessons. She noted that the students did the majority of the work and often guided others in the group to a website that contained valuable information. For example, she often heard students exclaim, “Oh, hey, go to this website, this one’s got some good information!” In addition, conversation among students often ensued that was not prompted by her. Erin noted that the students “help others and get the others kind of on the same page that they’re on,” which was different from her traditional guided reading lessons with these same students. Overall, Erin observed her students transferring skills learned in previous lessons as they conducted online research in subsequent lessons. She indicated that as a result of the lessons, these students learned how to navigate a website. . . learned how text features on websites actually play a role in adding to what they are reading. . . and know when to search to double check their answers of what they found. Additionally, Erin explained that her students were very eager to participate in these lessons. She exclaimed, “They are literally my first students to be at that back table ready to go. So they are thoroughly enjoying it!”

CHALLENGES Although Erin found what she did to be valuable and discovered students collaborating in surprising ways to research, read, and comprehend digital texts, she also reported several categories of challenges that arose during the course of the study. These challenges centered around situated technology issues both she and her students experienced, her students’ lack of computer knowledge, and specific instructional challenges she faced during the process.

Technology Issues The greatest challenge throughout the study, in the words of the teacher, was “the computers themselves and the struggle to keep them working.” Technical issues arose on the first day of the study with two computers that simply would not turn on and continued throughout the study with computers frequently shutting down in the middle of the lesson due to low battery life, losing access to the network due to intermittent connectivity, or not connecting to the Internet at all when students logged in. Erin tried to troubleshoot many of these issues but was often unable to solve them due to the limited rights she was 59

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granted as a user. Although Erin submitted technology support requests, many of these computer issues were still not resolved by the end of the study, resulting in students constantly returning to the shared grade level laptop cart to get a new computer or passing the working laptops back and forth between teachers. First-order barriers, or those external barriers outside of the teacher’s control such as lack of access to reliably working devices, have consistently been found to be the most common barriers to technology integration efforts (Ertmer et al., 2012; Hew & Brush, 2007; Hutchison & Reinking, 2011). These barriers also include access to technical support personnel, which is directly related to the number of personnel provided to the school and number of requests received (Carver, 2016; Hew & Brush, 2007). In Erin’s case, a technology support representative was only on campus to troubleshoot and fix technology issues twice a week. Despite these challenges, Erin overcame them by pairing students to work on the laptops when she didn’t have access to more computers. In some ways, Erin noted that this supported student collaboration. “The students that were sharing were like, go look at this site, this is a good site. Or sometimes they said let me type this because I can type faster than you. So they helped each other out.” At other times, she noted that the sharing of computers was a problem because she wanted “them to search on their own and not with the help of somebody.” When solving technological issues that arise during computer-based lessons, teachers may not have complete control to troubleshoot problems on their own. Additionally, some teachers also may not feel as comfortable as Erin while troubleshooting issues. As identified in the TPACK model (Koehler & Mishra, 2009), teachers’ technological knowledge is an important aspect of successful lessons with technology and an aspect that should be addressed in teacher preparation for teaching with technology.

Students’ Lack of Computer Knowledge Students’ lack of computer knowledge and proficiency with the devices also sometimes became problematic during lessons. At times, students would encounter a computer that was logged in under a previous user’s account and Erin noted that students didn’t know how to proceed. “Some of them would just shut it down so it would take time to log in . . . So them figuring out how to log it out” took time out of the lesson. Erin repeatedly remarked on the students’ lack of typing proficiency and knowledge of the keyboard. “Their typing speed . . . They hunt and peck or they know just a couple (of keys) and then they have to ask where the space bar is or how do I get the question mark.” At the beginning of the lessons, Erin taught the students to toggle back and forth between the web browser and a Word document so that they could take notes. However, she abandoned this after the first week because of students’ typing speed and difficulty shifting between applications. “That took a little bit of time for us . . . using a Word document to toggle between the web browser and a Word document . . . then we went to paper and pencil and they kept a notepad of what they found.” Supporting students’ proficiency with basic computer tasks, such as logging off a previous user, is a necessary prerequisite to ensure that valuable instructional time dedicated to online research and comprehension skills is not reduced by these challenges (Leu et al., 2008).

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Instructional Challenges Another category of challenges that occurred during Erin’s implementation were instructional challenges that included what to do with distracted students and how to plan her instruction in ways that also supported students’ online reading and comprehension skills. Although the devices were highly engaging for students, some features of the devices also proved to be a distraction for them. Sometimes they would get off task with all of the new features, so instead of using the keyboard to type, they would pull the keyboard up on the screen and that would take them longer . . . They are new with it and having fun. Erin learned that she needed to provide them time to explore features outside of the lessons and set defined rules for using the devices during lessons. Students also became distracted and easily sidetracked by hyperlinks during lessons. Erin described her response to one occasion in which two students were engaging with information unrelated to the topic. Two students continued to click and click and click to learn about things and then were totally not on anything that had to with it. So I was like let’s stay focused. This is how we can get in trouble with hyperlinks. Staying focused on a topic during online research became a teaching point and prompting focus during many of the lessons. These types of distractions have been noted extensively in the literature as a challenge and point of instruction for students (Coiro, & Dobler, 2007). Finally, Erin expressed concerns about the amount of time these lessons took. Previous research has indicated that planning for and implementing lessons with technology takes more planning and implementation time (Hutchison & Reinking, 2011; Pittman & Gaines, 2015). Initially, Erin planned to teach all five processing practices to students during the study but was only able to address identifying a problem, locating information, and evaluating information. She noted, “It takes the students a long time to read and take notes and then search for what they didn’t understand . . . so I plan for a lot and get through only a bit of it.”

Adaptions to the Guided Reading Framework As Erin implemented these lessons, she found that she needed to adapt her implementation of the guided reading framework in several ways (see Table 1). Traditionally, when using the guided reading framework, the teacher is the key decision-maker in selecting texts for the group to read (Fountas & Pinnell, 2017). However, since the students created their own reading pathways as they conducted the online inquiry (Coiro & Dobler, 2007), Erin did not select specific texts for students to read. Instead, she generated the questions that would guide the students’ inquiry. She described her process for selecting the question. To come up with a question to search, I thought of a subject that would be most easy to search for, where they could find answers . . . I asked the social studies teachers what unit they were getting into . . . I looked at the big idea and some of the essential questions that were going to be covered and just kind of picked one out that was a little more challenging for them to answer since they were able to go on the Internet.

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Table 1. Adaptations Erin made during lessons Traditional Guided Reading

Adaptations

Before Reading

• Teacher selects text • Teacher provides a brief text introduction

• Erin selected a topic for the online inquiry • Erin provided explicit instruction on targeted teaching points

During Reading

• Students read the text • Teacher prompts and supports students’ strategic actions

• Students self-selected text and collaborated on the inquiry • Erin prompted students’ strategic actions

After Reading

• Teacher and students discuss the text • Teacher provides explicit instruction on targeted teaching points

• Students discussed their findings • Erin facilitated the students’ discussion through questioning • Erin identified important research strategies students learned during the lesson

Erin strategically and meaningfully used these lessons as an opportunity to build students’ prior knowledge for an upcoming unit they would be studying and ultimately gave students much more control of the texts they would engage with during the guided reading lessons. Erin explained that because “they are my higher group” she felt more comfortable allowing them to navigate their own reading path. After students complete the reading of the teacher-selected text and engage in discussion about the text, teachers typically provide explicit instruction in one or two targeted teaching points to extend the students’ strategic actions in a traditional guided reading lesson (Fountas & Pinnell, 2017). However, in these lessons, Erin found herself providing strategic teaching points at the beginning of the lesson before the students started interacting with their self-selected texts. For example, when supporting the students in selecting related websites from a search engine results page, Erin said she started the lesson by talking “about which was a good one to go to and that’s when we talked about the different endings (URL’s) and reading the little phrases (snippets).” After these initial teaching points at the beginning of the lesson, she noted that they (the students) would get right into it and start discussing things and helping each other. And then I just, I would just pop in to get them to give me more and to get them to think in a different way, to guide them . . . Allowing them to tell me what they are doing and then using what they are telling me to guide them even further or to probe them a little more. Erin also noticed that the discussion, which typically occurs after reading, occurred throughout the lesson. Traditionally, students engage in the reading independently with the teacher checking in to support the students’ reading during a guided reading lesson (Fountas & Pinnell, 2017). However, Erin allowed students to support each other as they conducted their online research, which resulted in increased engagement and student ownership over their learning and the learning of others. “They are talking a lot more about what they’ve learned . . . Someone will say oh I found this and then someone else will correct them . . . no, it actually says this and this is what it means.” After students engaged with the texts, Erin noted that she brought the group back together to come to a consensus on their findings from their research that day through questioning, such as “Why do you think that? Do you think that’s true?” Occasionally, Erin explicitly identified an important point she wanted students to remember at the end of the lesson. For example, during one lesson when two students got lost in hyperlinks and lost their research focus,

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she asked them to share their experience and ended the group by reminding students that they needed to always keep their question in mind. In these ways, the lessons became more student-centered, with the students supporting each other’s learning and the teacher prompting students to engage in strategic actions. For instance, when Erin noticed students going astray in their research, she questioned the students and, at the end of the lessons, pointed out their findings, thinking, and research “fix-up” strategies.

METHODOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS Given that this study utilized a case study design, these results are limited by the small sample size and bounded system in which it was conducted (Creswell, 2013). The scope of this study was limited to a self-rated technologically proficient teacher in a diverse, Title 1 school, limiting generalization to other populations and needs of both students and teachers. In addition, the participant purposefully received limited PD in order to understand how one teacher would go about implementing online research and comprehension skills within an instructional context that existed in her classroom. This limited PD allowed us to better understand the authentic challenges she faced with little support. However, with more training and guidance, her implementation may have varied if she had a clearer understanding of the skills she was teaching and evidence-based instructional approaches for teaching these skills. In addition, the length of the study did not provide the teacher enough time to address all of the processing practices recommended by Leu et al. (2017), leading to limited findings for supporting teachers as they teach the strategies not addressed in this study. Observational data was not collected in this study because the intent was to examine the teachers’ perceptions of these lessons. Therefore, we are unable to provide explicit details of the lesson implementation and are limited to the specific examples reported by the participant. Finally, the position of researchers in this study is also a limitation. During the study, the first author served as the literacy coach at the school. The first author developed and implemented the PD provided to the participant and collected all data. The collaborative relationship between the first author and participant provided a unique understanding of the results because of the first author’s insider knowledge of the school and school culture (Herr & Anderson, 2015). However, this close relationship also introduced the potential for bias and power relations that may have affected the results of the study (Herr & Anderson, 2015). Procedures for minimizing these mitigating factors were incorporated into the data analysis methods, including the role of author two who served as peer debriefer and member checking (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER PREPARATION The results of this study point to implications for preparing teachers to integrate technology, and more specifically online research and comprehension skills, into their instruction. Educative curriculum materials are one important tool for changing teachers’ existing beliefs and knowledge as they make critical instructional decisions right at the point of planning and instruction, so just in time (Davis & Krajcik, 2005). Davis et al. (2014) defined educative features as “texts and graphics that can be incorporated into curriculum materials with the intention of supporting teacher learning” (p. 25). Educative features may be designed and embedded within curriculum to support technology integration. These educative features should help teachers determine what students need to know, anticipate students’ responses 63

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to instruction, and differentiate the curriculum based on students’ needs, as well as support teachers’ content, pedagogical, and technological knowledge (Davis & Krajcik, 2005; Koehler & Mishra, 2009).

Designing Educative Features for Technology Integration Using the challenges that the teacher and students in this study faced, several types of educative features, specifically supporting technology integration and online research and comprehension skills, may be designed and incorporated into curriculum materials as pop out boxes (see Figure 2). Examples may include teaching tips, background knowledge, misconception alerts, and troubleshooting tips. Teaching tips may be developed to provide just in time advice and content knowledge to teachers as they plan for instruction or make in the moment instructional decisions based on student responses while teaching lessons. For example, the teaching tip provided in Figure 2 guides teachers to determine how many and which web browsers they may introduce to students as they teach online research and comprehension skills. Background knowledge boxes may be developed to provide support for developing teachers’ content knowledge of technology, the Internet, online research and comprehension skills, and even general reading skills and strategies. For example, background knowledge boxes may build technological knowledge by providing information on specific error codes students may come across during lessons or explaining the purposes of specific features of a search results page. The background knowledge box example provided in Figure 2 provides teachers with common keyboard shortcuts they can introduce to students to help increase productivity. Misconception alerts should be used to develop teachers pedagogical content knowledge by helping teachers anticipate student responses that may occur during specific instructional activities or when delivering specific content. For example, when teaching students to generate keywords from questions, students may be taught to first determine the broad topic of the question and then identify the specific focus of the question within that topic (Dobler & Eagleton, 2015). In this instruction, students may easily confuse the topic and the focus of a question. The misconception alert example provided in Figure 2 would help teachers identify this possible confusion early on in a lesson when embedded within the curriculum. Finally, troubleshooting tips provide teachers with technological knowledge on how to solve basic technical issues that may occur during specific lessons. Other features may be included directly within the curriculum materials and specific lessons. Examples of these within lesson elements in a guided reading curriculum meant to develop students’ online research and comprehension skills may include think alouds and suggested prompts to support students’ skills and strategies. Think alouds are used by teachers to express and model their thoughts while performing a task (Kymes, 2005). Through research, Coiro (2011) identified that think alouds show students how to “anticipate challenging online reading situations and carefully think about ways to extend their use of printed text comprehension strategies to Internet reading contexts” (p. 114). Since some teachers may not feel comfortable verbalizing their thinking about online research strategies due to low self-efficacy or skills as an Internet user, think alouds embedded within the curriculum would serve as a guide that could be used or modified by the teacher. An example of a think aloud that models how to evaluate information on a website for reliability by examining the author follows.

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Figure 2. Educative feature examples

In my research on understanding how melting glaciers affect the climate, I came across this website (Display website http://extremeicesurvey.org/). It looks like a pretty good website because it has lots of information about the earth and glaciers, so it could give me some valuable information. However, I know that I always need to check out the author of online information to see if the author is credible and make sure it’s reliable information. On the homepage, I see a logo that looks like it’s by the organization Extreme Ice Survey. I’ve never heard of them so I’m going to look for their “About Page.” Usually, I can find that link at the bottom of the page or in the website menu. (Find the “About Page” link and click on it.) Here it is! As I look through the information listed, I see that it says the project is a collaboration between artists, scientists, and engineers. Interesting. It gives me the name of the president of the organization and a link to a college website with more information about him. Since he is a scientist and the organization is made up of a lot of experts on climate change, I think they have the knowledge and expertise to ensure this information is accurate. So, let me see what I can learn! Guided reading provides a highly supportive context for students because teachers are able to provide immediate feedback as they observe student actions. However, this immediate feedback requires teachers to make fast-paced instructional decisions on the amount and type of support to provide; often this feedback involves complex teaching decisions, especially for new teachers, those who are inexperienced teaching online research and comprehension skills, or those who are uncomfortable with technology use during lessons. Fountas and Pinnell (2017) have recommended the use of three types of prompting that offer differing levels of support to readers: model, guide, or reinforce. Prompts such as those provided in Table 2, would aid teachers in making these quick decisions and help them develop a repertoire of prompting responses specific to online research and comprehension skills.

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Table 2. Suggested prompt examples Model

Guide

Reinforce

• Paraphrase your question first to see what words are used in both questions. You could paraphrase this question like this . . . • In your question, the topic of the question is . . . • In your question, the focus of the question is . . .

• As you read the question, think about the topic. Now think about the focus of the question. • Does the answer provided confirm your keywords as the topic and focus of the question? • Remember, you should only have a couple of keywords.

• You did a great job of determining the topic and focus of the question as keywords. • Good work. In your identified keywords, I see the topic of the question . . . and the focus of the question . . .

Considerations for Designing and Using Educative Curriculum Materials These are just a few examples of specific educative features that may be considered by curriculum designers and PD efforts to support teacher knowledge and teacher learning as they integrate technology and online research and comprehension skills into their instruction. There are certainly other types of features that may be considered, such as narratives of classroom practice with screenshots and/or videos to model instructional decision-making and lesson implementation. As another example, because classroom routines, procedures, and expectations are an important component of any classroom integrating technology into instruction, features that provide support in recommending specific routines, procedures, and classroom technology usage expectations for the curriculum and offer guidelines for establishing them in the classroom may be helpful for teachers. While these educative curriculum materials provide just in time support to teachers during lesson planning and implementation, they are not effective alone. Studies show that teachers’ use of educative supports found in educative curriculum materials can vary greatly (Bismack, Arias, Davis, & Paliscar, 2014; Drake, Land, & Tyminski, 2014). To maximize impact, inservice teachers should be engaged in embedded professional learning experiences and support in using these materials productively. These professional learning experiences surrounding technology integration and online research and comprehension skills should include use of supportive resources, models of instruction, and ongoing coaching. For example, educative curriculum materials may be embedded within situated examples of extended PD such as the Technology Integration Planning Cycle Model of PD implemented by Hutchison and Woodward (2018). During planning sessions embedded within this model, coaches can support teachers in identifying and using important features of curriculum materials and educative curriculum materials. Given the importance of developing all students’ 21st-century skills, such as online research and comprehension skills, teacher preparation courses should embed ways to incorporate technology into instruction in authentic ways throughout their preparation coursework. Drake et al. (2014) proposed the incorporation of educative curriculum materials into teacher preparation programs to increase prospective teacher’s knowledge of curriculum materials, content knowledge, and pedagogical approaches simultaneously. These authors propose five principles when embedding educative curriculum materials into teacher education coursework. First, preservice teachers should understand that curriculum materials contain educative features and, second, learn to identify and read these features with a learning lens using tools provided by instructors to support engagement with the educative features. Third, instructors must scaffold preservice teachers’ use of these tools through specific prompts and structured engagement activities. Fourth, preservice teachers must “examine multiple lessons and units in order to identify

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and understand the development of content over time” (Drake et al., 2014, p. 159). Finally, instructors should help preservice teachers compare and contrast various educative curriculum materials to help them make decisions for selecting various resources for particular circumstances (Drake et al., 2014). Using educative curriculum materials as instructional material in coursework is one way to prepare preservice teachers to, in turn, prepare K-12 students for the digital literacy and learning demands of the 21st-century. However, no matter the method used, preservice teacher preparation requires meaningful integration of technology across programs, learning contexts, and experiences. By providing a model in these courses, preservice teachers will consider when and how to use certain technologies in instruction and also have memorable experiences from which to draw.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Results from this study demonstrated how a teacher was able to easily adapt an instructional framework used in her classroom daily to support her students’ online research and comprehension skills. Based on adaptations she made, we propose a framework for online guided reading. In addition, further implications from this research indicate that other popular instructional approaches may also be modified and adapted by teachers to support their students’ digital literacy skills and embed technology into their instruction in meaningful ways.

The Online Guided Reading Framework The guided reading framework is a supportive instructional context in which a teacher monitors and directs a group of students to engage in strategic actions when they approach a text (Fountas & Pinnell, 2017); however, the guided reading framework was designed with traditional printed texts in mind. Given the adaptations that Erin made within her instruction and our research findings, we redesigned Fountas and Pinnell’s conceptualization of the framework to account for instruction on online research and reading skills (see Figure 3). This redesigned framework uses the same structure familiar to today’s teachers, including before reading, during reading, and after reading portions of the lesson, but modifies the implementation of components within these portions (Van Allen & Zygouris-Coe, 2019). For example, in the before reading section, instead of providing an introduction to the text, the teacher introduces a topic or reviews previous strategies used by students. As another example, instead of providing teaching points at the end of the lesson, the teacher provides explicit teaching of a strategy before reading through a think aloud, which was a key adaptation Erin made to her instruction. Coiro (2011) condones the use of teacher think alouds to model explicit strategies, provide students with academic language, and promote metacognitive thinking about strategy use that improves comprehension of the text. During reading, teachers and students move flexibly between the elements of reading, discussing, and teacher prompting. In ways, this is similar to the traditional framework because the teacher is still providing differentiated support to students. However, the discussion is extended into this section and not solely reserved for after reading because the collaboration among students in Erin’s lesson provided more opportunities for strategy use. In addition, Coiro, Sekeres, Castek, and Guzniczack (2014) conducted a study that examined the effects of upper elementary students’ social interactions on strategy use during an online inquiry task and discovered that student discussions centered on inferring, integrating,

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Figure 3. The online guided reading framework. (© 2019, Journal of Literacy & Technology. Used with permission.)

evaluating, and interpreting information and the strategies they used for these processes resulted in much more productive work and increased student learning. After reading, discussion continues with a reflective focus on the processes and strategies students used during the lesson. Reflection aids online readers in communicating their thoughts and findings to others, a key component of online research and comprehension recommended by Coiro (2011). Therefore, students should discuss the strategies they used throughout the lesson and conclude with one to three points to remember and take away from the lesson. The shifts made in the online guided reading framework are designed to allow teachers to guide and support students’ navigation skills and strategic actions as they locate, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information from a variety of Internet sources in response to a question or problem. For a more in-depth discussion and example of the online guided reading framework, see Van Allen and Zygouris-Coe (2019).

Adapting Instructional Approaches for Technology Integration New developing technologies and the multiple literacies that accompany use of these technologies are disrupting much of our lives, including education (Neuman & Gambrell, 2015). To prepare our students with the new literacies of the 21st century, teachers must transform their instruction to include collaborative, participatory, and meaningful learning experiences that will, to the fullest extent possible, mirror students’ future world and experiences with digital literacy (Greenhow, Robelia, & Hughes, 2009). However, with the ever-changing mandates and policies often redefining what is required of teachers, it is unlikely that this transformation will happen overnight. In addition, Stolle (2008) notes, “Teachers are limited in their ability to envision beyond what they already know and do” (p. 315). Therefore, Erin’s transformation of her guided reading instruction to support students’ digital literacy skills is important and timely. Providing teachers with the opportunity to explore ways to modify and adapt existing instructional contexts is a step in the right direction for transforming instruction. Leu et al. (2008) adapted the reciprocal teaching approach first proposed by Palinscar and Brown (1984), to design Internet reciprocal teaching

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in which the teacher and students use online texts to engage in explicit discussions of the online reading strategies questioning, locating, critically evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating. Inquiry-based instruction is another instructional approach that would pair well with instruction in online research and comprehension skills. Utilizing whole-group mini-lessons or independent reading conferences, a teacher could help students develop strategies for online research and reading with teacher-directed instruction, student collaboration through collaborative learning strategies, and student self-reflection. Perhaps a teacher could reconceptualize the writer’s workshop (Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001) into a researcher’s workshop with a bit of creativity and reimagining. The possibilities are endless when we allow and encourage teachers to experiment with existing instructional contexts in new ways large and small as they support students’ digital literacy skills.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Little research currently exists on the effectiveness of educative curricula that can be used in existing instructional small group structures to develop students’ online research and reading skills and related digital literacies. Our study showed that because technology integration in the existing curricula is often viewed as disruptive and non-aligned with the standard curricula, the familiarity of existing instructional routines and structures might have strong potential for developing 21st-century skill sets for students. Research needs to continue to explore ways to shift existing instructional structures to support these skills. Formative and summative assessments of online research and comprehension skills are greatly needed if work in this area is to continue. Since school culture greatly influences teaching practices, a culture of risk-taking, emphasis on inquiry, or focus on student and teacher collaboration, should be examined to determine their effect on technology integration practices. Furthermore, researchers may inquire into and explore the types of supports that are most supportive to teachers as they transform their teaching with technology.

CONCLUSION It is clear that new, ubiquitous, developing technologies will continue to shift the way we access information and communicate with others. Instruction in these skills must begin early so students can practice and refine these skills as they enter discipline-specific classes in secondary and post-secondary education. Yet, teachers often find themselves unprepared to teach these skills. Understanding the perspectives and challenges that teachers face when they implement instruction in online research and reading skills, as examined in this study, provides a pathway for supporting others in this endeavor. Those focused on teacher education may use these findings to develop PD and educative curriculum materials that support preservice and inservice teachers in meaningful technology integration. Additionally, like we proposed with the Online Guided Reading Framework, all educators must be encouraged to explore and adapt existing curriculum and instructional approaches with new ways to prepare students to locate, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information from multiple online sources. We are not calling for add-on solutions to existing PD and curriculum; instead, we are calling for redesigned and reimagined solutions to better meet the shifting roles of teachers and students in technology integration efforts.

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Hutchison, A. (2012). Literacy teachers’ perceptions of professional development that increases integration of technology into literacy instruction. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 21(1), 37–56. doi:1 0.1080/1475939X.2012.659894 Hutchison, A., & Reinking, D. (2011). Teachers’ perceptions of integrating information and communication technologies into literacy instruction: A national survey in the United States. Reading Research Quarterly, 46(4), 312–333. doi:10.1002/RRQ.002 Hutchison, A. C., & Woodward, L. (2018). Examining the Technology Integration Planning Cycle Model of Professional Development to support teachers’ instructional practices. Teachers College Record, 120(10), 1–44. Iaquinta, A. (2006). Guided reading: A research-based response to the challenges of early reading instruction. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(6), 413–418. doi:10.100710643-006-0074-2 International Literacy Association. (2018). Improving digital practices for literacy, learning, and justice: More than just tools. Retrieved from https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-westand/ila-improving-digital-practices-literacy-learning-justice.pdf International Society for Technology in Education. (2017). ISTE standards for students: A practical guide for learning with technology. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/resources/product?ID=4073 &ChildProduct=4074 Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 9(1), 60–70. Retrieved from https://www.citejournal. org/volume-9/issue-1-09/general/what-is-technological-pedagogicalcontent-knowledge Krajcik, J., & Delen, I. (2017). The benefits and limitations of educative curriculum materials. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 28(1), 1–10. doi:10.1080/1046560X.2017.1279470 Kymes, A. (2005). Teaching online comprehension strategies using think-alouds. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(6), 482–500. doi:10.1598/JAAL.48.6.4 Land, T. J., Tyminski, A. M., & Drake, C. (2015). Examining pre-service elementary mathematics teachers’ reading of educative curriculum materials. Teaching and Teacher Education, 51, 16–26. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2015.05.009 Leu, D. J., Coiro, J., Castek, J., Hartman, D. K., Henry, L. A., & Reinking, D. (2008). Research on instruction and assessment in the new literacies of online reading comprehension. In C. C. Block, S. Parris, & P. Afflerbach (Eds.), Comprehension instruction: Research-based best practices (pp. 321–346). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Leu, D. J., Forzani, E., Rhoads, C., Maykel, C., Kennedy, C., & Timbrell, N. (2015). The new literacies of online research and comprehension: Rethinking the reading achievement gap. Reading Research Quarterly, 50(1), 37–59. doi:10.1002/rrq.85 Leu, D. J., Kinzer, C. K., Coiro, J., Castek, J., & Henry, L. A. (2017). New literacies: A dual-level theory of the changing nature of literacy, instruction, and assessment. Journal of Education, 197(2), 1–18. doi:10.1177/002205741719700202

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Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalisitc inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Liu, F., Ritzhaupt, A. D., Dawson, K., & Barron, A. E. (2017). Explaining technology integration in K-12 classrooms: A multilevel path analysis model. Educational Technology Research and Development, McDermott, P., & Gormley, K. A. (2015). Teacher’s use of technology in elementary reading lessons. Reading Psychology, 37, 121–146. doi:10.1080/02702711.2015.1009592 McFarland, J., Hussar, B., Wang, X., Zhang, J., Wang, K., Rathbun, A., . . . Ossolinski, M. (2018). The condition of education 2018 (Report No. NCES 2018-144). Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/ pubs2018/2018144.pdf Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017–1054. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00684.x Montero, M. K., Newmaster, S., & Ledger, S. (2014). Exploring early reading instructional strategies to advance the print literacy development of adolescent SLIFE. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(1), 59–69. doi:10.1002/jaal.318 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English language arts/literacy. Washington, DC: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers. Nayak, G., & Sylva, K. (2013). The effects of a guided reading intervention on reading comprehension: A study on young Chinese learners of English in Hong Kong. Language Learning Journal, 41(1), 85–103. doi:10.1080/09571736.2011.625214 Neuman, S. B., & Gambrell, L. B. (2015). Disruptive innovations in reading research and practice. Reading Research Quarterly, 50(1), 7–12. doi:10.1002/rrq.93 Office of Educational Technology. (n.d.). ConnectED. Retrieved May 6, 2019, from https://tech.ed.gov/ connected/ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2015). Students, computers, and learning: Making the connection. Retrieved from doi:10.1787/9789264239555-en Paciga, K. (2019). Emergently digital in grade two: Another case of “3.6 minutes per day?”. Journal of Literacy & Technology, 20(1), 119–149. Palinscar, A., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1(2), 117–175. doi:10.12071532690xci0102_1 Pew Research Center. (2014). Digital life in 2025. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2014/03/ PIP_Report_Future_of_the_Internet_Predictions_031114.pdf Pittman, T., & Gaines, T. (2015). Technology integration in third, fourth and fifth grade classrooms in a Florida school district. Educational Technology Research and Development, 63(4), 539–554. doi:10.100711423-015-9391-8 Salyer, D. (2015). Reading the web: Internet guided reading with young children. The Reading Teacher, 69(1), 35–39. doi:10.1002/trtr.1380

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Schneider, R. M. (2013). Opportunities for teacher learning during enactment of inquiry science curriculum materials: Exploring the potential for teacher educative materials. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 24(2), 323–346. doi:10.100710972-012-9309-9 Schuchardt, A. M., Tekkumru-Kisa, M., Schunn, C. D., Stein, M. K., & Reynolds, B. (2017). How much professional development is needed with educative curriculum materials? It depends on the intended student learning outcomes. Science Education, 101(6), 1015–1033. doi:10.1002ce.21302 Shanahan, T. (2013). Letting the text take center stage: How the Common Core State Standards will transform English Language Arts instruction. American Educator, 37(3), 4–11. Stolle, E. (2008). Teachers, literacy, & technology: Tensions, complexities, conceptualizations & practice. In Y. Kim, V. Risko, D. Compton, D. Dickinson, M. Hundley, R. Jimenez, K. Leander & D. WellsRowe (Eds.), 57th yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 56–69). Oak Creek, WI: National Reading Conference. Sung, Y. T., Wu, M. D., Chen, C. K., & Chang, K. E. (2015). Examining the online reading behavior and performance of fifth-graders: Evidence from eye-movement data. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1–15. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00665 PMID:26074837 Tondeur, J., van Braak, J., Ertmer, P. A., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. (2017). Understanding the relationship between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and technology use in education: A systematic review of qualitative evidence. Educational Technology Research and Development, 65(3), 555–575. doi:10.100711423016-9481-2 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. (2017). Reimagining the role of technology in education: 2017 national education technology plan update. Retrieved from https://tech. ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf Wagner, T. (2008). Rigor redefined. Educational Leadership, 66(2), 20–25. Wu, Y. T., & Wang, L. J. (2015). The exploration of elementary school teachers’ Internet self-efficacy and information commitments: A study in Taiwan. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 18(1), 211–222. Zheng, B., Warshauer, M., Lin, C., & Chang, C. (2016). Learning in one-to-one laptop environments: A meta-analysis and research synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 1052–1084. doi:10.3102/0034654316628645

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ADDITIONAL READING Afflerbach, P., & Cho, B. Y. (2010). Determining and describing reading strategies: Internet and traditional forms of reading. In H. S. Waters & W. Schneider (Eds.), Metacognition, strategy use, and instruction (pp. 201–225). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Arias, A. M., Bismack, A. S., Davis, E. A., & Palinscar, A. S. (2016). Interacting with a suite of educative features: Elementary science teachers’ use of educative curriculum materials. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 53(3), 422–429. doi:10.1002/tea.21250 Ball, D. L., & Cohen, D. K. (1996). Reform by the book: What is—might be—the role of curriculum materials in teacher learning and instructional reform? Educational Researcher, 25(9), 6–8, 14. Blanchard, M. R., LePrevost, C. E., Tolin, A. D., & Gutierrez, K. S. (2016). Investigating technologyenhanced professional development in rural, high-poverty middle schools. Educational Researcher, 45(3), 207–222. doi:10.3102/0013189X16644602 Cho, B. Y., & Afflerbach, P. (2015). Reading on the Internet: Realizing and constructing potential texts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(6), 504–517. doi:10.1002/jaal.387 Christ, T., Arya, P., & Liu, Y. (2019). Technology integration in literacy lessons: Challenges and Successes. Literacy Research and Instruction, 58(1), 49–66. doi:10.1080/19388071.2018.1554732 Coiro, J. (2012). Understanding dispositions toward reading on the Internet. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55(7), 645–648. doi:10.1002/JAAL.00077 Colwell, J., Hunt-Barron, S., & Reinking, D. (2013). Obstacles to developing digital literacy on the Internet in middle school science instruction. Journal of Literacy Research, 45(3), 295–324. doi:10.1177/1086296X13493273 Dobler, E., & Eagleton, M. B. (2015). Reading the web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Dwyer, B. (2016). Engaging all students in Internet research and inquiry. The Reading Teacher, 69(4), 383–389. doi:10.1002/trtr.1435 Ertmer, P. A., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. (2010). Teacher technology change: How knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and culture intersect. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(3), 255–284. doi:10.1080/15391523.2010.10782551 Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2001). Guiding readers and writers: Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (n.d.). Research base for guided reading as an instructional approach. Retrieved from http://emea.scholastic.com/sites/default/files/GR_Research_Paper_2010_3.pdf Harrison, C. (2018). Critical Internet literacy: What is it, and how should we teach it? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(4), 461–464. doi:10.1002/jaal.713

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Herring, M. C., Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (Eds.). (2016). Handbook of technology pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) for educators (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315771328 Hutchison, A. (2012). Literacy teachers’ perceptions of professional development that increases integration of technology into literacy instruction. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 21(1), 37–56. doi:1 0.1080/1475939X.2012.659894 Kingsley, T., & Tancock, S. (2014). Internet inquiry: Fundamental competencies for online comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 67(5), 389–399. doi:10.1002/trtr.1223 Leu, D. J., & Maykel, C. (2016). Thinking in new ways and in new times about reading. Literacy Research and Instruction, 55(2), 122–127. doi:10.1080/19388071.2016.1135388 Loper, S., McNeill, K. L., & González-Howard, M. (2017). Multimedia educative curriculum materials (MECMs): Teachers’ choices in using MECMs designed to support scientific argumentation. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 28(1), 36–56. doi:10.1080/1046560X.2016.1277600 McKnight, K., O’Malley, K., Ruzic, R., Horsley, M. K., Franey, J. J., & Bassett, K. (2016). Teaching in a digital age: How educators use technology to improve student learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(3), 194–211. doi:10.1080/15391523.2016.1175856 Neuman, S. B., Pinkham, A., & Kaefer, T. (2015). Supporting vocabulary teaching and learning in Prekindergarten: The role of educative curriculum materials. Early Education and Development, 26(7), 988–1011. doi:10.1080/10409289.2015.1004517 Noh, J., & Webb, M. (2015). Teacher learning of subject matter knowledge through an educative curriculum. The Journal of Educational Research, 108(4), 292–305. doi:10.1080/00220671.2014.886176 O’Byrne, W. I., & McVerry, J. G. (2009). Measuring the dispositions of online reading comprehension: A preliminary validation study. National Reading Conference Yearbook, 58, 362-375. Phillips, E. (2013). A case study of questioning for reading comprehension during guided reading. International Journal of Primary. Elementary and Early Years Education, 41(1), 110–120. doi:10.1080/ 03004279.2012.710106 Tondeur, J., van Braak, J., Sang, G., Voogt, J., Fisser, P., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. (2012). Preparing pre-service teachers to integrate technology in education: A systematic review of qualitative evidence. Computers & Education, 59(1), 139–144. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.10.009 Voogt, J., & McKenney, S. (2017). TPACK in teacher education: Are we preparing teachers to use technology for early literacy? Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 26(1), 69–83. doi:10.1080/14759 39X.2016.1174730 Wall, H. (2014). When guided reading isn’t working: Strategies for effective instruction. Journal of Language and Literacy Education, 10(2), 134–141. White, A. (2016). Using digital think-alouds to build comprehension of online informational texts. The Reading Teacher, 69(4), 421–425. doi:10.1002/trtr.1438

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Young, C. (2019). Increased frequency and planning: A more effective approach to guided reading in Grade 2. The Journal of Educational Research, 112(1), 121–130. doi:10.1080/00220671.2018.1451814 Zoch, M., Myers, J., & Belcher, J. (2016). Teachers’ engagement with new literacies: Support for implementing technology in the English/language arts classroom. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 17(1), 25–52.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Content Knowledge: Teacher knowledge of their discipline or subject matter, including facts, concepts, theories, and principles. Digital Literacy: The ability to use information and communication technologies to locate, evaluate, create, and communicate information. Educative Curriculum Materials: Curriculum materials designed with embedded and pop out features that support teacher learning. Guided Reading: A supportive instructional context in which a teacher monitors and directs a group of students to engage in strategic actions when they approach a text. Internet Reciprocal Teaching: An instructional approach designed for teaching online research and comprehension skills, which was modified from the reciprocal teaching model. Lowercase New Literacies Theory: Ideas, beliefs, and understandings about aspects of specific areas of Uppercase New Literacies theory, such as online research and comprehension skills, multimodality, etc. Online Research and Comprehension Skills: Skills required for conducting online research and understanding multimodal online texts, which include identifying a problem or question, locating, analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information, and effectively communicating findings to others. Pedagogical Knowledge: Teacher knowledge of effective teaching and learning environments for students, such as instructional approaches and techniques. Technology Integration: The use of technology to enhance and support the educational environment, teacher instruction, and student learning. Technological Knowledge: Teacher knowledge of, and ability to use, various technologies, technological tools, and associated resources effectively in their instruction. Think Alouds: A teaching and learning strategy in which either the teacher or student verbalizes their internal thought processes out loud as they engage in an activity, such as reading. Uppercase New Literacies Theory: The overarching ideas, beliefs, and understandings about how the Internet is changing our understanding of literacy and literacy teaching and learning.

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Chapter 4

Using Design Thinking Practices to Create TechnologyDriven Adult Professional Development Programs Farah L. Vallera Lehigh University, USA Bashir Sadat Lehigh University, USA

ABSTRACT Instructors are encouraged to train their students to be creative, critical thinkers, and innovative future leaders; unfortunately, most have not been trained in the same way as they are expected to teach. Instructors need to learn how to inspire innovation and 21st century skills by practicing and teaching those skills themselves. One way to do that is by learning the design thinking process, incorporating it into instruction, and using it to develop students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes/beliefs (KSABs) in similar ways. Understanding and employing the design thinking process and combining those tools with relevant and authentic instructional technologies can prepare instructors to develop the skills of tomorrow’s workforce, innovators, and future leaders. This chapter discusses the importance of training teachers to use the design thinking process while using the design thinking process to instruct them. Best practices and examples of such professional development are offered.

INTRODUCTION As a teacher educator of instructional technology and learning design, I encourage my students to look forward - to look beyond today’s skills, tools, and technologies - and prepare their students for the future. I often begin my courses by asking my students, “What will the world look like in 5 years? In 10? In 20? And what knowledge, skills, and attitudes/beliefs (KSABs) will our students need to be successful DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch004

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when navigating and working in that world?” Now, I cannot take credit for these questions; I first started exploring them after reading Trilling and Fadel’s (2009) book describing the future of 21st century skills. And truthfully speaking, it has been incredibly hard for us all to contemplate the answers. Regardless, I still encourage my students to consider these questions in preparation for an unpredictable future when designing their lessons and teaching their students. We do not know what tools and technologies the future will bring us, and we cannot properly predict the skills that we (and our students) will need to use them. We do know, however, that we are not getting less technology, we will not become less globally connected, and the pace of technological change, innovation, and integration is more rapid than it ever has been before (Lemoine, Seneca, & Richardson, 2019; McLeod & Graber, 2019; Rosefsky Saavedra & Opfer, 2012). Similarly, technological integration no longer includes simply the consumption of tools that boost productivity and improve our lives. We are now able to interact more deeply and feed information back to their developers. The street has become two-way and consumers are “no longer passive receivers” and users, but stakeholding participants in the planning and design of future technologies and innovations (Leboff, 2014, pg. 101). All of this is important when considering the design of learning and teaching for the future. It appears that encouraging the development of 21st century skills can help prepare students for such innovation, interaction, and change (Trilling & Fadel, 2009). I am frequently asked by teachers how to better prepare their students for this unpredictable future filled with change. While I am all too excited to encourage innovation in the curriculum and in classrooms, primarily with regards to technological integration, there are several issues with the way that educators often approach the subject. All too often, folks believe that technology is a “magic bullet” (Van Dusen, 1998) - the key to getting students motivated in their learning and that any technological integration will help prepare students for the future. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Technology is indeed an important motivator; the novelty of technology-based activities and lessons can capture students’ attention and engage them in their learning (Keller, 2010; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [NASEM], 2018). However, if the technology overshadows the learning, is too challenging or complicated to use, or is not interesting or is overly repetitive to them, the students will become distracted by it and learning will not occur (Bayaktar, 2001; NASEM, 2018; Selwyn, 2016; Vallera, 2019). Similarly, simply integrating technology into existing lessons or activities will not improve 21st century skills, make students technologically competent, or encourage mastery of the subject-matter content (Hamilton, Rosenberg, & Akcaoglu, 2016; Inan & Lowther, 2010; NASEM, 2018). Integration must be performed thoughtfully, with purpose, and with the intention of both motivating and instructing the audience (NASEM, 2018). The U.S. educational system is not prepared for what students will need to know in the future, and students need more engaging opportunities for deeper learning (Blackley & Sheffield, 2015; McLeod & Shareski, 2018; Rosefsky Saavedra & Opfer, 2012). Our current “business-as-usual” approach using didactic instruction that includes content delivery through textbooks, lectures, and standardized testing does not encourage deep learning and 21st century skills development (Benade, 2017; Blackley & Sheffield, 2015; Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001; Lemoine et al., 2019). Because of the advancements in technology and the availability of information (McLeod & Shareski, 2018), students can find the answers to most questions in their pockets at any time of day or night (Prensky, 2012; Tapscott, 2009). Many students turn to Google, YouTube, and other online resources to gather information or gain skills, and educators must teach students how to evaluate the sources of information for accuracy, credibility, and legitimacy (McLeod & Shareski, 2018; Trilling & Fadel, 2009). Instruction must include an 79

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integrated mix of content knowledge, skills and practices, and the development of appropriate attitudes/ beliefs (Baartman & Bruijn, 2011; Scheer et al., 2012) to train students for the future. Unfortunately, many teachers have not been trained in the ways they must now educate their students, and it is causing them difficulty in their preparation (Lemoine et al., 2019; Muir-Herzig, 2004; NASEM, 2018; Rosefsky Saavedra & Opfer, 2012). Teachers must participate in teacher education and professional development programs where 21st century skills are embedded, in order to better understand how to embed them in their own classrooms and lessons (Blackley & Sheffield, 2015; Lemoine et al., 2019; Rosefsky Saavedra & Opfer, 2012). They must practice using relevant tools and technologies to inspire their students to gain 21st century skills, as well as prepare them to use or create similar tools in the future (Inan & Lowther, 2010; Instefjord & Munthe, 2017). Because of the uncertainty of the future, it is important for teacher educators to prepare our teachers for that rapid change in order to equip their students with relevant KSABs to be successful. Rather than focusing all of our energy on didactic instruction, standardized testing, and using the “coolest” tool or technology available today, we need to look at what might be coming next. In order to do that, utilizing the design thinking process to train teachers to build future-focused learning can encourage the development of meaningfully integrated lessons and learning environments.

BACKGROUND A Move to 21st Century Skills and Learning The world is changing rapidly. Traditional, teacher-centered practices are no longer meeting the needs of our 21st century students (Blackley & Sheffield, 2015; Lemoine et al., 2019; Rosefsky Saavedra & Opfer, 2012) and new practices are being encouraged. Twenty-first century skills describe a wide array of practices and competencies geared toward preparing individuals for work and careers in the changing landscape of our technology-driven, yet unpredictable, future (Scheer et al., 2012; Trilling & Fadel, 2009). The most frequently cited skills include creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication, or the 4Cs. This list, however, is not exhaustive. According to Trilling and Fadel (2009), students need additional skills to be prepared for a changing workforce and future driven by technological innovation. Digital literacy skills including information, media, and information and communication technologies (ICTs) literacies must be taught to students to become “info-savvy, media-fluent, tech-tuned” individuals (Trilling & Fadel, 2009, pg. 61). Additionally, when entering the workplace, students must be “workready” and equipped with skills designed to adjust to the changing social and work-based landscape. Flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and multicultural competencies, productivity and accountability, and leadership and responsibility will all be necessary in the workplace (Trilling & Fadel, 2009). In order for teachers to successfully instruct these skills, they must encourage their practice authentically across learning environments (Rosefsky Saavedra & Opfer, 2012). Unfortunately, many educators have experienced didactic instruction involving lectures, textbooks, and standardized assessments throughout their own educations and may not be prepared to teach their students in different ways (Benade, 2017; Garet et al., 2001; Lemoine et al., 2019). Similarly, they may not be as accustomed to learning with technology and the internet - or searching for information - in the same ways as their students. They may not have experienced career changes or have had to adapt to rapidly changing workplaces and job descriptions. Or they may not have had to work in diverse or 80

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globally connected environments. These differences in teachers’ experiences may serve as barriers to 21st century instruction and skills development.

Barriers to Integration of 21st Century Skills, Tools, and Technology There are several barriers to the adoption, scalability, and sustained reform related to new undertakings that must be overcome in order for initiatives to be successful. Such barriers involve the costs associated with materials and technologies needed to create and maintain initiatives, the teachers’ roles in the implementation and reform process, and the availability of additional resources, training, and experiences (Inan & Lowther, 2010; Instefjord & Munthe, 2017; Muir-Herzig, 2004). One of the largest barriers to the implementation of technology-driven integration and initiatives is cost, or access (Edelson, 2001; Inan & Lowther, 2010; Instefjord & Munthe, 2017; Muir-Herzig, 2004). Technology costs often keep underfunded districts from incorporating new tools and technologies into their curricula. Even including more technology in the classroom can be an obstacle when school budgets do not allow for the purchase of such tools or the manual support for their implementation and administration (Blumenfeld, Fishman, Krajcik, Marx, & Soloway, 2000; Inan & Lowther, 2010; Muir-Herzig, 2004). Teachers often have concerns about their roles in new initiatives and methods of teaching, particularly when incorporating technology. They may fear that they are unprepared due to limited time or training or that they are giving up too much of their “control” to students’ own decision making in the classroom (Chang & Wang, 2009; Danielson, 2007; Inan & Lowther, 2010; Lemoine et al., 2019; Muir-Herzig, 2004). However, teachers are the key to sustained reform and such barriers must be removed in order for initiatives to be successful (Lemoine et al., 2019). According to Blumenfeld and colleagues (2000), “Educators’ beliefs, understandings of the reform, and expertise in carrying it out will influence their reaction to change” (p. 151). Providing teachers with proper professional development, built-in scaffolding, and additional supports can increase teacher confidence and lessen the amount of time needed to implement more 21st century skills development and technology integration.

Barriers to Successful Learning with 21st Century Skills, Tools, and Technology Barriers to successful 21st century learning with technology differ from the barriers blocking technology’s integration into learning environments and opportunities. These barriers are often far harder to predict, identify, or overcome. They include using technology that is: 1) too difficult for students to learn, 2) not interesting to the students, or 3) too novel or distracting. Additionally, 4) when access to technology is not equal, 5) when access is not equitable, and 6) when simply swapping one tool for another, learning may not occur. These issues relate not only to students’ learning with the tool or technology, but also to corresponding 21st century skills. While implementing the newest applications and software demonstrate the instructor’s willingness to explore technology, some technologies are too difficult to use in the classroom (Selwyn, 2016). These difficulties may involve the students’ age levels, skill levels, or even their fine motor skills or they may be based solely on the tool’s complexity. Some students may develop critical thinking and problem solving skills to navigate those tools, but many may not be prepared or successful. Similarly, many tools may not interest the students or improve their learning. For instance, I had a group of undergraduate students in a course on American minority relations create interactive timelines to demonstrate the plights of certain 81

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groups of individuals in the U.S. They used a tool that was complicated and did not interest them. Following the activity the students mentioned that creating the timeline did not improve their learning about the groups and they were not motivated by the tool itself. Additionally, their digital and media literacy skills throughout the investigation and activity were not improved because of the issues with the tool. Using tools that are “too cool” or novel with student audiences can also impede learning. While educators are often encouraged to create and include novel experiences in learning environments to motivate students (Keller, 1983), overusing them can lose their effectiveness (Bayaktar, 2001; NASEM, 2018; Vallera, 2019). For example, a group of fourth grade students received a set of iPads to walk through an integrated STEM and agriculture project-based learning curriculum and its corresponding eBook. This group of students had not had iPads in their classrooms before and simply having the technology resulted in interactive videos playing all at once, navigation outside of the eBook to other applications, and an overwhelming number of selfies. Students’ learning was impeded because the technology was too engaging, and project-based, 21st century skills involving collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking were hindered because of the technology’s novelty. Issues of equality and equity also impact 21st century learning with technology. When students do not have equal access to devices, bandwidth, or similar learning opportunities with tools and technology as their peers, their learning may suffer. According to a recent Pew Research Center Study (Anderson & Kumar, 2019), a large portion of lower-income Americans still do not own smartphones, tablets, or have broadband internet services in their homes. Sending students home with activities that involve such tools or services will not encourage their learning. Furthermore, equity still plays a huge role in access. In some “bring your own device” (BYOD) programs, students’ economic status is displayed by the devices they bring. Some may have the newest technologies, while others have outdated “hand-me-downs.” Twentyfirst century skills development related to social and cross-cultural competence may be impeded when diversity and differences related to socio-economic status and social class impact learning opportunities. Finally, there has been a big push for teachers and teacher educators to follow technology integration models and frameworks, such as SAMR and TPACK; however, these models do not necessarily contribute to the transformation of learning and often do not get further than augmenting projects with new tools or technologies (Cherner & Curry, 2017; Hamilton et al., 2016). Simply swapping out written work for digital tools does not impact learning and digital literacy skills will not likely be improved.

PREPARING OUR TEACHERS Educators must learn how to instruct their students for the future. However, to overcome the barriers to the implementation of 21st century skills and technological integration, teacher educators must do several things. Teacher educators must prepare teachers to be 21st century learners, technological integrators, and flexible and adaptable leaders prepared for future-focused educational change (Blackley & Sheffield, 2015; Lemoine et al., 2019). They must encourage future teachers to develop learning environments where 21st century skills development and technological integration are seamless, thoughtfully planned, and designed with the audience in mind. Additionally, they must instruct teachers in ways that meet their needs as adult learners. These are challenging goals to meet when teachers and teacher educators may not have been instructed in similar fashions, and when professional development does not replicate the learning their students must undertake.

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Professional Development Programs According to Guskey (2002), “Professional development programs are systematic efforts to bring about change in the classroom practices of teachers, in their attitudes and beliefs, and in the learning outcomes of students” (pg. 381). Professional development programs can take many shapes, but there is no agreed upon list of administration practices. Some definitions include in-service workshops, conferences, and seminars, while others include informal and social learning that takes place among colleagues in hallways and lunchrooms (Desimone, 2009). Whatever the case, most studies of professional development aim to identify the links between the “design of professional development, teachers’ learning during professional development activities, and subsequent changes in classroom practice” (Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007, pg. 923). Thoughtfully designed professional development programs should instruct teachers as though they were their learners (Borko, 2004; Penuel et al., 2007), include professional learning communities (Borko, 2004), and engage teachers intrinsically (Guskey, 2002). They can also encourage the development of 21st century skills if they are embedded into the programs meaningfully. Garet and colleagues (2001) found that “sustained and intensive professional development is more likely to have an impact...than is shorter professional development….[and] that professional development that focuses on academic subject matter (content), gives teachers opportunities for ‘hands-on’ work (active learning), and is integrated into the daily life of the school (coherence), is more likely to produce enhanced knowledge and skills” (pg. 935). Additionally, recognizing and acknowledging the needs of adult learners in professional development programs can improve their overall effectiveness.

Adult Learning, or Andragogical, Practices Adults learn differently than younger students (Blackley & Sheffield, 2015; Knowles, 1980; Merriam, 2001). It was not until the late 1960s that educators started paying attention to those differences and designing learning in accordance with their more “mature” audiences’ needs (Blackley & Sheffield, 2015). Adult learners want to take an active role in their learning, evaluation, and feedback processes and prefer to plan their pathways throughout their courses of study (Vallera & Lewis, 2019). They are considered far more self-directed, motivated, and ready to learn than their younger counterparts (Knowles, 1980). Additionally, adults hope to apply their learning immediately and want to incorporate their personal experiences into their learning processes (Knowles, 1980). Taking these assumptions into consideration when designing learning can help create environments that are motivating and relevant to adult learners (Blackley & Sheffield, 2015; Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2015). As with technology and 21st century skills, not all teacher educators, teacher trainers, or professional development instructors may have been trained to teach adult learners. This is inherently problematic if their instruction is more teacher-centered or geared more toward younger learners’ needs. Additionally, it is irresponsible practice for designers and teacher educators to assume they know what is best for adult students without first asking them. They may end up setting learners up for failure, creating demotivating learning environments, or instructing things they do not care about or already know. Using a human-centered approach to the design of instruction can help develop welcoming environments and thoughtfully planned instruction for adults. Design thinking practices can provide a framework for meeting the needs of adult learners and designing effective programs.

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The Design Thinking Process Design thinking is a human-centered approach to identifying and solving large-scale problems through an iterative process involving prototyping and testing potential solutions. It is commonly used by entrepreneurs, corporations, and software or technology developers to create and innovate new solutions to tools, technologies, softwares, processes, and learning based on the needs of their particular audiences (Brown, 2009). However, it belongs in education as well. Like technology, design thinking is not a “magic bullet” to successful learning and developing integrated environments that engage students and support their learning. It does, however, encourage both the teacher and the student to identify and investigate problems identified by the learner rather than problems that have been predefined by whoever is in charge - usually the teacher, administrator, or the standardized assessment instrument. The main goal of design thinking is to wrestle with complex problems in an effort to find and test new solutions. There are several models of the design thinking process; however, all include some form of understanding the audience (empathy), defining the problem to solve (define), generating potential solutions (ideate), building models that represent those solutions (prototype), and testing those designs (test). Design thinking begins with humans, which “increases the likelihood of developing a breakthrough idea and finding a receptive market” (Brown, 2009, pg. 230) and limits repeating mistakes by taking the “business-as-usual” approach to innovation. It is focused on the process of finding innovative and creative solutions to problems rather than addressing an individual problem. Design thinking allows us to test potential solutions creatively and systematically to find multiple possible outcomes. And at every stage of the design process, the target audiences’ needs are taken into consideration.

Design Thinking for Learning The design thinking process fits nicely into curricular redesign and instruction. Integrating design thinking into the curriculum can encourage students to deal “with complex real-life problems by analysing and evaluating them in order to act solution-oriented and responsible” (Scheer et al., 2012, pg. 11). These opportunities teach valuable 21st century skills and tie together KSABs by encouraging students’ motivations and exploration into holistic, authentic activities (Scheer et al., 2012). It can also serve as a method of personalizing instruction geared toward individuals’ specific needs and desires. Design thinking encourages educators to build learning in a learner-centered, empathetic manner. First, learning what the audience needs and wants, then coming up with a working problem statement, before brainstorming numerous options for learning to create more authentic experiences. Prototyping, testing, and iterating materials and products prior to implementation makes for more engaging student experiences. Incorporating design thinking strategies into professional development and the development of materials can improve students’ success by encouraging the development of integrated KSABs and 21st century skills. Design thinking can be used in classes and in the development of instructional materials that support student learning, engagement, and performance. Design thinking is a tool that can be used 1) to design adult instruction, 2) by those adults in the classrooms, and 3) by students to prepare for 21st century jobs and skills. Still, teachers need to practice the process themselves in order to effectively teach it to their students.

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Professional Development and Design Thinking for Adult Learners Incorporating the design thinking process into professional development programs surrounding technology integration can impact learning in a positive way. If teachers and instructors are not confident in their technological competencies, using the design thinking process to instruct them and design their instruction may help. Design thinking creates in the users the feeling of “getting stuck” and allows for them to explore ways of getting “unstuck”, along with the feelings that come with those experiences (Gardner, 2017). Since problems in the real world can rarely be solved by individuals alone, design thinking encourages the practice of collaboration to search for solutions from multiple perspectives, skills, disciplines, experiences, and background knowledge. Similarly, failure is a challenging part of the learning process, but it is an essential part of life for flexible, adaptable leaders. Design thinking allows for and encourages failure in order to iterate and make projects and products better. Teaching individuals that failure is acceptable will make for more thoughtful designs and bravery when they are searching for solutions to challenging problems. Having adults experience these challenges in their own trainings can help support them when they are instructing their own students. Designing professional development and adult education programs that teach 21st century skills and the design thinking process can help instructors put a thoughtful and effective iterative learning process that “fosters metacognitive skills and competencies” (Scheer et al., 2012, pg. 14) into practice in their classrooms. Taking adult learners’ needs into consideration when designing professional development programs is essential in order to appeal to their self-direction, intrinsic motivation, readiness to learn, and their desire to immediately apply their learning and use their real-life experiences (Knowles, 1980). Utilizing the design thinking process to determine what adult learners’ needs are in relation to the topic and KSABs they will learn will make the professional development more meaningful, motivating, and authentic, as it asks: “Does it meet the needs of its target population? Does it create meaning as well as value? Does it inspire a new behavior that will be forever with it?” (Brown, 2009, pg. 230).

CREATION OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS Design Thinking for Development Using design thinking, we have been able to learn more about the needs of our adult learners and design professional development programs to address those needs. While we primarily develop professional development programming geared toward instructional technology and learning design, we embed 21st century skills and design thinking processes into the programs to encourage our teachers to learn like their learners. We create a community of learners before the programming (in the empathy phase), during the programming (in collaborative activities), and after the programming (in the form of shared websites, collaborative documents, and follow-up connections and conversations). We also use design thinking methods to identify learning strategies, topics, and tools that will motivate our learners to attend our programming. Prior to the development of any program, we talk to teachers. In a teacher education program, we have ample opportunities to discuss trends, pressures, and interests both formally and informally. In the empathy phase of any project, we try to discover the needs of our audience by asking them to describe current classroom struggles, things they want to learn more about, and things that will motivate them 85

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to learn. We also need to incorporate their feelings, interests, and concerns as adult learners. From their themes, needs, and insights that emerge (either from interviews, focus groups, or empathy mapping), we develop a problem statement defining their specific professional development needs. In the ideation phase, we brainstorm many different ideas - foregoing the “low hanging fruit” - and funnel the best one to the prototyping phase. It is here where we try to incorporate additional 21st century skills that align to technological integration. Then, we will make the first prototype of the program or materials. In the design thinking process, it is important to test the prototype quickly and make any necessary changes before the full program is developed. This gives us the time to iterate and repeat the process again and again if the program falls flat or does not interest the audience. The result of all the steps will bring us a product that will hopefully meet the needs of our targeted audience. The next section offers some examples of professional development workshops, teacher trainings, and adult learning materials. Their designs and implementation outcomes are discussed, along with best practices in integrating the design thinking process into the design of instruction, during the presentation of instruction, and as a tool for teachers to incorporate into their own courses.

Video Design Workshops Instructors and educators are aware that their students learn from video. Video is an accessible, searchable, and convenient tool for learning. Faculty and staff members regularly request training on how to develop more instructional video for their learners. Using the design thinking process, several individuals indicated what they wanted to know and be able to do with video in their courses and professional development trainings. From this information, we found that many did not know what they did not know. This made for an incredible learning opportunity. Rather than simply disseminating a professional development workshop on video editing (one of the initial requests received), we were able to create and test three separate workshops designed to meet the needs discovered in the empathy and define phases of the design thinking process. Those workshops included: 1) the basics of best practices in instructional video design, 2) how to stage, light, and capture quality video and audio, and 3) how to edit video using the appropriate tools for the user’s skill level. Participants could attend all three workshops or just the one or two they needed. Additionally, each workshop was designed to have teachers walk through the design thinking process themselves to learn how to build their videos. They had to identify their audiences’ needs and generate a problem statement, rather than identifying what they, themselves, believed the problem was. From there, they had to ideate several possible solutions by storyboarding and scripting possible videos and storylines. They learned how to make videos, develop 21st century skills, and employ the design thinking process to solve relevant and authentic problems. From the pilot test of the workshops, ten individuals participated in all three. Six more participated in two of them, and roughly 12 other individuals came to one of the three workshops. The participants connected following the workshops and several have partnered to work on video projects collaboratively.

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Building Makerspaces for Learning Makerspaces are currently a hot topic in K-12 education and students requested training. Many wanted to know how and what to teach in such a space, but most did not have makerspaces available for their use. After several discussions with our target audience, we learned that teachers first needed to know how to build or secure a makerspace in their school or classroom. They could not teach if they did not have a space. We ideated several possible ways to instruct “how to build a makerspace,” while still incorporating 21st century skills and integrating relevant technologies. Would we take students to see spaces? Would we follow an outline as to how to define an appropriate space? Would we encourage their learning while participating in a space as students? We prototyped an eight-day intensive course that incorporated these things and transformed our classroom space into a fully operational makerspace. We visited three makerspaces in the area and students had to complete tasks, challenges, and activities designed to have them experience their learning as their learners would. The course was a success and now runs every summer with more relevant visits and restructured activities. Again, participants used the design thinking process themselves to design challenges their students would do in the space they would eventually create. A second course is being developed and tested to instruct students how to teach in those spaces. Several teachers have spaces in place but have never received training as to how to tie learning into the constructivist practice of innovating in such places. Participants will again use the design thinking process to understand what their audiences would like to do in the space. From there, they will continue to create learning opportunities and an environment that meets the needs of their audience members.

Artificial Intelligence for Adult Literacy In another project under development, the design thinking process was utilized to identify a solution to meet the needs of adult English language learners navigating unfamiliar reading materials. An artificial intelligence (AI) enabled eBook reader is being created to assist adult learners in identifying how difficult the book they are about to read will be based on their current understanding of the English language. The tool will keep track of the previous readings and make assumptions based on previous vocabulary understandability to predict the readability of the new book or text. The goal of this project is to help learners choose readings based on their current level of reading comprehension. Adult English language learners may struggle with finding supports suited to their needs. The design thinking process has allowed us to identify the learners’ needs and problems and identify a possible solution to test in the future. The software will help adults learn by collecting data about their current repository of words and by choosing future readings that are appropriate for their current reading level. The program will help students learn the definitions of words before beginning the new reading. The AI enabled application can be used by individuals and their instructors to keep track of their learning over time. Data will be comprised of the practice of reading - time spent on each page, how often readers click on certain words, and how often readers navigate backwards in the text. The data that are collected from this process will be valuable, which will help instructors, policymakers, and other educational stakeholders to make thoughtful, informed data-driven decisions about additional interventions and learning opportunities.

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One of the flaws of the current education system is that instruction is rarely personalized and is presented in a teacher-centered manner to many students simultaneously. All students are expected to learn everything presented; but since learners have different needs, this model cannot satisfy all of those needs at once. With the help of applications such as this one, students’ specific needs are identified, interventions are provided, and 21st century skills can be developed using integrated technological solutions. Using AI, we will have the opportunity to provide more personalized and individualized learning experiences to adult learners. AI enabled systems will learn about the students, provide them with guidance at their own pace, and meet their needs as learners. Unfortunately, personalized learning is still not prevalent in modern education systems and adult education programs because educators are busy doing the labor works of teaching, administration, and housekeeping for the students. With the help of “smart systems,” we can reduce this burden on instructors, which will give them the time to connect with students on a more personal level, something adult learners value greatly.

Reflection and Iteration While these projects are all quite different, the design thinking process has provided several benefits in their development. The main benefit of using the design thinking process in the construction of professional development programs is the opportunity to reflect and iterate. Since adult learners greatly value being involved in their learning, offering their personal experiences, and applying their knowledge immediately, they are very receptive to reflecting on the programs and offering suggestions for iteration. The most common suggestions from adult learners in professional development trainings include: • • • • •

Provide feedback immediately following learning activities Offer active learning, hands-on tasks and challenges to engage audiences The trainer should ALSO participate as the learner to further model desired behaviors Encourage 21st century skills, such as collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking Be prepared to differentiate instruction (particularly with technology integration) for varying skill and knowledge levels

CONCLUSION The future of educational change is upon us. Students are inundated with technology, and the answers to all their questions are available instantaneously in their pockets (Prensky, 2012; Tapscott, 2009). Students have expectations that we (as educators) should allow them to use those tools. Teachers have expectations as to how those devices should be used by students, and administrators have expectations about both of those things. Some schools/districts/colleges are still reluctant to let students use their personal devices (smartphones in particular) to help them solve problems because they are still seen as a distraction, while others are placing expectations on educators to integrate more technology into the classroom and learning process to prepare students for the future.

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Those integrations are often being done haphazardly or primarily as a substitution for other processes (creating a word document over pencil and paper or a slideshow presentation over a poster). It is important to integrate technology in thoughtful and meaningful ways to support 21st century skill development, learning, and instruction (McLeod & Graber, 2019; McLeod & Shareski, 2018; Trilling & Fadel, 2009). We must also keep in mind that emerging technologies are not the “magic bullets” for effective learning and teaching. It is essential to look at the impact of technology integration thoughtfully, lead with the learning and not the tool or technology, and consider technology as a support mechanism to learning and not simply the answer. We need to prepare our teachers to both use and explore the coming tools and technologies, and also to not rely on them completely, as others are in the pipeline. But, how do we prepare them for the tools and the changes? Teachers must prepare for more technological integration and 21st century skills development by participating in professional development that incorporates the things their students should be learning. They need to make sure their learning materials are designed thoughtfully and integrate 21st century skills, technology, and subject-matter content so students can make a transfer of knowledge, skills, and appropriate attitudes and beliefs across learning environments. To do so we need to make learning relevant to real-life and personalized to meet our adult learners’ needs. Both teachers and students must become adaptable, flexible, and amenable to failure. The design thinking process is an important part of the meaningful integration of instructional technology and 21st century skills into learning, while taking adult learners’ needs into consideration in the professional development process. Teachers must embrace 21st century learning to prepare their students for success in the future. Rather than focusing on the current trends in tools and technology, teachers and teacher educators should be shaping the people who will be making products. Only then can we consider transforming the learning space for future generations and prepare our students for careers that do not yet exist.

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Knowles, M. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge Books. Knowles, M., Holton, E., & Swanson, R. (2015). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (8th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. Leboff, G. (2014). Stickier marketing: How to win customers in a digital age (2nd ed.). London: Kogan Page Limited. Lemoine, P., Seneca, S., & Richardson, M. (2019). Resilience for faculty development in global higher education. In A. Elçi, L. Beith, & A. Elçi (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Faculty Development for Digital Teaching and Learning (pp. 481–504). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-8476-6.ch024 McLeod, S., & Graber, J. (2019). Harnessing technology for deeper learning. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. McLeod, S., & Shareski, D. (2018). Different schools for a different world. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Merriam, S. (2001). Andragogy and self-directed learning: Pillars of adult learning theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2001(89), 3–14. doi:10.1002/ace.3 Muir-Herzig, R. (2004). Technology and its impact in the classroom. Computers & Education, 42(2), 111–131. doi:10.1016/S0360-1315(03)00067-8 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). How people learn II: Learners, contexts, and cultures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Penuel, W., Fishman, B., Yamaguchi, R., & Gallagher, L. (2007). What makes professional development effective? Strategies that foster curriculum implementation. American Educational Research Journal, 44(4), 921–958. doi:10.3102/0002831207308221 Prensky, M. (2012). From digital natives to digital wisdom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. Rosefsky Saavedra, A., & Opfer, V. (2012). Learning 21st-century skills requires 21st-century teaching. Phi Delta Kappan, 94(2), 8–13. doi:10.1177/003172171209400203 Scheer, A., Noweski, C., & Meinel, C. (2012). Transforming constructivist learning into action: Design thinking in education. Design and Technology Education: An International Journal, 17(3). Selwyn, N. (2016). Digital downsides: Exploring university students’ negative engagements with digital technology. Teaching in Higher Education, 21(8), 1006–1021. doi:10.1080/13562517.2016.1213229 Tapscott, D. (2009). Grown up digital: How the Net Generation is changing your world. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

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Vallera, F. (2019). Durkheim said what? Creating talking textbooks with augmented reality and projectbased activities. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 51(3), 290–310. doi:10.1080/15391 523.2019.1617809 Vallera, F., & Lewis, M. (2019). Andragogical design considerations for online multicultural education. In J. Keengwe & K. Kungu (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Cross-Cultural Online Learning in Higher Education (pp. 364–383). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-8286-1.ch018 Van Dusen, G. (1998). Technology: Higher education’s magic bullet. The NEA Higher Education Journal. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/abf4/b41084f39f15d6d13ffdb84322a902ed3228.pdf

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Andragogy: A theory involving the methods, practices, and study of instructing adult learners, where it is assumed that adults learn differently than children. Artificial Intelligence: Simulated human intelligence generated by computer systems that learn, correct, and predict based on advanced mathematical algorithms. Design Thinking: A human-centered approach to identifying and solving a large-scale problem through an iterative process involving prototyping and testing potential solutions. Makerspace: A place and a mindset where individuals connect and collaborate to innovate new ideas by sharing tools, technologies, and expertise. Professional Learning Communities: Groups of teachers, administrators, and staff members that meet regularly to share ideas and expertise to improve teaching performance and learning achievement.

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Perceptions and New Realities for the 21st Century Learner Jennifer (Jenny) L. Penland Shepherd University, USA Kennard Laviers Sul Ross State University, USA

ABSTRACT Of all the technologies emerging today, augmented reality (AR) stands to be one of, if not the, most transformational in the way we teach our students across the spectrum of age groups and subject matter. The authors propose “best practices” that allow the educator to use AR as a tool that will not only teach the processes of a skill but will also encourage students to use AR as a motivational tool that allows them to discover, explore, and perform work beyond what is capable with this revolutionary device. Finally, the authors provide and explore the artificial intelligence (AI) processors behind the technologies driving down cost while driving up the quality of AR and how this new field of computer science is transforming all facets of society and may end up changing pedagogy more profoundly than anything before it.

INTRODUCTION Mixed Reality (MR) the cousin to Virtual Reality (VR), is starting to gain a foothold in today’s technological ecosystem. In (Penland, Laviers, Bassham and Nnochiri 2018), the use of Virtual Reality for distance learning was demonstrated on a small scale however VR while being more immersive, does not integrate with the user’s environment and therefore makes it difficult to teach students with a tangible example of the subject matter. Mixed Reality (MR) is used as an independent concept or to classify the spectrum of reality technologies, as referenced in reality virtuality continuum 1994; 2007). As an independent concept, MR combines the best of both virtual reality and augmented reality. When used to classify the larger scope of reality technologies, it refers to the coverage of all possible variations and compositions of real and virtual objects. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch005

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This type of connectivity has now reached the pinnacle were technology has emerged both the quality and cost to a practical level. While this is fantastic, allowing someone to engage in a task totally unfamiliar to them such as, rebuilding a carburetor, as a pedagogical medium we propose a note of caution and suggest prior instruction with this as a continued practice strategy. If the AR or Mixed Reality can take them step-by-step through a process, we can make an argument that the students will not find it insignificant to remember or learn the process because they don’t have to, the AR will do it for them (Callaghan, Gardner & Davies, 2008). In this chapter, we will explore various ways for AR to be used as a pedagogical tool and propose methods to avoid letting the student side-step the learning process. Over time, it is likely that only a few adaptive learning software packages will prevail. Hopefully, software vendors not controlled by very large universities or companies will choose to share how their algorithms work. We have learned enough about how people learn to know that not everyone learns the same way. Beyond the seven learning styles (visual, aural, verbal, physical, logical, social, and solitary) with which many educators are familiar, modern technologies are enabling researchers to determine there may be more. In fact, one recent book by David Schwartz, Jessica Tsang, and Kristen Blair (2016), “The ABCs of How We Learn”, identifies 26 unique learning styles. As datasets of learners’ activities increase and algorithms improve their abilities to discern different styles, this higher number will likely increase. Sophisticated software increases the potential to tease out the most effective way to help each person learn. The weakness of today’s educational system is that we often teach to the average, excluding learners on the upper and lower edges with a Bell Curve focus (Herrnstein & Murray, 1994). A learner who conforms survives, while non-conformers do not. As colleges, universities, and corporations develop and refine stronger adaptive learning algorithms, I hope they avoid the bias toward conformity. As we embrace adaptive learning software, we have to make sure that we choose learning algorithms that work to the learners’ strengths instead of forcing them to adapt to a norm. In the end, we lose if we are all coached to think alike. One of the surest signs that a technology trigger is starting its roller-coaster ride through the Gartner’s “Hype cycle of innovation” is when the name we all call that trigger becomes a part of the public lexicon (2014).

The Technology Explained Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) are often used synonymously, however, some separate the two terms to mean slightly different things. We choose to use the two as the same. While it is counter-intuitive to envision, AR is actually much more sophisticated and difficult to implement then VR. With VR, the hardware and software do not need to keep track of the real world that the user is in whereas in AR not only does it need to track the real world, it also needs to understand what it observes in the real world and translate that to the software so the simulation can be matched with the world. Until most recently, this process was just not fast enough and there was a big delay in the simulation updating the movements of the user in the simulation and often the simulation would get out of synch with the world cause uncomfortable jarring in the experience for the user. Part of the solution to this problem is generating an immediate modality for the computer to understand items and features in the real world that could be used to track movements and places of interest pertaining to the application in us (Penland and Laviers, 2018). In order to accomplish this, developers turned to artificial intelligence and hardware implementations of complex algorithms that take too much time.

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Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around since the early days of computers but until recently it was used only as a mildly helpful tool to perform simple tasks such as voice and image recognition. Often probability theory would work better to accomplish AI tasks then the more unusual neural networks that are truer to form as an AI technique. Neural networks simulate how the brain processes information but have the problem of being more like a black box. In other words, they learn how to recognize patterns but we can’t really examine what took place inside the network to understand how the network learned what it did and therefore researchers and developers have been hesitant to use them in commercial applications. The reason neural networks have been overlooked since their discovery in 1943, when Walter Pitts and Warren McCulloch wrote a program that modeled the human brain in a very simple sense with few neurons. The problem with these neural networks was very simple, computers were simply too slow. A neural network can be thought of as in input array (think in terms of pixels of an image), an output array (think in terms of the name of a face on a picture) and some hidden (middle) layers in-between the input layer and the output layer. The more middle layers between the input and output, the better the AI does its job and the more abstract concepts are that the neural network can learn. The problem that arises is that every layer that is added increases the complexity of the processing exponentially. In the computer world this is a very bad thing and for many years it was a huge obstacle to overcome and therefore neural networks were giving very little attention. This was true until another technology grew from the gaming industry, video cards and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). GPUs started from the ground up to perform fairly simple and low-resolution computational tasks with a high degree of parallelism. That is, instead of one or a few very powerful and high-resolution computer processor cores, the GPU would have hundreds or even thousands of cores that could all work simultaneously. This made the practicality of deep neural networks a reality and soon enough this technology allowed researched to beat the world’s best Go player for the first time, a feat some scientist thought was impossible. Soon after, companies across the world started a race to implement AI in their core business practices Abramovich and Horowitz (2018) and country after country started programs to further research in AI starting something of an AI space race among nations (Gershgorn, 2018). These advances have lead companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Intel and others to start developing AI processors that could run these parallel computations with very little power and more importantly in real-time. This technology has finally opened up the world of Augmented and Mixed reality to consumers, businesses and educational institutions. Apple and what they did with the new technology provide the best example of this use of extra AR and AI processors. In order to bring AR to their devices, as mentioned above, they developed a whole new chip that they called their neural engine. This chip is similar to the GPU mentioned above but it is even more specifically designed to process neurons in a neural network in parallel. This processor allows very complex computation on the devices with very low power usage making it relatively practical to run Augmented Reality tasks on the very power constrained, computationally limited phones and tablets. This chip is used for their facial recognition component as well as other neat features on the phones. However, it is important to note that this is only part of the story. In addition to the hardware introduced, Apple also introduced their AR Kit, which is a handy framework for software developers can use to easily make AR based applications. Arguably, it is this spirit of producing more and more tools, frameworks and even programming languages that is driving the explosion of AR, VR, and MR in addition to driving the explosion of Artificial Intelligence in general. (Gershgorn, 2017)

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As colleges, universities, and corporations develop and refine, an actual example of a virtual world used for education is NASA’s simulator. This very complex simulator provides space simulation scenarios and is used for training next-generation astronauts (BBC, 2008). Other simulators, (many based on virtual worlds from computer games) are already in common use training people in high-risk or stressful occupations, (e.g. surgeons, soldiers). By designing their own computer games young people can acquire Computer Science skills.

AR Devices Available Microsoft announced the HaloLens in 2016 and it was truly amazing in the features it provided (Swartz, 2016). Laduma announced the HoloLens 2 which sees an increase in the field of view by two-fold (Pickersgill, 2019). The HoloLens 2 has a price point that is higher than many consumers or casual gamers may be interested in. This would suggest that Microsoft sees this entry as a viable tool for commercial or educational use.

Why Traditional Learning Suffers vs. VR, AR or Mixed? Many of the higher institutions suffer a dedicated instruction system as well as a deficiency of personal interaction between the students and the instructors. The assessment methods applied by those institutions are usually outdated and cannot measure the learning goals adequately, this provides the student with a very little opportunity of utilizing their knowledge to solve real-life problems (Penland & Laviers, 2018). Students from a privileged educational background, as well as the students from disadvantaged educational backgrounds, usually enter higher educational institutions with differences in the skills and knowledge required for studying different disciplines (Penland & Laviers, 2018). If students lack schedule flexibility, instructors’ availability, and vast interaction in a particular leaning system, it cannot be regarded as a VR, AR or mixed realities. VR/ AR reality learning can be regarded as mixed when the learners have frequent access to their instructors, both online and physically (Penland & Laviers, 2018). Mixed Reality (MR) is any method of learning that uses technology to bridge the gap between students and instructors. The quality, frequency, and the quantity of communication between the instructors and students alone are not enough in VR, AR or Mixed Realities, but refining the learning experience of the student Penland & Laviers, 2018). The most common problem faced by higher education institutions in adopting the Mixed Reality approach is the inadequate computer skills for the instructors. Some of the major challenges hindering the application whether it be VR, AR or MR technology in higher education include students’ restricted access to technological resources and lack of innovative methods from instructors. Integrating online materials via virtual with the traditional classroom provides a positive effect on students’ performance, enhances a flexible learning atmosphere, and ensures student autonomy (Sheehan, 2017).

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Machine Learning Machine learning is an artificial intelligence (AI) discipline geared toward the technological development of human knowledge (Hurwitz & Kirsch, 2019). AI allows computers to handle new situations via analysis, self-training, observation and experience and is used in anti-virus and anti-spam software to improve detection of malicious software, spyware, adware etc. on your devices. (Hurwitz & Kirsch, 2019). AI is also changing the way vehicle systems are engineered and built. It is being used extensively in self-driving cars. Why is machine learning important? Resurging interest in machine learning is due to the same factors that have made data mining and Bayesian analysis more popular than ever. Things like growing volumes and varieties of available data, computational processing that is cheaper and more powerful, and affordable data storage. All of these things mean it is possible to quickly and automatically produce models that can analyze bigger, more complex data and deliver faster (such as from micro to macro or the universal placement theory) with more accurate results – even on a very large scale. And by building precise models, an organization has a better chance of identifying profitable opportunities – or avoiding unknown risks (Hurwitz & Kirsch, 2019).

Sift Features Matching features across different images in a common problem in computer vision. When all images are similar in nature (same scale, orientation, etc.) simple corner detectors can work. But when you have images of different scales and rotations such as mountain ridge, aspen grove etc., one needs to use the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (Sinha, 2010). Why care about SIFT? SIFT is not just scale invariant. You can change the following, and still get good results: Scale, Rotation, Illumination and Viewpoint. SIFT is quite an involved algorithm and below is an outline of what happens in SIFT. 1. Constructing a scale space This is the initial preparation. You create internal representations of the original image to ensure scale invariance. This is done by generating a “scale space”. 2. LoG Approximation The Laplacian of Gaussian is great for finding interesting points (or key points) in an image. 3. Finding key points with the super-fast approximation, we now try to find key points. These are maxima and minima in the Difference of Gaussian image we calculate in step 2. 4. Get rid of bad key points Edges and low contrast regions are bad keypoints. Eliminating these makes the algorithm efficient and robust. A technique similar to the Harris Corner Detector is used here. 5. Assigning an orientation to the keypoints An orientation is calculated for each key point. Any further calculations are done relative to this orientation. This effectively cancels out the effect of orientation, making it rotation invariant. 6. Generate SIFT features Finally, with scale and rotation invariance in place, one more representation is generated. This helps uniquely identify features therefore, you can easily identify the feature you are looking for (Sinha, 2010).

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Stimulated NEURON The NEURON stimulator environment is used in laboratories and classrooms around the world for building and using computational models of networks of neurons (Hugenard & McCormick, 1994). NEURON had its beginnings in the laboratory of John W. Moore at Duke University, where Carnevale and Hines started to develop simulation software for neuroscience research. It has demonstrated benefits and been guided by feedback from the growing number of collaborative groups of neuroscientists who have used it to incorporate empirically based modeling into their research strategies (Carnevale & Hines, 2006.) NEURON’s computational engine employs special algorithms that achieve high efficiency by exploiting the structure of the equations that describe neuronal properties. It has functions that are tailored for conveniently controlling simulations and presenting the results of real neurophysiological problems graphically in ways that are quickly and intuitively grasped (Carnevale & Hines, 2006). Instead of forcing users to reformulate their conceptual models to fit the requirements of a general-purpose simulator, NEURON is designed to allow them to deal directly with familiar neuroscience concepts. Consequently, users can think in terms of the biophysical properties of membrane and cytoplasm, the branched architecture of neurons, and the effects of synaptic communication between cells (Carnevale & Hines, 2006).

METHODOLOGY Background One thing most parents realize early in their experience raising their children (or at least by their second child) is that the more they do for their kids and the less the child has to think for himself or herself, the harder it becomes for them to solve their own problems as they grow older. A study conducted by researchers at the U.S. Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) examined automation levels (Calhoun, 2013) whereby they allowed artificial intelligent agent to help UAV pilots fly an increasing number of aircraft. In this study they found that the greater the automation level, the greater the number of problems slipped passed unobserved and possibly catastrophic the pilot. In other words, the pilot started to trust the AI and just stopped paying attention. We propose a similar study detailed below to identify if AR/MR teaching techniques lead to a similar detachment from learning and we propose some ideas and thoughts about how we can reduce this effect to allow the learner to truly realize the benefit of this amazing new medium for instructional delivery. Our study will use qualitative methods to measure and analyze the potential relationship between student engagement and meaningful learning (Callaghan, Gardner, Horan & Scott, 2008). Mixed Reality Teaching & Learning Environment (MiRTLE) enables teachers and students participating in real-time mixed and online classes to interact with avatar representations of each other. The long- term hypothesis that will be investigated is that avatar representations of teachers and students will help create a sense of shared presence, engendering a sense of community and improving student engagement in online lessons. (Callaghan, Gardner, Horan & Scott, 2008).

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Survey questions should be developed for both the teachers and the students to see what parts worked, and what parts need improvements. We would expect that there would be tutorial videos to help the educators learn how to develop content, but the goal should be to make a system for our teachers that required very little training on how to use so that they are as free as possible to start creating for their classes and sharing their material. We propose some basic questions for the educators that have been asked to use a portion of the developed platform are below. We would recommend that of the people used in the study we develop several example platforms and have groups of teachers try separate implementations, so we can target UIs that seem to work best with many of the educators. 1. 2. 3. 4.

What part of the AR/MR did you find the most useful to explain your topic? What part of the AR/MR would you change if you could? Of the modules that you used to develop content, which one did you like the most and why? Please provide any suggestions you must change or add to the interface you used to improve how you use it to make AR/MR content. 5. Overall, on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the best, how would you rate this product? 6. How likely are you on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the most likely to use a product like this to create content to use in your classroom? 7. How likely are you on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the most likely to recommend a product like this for other educators? On the student side we will also want to ask them how their experience was as well in the form of another survey. It is not only important to make the best development environment for the educator, we also want to ensure that the content they develop is seen as high quality and useful for the students, as well. Some questions might include: 1. How did your Virtual Reality course compare to a traditional lecture or online course? 2. Did you find that the visual and immersive experiences augmented your learning? 3. While you were taking the course did you feel like you were part of a group when you had the headset on and were in a space with other students? In other words, did the AR/MR allow you to feel like you were present with your partners/classmates in the educational experience? 4. On a scare of 1 to 10, 10 being the most likely, how likely are you recommend this form of lecture to other students for the subject matter that you were exposed to? 5. What was your favorite part of your AR/MR experience and do you think we could have done something to make it better? 6. What did you like least about your experience and do you have any suggestions about how to improve or make that experience better? 7. What did you think needed improvement? If our study is to be effective in evaluating meaningful and applicable learning, it must incorporate a long-term plan to evaluate students not just after the proposed learning event but must reevaluate the learner in intervals for months or even years later. We would propose as part of our study, to introduce anomalies (unconscious or experimental variables) not specifically included in the training but should be noticed by the student. The fear we have is that the more the augmented reality guides the student, the 99

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less the student will be alert to an event happening that was not in the programming of the augmented reality tutor (Penland & Laviers, 2018). This portion will be biased by the quality of what the educator put together but should still provide some useful information to help assist and direct developers when developing the final system. If this is the case, content developers should consider adding such features into their content as a practice to support the user in critically evaluating and problem-solving on their own. We can easily argue that it is not possible to cover every possible deviation to a process that can possibly happen and so it is of the utmost importance to make sure the student is able to properly go beyond the training content. We are currently in the developing stages with our pilot study and anticipate collecting findings in spring of 2020 from the two groups. One group will be a controlled undergraduate cohort from a small, university in West Texas and the second cohort will be a graduate selection from a small liberal arts institution in the northeast panhandle of West Virginia.

SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS As we have explored the reduction in engagement levels with increased levels of automation or assistance, we have several thoughts one should consider if using Augmented Reality as a tool for education. First, passively providing information to the student should be avoided. Questions or problems should be presented throughout the session that actively engages the student to participate in the process. This would force the student, just as it would in a physical classroom to switch from passive listening to actively learning. We see this technique often in computer-based classes where students are required to answer multiple-choice questions as they progress. In AR we can be more creative and offer interesting animations and visual perspectives that also engage the student’s curiosity. Second, if the purpose of the Augmented Reality is to demonstrate a technique over a physical device (for example rebuilding a carburetor) then for show the student, then remove the helpful overlays until the student needs it to continue and then only add them back in slowly and as needed to insure the student can perform the task without the augmented assistance. This will ensure that the student is truly learning the task and not learning how to use Augmented Reality to complete the task. This closely resembles exactly how someone might show an apprentice or student how to complete a task in the physical world. Indeed, as we explore this future technology direction, we begin to see that it provides a transformational environment for learning, but the way we have learned and taught for countless generations remain, at the core, very much the same (Penland & Laviers, 2018).

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CONCLUSION Virtual/Augmented/Mixed reality has consistently been demonstrated to decrease pain, anxiety, unpleasantness, and perceived time spent in a medical procedure. In addition, nurses have commented that it helps children be less nervous and calmer during procedures both in schools and clinics. As the field advances, these Augmented Realities may decrease the number of needed treatment/ counseling sessions, and is showing initial promise for managing chronic pain and anxiety; however, future studies should continue to deconstruct critical variables methodologies with standardized outcomes to evaluate the efficacy of AR. Scientists, clinicians and educators are just beginning to scratch the surface when it comes to current applications of AR. Historically, AR technology has been expensive, available to few and mostly sought out by researchers and gaming technicians. The current state of AR as a tool for pain management is still in its early developmental stages. With technology rapidly evolving, increased interest in complementary nonpharmacological interventions, and the reported burden and disability associated with increasing rates of chronic pain, AR is quickly gaining attention as a complementary pain management strategy (Stepneski, 2019). What was once valued solely as high-tech entertainment equipment has now captured the interest of neuroscientists, clinical researchers and pain management clinicians. As the costs associated with Augmented Reality technology decrease and the flexibility/customizability of the gaming environments increase, AR will have numerous applications with an array of medical and mental conditions. Eventually, as part of a healthcare providers toolkit, AR may be integrated into a variety of medical settings, physical therapy and treat a variety of psychiatric conditions (i.e., anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse), to name a few (Stepneski, 2019). The ability to instantly transport into a virtual world for the purposes of distraction, exposure to a feared situation, or to augment diaphragmatic breathing, guided imagery and/or self-hypnosis makes VR a tremendously powerful tool. Ultimately, an important advancement is the portability of AR for private practice and eventually home use. At that point, AR will no longer be used solely in a medical setting for painful medical procedures but will be expanded for the management of chronic pain, physical therapy, long-term rehabilitation and other associated symptoms (Stepneski, 2019). In addition, AR may be used to augment and/or deliver other therapies such as hypnosis and biofeedback. The expanding scope of AR is on the rise and is promising for the field of pain management and beyond (Penland & Laviers, 2018). Given the advances in neuroscience, such as increased knowledge regarding the connectivity of the brain and behavior, pain perception and modulation, and the dynamic interplay between biological and psychological (e.g., attention, memory and emotion) factors implicated in pain perception, AR will emerge as a viable first-line intervention and complementary therapy to the healthcare and educational industries (Stepneski, 2019).

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS No one wants to be “the guinea” and operated on by a junior doctor. Additionally, this process helps to address issues before they arise. One new AR/MR surgical tool is Laduma (Ffiske, 2019). The company is an immersive consultancy that has been working to create a new 360 experience of a S-ICD procedure, normally performed on people at risk of a cardiac arrest. The experience allows doctors to get a view of the process, next to a doctor in an operation room. These immersive qualities help to improve training 101

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in virtual reality without a tool being picked up. While expensive, experiences like these help doctors hone their craft and learn, without being in the operation room. Hands-on experiences will always trump other forms of training, yet, it provides a great groundwork to build on (Ffiske, 2019).

Meaningful Learning Realities without Bias There are multiple experiences which help people learn in augmented/ mixed realities without bias. Companies tackle racial bias in numerous training programmers such as Starbucks in 2018, who shut 8,000 of its stores for bias training (Dorvilas, 2019). Leaders should delicately handle these types of situations to educate their employees in the best way possible. These learning experiences have an adverse effect on the mental health of employees who work in the company. Dorvilas (2019) designed a AR/MR experience to remove the shame and guilt felt afterward, via debiasing techniques. ‘Companies can spend millions of dollars on extremely ineffective, and virtually useless training that can have an adverse effect which can hurt the company even more,” she said. “Bias training shouldn’t be there to shame. People should feel good about making others feel accepted. Debias isn’t something that you can work out in a day. It’s a behavior that you must work through. We want to give people the capacity to work in a safe and comfortable space (Dorvilas, 2019). Dorvilas (2019) found that empathy allowed people to humanize each other and applied that to AR/ MR. Numerous studies show that unconscious bias impacts education and teaching, as it shapes how people teach and how they see relative achievement. This shaped the creation of Teacher’s Lens, an app which provides simulations in AR/MR and reduces bias in a safe and comfortable way. The app presents the teacher with a racially diverse classroom, and tracks who the teacher interacts with. In this way, the benefits of AR/MR are made clear. By creating and enhancing these AR/MR opportunities, the researchers expect to eventually improve student retention and graduation rates, as researched and suggested (Bledsoe & Baskin, 2014). Exposure to diverse, high-impact experienced-based virtual-based augmented reality activities proved to be an important component in previous formative studies of both Penland and Laviers (2018). The key to making these programs successful will be meaningful, student engaged and formative feedback from students, employers, and instructors, with our proposed study. Diversity of experiences and flexibility of work schedules for all were invaluable to all participating stakeholders (Penland & Laviers, 2018). It is difficult to believe that it has been almost two decades that the word eLearning has entered in the corporate lexicon. We now can deploy video, virtual and augmented role-plays. We can connect people socially, upload user generated content and track and rate content that is delivered. North Carolina State Online and Distance Education (2019) is providing an immersive experience in many online programs largely due to the innovative technology provided by Distance Education and Learning Technologies Applications (DELTA). Some of that technology includes augmented/mixed realities. DELTA began exploring the use of AR/MR for educational purposes in 2013, and during the last four years, they’ve worked with faculty and staff to create immersive learning experiences. NC State’s Global Training Initiative (GTI) uses AR/MR for training programs to teach cultural competence that focus on working with students, businesses and organizations throughout North Carolina to help them become more globally successful through an immersive cross-cultural training experience (2019). GTI has conducted three workshops to test user experience with the virtual training and so far they have received positive feedback. This technology in an effective and engaging way for students and

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professionals, In today’s rapidly changing economy we need to challenge the higher education institutions global competence to be globally competitive.

REFERENCES Abramovich, G. (2018). Fifteen mind-blowing stats about artificial intelligence. Retrieved June 2019: https://www.adobe.com/insights/15-stats-about-artificial-intelligence.html BBC News. (2008). Nasa investigates virtual space. Retrieved May 2019: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ technology/7195718.stm Boston, W. (2019). The Outcomes Imperative for Adaptive Learning. Accountability, Online Education, Technology. Retrieved March 2019: https://wallyboston.com/new-realities-in-higher-education/ Calhoun, G., Draper, M., & Miller, C. (2013). Adaptable Automation Interface for Multi-Unmanned Aerial Systems Control: Preliminary Usability Evaluation. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. 10.1177/1541931213571008 Callaghan, V., Gardner, M., & Davies, M. (2008). Towards a Mixed Reality Intelligent Campus. In Intelligent Environments of 08. University of Essex. Retrieved May 2019: https://www.academia.edu/11914123/ TOWARDS_A_MIXED_REALITY_INTELLIGENT_CAMPUS Callaghan, V., Gardner, M., Horan, B., & Scott, J. (2008). A Mixed Reality Teaching and Learning Environment. Hybrid Learning and Education. Retrieved June 2019: https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/221116738_A-Mixed-Reality-Teaching-and-the-Learning-Environment Carnevale, T., & Hines, M. (2006). The NEURON Book. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511541612 Dorvilas, C. (2018). Benefits of Immersive Learning. Retrieved June 2019: https://www.oculus.com/ experiences/rift/1552250918219351/ Ffiske, T. (2019). Virtual Perceptions. Retrieved June 2019: https://www.virtualperceptions.com/benefitsvirtual-reality-training-learning/ Gershgorn, D. (2017). Everything you need to know about Apple’s AI chip. Retrieved June 2019: https:// qz.com/1073036/everything-you-need-to-know-about-apples-ai-chip/ Gershgorn, D. (2018). AI is the new space race. Here’s what the biggest countries are doing. Retrieved June 2019: https://qz.com/1264673/ai-is-the-new-space-race-heres-what-the-biggest-countries-are-doing/ Herrnstien, R., & Murray, C. (1994). The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. Free Press. Horowitz, J. (2018). JPMorgan’s latest hire proves the bank is serious about artificial intelligence. CNN Business. Retrieved March 2019: https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/03/investing/jpmorgan-artificialintelligence-chief/index.html

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Hugenard, J., & McCormick, D. (1994). Electrophysiology of the Neuron. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://www.cnl.salk.edu/~arthur/MyFirstNEURON.html Hurwitz, J., & Kirsch, D. (2019). Machine Learning: For Dummies. Retrieved June 2019: https://www. ibm.com/analytics/machine-learning? Milgram, Takemura, Utsumi, & Kishino. (1994). Augmented Reality: A class of displays on the realityvirtuality continuum. Proceedings of Telemanipulator and Telepresence Technologies, 2351–34. Penland, J., Laviers, K., Bassham, E., & Nnochiri, V. (2018). Virtual Learning: A Study of Virtual Reality for Distance Education. In Handbook of Research on Blended Learning Pedagogies and Professional Development in Higher Education. IGI Global. Pickersgill, T. (2019). Exploring Immersive Technology in the Healthcare Industry in 2019. Retrieved June 2019: https://www.thinkladuma.com/ Schwartz, D., Tsang, J., & Blair, K. (2016). The ABCs of How We Learn. W.W. Norton & Company. Sheehan, L. (2017). Virtual Reality in Your OT Practice. OT Potential. Retrieved June 2019: https:// otpotential.com/blog/virtual-reality-and-occupational-therapy Sinha, U. (2010). SIFT: Theory and practice. AI Shock. Retrieved June 2019: https://aishack.in/tutorials/ sift-scale-invariant-feature-transform-introduction/ Stepneski, K. (2019). Teaching Cultural Competencies Through Virtual Reality. Online and Distance Education News. Retrieved June 2019: https://online-distance.ncsu.edu/teaching-cultural-competenciesthrough-virtual-reality/ Wagner, E. (2014). Big Data, Analytics and Reflections on Student Success. WCET Frontiers.

ADDITIONAL READING Abrosimova, K. (2014). Hypergrid Business. Retrieved on March 2019: http://www.hypergridbusiness. com/2014/09/5-ways-virtual-reality-will-change-education Al-Khalidi, S. (2014). New paradigm of effective e-learning through system development life cycle structure. International Journal of Information and Education Technology (IJIET), 2(4), 185–188. doi:10.7763/IJIET.2014.V4.395 Alvermann, D. E., Hutchins, R. J., & McDevitt, R. (2012). Adolescents’ engagement with web 2.0 and social media: Research, theory, and practice. Research in the Schools, 19(1), 33–44. Ausburn, L. (2002). The freedom versus focus dilemma in a customized self-directed learning environment: A comparison of the perceptions of adult and younger students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 26(3), 225–235. doi:10.1080/106689202317245428 Bledsoe, T., & Baskin, J. (2014). Recognizing student fear: The elephant in the classroom. College Teaching, 62(1), 32–41. doi:10.1080/87567555.2013.831022

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Bonk, C., & Graham, C. (2012). The Handbook of Blended, Learning Global Perspectives and Local Designs. John Wiley & Sons. Boyle-Baise, M., & McIntyre, D. (2008). What kind of experience? Preparing teachers in PDS or community settings. In M. Cochran-Smith, S. Feiman-Nemser, & D. McIntyre (Eds.), Handbook of research on teacher education (3rd ed., pp. 307–330). Routledge. Bozhovich, E. (2009). Zone of proximal development: The diagnostic capabilities and limitations of indirect collaboration. Journal of Russian & East European Psychology, 47(6), 48–69. doi:10.2753/ RPO1061-0405470603 Bozorgzadeh, A. (2018). “VR ‘stopped having potential’ and started being real”. Virtuleap. Retrieved on March 2019: https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/09/in-2018-vr-stopped-having-potential-and-startedbeing-real/ Bronack, S., & Tashner, J. (2006). Learning in the zone: A social constructivist framework for distance education in a 3-dimensional virtual world. Interactive Learning Environments, 14(3), 265–286. doi:10.1080/10494820600909157 Brunner, I., Skouen, J., Hofstad, H., Abmuss, J., Becker, F., & ... . (2016). “Is upper limb virtual reality training more intensive than conventional training for patients in the subacute phase after stroke?”: An analysis of treatment intensity and content. BMC Neurology, 16(1), 219. doi:10.118612883-016-0740-y PMID:27835977 Carrington, V., & Robinson, M. (Eds.). (2009). Digital Literacies: Social Learning and Classroom Practices. London, UK: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781446288238 Cobb, J. (2013). Leading the learning revolution: The Expert’s guide to capitalizing on the exploding lifelong learning education market. AMACOM. Cobb, J., & Steele, C. (2012). 10 Ways to be a better learner. Tagoras. Cohen, S. (2014). Technology in the classroom: Is it a good thing? Retrieved on June 2019: https://www. todaysparent.com/family/technology-in-the-classroom/ Coiro, J. (2011). Talking about reading as thinking: Modeling the hidden complexities of online reading comprehension. Theory into Practice, 50(2), 107–115. doi:10.1080/00405841.2011.558435 de Castell, S., & Luke, A. (1988). Defining “literacy” in North American schools: Social and historical conditions and consequences. In E. R. Kingten, B. M. Kroll, & M. Rose (Eds.), Perspectives on literacy (pp. 159–174). Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. (Original work published 1983) Dede, C. (2007). Reinventing the role of information and communication technologies in education. In L. Smolin, K. Lawless, & N. C. Burbules (Eds.), Information and communication technologies: Considerations of current practices for teachers and teacher educators. 106th Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education (Part 2, pp. 11–38). Malden, MA: Blackwell. doi:10.1111/j.17447984.2007.00113.x

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Dreher, C., Reiners, T., Dreher, N., & Dreher, H. (2009). Virtual worlds as a context suited for information systems education: Discussion of pedagogical experience and curriculum design with reference to Second Life. Journal of Information Systems Education, 20(2), 211–224. Falloon, G. (2010). Using avatars and virtual environments in learning: What do they have to offer? British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(1), 108–122. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00991.x Foundry (2018). “More real than real: Creating a feeling of presence”, Exploring Virtual Reality, Foundry Visionmongers Limited, UK. Retrieved on March 2019: https://www.foundry.com/ Freire, P. (2005). Teachers as Cultural Workers. UK: Routledge. Garrison, D., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2010). The first decade of the community of inquiry framework: A retrospective. The Internet and Higher Education, 13(1–2), 5–9. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.10.003 Garrison, D., Cleveland-Innes, M., & Fung, T. (2010). Exploring causal relationships among teaching, cognitive and social presence: Student perceptions of the community of inquiry framework. The Internet and Higher Education, 13(1-2), 31–36. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.10.002 Gee, J. (2010). A situated-sociocultural approach to literacy and technology. In E. A. Baker (Ed.), The new literacies: Multiple perspectives on research and practice (pp. 165–193). New York, NY: Guilford. Greenhow, C., Robelia, B., & Hughes, J. (2009). Web 2.0 and classroom research: What path should we take now? Educational Researcher, 38(4), 246–259. doi:10.3102/0013189X09336671 Gunasekaran, A., McNeil, R. & Shaul, D. (2002). E-learning: research and applications, industrial and commercial training, 34 (2), 44-53. Hammond, Z., & Jackson, Y. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain (1st ed.). Hawkins, I., & Phelps, A. (2013). Learn Chemistry/ Enhance Learning and Teaching. Retrieved March 2019: https://www.thoughtco.com/teach-yourself-chemistry-604139\ Hebel, S. (2010). Lumina describes how far states must go to meet college completion goals. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved March 2019: http://chronicle.com/article/Lumina Holden, M. (2005). Virtual environments for motor rehabilitation: Review. Cyberpsychology & Behavior: The Impact of the Internet, Multimedia and Virtual Reality on Behavior and Society, 8(3), 187-211; discussion 212-9. Retrieved June 2019: https://search.proquest.com/docview/67962132?accountid=143111 Huang, H., Rauch, U., & Liaw, S. (2010). Investigating learners’ attitudes toward virtual reality learning environments: Based on a constructivist approach. Computers & Education, 55(3), 1171–1182. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.05.014 Inman, C., Wright, V. H., & Hartman, J. A. (2010). Use of second life in K-12 and higher education: A review of research. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 9(1), 44–63. Jarmon, L., Traphagan, T., Mayrath, M., & Trivedi, A. (2009). Virtual world teaching, experiential learning and assessment: An interdisciplinary communication course in second life. Computers & Education, 53(1), 169–182. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.01.010

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Kastoudi, D. (2012). Using a quest in a 3D virtual environment for student interaction and vocabulary acquisition in foreign language learning. In the EUROCALL Review. Proceedings of the EUROCALL 2011 Conference, 20, 87–89. Kaya, M. (2015). The role of technology in an emerging ELT constructivist pedagogy, Humanizing Language Teaching, 1, Retrieved June 2019: http://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb15/sart06.htm Kist, W. (2009). The Socially Networked Classroom: Teaching in the New Media Age. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Kolowich, S. (2010). Buying local, online. Inside Higher Ed., Retrieved June 2019: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010 LaViola, J., Kruijff, E., Bowman, D., Poupyrev, I., & McMahan, R. (2017). 3D User interfaces: Theory and practice (2nd ed.). Pearson Education. Lee, S. (2018). “Machine Learning Applications in E-Learning: Bias, Risks and Mitigation”, Chief Learning Officer. Retrieved March 2019: https://www.clomedia.com/2018/machine-learning-applicationsin-e-learning-bias-risks-a Lynch, M. (2017) 20 Top Virtual Reality Apps that are Changing Education. https://www.thetechedvocate.org Mills, K. A. (2010). Shrek meets Vygotsky: Rethinking adolescents’ multimodal literacy practices in schools. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(1), 35–45. doi:10.1598/JAAL.54.1.4 Roach, A., & Beck, J. (2012). Before coffee, Facebook: New literacy learning for 21st century teachers. Language Arts, 89(4), 244–255. Rowsell, J., & Lapp, D. (2011). New literacies in literacy instruction. In L. M. Morrow & L. B. Gambrell (Eds.), Best practices in literacy instruction (4th ed., pp. 395–411). New York, NY: Guilford. Walton, A. (2011). Learning at a distance: Undergraduate enrollment in distance education courses and degree programs. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Retrieved on June 2019: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2012154

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Artificial Intelligence Processors: Are the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. These processes include learning (the acquisition of information and rules for using the information), reasoning (using rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions) and self-correction. Graphics Processing Unit: Is on the computer’s video card or cards that contain an array of up to many thousands of low-resolution processor cores able to perform many simple tasks simultaneously. Hype Cycle of Innovation: The digitalization of education is gaining momentum. An increasing number of choices face the CIO, and the “Hype Cycle for Education, 2014” offers a concrete example of a “CIO toolbox” of crucial tools for the next five years and beyond.

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Mixed Reality: Mixed Reality (MR) is used as an independent concept or to classify the spectrum of reality technologies, as referenced in the reality–virtuality continuum. As an independent concept, mixed reality combines the best of both virtual reality and augmented reality. Machine Learning: Is the process of presenting the computer program with a large set of training data where the data consists of a set of variables and what the outcome was for that data. An example would be pixel values for an image of a person’s face, the outcome (or classifier) would be a unique number that represents who that was. So, the input array would have the pixels and the expected outcome that the output neurons should show is the unique identifier of the person. The machine learning algorithm would have many sets of input data for each item (like a face) it is supposed to learn. Pedagogical Medium: Is something that relates to teaching. An example of a pedagogical tool is a smartboard for instructional delivery. Sift Features: Are features of an image that a computer algorithm can easily identify and use to track spot locations from multiple directions, distance and lighting. Simulated Neuron: Is a computer algorithm that simulates a neuron. The brain is made up of many neurons, an estimated 250 billion in the human mind. Each neuron is connected to a bunch of neurons going into it and it has a set of outputs leading to other neurons. These connections are called Axons. A neuron is normally either off or on and when a threshold is met the neuron will either fire a signal, turning on, or it will turn off. The key element is the threshold that must be met to activate. This is what is changes when we learn how to do something and is what we simulate in our machine learning algorithms via what is known as a sigmoid function. The function has a weight value associated with it that goes up and down until it gets to the correct level that matches the input training data. Normally we send data from our input into the neuron and see if it fires on the output (forward propagation). But, when we are in a training session, the information flows from the expected output backwards (back propagation) through the networks and the weights are adjusted.

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Designing Curricular Games in Teacher Education: Exploring an Evolution of Game-Based Teaching Janna Jackson Kellinger University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA

ABSTRACT This chapter explores the use of game-based teaching in teacher education courses. It compares a version of a course taught in a traditional manner to the game-based version. It then traces the evolution of the author’s use of game-based teaching and details ways the author overcame various obstacles in subsequent courses. In doing so, it discusses the affordances and constraints of learning management systems and concludes that small changes in learning management systems would greatly improve the ability to use them to create curricular games.

INTRODUCTION When I was a high school English teacher, I played games in my classroom with my students. We played competitive games where teams of students had to race to put items, such as the different parts of an MLA (Modern Language Association) citation, in the proper order; we played last person standing games where we stood in a circle, tossed a ball, and when you got the ball you had to give an example of the designated part of speech that started with the last letter of the previous word; we played process of elimination games like Jotto where students had to figure out the target word by guessing other words and the person who knew the target word would say how many letters were the same in both words. For the most part, students loved the games and the games helped reinforce their learning.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch006

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 Designing Curricular Games in Teacher Education

However, one of the first games I played was such a disaster I almost quit teaching right then and there. I was a student teacher and decided to play Jeopardy the trivia game with my students. I drew the grid on the chalkboard with the categories and the varying amounts of points for each category, erased each amount after it was used, and used the chalkboard to keep track of each group’s score. This meant my back was turned to the students quite a bit. I instructed the groups to “slap in” when they knew the answer. Because it was so hard to tell which group “slapped in” first, chaos ensued when a group felt like they had slapped in first, but I had called on another group. In addition, little did I know that while my back was turned, students were wadding up pieces of paper and throwing them out the window. Directly below the classroom was the vice principal’s office. He came storming upstairs and chastised me after seeing “snowballs” outside his window. I vowed that if I remained in teaching, I would never play Jeopardy with my students again. I later decided to try it again, but this time with strict rules. After that, when we played Jeopardy in class, groups went in order, each group had a spokesperson who had one minute to answer, if they got it wrong, the next group would have a chance to go and if all groups had a chance to attempt the same question without succeeding, then that original group got to choose the category and amount for the next question. With these rules in place, playing Jeopardy went much more smoothly. This was my first lesson in designing curricular games—the importance of rules. In fact, you could argue, it is the rules that make the game. As McGonigal (2011) points out, the goal of golf is to put a ball into a hole. Without the rule that you have to hit that ball with a club from far away, players could just walk up to the hole and drop the ball in, but clearly there would be no fun in that. While the term “games” encompasses a wide range of activities and whose definition has fuzzy boundaries, the focus of my work has been on curricular games which I describe as unit-long or semester long “problem space[s] where players can try out different solutions [to achieve a goal] without suffering real-world consequences” (Kellinger, 2017, p. 30). As I explain further, “Those one-shot games are fun and can be motivating (at least sufficiently motivating to get students to learn enough facts to win the game), but tend to be recall games, not games that promote deeper understanding, critical thinking, problem-solving, or innovation” (Kellinger, 2017, p. 29). While I dabbled in those “one-shot” games as a high school English teacher, I did not advance in my development of designing true curricular games as I define them until I entered the world of teaching in higher education. This chapter explores my evolution in thinking, explains some of the nuts and bolts of designing curricular games, discusses how to troubleshoot common problems, and recommends changes that could easily be made to Learning Management Systems (LMSs) to convert them into curricular game authoring platforms. While an LMS will not enable a lone instructor to create a video game like Grand Theft Auto, it is important to remember that students likely will not compare curricular games to commercial video games, what Squire (2011) calls the “ceiling”, but rather to the “curriculum” part of “curricular games”, in other words, the type of instruction that they are used to, what Squire (2011) calls “the floor”. My hope is in writing this chapter that readers will also see game-based teaching as a doable endeavor by decreasing the intimidation factor. By exploring my own mistakes, I hope to convey the iterative nature of designing curricular games as each time you teach it, you are also playtesting it with an eye towards ongoing improvement.

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BACKGROUND Much of the focus of scholarship on game-based teaching has been focused on the K-12 grades (Shafer, 2006; Squire, 2011; Prensky, 2006). In fact, one of the earliest works was about fourth graders designing games for younger kids to play to learn math (Kafai, 1995). Some have explored game-based teaching in business trainings while touching on higher education (Kapp, 2012), although largely with a focus on simulations, which I would argue are related to but not the same as game-based teaching. Reacting to the Past, semester-long role-playing games where students play historical figures, bridges that gap between simulations and games and, according to Denby (2000) has students “engaged all the time” (p. 1). Some researchers have explored using Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) games in higher education classrooms, such as Whitton (2010), with fewer exploring the nuts and bolts of creating and employing curricular games in higher education, such as Sheldon’s (2011) Multi-player Classroom, and even fewer in the context of online learning, such as Akilli (2007) and Aldrich (2009). In many higher education institutions, instructional designers assist instructors in designing online courses. Although researchers have investigated the use of video game principles in instructional design, such as Dickey (2005 & 2011) and von Gillern & Alaswad (2016), in my experience, instructional designers have largely focused on clear and efficient ways for instructors to deliver curriculum online, not ways to get students to experience the curriculum.

EVOLUTION OF MY GAME-BASED TEACHING Traditional Teaching While I was still in graduate school, I taught an educational technology class that was a complete failure. I stood at the front of the computer lab and modeled for students what they were supposed to do and then expected them to do it. I was employing the gradual release of responsibility, or “I do, We do, You do”, teaching model (Maynes, Julien-Schultz, & Dunn, 2010) but students had no context, no motivation, and no meaning attached to the “you do” part. In other words, the course lacked the essential elements Malone and Lepper (1987) outline in answering the question “What makes things fun to learn?”, namely challenge, fantasy, curiosity, and control. My course evaluation scores and comments reflected the disconnect between the material, the instructor, and the students. Particularly harsh was one student’s course evaluation comment: “I found the class to be very long and boring and left with very little knowledge other than the fact that if you use AIM Chat on a different computer, it changes your buddy icon” (Jackson, 2009, p. 295). Although I vowed not to teach that class again, just as I recanted on my Jeopardy vow, I agreed to teach a similar class when I got a job as an assistant professor.

Game-Based Teaching 1.0 Knowing that my pedagogy failed the first time, I decided to try something new. When I taught high school, I had used some one-shot games in my teaching, as described above, but I always felt like something was missing. I realized that, while those one-shot games were fun, they simply tested students on previously acquired knowledge instead of engaging students in deeper learning. Meanwhile, I was drawn to immersive adventure video games like the Myst series but never was able to find the time to get into 111

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serious gaming. Drawing from my admittedly limited experiences playing video games, I decided to design the class like a video game with a game story (supplying fantasy), levels (providing challenge), activities and assignments with some surprise events that unlocked more of the game story (inspiring curiosity), and a choice of different paths (giving students control). I thought I was being innovative. Little did I realize that others had already been designing curricular games such as Barnard University’s Reacting to the Past semester-long games referred to above and New York’s Quest to Learn school whose whole curricula is game-based (Salen, et al., 2011). In addition, others had done extensive research on using games to teach (Gibson, Aldrich & Prensky, 2007; Van Eck, 2010) which showed that games motivate and engage students in ways that traditional teaching does not. I, however, embarked on this notion of game-based teaching on my own, based on my gut instinct that if video games can teach skills necessary for success in the game world, designing a class using the principles behind video games should be able to teach students skills in the academic world. In order to convert that initial course into a game, I developed a game story where the student is the “you” in the story. As the protagonist in the game story, each student had to complete different tasks which are really the assignments embedded into the game story. This way, instead of pushing content onto students without any context like I had done previously, I provided support for students to draw meaning from the content and immediately apply it within the context of the game story, in other words, the motivation and desire to pull the content for their own use. I also had students in different groups based on their self-assessment of their own technological skills which then determined which version of each assignment they saw. That way students could do assignments which were reflective of their technology skills by assigning them based on each student’s challenge zone, i.e. just beyond their current capabilities (Vygotsky, 1978). In this way, I could differentiate student learning in a class with students who came to the class with vastly different technological skills. Student comments on course evaluations suggests this differentiation worked as they remarked on how the class began where they were in terms of technology skills and moved them beyond what they thought possible (Jackson, 2009): • • • •

[The professor] truly meets her students where they are and allows them to grow from there. This is so important in this class because everyone seemed to have different backgrounds with technology. Thanks so much… I learned a ton in your class! I’m clearly not a computer guru, but I feel much more comfortable than I ever have, and that’s what it’s all about, right? You really forced me to get out of my comfort zone. Thanks again! Thank you for helping me face my technological fears. As hard as I have struggled through certain parts of your class, I feel that I have learned more from you than I have in many other classes and appreciate why [another professor] recommended you to me both for my own lack of technological experience and for the quality of techniques that you incorporate in your own classes. I have learned as much about teaching as I have about technology in your class, and I plan to incorporate and utilize as many aspects of your teaching as I can in the upcoming year. (Jackson, 2009, p. 301)

These comments were an indication that I was onto something, however, there were still some problematic aspects of this first iteration of this course.

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The primary pedagogical basis of this game-based class was mastery-based learning (Bloom, 1980). In other words, students could not move on, or “unlock”, the next segment of the game story and the assignments embedded within, until they demonstrated mastery of a previous assignment. Because moving forward in the course was dependent upon achieving a minimum cut score on an assignment, students had to be able to revise and resubmit assignments. In fact, I found this to be the largest driver in student learning as I could teach through feedback on assignments and students would have a chance to use that feedback to make improvements instead of what happens far too often to instructor feedback where the student focuses on the letter grade and only glances at the written feedback. This made instructor feedback much more meaningful to the instructor and to the student. This “revise and resubmit” policy has been by far the most favorable part of my game-based teaching courses. As one student put it, “Having played my share of videogames in my life, many of which were role-playing games, I liked being able to solve problems multiple times” (Kellinger, 2017, p. 30). This also made student success more likely as I could be reasonably sure that students had the skills they needed for the final, or “boss”, assignment. While this first version was a vast improvement upon my initial attempt to teach an educational technology class, I still ran into some problems. The most glaring one was having only one deadline: the end of the semester. My students are graduate students and lead busy lives. Having only one deadline resulted in massive procrastination. This was compounded by the mastery learning approach (Bloom, 1980) to my game design so that students had to complete one assignment before unlocking the next. While the “revise and resubmit” aspect of assignments was by far the most popular feature and my course evaluation scores did greatly improve (Jackson, 2009), when the students who waited until the last minute could not access the next item until I graded and they passed it, frustration grew. Thinking back to the eighties and the heyday of video game arcades when people would actually unplug a video game in an arcade to wipe out high scores so then they could, if only briefly, be the one with the high score, I instituted a rudimentary leaderboard listing the top students with the most points in the hopes of inspiring competition among students to both try to do better on individual assignments and to progress faster through the course. However, I quickly abandoned this aspect as I found that it only inspired competition among the top two or three students and that the other students quickly got discouraged. I did continue to periodically send messages to the top scorer to let them know they had the top score but quickly abandoned this as well as it felt artificial and went against several of the goals of my class such as learning for learning sake and not for an artificial point system as well as students being able to work at their own pace, particularly because graduate students are often in that “sandwich” generation where they are taking care of aging parents and little ones at the same time. Because I kept the focus on student learning, I was able to achieve this balance between using scoring to help students improve without engendering a sole focus on doing whatever it takes to earn more points, as illustrated in these student quotes below: • •

“Though I found many of the pre-planning projects frustrating at first, I feel that I learned a lot from struggling through them and felt driven to submit multiple attempts in order to improve my score, something I have done while playing video games.” “Love, love, loved the structure of this class. I never felt any pressure, as I do with other classes, so I was able to put more thought behind my submissions.” (Kellinger, 2017, p. 30)

I found that trying to create competition within a class was counterproductive while fostering competition within oneself was productive. 113

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Game-Based Teaching 2.0 In the next rehaul of this class, I abandoned the serial approach where each assignment had to be completed at a certain level of mastery before the next one was unlocked, and instead I took a “river and lakes” (also called a “string of pearls”) approach by having multiple assignments per level and having the Learning Management System (LMS) keep a running total of points with students having to reach a certain cut score in their cumulative total before “leveling up”. This allowed students to work on multiple assignments within a level and alleviated some of the frustration around wait times as they could work on another assignment while waiting for me to grade another one. It also gave students more choice since they could choose the order in which they did assignments within a level. Meanwhile, I started to realize that all courses could lend themselves to a game-based format, not just the educational technology course. As I gradually started to convert my other courses to a gamebased format, I realized that in my initial attempt at game-based teaching in the educational technology course, I made the course overly complicated. Thus, one of my goals was to simplify the game without taking away the learning or the fun. While both traditional and game-based versions of this next class, which focused on designing curriculum and instruction, garnered roughly the same averages in terms of course evaluation ratings, the differences in how students perceived the two versions was revealed in the qualitative comments. Students who took the traditional version of the class remarked on how the class increased their knowledge and understanding of the topic whereas students who take the game-based versions remark on the practical applications the class affords. The main reason behind this is also evident from the qualitative comments. In the traditional versions, many students remarked on how I as the instructor modeled a variety of teaching styles. In the game-based versions, students talked about how the course mirrored real-life. For example, one student talked about how uncanny it was that the course reflected her own thoughts and feelings from her first year of teaching. By embedding both the content and the assignments into the game story, the course allowed students to experience the curriculum, instead of just observing it. In the educational technology class that I initially converted into a curricular game, the game story served as a frame for the content, which was delivered through PowerPoints, readings, videos, and assignments. In this designing curriculum and instruction course, the game story is the content, which is then supported by PowerPoints and readings. In other words, students learn the bulk of the material from reading the game story. The readings and PowerPoints serve as supporting materials and the assignments in the class are tasks that the protagonist has to do in the game story. The game story IS the textbook written in second person as a series of experiences from which the protagonist learns. Feedback from students about this course being similar to their very own teaching experiences tells me that combining content with context is a useful way to prepare students for careers as teachers. By having the game story be the content, not only can the course cover a large number of readings by having the non-playing characters (NPCs) summarize them, the NPCs themselves can represent different viewpoints. In the case of this curriculum class, the NPCs who are the veteran teachers each represent a different curricular ideology. By doing this, not only can these different ideologies be presented in a way that masks the instructor’s own ideology, through discussions among the NPCs, the commonalities, nuances, differences, and contradictions among the ideologies can be explored. In fact, a recurring question the protagonist has is how teachers with such different ideologies can respect each other as professionals. Along the way, the protagonist is given a questionnaire that helps them determine their own ideological viewpoint and faces a series of decisions that clarifies their viewpoint. At one point in 114

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the story, the veteran teachers take the protagonist (the newbie) out for drinks and challenges the newbie to identify their various ideologies in a drinking game, with the reward being that the veteran teachers pay for the newbie’s drinks if successful. In order to construct the game in this way, I used a Learning Management System (LMS) where the designer can set rules for if and when certain items are revealed to students. In this case, I used Blackboard’s “adaptive release” capability which allows designers to set rules to make something visible to individual students based on time, group membership, attempting a task such as a taking quiz or posting on a discussion board, achieving a certain score either on an individual item or a calculated total, or whether or not an item was checked off as being reviewed. This last feature was crucial to the game design because it allowed me to set up a choice with a number of responses. The students are then instructed to mark their choice as “reviewed”. In this way, I could “branch” the narrative to have students make meaningful decisions with consequences, in other words, have a different narrative experience depending on the choice made, similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure books where the reader is asked a question about what they want the protagonist to do next and instructed to turn to different pages depending on their choice. Sid Meir, designer of Civilization, states that games are “a series of interesting decisions that lead to a satisfying conclusion” (quoted by Prensky, 2011, p. 272). This, of course, can get exponentially overwhelming for the designer as a decision tree can expand exponentially. Because of this, while the narrative had different paths at various points, they all lead back to a “golden spine” (Rabin, 2009, p. 152), i.e. the main story line, ensuring that while students experience some different story lines, they do so without missing out on the content of the course. In my previous game-based course, the game story followed a “string of pearls” or “rivers and lakes” construction where the students would do assignments within a level but could only level up after achieving a certain number of total cumulative points on assignments. While students were within a level, they could do the various assignments for points and revise and resubmit as needed. However, students were still dependent upon me to grade the assignments in a timely fashion when on the cusp of entering a new level. Because my students tend to do their assignments on the weekends and in the evenings when I am not working as most of my students have full-time jobs and many have families, even this modification created a sense of frustration as students periodically had to wait for me to grade in order to level up. To troubleshoot this, I constructed dual paths so that students could continue working on one path while they waited for me to evaluate an assignment on the other path. In this case, one path centers on the professional development the teachers do in the game story which is using student data to drive curricular decisions, and the other path is on planning the curriculum for the year. While I did create certain chokepoints where students had to have made a certain amount of progress on both paths since I did not want students to get too far ahead on one path, constructing the game narrative this way gave me enough of a cushion to catch up on grading during business hours. I have learned, however, that providing students a syllabus with all the readings, assignments and rubrics at the beginning of the course does give instructors more leeway since students can always “work ahead” while they wait for the instructor to assign points to their work. In fact, recently, I have started to explicitly state that students should feel free to do so if they find themselves waiting for me to grade something. I also took advantage of the adaptive release rule based simply on an initial attempt of an assignment. That way, students can move ahead after attempting an assignment but further down the narrative path they can only move on after passing that assignment with a certain score. In this way, students can move ahead until mastery of that task is required in order to do the next task, giving me time to grade (and regrade if necessary) the assignment before a certain cut score has to be reached. 115

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I also use quizzes frequently that are automatically graded by the LMS, thus alleviating the time pressure on me to grade. Because students can retake quizzes as many times as needed, I created question pools where the LMS randomly chooses a subset of questions so that the student takes a different quiz every time he or she retakes the quiz. This also inserts an element of chance because they might see some of the same questions again when they retake the quiz. Doing this allows me to set adaptive release rules based on the quiz score (or sometimes just an attempt), frees me up to only grade major assignments, and means students get immediate feedback because they do not have to wait for the instructor to score the quiz. It is important to know that very rarely are these quizzes called quizzes. Instead, they are called by different names depending on their function in the story. For example, the drinking game mentioned previously is actually a quiz. Keeping everything in terms of the game story avoids the risk of a curricular game becoming a “broccoli and chocolate” game (De Castell and Jenson, 2003) where students only get to play the fun part of a game after they have done traditional academic work. Instead of using the “I do, we do, you do” gradual release of responsibility teaching model that I employed in my traditional teaching, I took a “performance before competence” (Gee, 2007) approach. In other words, students attempt to do something before accessing the information about how to do it. This gives students the context and motivation to understand the material. As Gee (2003) states, the instruction manual for a video game only starts to make sense after you have tried to play the game (p. 102). Because of the revise and resubmit policy, or in the case of quizzes, retake until passed policy, students were able to try their hand at something first while still having opportunities to improve. For example, in the hiring process, students have to pass a professional conduct quiz in order to get hired. I structured the professional conduct quiz so that it drew from multiple question pools to make sure it covered the various concepts I wanted to teach. So, when a student gets the question from the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) pool wrong, or even when they get it right, the response feedback includes information about FERPA. In this way, the material is given context and meaning and students have a reason to consume the material. Instead of pushing content onto students, students were motivated to pull the content for their own use. When they take the quiz again, they now have the information they need to pass the quiz, even if they get a different question from the FERPA question pool. Another way I used the performance before competence approach is through the adaptive release rule based on students attempting to do something. Once an attempt is made, the LMS then releases the material to the students. The technologies I use are not limited to the LMS. Because the LMS allows designers to attach or link to PowerPoints, embed videos, and insert HTML (Hyper-Text Mark Up Language), I could seamlessly incorporate other technologies into the course. In the PowerPoints that support the game story, I used narration and internal links so that students can make decisions that lead to different paths as they navigate through a PowerPoint Presentation. Students also “watch” other teachers teach through embedded videos. I also used an animation software that allows me to have a cartoon-like character read the text I inserted. The accompanying hand gestures, facial expressions, and body movement makes the animated character appear more life-like. In this way, I could do things like have the principal in the story introduce concepts during orientation and professional development similar to a principal doing so in a real school. I also embedded animation into the interview quiz so that the principal asks the interview questions. If the student response contains the key word needed to answer that question, such as “evidence-based reasoning” or “social justice”, the student passes that question. By using a question pool, students experience a different set of interview questions every time, and by using animation software, students experience an interview. 116

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Using the discussion boards built in the LMS allows students to discuss their ideas and approaches with the other students who are the other “new teachers” in the class as they move through the course. Because I run this as a self-paced course, students have discussions with whoever is at that point and are able to see posts left by students who have already passed through that point. Even though the course is self-paced, I do provide a weekly schedule on the syllabus so students can estimate where they should be in the course. In the midst of the course, I inject a crisis into the game story which students have to rely on their accumulated knowledge to solve. Using the “Mark reviewed” option, students choose how to examine the data and then adaptive release reveals more information depending on what option is marked as reviewed. In this way, I do some “stealth assessment” (Shute, 2011) to see which options students chose. This allows me to see where a student is in terms of understanding which aspects of data analysis are most useful in this scenario and which students deemed irrelevant. In these ways and others, I was able to design a course-long curricular game infused with fantasy, challenge, curiosity, and control.

USING LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS TO DESIGN CURRICULAR GAMES Affordances Most learning management systems have a way to control which items are visible to students. Using these adaptive release rules are the key to designing a curricular game within a learning management system. Just as video games require mastery before a player can move to the next level, so can curricular games designed with learning management systems. In order to do this, students must have opportunities to revise and resubmit assignments and/or retake quizzes until mastery is demonstrated. Taking advantage of designing quizzes and scoring them within the learning management system allows instructors to offload that task, have students receive immediate feedback on their performance, and move ahead in the game. In this way, instructors can spend more time giving feedback on assignments graded by rubrics. Having students sign up for groups or assigning groups also allows for students to experience a course at their level of expertise and/or from different perspectives. For example, a general course on curriculum design can show different content depending on which subject area students want to teach. In these ways and others, curricular games can provide a more personalized learning experience. Because learning management systems are web-based, most have the option of inserting HTML to design a page. This allows designers to copy and paste embed codes from videos, animation software, or other types of tools to create a more immersive and engaging experience. For example, in a third course I converted into a game, I designed it so students experience a series of simulations in order to explore the various concepts in the course within the context of a larger game story. In doing so, I embedded a mini-game I created in Scratch; I embedded branched narratives I created in Twine; and I embedded other simulations created in PowerPoint using internal linking where students are directed to different slides depending on their choices. In addition to internal linking, animation, triggers, motion paths, and textboxes as well as other features in PowerPoint can all be used to create mini-games. YouTube also has a way to embed choices at the end of a video so that the user is led to different videos depending on choices made. All these can be embedded, or at least linked to, from an LMS.

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Constraints While learning management systems can be repurposed to design curricular games, they are not designed to be a game authoring platform and therefore have several limitations. Many are designed to be a repository of information for students to access. Designing avatars controlled by the user that interact with sprites or objects is beyond the capabilities of most, if not all, learning management systems in their current form. Surprisingly, some have regressed in this area, going from a more GUI (Graphic User Interface) platform to a more text-based one. For example, WebCT was very graphics-based but when it merged with Blackboard, that was diminished. Some do allow for “hotspot” questions in quizzes where users have to click within a certain area on an image to get a question right. Leveraging this aspect may be away to create some more click-generated interactivity. Allowing players to collect objects and have an inventory of tools would be possible using an option where users could choose items by “marking as reviewed” or “signing up for a group” or other means and then, by using adaptive release rules, those items could be displayed in an inventory. More complicated inventory systems that require players to purchase equipment or other objects would involve keeping track of money and ways of earning money would be beyond most learning management systems, although using a calculated grade along with adaptive release might allow curriculum designers to create rudimentary ones. Tweaking the grading system so that items marked as reviewed could be used as part of a calculation in a grading column would create a means to do so. While learning management systems allow designers to create rubrics to grade individual assignments and calculated grades allow for students to accrue “experience points”, having a master rubric that keeps track of progress along several dimensions would allow a designer to create multiple rubrics with the same criteria where the learning management system could keep track of progress along each criterion, much like video games that keep track of different aspects such as health or strength. Even keeping track of one dimension of progress would be helpful in designing a progress bar. Many learning management systems are building in “badges” that students can earn. Having a list or line of badges that are grayed out until a student earns one would allow students to see not only how much progress they have made, but also how much more they have to go. In my original game-based teaching courses, each new segment was represented by a book on a bookshelf. I had one student say that every time she saw a new book she groaned because it meant more work. If I had been able to display all the books with the ones “unopened” grayed out, instead of feeling like endless work, it would have felt like progress being made towards an end goal. These tweaks would allow learning management systems to better replicate capabilities of video games such as the progress bars, overview maps, and Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) which show progress on individual items to motivate the learner. Other tweaks such as having fill in the blank questions that can be marked correct only if the student response does NOT contain a certain key word would allow instructors to test for misconceptions. Also, adding the NOT option to the Boolean logic employed in the adaptive release feature would give curriculum designers more flexibility. As I stated above, I used the “incorrect” feedback response as a means of using quizzes to teach, so having multiple “incorrect” feedback responses depending on which multiple choice answer was selected would allow curriculum designers to pinpoint and correct common misconceptions. In that same vein, having tiered incorrect feedback responses depending on how many attempts were made would allow curriculum designers to adjust the amount of scaffolding by having the incorrect feedback be hints that increase in specificity in direct relation to the number of attempts the student has made to get that question correct or to pass the quiz. Not only would these changes be use118

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ful in a game-based teaching format, but also in general, as they allow curriculum designers to provide automated specific feedback to support student learning. Other common features in coding such as using macros to create mini functions, being able to personalize the curriculum by using variables, looping so that certain things happen while a condition is true, and increasing the amount of chance by both a pure random number generator and one controlled by percentage would also increase the ability of curriculum designers to use an LMS as a game authoring platform. These features would allow curriculum designers to create goal-driven simulations by programming in the probability of different events happening. For example, a simulation for health-care providers could program in the probability of seeing a patient with certain diseases or one on weather could program in the probability of a hurricane being in the different category levels. This would allow curriculum designers to balance the skill level and chance in a game-based course since a course based on all skill feels too much like traditional schooling but one based on all chance would feel arbitrary. This also allows curriculum designers to build conditional knowledge by having students learn how to adjust their learning to different scenarios. These tweaks are just the beginning. Many more could be made to make LMSs more game-like. However, any changes made would need to be done with a low floor and a high ceiling. In other words, so that instructors new to designing online classes can immediately start using an LMS without reading an instruction manual (low floor), but that experienced instructors and curriculum designers have lots of options and capabilities to use the LMS as a game-authoring platform (high ceiling). This way, LMSs can enable instructors, instructional designers, and curriculum designers to level up.

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS As my use of game-based teaching has evolved, I have found that using the game story as the vehicle for content delivery allows the course to cover a wide range of materials and gives the content context so that students can experience the curriculum. Having multiple non-playing characters with different perspectives can present the material with different lenses and sometimes with competing agendas. Because the protagonist in the story begins as a blank slate, students can then choose their own perspective and play that out in the game. By using the various features of a learning management system, I have been able to use it as a gaming platform primarily through “unlimited attempts” allowing students to try and try again until they get something right and through “adaptive release” so that students cannot unlock the next segment until they do so. However, because learning management systems are not designed to be game authoring systems, there are limitations. Making learning management systems more graphics based, tweaking the software to give curriculum designers more control over the rules of releasing content and the feedback given, and employing common features of coding such as variables and looping would greatly improve the gaming capabilities of learning management systems. It is my hope that as game-based teaching gains popularity, learning management systems will adapt and adopt features that make it not only easier to design curricular games, but also allow for more robust curricular games to be designed.

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REFERENCES Akilli, G. (2007). Games and simulations: A new approach in education? In D. Gibson, C. Aldrich, & M. Prensky (Eds.), Games and simulations in online learning: Research and development frameworks (pp. 1–20). Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing. doi:10.4018/978-1-59904-304-3.ch001 Aldrich, C. (2009). Learning online with games, simulations, and virtual worlds: Strategies for online instruction. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass. Bloom, B. S. (1980). All our children learning. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. De Castell, S., & Jenson, J. (2003). Serious play. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 35(6), 649–665. doi:10.1080/0022027032000145552 Denby, D. (2000). Evaluation of ‘Reacting to the past’. FIPSE, US Dept. of Education. Retrieved from www.barnard.edu/reacting/Denby_Evaluation.pdf Dickey, M. (2005). Engaging by design: How engagement strategies in popular computer and video games can inform instructional design. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(2), 67–83. doi:10.1007/BF02504866 Dickey, M. D. (2011). World of Warcraft and the impact of game culture and play in an undergraduate game design course. Computers & Education, 56(1), 200–209. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.08.005 Gee, J. P. (2003). What videogames have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Gee, J. P. (2007). Good videogames + good learning: Collected essays on videogames, learning, and literacy. New York, NY: Peter Lang. doi:10.3726/978-1-4539-1162-4 Gibson, D., Aldrich, C., & Prensky, M. (Eds.). (2007). Games and simulations in online learning: Research and development frameworks. Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing. doi:10.4018/9781-59904-304-3 Jackson, J. (2009). Game-based teaching: What educators can learn from videogames. Teaching Education, 20(3), 291–304. doi:10.1080/10476210902912533 Kafai, Y. (1995). Minds in play: Computer game design as a context for children’s learning. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Kapp, K. (2012). The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-Based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer. Kellinger, J. (2017). A Guide to designing curricular games: How to “game” the system. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-42393-7 Malone, T. W., & Lepper, M. R. (1987). Making learning fun: A taxonomy of intrinsic motivations for learning. Aptitude, Learning, and Instruction, 3(1987), 223-253.

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Maynes, N., Julien-Schultz, L., & Dunn, C. (2010). Modeling and the Gradual Release of Responsibility: What Does It Look Like in the Classroom? Brock Education Journal, 19(2), 65-77. Retrieved from https://brock.scholarsportal.info/journals/brocked/home/article/view/136 McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world. London: Penguin Books. Prensky, M. (2006). Don’t bother me mom—I’m learning. St. Paul, MN: Paragon Publishers. Prensky, M. (2011). Comments on research comparing games to other instructional methods. In S. Tobias & J. D. Fletcher (Eds.), Computer games and instruction (pp. 251–280). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishers. Rabin, S. (2009). Introduction to Game Development (2nd ed.). Herndon, VA: Cengage Learning. Salen, K., Torres, R., Wolozin, L., Rufo-Tepper, R., & Shapiro, A. (2011). Quest to learn: Developing the school for digital kids. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Shaffer, D. W. (2006). How computer games help children learn. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan. doi:10.1057/9780230601994 Sheldon, L. (2011). The Multi-player classroom: Designing coursework as a game. Herndon, VA: Cengage Learning. Shute, V. (2011). Stealth assessment in computer-based games to support learning. In S. Tobias & J. D. Fletcher (Eds.), Computer games and instruction (pp. 503–524). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishers. Squire, K. (2011). Video games and learning: Teaching and participatory culture in the digital age. NY: Teachers College Press. Van Eck, R. (Ed.). (2010). Gaming and cognition: Theories and practice from the learning sciences (pp. 152–168). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. doi:10.4018/978-1-61520-717-6 Von Gillern, S., & Alaswad, Z. (2016). Games and game-based learning in instructional design. International Journal of Technologies in Learning, 23(4), 1–7. doi:10.18848/2327-0144/CGP/v23i04/1-7 Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Whitton, N. (2010). Learning with digital games: A practical guide to engaging students in higher education. New York City, NY: Routledge.

ADDITIONAL READING Annetta, L. A. (2008). Video games in education: Why they should be used and how they are being used. Theory into Practice, 47(3), 229–239. doi:10.1080/00405840802153940

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Annetta, L. A., Murray, M. R., Laird, S. G., Bohr, S. C., & Park, J. C. (2006). Serious games: Incorporating video games in the classroom. Educause, 29(3), 16–22. Bedwell, W., Pavlas, D., Heyne, K., Lazzara, E., & Salas, E. (2012). Towards a taxonomy linking game attributes to learning: An empirical study. Simulation & Gaming, 43(6), 729–760. doi:10.1177/1046878112439444 Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive games: The expressive power of videogames. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Brown, H. (2008). Videogames and Education. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. de Freitas, S., & Maharg, P. (2011). Digital games and learning. London: Continuum. Fullterton, T., Swain, C., & Hoffman, S. (2004). Game design workshop: Designing, prototyping, and playtesting games. San Francisco, CA: CMP Books. Gee, J. P. (2003). What videogames have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Gee, J. P. (2005). Learning by Design: Good Video Games as Learning Machines. [Print]. E-learning, 2(1), 5–16. Gibson, D., Aldrich, C., & Prensky, M. (2007). Games and simulations in online learning: Research and development frameworks. Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing. doi:10.4018/978-1-59904-304-3 Jackson, J. (2011). Game changer: How principles of videogames can transform teaching. Khine, M. S. (Ed.), Learning to Play: Exploring the Future of Education with Video Games (pp. 107–128). New York, NY: Peter Lang. doi:10.3726/978-1-4539-0084-0 Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., & Salen, K. (2009). Moving learning games forward: Obstacles, opportunities, and openness. Cambridge, MA: The Education Arcade at MIT. Miller, C. T. (2008). Games: Purpose and potential in education (pp. 73–125). New York, NY: Springer. Pivec, M., & Moretti, M. (2008). Game-based learning: Discover the pleasure of learning. Lengerich, Germany: Pabst Science Publishers. Prensky, M. (2001). Digital game-based Learning. St. Paul, MN: Paragon Publishers. Rabin, S. (2009). Introduction to Game Development (2nd ed.). Herndon, VA: Cengage Learning. Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of play: Game design fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2006). The Game Designer Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Schell, J. (2008). The art of game design: A book of lenses. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann. doi:10.1201/9780080919171 Steinkuehler, C., Squire, K., & Barab, S. (2012). Games, learning, and society: Learning and meaning in the digital age. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139031127

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Tobias, S., & Fletcher, J. D. (2011). Computer games and instruction. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishers.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Adaptive Release: Also known as selective release, this term refers to a way for instructors to control which students see what in a learning management system by setting rules to determine what conditions must be met in order to make something visible to individual students, groups of students, or the whole class. Boolean Logic: Boolean logic uses operators such as AND, OR, and NOT to define certain conditions to determine if something is true or false. Boss: A boss battle is the final challenge in a video game where all skills learned throughout the video game are used to defeat the boss, who is a conglomeration of all the powers and skills of the minibosses encountered along the way. Branching: Branching is when something like a story or an assessment has different paths depending on user choice or a pre-determined algorithm to determine if certain conditions have been met. Curricular Games: Curricular games are games designed to teach students through a game story where students play the protagonist with obstacles students must overcome to reach an end goal. Learning Management System (LMS): A software platform for instructors to teach students or trainers to train workers, it is a way to deliver online content and track student progress. Leveling Up: Videogames are often constructed in such a way that players must demonstrate mastery of an easier skill before “leveling up” to a higher level that requires more skill or skills. Non-Playing Characters (NPCs): Non-playing characters are characters in a game who are not being played by the game player. In video games, they are agents controlled by computer as opposed to avatars which are characters controlled by the human player.

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How Paper and Digital Children’s Books Support Student Understanding Laura B. Liu Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Kayla Pride Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Payten Ewing Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Maycie Benedict Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA

ABSTRACT This study builds on previous research regarding digital texts and learner engagement to provide insights on the impact of digital and paper texts on first-grade student learning. Three formats of the same STEM children’s book included (1) a paper version read by the teacher; (2) a digital version read as a class and facilitated by the teacher; and (3) a digital version read independently by individual students, without the teacher. Mixed methods analysis involved a pre- and post-reading worksheet assessing student comprehension and concept retention, followed by teacher interviews. Quantitative and qualitative findings demonstrated the value of paper texts read with teacher guidance to highlight key concepts and sustain student focus. Teacher interviews also noted the value of digital texts to engage student interest, suggesting there is a pedagogical place for paper and digital texts in the classroom. Findings highlight the complexity of learner engagement and need for thoughtful pedagogies.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch007

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 How Paper and Digital Children’s Books Support Student Understanding

INTRODUCTION Many schools are introducing electronic devices into elementary classrooms as early as kindergarten. An emerging goal of for teachers is to ensure students are comprehending and retaining concepts gleaned through digital text. Yet, recent media and research publications suggest this to be a complex question. For instance, a 2012 study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, which conducts children’s digital media research, found 3- to 6-year-olds who read interactive e-books with their parents recalled “significantly fewer narrative details than children who read the print version of the same story” (Heitin, 2019). This is one of many studies highlighting the significance of examining the impact of our digital evolution, specifically regarding student comprehension and retention of key concepts gleaned through digital texts. Our research responds to this pressing societal question by exploring the learning impact of using paper and digital formats of the same text teaching students about composting. This research also adds to Heitin’s (2019) work by examining the critical role of the teacher in reading, facilitating, or granting students complete independence in navigating the paper and digital texts to increase student comprehension of STEM content. This study is particularly beneficial to inform teacher selection of lesson materials to teach STEM content.

BACKGROUND ON DIGITAL LITERACY Digital vs. Paper Texts This study is initiated in the context of recent research on the significance of and trends within the digital literacy movement. For instance, recent development of a conceptual framework for emergent digital literacy (Neumann, Finger, & Neumann, 2017) highlights progress made in the 21st century in child literacy for both digital and non-digital texts. The author discusses the importance of sociocultural interaction in emergent literacy development, and describes a debate regarding whether emergent literacy should or should not include electronic texts. In explaining the framework for emergent digital literacy, the authors describe similarities and differences between digital and non-digital texts. Another recent study on digital literacy by Sezgin and Ulus (2017) also highlights distinctions in using paper and digital books, specifically with preschool students. The authors focus on preschool as a critical stage for emergent literacy and discuss the benefit of using digital books in this stage, to mirror the prevalence of digital technology in society today. The authors explain the benefits and drawbacks of paper and e-books, and discuss the interactive value of e-books for preschool children of diverse learning styles (Sezgin & Ulus, 2017). Similarly, Yokota and Teale (2014) discuss the variety and quality of features in paper and e-books and ideal curricular moments for teachers to incorporate each format into their classrooms. Yokota and Teale (2014) provide teachers with a guide for selecting the format of book most appropriate for a given class and lesson, based on a selected list of attributes. This study also considers research asserting the common belief that digital literacy results in greater student comprehension, engagement, and literacy results than that produced by paper literacy. Knobel and Lankshear (2006) describe common misunderstandings regarding digital literacy, and explain that digital literacy should not be considered something “unitary, and certainly not as some finite «competency» or «skill»,” but as “shorthand for the myriad social practices and conceptions of engaging in meaning making mediated by texts that are produced, received, distributed, exchanged etc., via digital 125

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codification” (para. 24). The authors contend that digital literacy may be more accurately termed, digital literacies. The authors further explain that digital literacy does not foster better comprehension simply by being online. Rather, digital literacy enhances literacy development by delivering text to readers in new, more advanced and relevant ways (Knobel & Lankshear, 2006). These digital texts explored in this study present the same texts, pictures, and story as the paper copy, to enable a controlled study examining the impact of digital and paper formats to support student comprehension and concept retention.

Student Interest Research demonstrates that student interest impacts attention, goal setting, and learning strategies, thus making learner engagement a key factor to consider in improving teaching practices (Avard, 2006). Learner engagement is both “critical and complicated” in the education process, and needs greater understanding, particularly in regards to how “students behave, feel, and think” (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004, p. 59). Student interest is shaped by the different impact paper and digital texts have on student learning. Many studies demonstrate that digital texts benefit literacy development by engaging reader interest. For instance, Levinson and Barron (2018) found that digital texts provide a bridge across cultures and generations, including in the homes of English Language Learners. However, other studies have highlighted challenges presented by digital texts in the development of emergent literacy. In particular, Holum and Gahala (2001) found that digital texts reduce capacity for reflection, and that “children are better served when adults read aloud to them, thus providing opportunities for spontaneous questions and verbal interaction” (p. 15). Due to the divergence of findings presented in recent studies, more research is needed to explore how paper and digital texts impact student interest, as well as student comprehension and concept retention, particularly for early readers. When students are interested in what they are learning, this interest impacts the way they value and retain that information. Not only does student interest shape how students learn, but student interest also improves academic performance. Students are able to make connections with information after establishing background knowledge from prior experiences (Renninger & Hidi, 2016). Additional research on student interest and prior knowledge includes Fenichel and Schweingruber’s (2010) work demonstrating that students who already have an interest in science may be more motivated learners in science, compared to those who have no prior interest established. Once a student is interested in what they are learning, they then engage more effectively with the material. Digital texts may have a key role to play in activating prior knowledge, as students may spend more time outside of school contexts reading on digital devices than on paper. Perry, a museum evaluator, developed a framework intended to enhance museum exhibits, and found this framework could also be used in promoting student interest and its role in student learning. The six steps in this framework are: curiosity, confidence, challenge, control, play, and communication (Fenichel & Schweingruber, 2010). The Children’s Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana uses this framework to enhance the learning process for visiting students. After engaging student interest, effective pedagogies must sustain this interest to be beneficial, long-term. This study examines how use of digital and paper texts promote interest and learning. The role of teacher guidance in this process is critical.

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Teacher Guidance This study also is informed by research on the role of teacher guidance in cultivating student digital literacy development. A recent study on teacher guidance in digital literacy development highlights appropriate uses for digital texts in educational settings, including pivotal moments for incorporating technology, and selection of digital texts based on students’ developmental and educational levels (INFOhio Early Literacy Task Force, 2017). The authors stress the importance of teacher guidance and support for students engaging with digital texts, and further suggest that teachers use digital texts as a tool, not as a replacement for paper texts (INFOhio Early Literacy Task Force 2017). A key role for the teacher or other adult engaging early readers with digital texts is to teach moderate and proper use of technology, particularly in educational settings where conceptual learning is being shaped (INFOhio Early Literacy Task Force, 2017).

Summary The above studies provide beneficial information and research perspectives in shaping the theoretical foundation for our study, examining the impact of digital and paper texts on first-grade student comprehension of a STEM children’s book focused on composting. The findings in these studies demonstrate the value of both paper and digital texts in early reader literacy development, while also raising important questions about the different role paper and digital texts may play in supporting student interest and comprehension. As highlighted above, Renninger and Hidi (2016) provide useful information on how to spark student interest, while Fenichel & Schweingruber (2010) explores strategies for engaging student interest in science classrooms. Our study builds on this work by exploring how digital and paper texts engage interest to support comprehension and concept retention of STEM content.

METHODS Research Purpose and Question Our study builds on the above research by examining the impact of paper and digital texts on early reader STEM literacy development, as well as the teacher’s role as a reader of a paper text to the class, facilitator of a class-directed reading of a digital text, or a nearly absent figure, as students navigate their own digital texts, independently. This research is critical and timely to inform elementary teacher approaches to integrating paper and digital texts in curricula. The research questions shaping this study are: (1) How do paper and digital versions of the same text impact early reader comprehension and concept retention of STEM content? (2) How do differing degrees of teacher guidance impact early reader comprehension and concept retention of STEM content? (3) What implications can be drawn from this study for teacher practice and future research related to the integration of digital and paper texts in elementary school curricula?

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Mixed Methods Approach This study employs a mixed methods approach to research, described as combining quantitative and qualitative research “techniques, methods, approaches, concepts, or language in a single study or set of related studies” (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, & Turner, 2005, p. 19). Collins, Onwuegbuzie, and Sutton (2006) highlight that mixed methods researchers must determine if qualitative and quantitative designs are to be “implemented concurrently or sequentially, whether they are combined partially or fully, and whether they receive equal or unequal status” (p. 72). Moreover, Hanson et al.’s (2005) basic steps in designing a mixed methods study (p. 227) prescribe deciding: (1) if/how to employ a theoretical lens, (2) how to collect data, and (3) when/how the data analysis will occur, particularly if the quantitative [QUAN] and the qualitative [QUAL] implementations of the study are concurrent or sequential. This study employs a sequential [QUAN → QUAL] mixed methods approach in first analyzing quantitative data, then analyzing qualitative data to add insight to quantitative findings (Hanson et al., 2005), as part of a data triangulation process (Creswell, 2014). In this study, both the quantitative and qualitative findings were viewed as valuable in adding complementary insight to the study, though the quantitative analyses were conducted first and shaped the initial results.

COURSE SITE AND PARTICIPANTS Research Site School 1. School 1 is an elementary school located in South Central, Indiana, with just over 450 students enrolled in 2018-2019, and only four English Language Learners in the entire school. There are 22 teachers in the school, and almost half of the teachers are relatively new teachers, with less than five years of experience. Just under 10% of the student population receives reduced price meals, while 35% of students receive free meals, daily. School 2. School 2 also is an elementary school located in South Central, Indiana, with just over 350 students enrolled in 2018-2019, and only 18 English Language Learners in the entire school. There are 14 teachers in the school, and around half of the teachers are relatively new teachers with less than five years of experience. Nearly 9% of students receive reduced price meals, while about 19% percent of the student population receive free meals, daily. School 3. School 3 also is an elementary school located in South Central, Indiana, with just over 500 students enrolled in 2018-2019, and have less than 2 English Language Learners in the entire school. There are 36 teachers in the school, and around half of the teachers are relatively experienced with more than ten years of experience. Nearly 45% of the students receive reduced price meals, while about 45% percent of student population receive free meals, daily.

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Study Participants School 1. The 1st grade teacher in school 1 is a white female who has been teaching for more than five years. Out of 20 student participants in our study, 95% of participants are white, 5% are African-American and 5% of participants are Hispanic. Of all 20 students, 5% of participants are English Language Learners (ELLs), whose native language is Spanish, and 20% of student participants have IEPs. Of all IEPs in the class, 15% involve speech disabilities, 5% involve cognitive disabilities, and 5% hearing disabilities. This 5% used hearing aids during this study. School 2. The first grade teacher in school 2 is a white female who has been teaching for more than 10 years. Out of the 25 students who participated in our study, around 85% of the students are white, approximately 5% of the students are African American, and 3% of participants are Hispanic. Of all the participants, roughly 25% of the class receive additional support through IEPs. School 3. The first grade teacher in school 3 is a white female who has been teaching for more than 10 years. Out of the 18 students who participated in our study, 100% of the participants are white and speak English. Approximately 25% of the participants receive assistance through IEPs.

Pedagogical Activities Prior to this study, three of the researchers authored three versions of a children’s book on composting, as part of a teacher education course assignment to create a civic science children’s book on soil and water conservation to share with early elementary students. The three versions of this children’s book became a central tool in this study on early reader engagement and comprehension. The course instructor is the fourth author for this study. The researchers invited three 1st grade classrooms across three schools to complete a pre-test worksheet on composting by reading five questions aloud and asking students to circle the correct picture, in response. The class was evenly distributed into three randomly selected groups of students. Each of these groups was given a different version of the composting book to read: a paper version, a digital animated version, or a digitally recorded author reading of the book. Group 1: In-person author reading of the paper version of book, and the author-teacher provides students with full guidance throughout the entire book. Group 2: Animated digital version of book created through Storyjumper.com, displayed using an lcd projector on a screen in front of class. The author-teacher provides students with minimal guidance, and gives students freedom to tell her how to navigate the digital book. Group 3: Digitally recorded author reading of the book using Screencastify.com, displayed on individual iPads with headphones. The author-teacher provides no guidance and students are free to navigate the story as desired, or even leave the story to view different apps. All students returned as a whole group to complete a post-reading activity, identical to the prereading worksheet used. The researchers read the five worksheet questions aloud, and students selected their responses by circling the correct picture. After each student completed the worksheet, the authorresearchers provided the correct answers.

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Data Collection and Analysis The worksheets were collected after students completed the pre- and post-reading test to compare results before and after reading the story, and across school sites. These findings served as the quantitative data for this mixed methods study. After the worksheets were gathered and results were noted, the researchers interviewed the classroom teacher with five predetermined questions related to the learning activities. The interview was recorded and transcribed to prepare for analysis. This transcription served as the qualitative data for this mixed methods study. First, the quantitative data was analyzed by calculating average pre- and post-reading scores for each reading group (paper, author-teacher read; digital, author-teacher facilitated; digital-student independent reading) across each of the three schools. Average pre- and post-reading scores were compared across groups within and across schools, using same group comparisons, to consider if student comprehension and retention was impacted by book format and teacher guidance. These quantitative findings were then examined in light of the qualitative findings: teacher interviews. After quantitative findings were analyzed, the interview data was analyzed using constant comparative methods of analysis (Glaser, 1965). First, each researcher examined the interviews in search for thematic findings responding to the research questions. Thematic findings were categorized by research question, and any other unanticipated emergent findings were noted. The researchers came together to share their findings, discuss any convergence and divergence in the responses, and then select the most salient themes to guide the presentation of the findings. This study took a grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), in that the researchers did not enter data collection and analysis with a set hypothesis based on a theoretical framework shaping “preconceived theory” before collecting the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 12). Rather we implemented the study, allowing “theory to emerge from the data” (p. 12) to shape findings.

Validity & Reliability To enhance the validity of our findings, we implemented this study in three elementary schools across three different SES contexts in South central Indiana, including one low-SES school, one middle-to-low SES school, and one middle-SES school. SES distinctions across the schools intend to strengthen the study’s validity and reliability by examining findings across contexts and examining findings across groups within the same context. All three elementary schools include students of similar ethnic and linguistic background (white, English-speaking). Thus, future research might explore similar research questions across contexts including students of more diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Finally, inter-rater reliability was established as the researchers individually examined the interview data for emergent themes, and then shared findings with one another to establish shared group findings, based on selected key themes.

FINDINGS Quantitative Results

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School # 1 Results Research Group

Number of Students in Group

Average Pre-test Correct

Average Post-test Correct

Paper book/ full teacher guidance

5

1.8

5

Storyjumper.com/ some teacher guidance

7

2.8

4.6

Screencastify/ no teacher guidance

8

3

3.9

Average Pre-test Correct

Average Post-test Correct

Figure 1.

School # 2 Results Research Group

Number of Students in Group

Paper book/ 100% teacher guidance

8

2.4

4.25

Storyjumper.com/ some teacher guidance

9

2.6

4.3

Screencastify/ no teacher guidance

8

4.25

4.75

Figure 2.

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School # 3 Results Research Group

Number of Students in Group

Average Pre-test Correct

Average Post-test Correct

Paper book/ 100% teacher guidance

5

2.5

4.5

Storyjumper.com/ some teacher guidance

6

3.3

4.3

Screencastify/ no teacher guidance

6

3.6

4.4

Figure 3.

QUAN AND QUAL FINDINGS Finding 1: Paper Texts Enhanced Student Comprehension and Concept Retention Findings from this study suggest that paper texts may enhance student comprehension and concept retention. In school 1, students who were read the paper book scored higher (all perfect scores) on the post-test activity. In school 2 and 3, the majority of the students who were read the paper book received a four or five. This was greater than in other groups. However, it is not clear the extent to which the teacher guidance or the paper text supported comprehension and concept retention in the student group whose post-test scores showed greatest improvement. Qualitative findings drew upon interviews with all three teachers. School 1 teacher felt that both digital and paper texts are important for students to be exposed to and enjoy, but that digital texts are particularly engaging for her students, and even more for boys. However, she was inspired by her participation in this study to pay closer attention to what truly engages early readers. School 3 teacher reflected that her students were “more receptive to digital” texts (School 3 teacher intv, 04/09/19). School 1 and school 2 teachers reflected that their schools attempted to maintain balance in having both digital and paper texts in the classroom. While school 2 teacher’s students enjoyed digital books, she preferred to read aloud to them with ‘real’ books. She reflected that “having the actual text/book in their hands helps them follow along and learn to read much better than using a digital form” (School 2 teacher intv, 04/02/19). Paper books enhance reader focus.

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Finding 2: Screen Time Increased Interest Yet Hindered Comprehension and Retention A second finding from this study is that screen time may increase student interest, yet hinder student comprehension and concept retention. As noted in the above findings, school 2 teacher reflections aligned with the finding that students retained greater content from paper books read in person. Yet, school 3 teacher challenged this idea in observing her own students “more receptive to digital” content (School 3 teacher intv, 04/09/19). School 2 teacher recognized that students enjoyed digital books more, while also observing that paper books fostered greater focus over time, and paper books read with a teacher enabled discussing content together. Teacher 1 and 3 teachers did not highlight this distinction, and only noted that the digital books seemed to be more engaging or enjoyable for their students to read, yet did not offer evidence that the digital books produced greater comprehension or concept retention.

Finding 3: Teacher Guidance Enhanced Student Comprehension and Concept Retention A third finding evident in school 1, 2, and 3 is that the scores for students who received full teacher guidance improved more than any other group. School 1 improved by 3.2 points. School 2 improved by 1.85. School 3 improved by 2 points. For full teacher guidance using the paper book, the three schools saw an average score for improvement of 2.35 between the pre-test and post-test. In comparison, the digital Storyjumper and Screencastify reading saw an average improvement of 1.5 and 1.1, respectively. These quantitative findings suggest that constructive teacher presence has a positive impact on student comprehension and concept retention, and some teacher presence is better than none, to have a positive impact on student learning. In school 1, the majority of students who had no teacher guidance missed key pictures and ideas in the story. Some students would move back and forth to different places of the Screencastify video on their individual iPads without listening to the full story. In school 1 and school 2, some students chose to not watch the story, but only listen on their earphones. This resulted in students missing key images shown on the screen and asked in the post test questions. In school 2, a few of the students also did not watch the screen, but only listened, during the digital Storyjumper reading. In school 3, students listened to the Storyjumper while not looking at the screen, but paid full attention to the screen during the Screencastify reading. In contrast, in school 1, 2, and 3, teacher guided reading of the paper books allowed teachers to check for prior knowledge before reading, and check for comprehension in the middle and end of the book. This group interaction enhanced student reading comprehension more than the digital books without teacher guidance. Participants who read the Storyjumper digital animated book demonstrated some active engagement in viewing the pictures and responding to the questions, but did not evidence the same level of engagement as participants reading the paper book with the teacher. Participants in the Screencastify viewing with no teacher guidance showed little engagement, including blank staring at the screen while questions and pictures were asked. Other participants in this group chose to not view the pictures at all while looking around the room. Further interview findings aligned with these conclusions. School 2 teacher reflected on the value of teacher-guided reading to enable pausing to point out and explain concepts explored in class, such as “character, setting, problem/solution, compound words, contractions” (School 2 teacher intv, 04/02/19). 133

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School 1 teacher’s reflections evidenced her increased focus on student interest, as a result of participating in the study. She reflected that the study had made her “more cognizant of paying close attention to what does grab my student’s attention” and her eagerness “to try any strategy that helps to interest my students” (School 1 teacher intv, 03/15/19).

Finding 4: Teacher Participation Enhanced Teacher Focus on Civic Science An emergent finding was that teacher participation in this study enhanced teacher interest in integrating civic science topics into the classroom, and sparked conversation about civic science topics already being integrated into their curricula. While this finding did not directly respond to the research questions, teacher interviews evidenced this. School 3 teacher reflected that she had not integrated a lot of civic science curricula into her classroom, but that she found “connection to a real-life community issue” to be “very meaningful” and that she had already reached out to a local extension office with a lot of Internet resources related to environmental topics (School 3 teacher intv, 04/09/19). School 2 teacher reflected that their use of Project-Based Learning (PBL) supported teachers in becoming more “aware of their surroundings” and “the needs of our community and the world,” including writing their own nonfiction books about endangered animals after a National Geographic author visit (School 2 teacher intv, 04/02/19). Finally, school 1 teacher highlighted that she already invited her students to read National Geographic for Kids, Scholastic Readers, and Mystery Doug Science online, and invited the 4-H Extension office and the Recycling Center to share presentations with the class on the environment.

DISCUSSION This research offers key insights regarding the use of print and digital children’s texts to engage early readers in conceptual learning, particularly for civic science topics. This study also offers perspective for how varying degrees of teacher guidance may impact early readers’ conceptual understanding and retention. This study evidences greatest gains in comprehension and concept retention when paper books are read with teacher guidance, followed by digital books read with teacher facilitation, followed by digital books read independently by individual learners. This study recognizes the value of digital books in enhancing reader interest, while evidencing the importance of cultivating conceptual understanding via paper books and teacher guidance.

Digital vs. Paper Texts In this study, students who received the greatest in-person teacher guidance in reading a paper book demonstrated the greatest gains in pre- and post-reading handout comprehension scores. Moreover, in both school 1 and school 3, this paper book group outperformed students who viewed the story using a digital medium, with less or no teacher guidance. These findings contribute greater understanding for

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how paper and digital texts impact learner engagement, comprehension, and retention (Fredricks et al., 2004). This study suggests paper books with teacher guidance have the greatest impact on early reader gains, and thus resonates with previous research suggesting that in-person readings of paper texts may be more effective to engage learners by providing opportunity for “spontaneous questions and verbal interaction” (Holum and Gahala, 2001, p. 15). School 2 teacher offered the same reflection for why she preferred to read paper texts aloud with her students. School 1 teacher noted that she attempts to strike a balance in using paper and digital texts in her classroom, yet noted her aim to observe how and when to use each more thoughtfully. School 3 teacher challenged the study’s main finding by highlighting that her students preferred digital books, though did not note evidence for how her use of digital or paper texts in the classroom had impacted student learning over time.

Interest vs. Comprehension and Concept Retention Research demonstrates that student interest impacts attention, goal setting, and learning strategies, thus making learner engagement a key factor to consider in improving teaching practices (Avard, 2006). School 1 teacher emphasized this point in reflecting on the study. While many teachers may agree that learner engagement is “critical,” learner engagement is also “complicated,” particularly in regards to how “students behave, feel, and think” (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004, p.59), including the different impact that paper and digital texts have on learner engagement. School 3 teacher echoed many studies concluding that digital texts benefit literacy development by engaging reader interest and providing a bridge across cultures and generations, including in the homes of English Language Learners (e.g., Levinson & Barron, 2018). Yet, school 2 teacher’s reflections echoed other studies highlighting challenges presented by digital texts, including reduced capacity for reflection, and that “children are better served when adults read aloud to them, thus providing opportunities for spontaneous questions and verbal interaction” (Holum & Gahala, 2001, p. 15). In light of this discrepancy, further research is needed to explore how paper and digital texts impact learner comprehension and concept retention, and ideal teaching contexts to use each approach, particularly for early readers.

Balanced Use of Digital and Paper Texts Research does not need to negate the value of digital texts and independent reading to emphasize the value of paper texts and teacher guidance. Like school 1 and 2 teacher’s reflections, research can highlight the importance of moderation and purpose in using digital texts without completely replacing paper texts read by teachers or parents. Digital texts can continue to play a significant role in drawing student interest to content presented, particularly for vulnerable populations, such as English Language Learners (Levinson & Barron, 2018). This study builds on previous research suggesting that digital texts alone may be less sufficient than paper texts in producing comprehension and retention, including for civic science concepts, as seen in this study.

Challenges of “Independent Screen Time” This research found that independent screen time hindered student comprehension and concept retention. This could be due to the lack of teacher guidance combined with the independent reader’s ease and temptation to click back and forth, to rewind and fast-forward, in the digitally recorded author reading. 135

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It is not within the scope of this study to determine if or how older readers may be impacted by this “clicker” temptation. However, in this study, the absence of support from a teacher or adult, led to early reader distraction and lack of focus on key pictures and story content. Students appeared uninterested and skipped back and forth in both the video author reading and the digital book. This behavior corresponded with students’ missing questions on the post-test activity that also used the same key pictures found in the storybook. This finding resonates with research concluding that electronic texts and hypertext may promote among children “a reduced attention span and a general impatience with sustained inquiry” (Birkets 1994, p. 27, as cited in Holum & Gahala 2001, p.15). Students in our study who experienced the greatest guidance from a teacher reading the paper book, in-person, demonstrated the highest gains in comprehension and retention, from the pre- and post-reading scores. This group experienced greater student engagement through teacher questions and group interaction, both of which were minimal or non-existent in the other two groups. These findings encourage greater teacher-student engagement to enhance student comprehension, reflective capacities, and concept retention (Holum & Gahala, 2001). While balancing integration of paper and digital texts may be a long-term aim, this scope of this study only evidences the value of paper texts read in-person to increase early reader comprehension and concept retention.

Civic Action vs. Comprehension Alone This study offers important findings regarding the value of paper and digital texts to enhance civic science curricula in elementary classrooms, including for emergent readers. This emergent finding connects with previous research on strategies for cultivating civic science knowledge, dispositions, and skills in the classroom. Avard (2006) highlights the practice of integrating civil education with other curricular content. Similarly, Hidi and Renninger (2006) conclude that creating a story involving civic science will enhance and deepen student interest. Digital texts enhance reader interest (Levinson & Barron, 2018), so may be able to enhance reader action steps after completing a story. More research is needed to understand better how digital and paper children’s book can enhance student civic action, beyond student comprehension. In addition, research should explore feasible action steps for youth after reading such texts. Krasny and Tidball’s (2019) work explores elementary school community gardens as a pedagogical strategy for fostering student civic action. Positive learning outcomes discovered in this work include shifting the negative historical focus in environmental education on pollution and climate change to “positive expressions of community engagement and environmental stewardship,” re-phrased as civic ecology education (Krasny & Tidball, 2019, p. 6). Another benefit of civic ecology is that students are motivated by the opportunity to contribute to their community and feel that they could have a lasting impact from what the student is learning in the classroom. Lastly, civic action invites the integration and participation of community members, families, and local adults in the education process, by offering knowledge and practices that students may not have had learned, previously. Aligned with the focus of Krasny and Tidball’s (2019) work, this research evidences enhanced teacher interest to explore civic science concepts in the classroom, a different focus from studying environmental problems alone. Composting, the civic science topic in this study, provides a feasible action point for youth. U.S. public schools play a key role in guiding students to learn about civics-related subjects, events, and actions around the world. Teachers are integrating civics as a meaningful content area in elementary, middle, high school, and post-secondary classrooms. The National Commission on Service-Learning (NCSL) found many teachers felt “civic engagement and service-learning are marginalized in schools” 136

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and, as a result, many students are “missing valuable opportunities to learn about social responsibility, personal responsibility, citizenship, and social justice” (DeJarnette & Sudeck, 2002, p. 140). Thus, teachers are finding ways to integrate civic education, including environmental stewardship, into daily curricula. As teachers integrate environmental civic action into classrooms, they must aim to connect this to meaningful learning outcomes, as other forms of civic learning. Environmental service-learning, as other forms of civic service learning, must be embedded in the “curriculum and assessed according to standards and objectives,” and “intended to be systemic and long-term in classrooms in order to foster students’ burgeoning sense of civic engagement” (DeJarnette & Sudeck, 2002, p. 143).

IMPLICATIONS Implications for Practice Perhaps the most significant implication of this study is to read paper books with your children, whether students in your classroom or children in your own home. Digital texts have become an increasing trend in elementary classrooms and homes. Yet, this study suggests that teachers and parents of elementary students may want to spend more face-to-face time reading papers books with children in their classrooms and homes. Paper texts require following a linear line of thought and slows down text digestion -- increased by digital device ‘clickers’ -- and enables more time for reflective questions to emerge, and for adults present to respond to the early reader’s emerging questions and reflections on the content (Holum & Gahala, 2001). Another implication for practice from this work is the important step of engaging students in civic science action after reading civic science books. Action steps could also involve students creating their own civic science stories to promote “civil education” (Avard, 2006). Another action step could involve engaging students in composting to support students in developing further interest in the civic science content (Hidi and Renninger, 2006). Teachers can implement, civil engagement in their classrooms by introducing students to issues of local concern (Avard, 2006). Civil engagement is not only limited to composting, but could be implemented through a variety of ways across disciplines and subject matters. Potential topics of civic science interest for elementary students may include testing for nutrients in soil samples of local farmers, evaluating quality of well-water samples for local landowners, or promoting energy conservation by educating local entities in conservation measures (Avard, 2006). Finally, teacher candidates also need opportunities to prepare to teach environmental civic science curricula and engage students in civic action stemming from this work. DeJarnette and Sudeck’s (2002) study evidenced the impact of service learning on teacher candidates’ civic action. One Candidate expressed, “I realize now that it is not as difficult as I thought it would be to get involved in a cause and to make a difference” (p. 155). Another Candidate reflected that a teacher education service leaning project motivated her “to become involved in my own events” (p. 155). This study highlights the importance of engaging teacher candidates in understanding the importance and impact of environmental civic action and to teach lessons that involve this. This study provides elementary teachers with a model for implementing civil engagement (Avad, 2006) pedagogies. Students might create their own children’s books and then create a classroom compost. A wide variety of civil engagement or civic science concepts and activities may be engaged through children’s books, both paper and digital, to inspire meaningful action.

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Implications for Research This work encourages researchers to partner with teachers in developing studies and findings. This study shows that teacher perception of practice and research matters, as these perceptions shape practitioner decisions. Regardless of the quantitative results from this study, the qualitative findings demonstrate how teacher participants interpreted the findings and sought to translate this into future practice. Teacher 2 already engaged in a paper-rich, teacher guided curricula, while teacher 1 sought balance in paper and digital text use, and teacher 2 expressed more interest in digital texts. This finding serves as a reminder that teacher response to research findings are key to impact teacher practice. It is not enough for researchers to reach findings shared within the academy of education research. Researchers must partner with teachers to have an impact. Future research also might explore if the findings from this study hold true across a broader set of grade level, cultural, linguistic, and SES school contexts. Moreover, much more needs to be explored regarding the impact on student action. This study only examines the impact of paper and digital books on student comprehension and concept retention. It is not known if or how paper and digital texts may play complementary roles in shaping student interest to take action on civic science concepts. Perhaps digital texts may offer greater benefit in this area, due to their cultural relevance to students’ 21st century digital literary worlds. Whether employing digital or paper texts, future research should explore the impact of both on student post-reading action. This future research also might examine the impact on student comprehension and concept retention if paper or digital text readings are followed by engaging students in civic action.

REFERENCES Avard, M. (2006, January 31). Civic Engagement in the Classroom. NSTA. Retrieved May 13, 2019, from https://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=52839 Byker, J., Good, A.J., Miller, E., & Kissel, B. (2018, Winter). Multicultural media authorship. 21st Century Learning and Multicultural Education, 22-25. Collins, K. M. T., Onwuegbuzie, A. T., & Sutton, I. L. (2006). A model incorporating the rationale and purpose for conducting mixed-methods research in Special Education and beyond. Learning Disabilities (Weston, Mass.), 4(1), 67–100. Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. DeJarnette, N. K., & Sudeck, M. (2016). Advocating for a cause: Civic engagement in the elementary classroom. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 7(1). doi:10.17499/jsser.27299 Fenichel, M., & Schweingruber, H. A. (2010). Surrounded by Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Glaser, B. G. (1965). The constant comparative method of qualitative analysis. Social Problems, 12(4), 436–445. doi:10.2307/798843

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Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine. Hanson, W. E., Creswell, J. W., Plano Clark, V. L., Petska, K. S., & Creswell, J. D. (2005). Mixed methods research designs in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(2), 224–235. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.224 Heitin, L. (2019, February 20). How Should Reading Be Taught in a Digital Era? Retrieved from https:// www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/11/09/how-should-reading-be-taught-in-digital-era.html Hidi, S., & Renninger, K. A. (2006). The four-phase model of interest development. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 111–127. doi:10.120715326985ep4102_4 Holum, A., & Gahala, J. (2001). Critical issue: Using technology to enhance literacy instruction. Naperville, IL: North Central Regional Education Laboratory. Hougham, R. J., Nutter, M., & Graham’s, C. (2018). Bridging natural and digital domains: Attitudes, confidence, and interest in using technology to learn outdoors. Journal of Experiential Education, 41(2), 154–169. doi:10.1177/1053825917751203 IDOE. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://compass.doe.in.gov/dashboard/overview.aspx INFOhio Early Literacy Task Force. (2017, October 16). Best Practices for Digital Reading. Retrieved from https://www.infohio.org/images/ZOO_DOCS/toolkit/BestPracticesForReadingDigitalTex t.pdf Johnson, R. B., Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Turner, L. A. (2005, April). Mixed methods research: Is there a criterion of demarcation? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada. Knobel, M., & Lankshear, C. (2006, May 30). Digital literacy and digital literacies: Policy, pedagogy and research considerations for education. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, (1). Retrieved May 26, 2019, from https://www.idunn.no/dk/2006/01/digital_literacy_and_digital_literacies_-_policy_pedagogy_and_research_cons Krasny, M. E., & Tidball, K. G. (2009). Community gardens as contexts for science, stewardship, and civic action learning. Cities and the Environment, 2(1), 1–18. doi:10.15365/cate.2182009 Levinson, A. M., & Barron, B. (2018). Latino immigrant families learning with digital media across settings and generations. Digital Education Review, 33, 150–169. Levinson, M. (2017). Action civics in the classroom. National Council for the Social Studies, 78(2), 68-70. Retrieved from http://www.c3teachers.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Levinson.pdf Neumann, M. M., Finger, G., & Neumann, D. L. (2017). A conceptual framework for emergent digital literacy. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(4), 471-479. doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.ulib.uits. iu.edu/10.1007/s10643-016-0792-z Renninger, K. A., & Hidi, S. (2016). The Power of Interest for Motivation and Engagement. New York, NY: Routledge; Retrieved from http://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/login.aspx?direct=t rue&db=nlebk&AN=1100829&site=ehost-live

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Sezgin, E. Y., & Ulus, L. (2017). The early literacy at preschool education: The book or the e-book? TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 16(4). Retrieved from http://ulib.iupui. edu/cgi-bin/proxy.pl?url=http://search-proquest-com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/docview/1988915859?acco untid=7398 Storyjumper. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.storyjumper.com/ Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Yokota, J., & Teale, W. H. (2014). Picture books and the digital world: Educators making informed choices. The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 577. Retrieved from http://ulib.iupui.edu/cgi-bin/proxy.pl?url=http:// search-proquest-com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/docview/1523712650?accountid=7398

ADDITIONAL READING Carson, R. (1962). Silent Spring: The Class that Launched the Environmental Movement. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin. Henderson, R., & Honan, E. (2008). Digital literacies in two low socio-economic classrooms: Snapshots of practice. English Teaching, 7(2), 85–98. Kuzyk, R. (2007). Learning gardens: New York’s Green Branches program links gardens to the street. Library Journal, 132(17), 40–43. Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2003). New Literatures. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press. Lewicki, J. (1998). Cooperative ecology & place: Development of a pedagogy of place curriculum. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Education. ED461461. Lewis, E., Mansfield, C., & Baudains, C. (2008). Getting down and dirty: Values in education for sustainability. Issues in Educational Research, 18(2), 138–155. Sofkova Hashemi, S., & Cederlund, K. (2017). Making room for the transformation of literacy instruction in the digital classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 17(2), 221–253. doi:10.1177/1468798416630779 Teale, W. H., Zolt, N., Yokota, J., Glasswell, K., & Gambrell, L. (2007, March). Getting children in2books: Engagement in authentic reading, writing, and thinking. Phi Delta Kappan, 88(7), 498–502. doi:10.1177/003172170708800707 Yokota, J., & Teale, W. H. (2017, March-April). Striving for international understanding through literature. The Reading Teacher, 70(5), 629–633. doi:10.1002/trtr.1557

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Ecological Diversity: The biodiversity and ecosystem variations within a region, and the broader impact this biodiversity has on its larger regions and, ultimately, the planet. Paper Text: In this study, “paper text” refers to a story or book in physical form as written text printed on paper. The reader may physically open the book and turn the pages of the story by hand. Audio and visual recording of the story are not available. Screencastify.com: An education-purposed digital tool that supports production of HD screen or webcam videos that may be narrated, annotated, and edited. Screencastify.com may be downloaded onto a browser as a Chrome extension. Storyjumper.com: A digital tool primarily for teachers and students to use in creating or teaching how to create online, interactive, narrated books. Storyjumper.com provides tools to scaffold the book creation process. Readers can view pictures and read text, but are not able to physically feel or flip the pages of the online book. Readers click a screen to turn the page. Teacher Guidance: In this study, “teacher guidance” refers to direct direction and instruction from the teacher to help students understand, navigate, and complete tasks in the classroom.

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Integrating Digital Literacy in Competency-Based Curriculum Daniel Otieno Kenyatta University, Kenya

ABSTRACT This chapter discusses the integration of digital literacy in competency-based curriculum (CBC). In the introduction, the authors discuss the 21st century skills and their relevance to the competency-based curriculum. The discussion funnels from global, regional, and local contexts. Theoretical perspectives in ICT and the CBC are dealt with to provide a background. Multiple approaches of integrating digital literacy within the curriculum are highlighted later in the chapter. These issues are discussed in the light of the extant literature on digital literacy and the competency-based curriculum. The discussion revolves around the trends, controversies of digital literacy in the CBC with possible solutions put forth towards the end of the chapter. Finally, recommendations and future research directions are made. The chapter concludes with a summary of the major issues discussed in the chapter and recommendations for further reading.

INTRODUCTION The demands of the 21st century has created the need to equip the new generations of millennials with new skill sets that will enable them to contribute positively to the challenges of the new order of things. These demands have precipitated the need for a curriculum that incorporates the desired skills – the 21st Century skills. The development of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) is an effort to make this a reality. This chapter discusses issues relating to digital literacy and how they can be integrated in the CBC. The concept of CBC is discussed from a global and regional perspective and various issues surrounding the integration of digital literacy in the CBC are discussed in great length. In many developing countries, there is a mismatch between the curricula and the needs of the labour market. Youth graduating from the education system are unable to fit properly in the job market. Many countries around the world have implemented the CBC curriculum to address the challenges faced by the employment sector and bridge the gap between the skills requirement and education. Digital literacy is one of the DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch008

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necessary skills. This chapter will discuss some of the ways through which digital competencies can be taught through the curriculum. In Kenya, the Ministry of Education has piloted a new competency-based curriculum and is in the process of implementing it to replace the previous system that has been too exam oriented. The impetus for the new curriculum is to teach new competencies to school-age children that will enable them face the challenges of the 21st century. Among the competencies embedded in the new curriculum is digital literacy. The chapter discusses some of the pertinent issues around digital literacy and the competencybased curriculum. Drawing on global and local experiences, the objectives of the Chapter are to provide a general understanding of the issues of digital literacy and its integration in the CBC. It seeks to discuss the issues, perspectives and challenges in the integration of digital literacy and contribute to the discourse around competency-based curriculum and digital education. The chapter is organised as follows. After a description of the underlying concept of digital literacy, the issues around the competence-based curriculum, perspectives and challenges surrounding the integration are discussed. The final recommendations for further reading and research are provided for the purposes of extending the discourse.

BACKGROUND ICT in Education The aim of education is to prepare a labour force that will meet the requirements of the labour market. Information communication and technology has received adequate attention in education. The United Nations and other global partners in education have mainstreamed ICT in their developmental agendas. The UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers was developed to support countries to put in place policies and standards that provide guidelines for national teacher ICT competency. It aimed at providing an important component for governments to develop legal frameworks for the integration of ICT in Education Masterplans (Olsson, 2006). The framework has three different approaches to developing teachers’ competencies. These are: the development of technology literacy, enhancing knowledge deepening and eventually the creation of knowledge. The use of ICT in teaching is essential because it makes learning to occur more efficiently and effectively. Through the use of ICTs, students are able to deepen their understanding and create new knowledge in their subject areas. They can innovatively apply this to solve the complex problems that face modern societies (UNESCO, 2011). The use of technology in education necessitates the equipping of teachers with new pedagogical competencies and new approaches in teacher education. Teachers should become aware of policy goals and be able to identify the various areas of education reform that are related to these policy goals. The policy goals identified in the UNESCO ICT framework are technology literacy, knowledge deepening and knowledge creation. These policy goals are discussed in the followings sections under the broad sub-heading of digital citizenry, collaborative learning/teaching and lifelong learning. They provide essential building blocks for erecting the digital edifice in educational institutions that will provide a basis for efficiency and effectiveness.

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Digital Citizenry In relation to technology literacy, the pertinent policy goals include increasing enrolment, developing high-quality teaching and learning resources and improving literacy skills (UNESCO, 2011). Writing in “The unfinished revolution”, Abbot & Ryan (2000), explain that if we are to be successful in education in the 21st century, we should assist each child to develop and transcend the traditional boundaries of literacy and numeracy. Our children need to be prepared to be creative, innovative and solve the emerging global challenges. The world is rewarding creativity and there is need to move beyond the singular focus on academic schooling and achievement (Abbot & Ryan, 2000). Apart from academic qualifications, employers are looking for additional skills such as the ability to communicate, work in teams, adopt to change, innovate and be creative. These are the skills that need to be imparted in the current generation as they move into the new century. Other than these skills, the current generation of people will require digital skills for them to fit in the emerging world. This is a call for a new generation of digital citizenry. Karaduman and Ozturk (2014) have defined digital citizenship as the application and advocacy for behaviours necessary for legal, ethical, safe and responsible use of information communication technologies in online environments. As digital citizens we must be aware of the role of technology in our lives and make efforts to use it in an ethical and responsible manner. As children transition into young adult lives, it is imperative to invest in their education in a manner that makes them take responsibility for their own learning (Abbot & Ryan, 2000). This can be achieved when the children have developed basic literacy and numeracy skills in tandem with higher order skills of metacognition. It is possible for learners to learn independently by being able to access online information and use community-based resources such as museums, local libraries and resource centres. The number of children using digital resources in schools need to be increased. There is need to create an all-inclusive environment where learners with special needs can also successfully use digital resources. Writing in the International Handbook for literacy and technology, Kame’enui and Wallin (2010) reiterate that many children with special needs are behind in reading development and the use of technology. It is imperative to provide an environment where they can learn successfully and develop literacy and digital competencies. This will increase the momentum towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal of providing quality education, enhancing access and inclusiveness. Teachers need to know where and when to use technology to manage tasks and activities in the classroom. For them to do this, they need certain competencies. Teacher competencies related to technologically based literacy approach include digital literacy skills and digital citizenship. The teacher should be able to select and use online resources such as educational tutorials, games, web content in computer laboratories, software to complement curriculum objectives. There is a plethora of web-based resources which teachers can use in their teaching. The challenge for many teachers in the developing countries is the lack of awareness of these resources. Those who are aware neither do not know how to use these resources or do not have the time and means of using them in their instructional practices.

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Collaborative Learning and Teaching In relation to the knowledge deepening approach, teachers should design classroom experiences that enable students to apply knowledge gained in classroom subjects to solve complex problems encountered in real-life situations. The pedagogical approaches associated with this include collaborative problem solving and project-based learning. In collaborative learning, teachers and students share goals and agree to work on common projects to achieve these goals (Collins, Harkin & Hind, 2002). Apart from working with students, teachers can demonstrate collaborative learning through team teaching. Team teaching demonstrates the value of teamwork and mutually assists the teachers to build and benefit from each other’s strengths. Conversation is important in collaborative work. Through conversations, teachers can generate relational knowledge about teachers’ biographical connections and differences. This increases the complexity of thinking and acceptance of different ideas (Collins, Harkin & Hind, 2002). The emphasis on conversations as an approach to teaching is a shift from the traditional models of teaching. It adopts the model where the teacher is engaged in a structured conversation with the students to achieve learning outcomes. Teachers can engage learners in structured conversations that help them develop their self-worth and esteem. Teaching must move from the traditional roles of the teacher as the sole repository of knowledge to that of a facilitator. In a digital environment where a vast amount of information is readily available on the internet at the click of a button, the teacher plays the role of facilitating learning by assisting the learners to acquire the most relevant information and use it to solve current problems. This can be done by showing skills that can be used to search for information online and apply critical and analytical thinking abilities to synthesis the information and use it practically in daily life. By engaging learners in conversations, teachers can assist them build on the knowledge they have discovered and apply it in the real-world situation. This provides the scaffolding that is necessary for effective knowledge acquisition and development. Digital-based classroom assessment is another area that needs to be addressed in digital instruction. This kind of assessment focuses on complex problem solving which is incorporated in the learning activities. The competencies related to these approaches include the ability to mange information, structure problem tasks, and integrate software tools and applications with learner centred teaching. Collaborative learning teaches academic and social skills including how to set goals, negotiation of authority, personal responsibility, inductive and deductive approaches to learning, creativity and interdependence with children of different backgrounds (Collins, Harkin & Hind, 2002). All these skills are essential for success in a connected and globalised world. It is essential to assess the extent to which learners have developed these competencies. The virtual environment is replete with various tools that can be used to assess the development of these skills. The teacher can access these resources through open access or regular subscriptions.

Life-Long Learning Pertaining to the knowledge creation approach, the teacher should design classrooms that engage students in creating knowledge, innovation and engage in lifelong learning. Knowledge should go beyond school curriculum to include social skills that are essential to develop new knowledge. These skills include problem solving, effective communication, collaboration, critical thinking, decision-making and creative expression. These are among the 21st century skills that are necessary for workplace productivity 145

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in the current dispensation. The role of the teachers is to structure the classroom activities and learning experiences to provide scenerios where students can apply these skills and assist them in knowledge acquisition. Learners must be equipped with positive attitudes towards life-long learning. The world today requires individuals who are committed to continuous learning both inside and outside the formal setups. This will ensure that the current and future generations are able to produce and use knowledge that will contribute to sustainable development and the achievement of the sustainable development goals. Digital literacy is an essential skill for developing life-long learning. The internet provides a vast amount of resources for continuous learning and a person must be digitally literate to navigate through this vastness and make meaning out of it. As Kılıç & Yılmaz (2019) report, it is important to mainstream lifelong learning at all levels of education. The amount of knowledge available in the world is huge and is constantly changing. Individuals must be able to adjust and change in consonance with the changing global information and knowledge landscapes. In this regard, lifelong learning provides an opportunity for people to adjust to these changing landscapes. The realities and potentialities in the use of ICT can be achieved if the developing countries can increase the efforts in mainstreaming and strengthening the application of ICTs in education and all spheres of society. Following in the implementation of UNESCO ICT-CFT, different countries were required to establish local policies that make the framework a reality on the ground (Olsson, 2006). Several developing countries have taken the right steps in this direction.

ICT POLICY IN KENYA The government of Kenya has prioritised digital literacy as demonstrated by several policy frameworks such as the Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2005 that recognizes the many ways ICTs are utilized to improve the quality of learning in schools. Digital literacy is a key component of ICT integration in the education system. The National Policy on ICT of 2006 mainstreamed digital education in private and public sectors. The development of this policy was guided by the need to develop relevant infrastructure and human resource capacity. The key stakeholders were engaged in the development of an appropriate policy and regulatory framework. The policy was later revised in 2016 to realign it with the new constitution 2010. It is important to understand the frameworks that provide the legal basis for enhancing digital literacy in our education system. A good understanding of the ICT policy (Republic of Kenya, 2016) provides a basis for entrenching digital literacy in educational institutions in Kenya. The National ICT in Education Vision is a product of the National Policy on ICT. In this document, the Ministry seeks to promote ICT as a universal tool for education by equipping every institution, teacher, learner and the community with appropriate ICT competencies. The Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2019 on Reforming Education, Training and Research for Sustainable Development gives a lot of emphasis on ICT in Education, Training and Research. To implement this policy the government intends to “build the capacity of lecturers, trainers, teachers and instructors to integrate ICT in education, training and research” (Republic of Kenya, 2019, p. 60).

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ICTs and Teacher Competencies The major driver for successful educational reform is capacity building for educators through educational and professional development. Teachers can be supported to understand how to use ICTs in their classrooms and to engage with students and enrich their experiences. Currently, there exists a gap between what learners achieve and their potential. This gap is widened by the lack of adequate capacity building for teachers. In Sweden, although computers have been used for a long time in schools, teachers do not have adequate competencies in ICT (Olsson, 2006). The Learning Resource Centre at Stockholm Institute of Education has identified several learning competencies for teachers. These include information literacy, technology literacy and creativity (Olsson, 2006). Teachers need to be trained on the use of communication and learning platforms, designing homepages, using web evaluations, smart boards among others. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and UNESCO have developed an ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (Schrum, Strudler & Thompson, 2011). The framework defines various competencies for teachers that those engaged in developing learning resources can use to do so. To the extent that digitized instruction has been encouraged in classrooms, there are several issues that need to be addressed. These issues include teacher preparation, availability of equipment and other resources, student characteristic among others. There is need to understand the issues pertaining digital literary to get contextual grounding. Khromov and Kameneva (2016) revealed that there is a gap between digital natives (students) and the digital immigrants (teachers) which conceptually separates the two when it comes to the application of digital knowledge. Both teachers and students need to be prepared to harness digital resources in their classrooms. There are issues related to the technology and student expectations, motivating and engaging learners.

21st Century Skills The world has undergone tremendous changes over the last few decades. Technology has changed the way people interact and relate with each other. Due to the technological, cultural and social changes, there is need for humanity to learn a new set of skills that will enable future survival in this new dispensation. These new skill sets are commonly referred to as the 21st century skills. The 21st century skills are necessary for a person to survive in the modern workplace. It is essential that teachers are well prepared to integrate technology in their teaching so that children can learn how to use technology in their daily life (Linda, 2010). These skills are referred to differently by various actors such as life skills, competencies, soft skills among other references. In October 2013, UNESCO’s Asia Pacific Education Research Institutes Network (ERI-Net) formally begun using the term ‘transversal competencies’ to include all the skills, values and attitudes, such as collaboration, self-discipline, resourcefulness and environmental appreciation. The United Nation recognizes that these are the competencies necessary for learners’ holistic development and for them to successfully adopt to the changing global environment. They are essential in fostering deep knowledge and thinking skills in students (Nir, Ben-David, Inbar & Zohar, 2016). The modern world requires reflective thinking and innovative approach to the imminent challenges. This can be achieved if students are trained to think critically through deep learning.

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COMPETENCY-BASED CURRICULUM With the realisation that the 21st Century has brought in its wake the need for new skill sets; a lot has to be done to align the educational systems with these changes. The new generation of young people graduating from the learning institutions need to be equipped with these new skill sets for their survival in the new century. They also need to play a positive role in socio-economic development. These skills are necessary for modern day workplaces and include creativity, reflective thinking, communication, collaboration, intercultural understanding, digital literacy amongst others. There are ongoing dialogues on digital literacy surrounding the curriculum and teacher education programs. The UNESCO studies (UNESCO, 2016; Care & Luo, 2016) found that few teacher development programs address these competencies. Nusche (2016) drawing from country reports established that most European Union states have changed their basic education curricula to reflect the competencies recommended by the European Commission’s recommendations. In the case of the African Union and other developing countries many higher education institutions have been supported by their respective governments in developing competence-based curriculum that covers a variety of disciplines. (Kouwenhoven, 2003). Examples of such countries include Kenya, Mozambique, Ghana and Ethiopia. Although these are not the only countries where the competency-based curriculum has been rolled out. The following discussion will address the issues related to digital literacy within the spectrum of competency-based curriculum in Africa.

PERSPECTIVES ON THE COMPETENCY-BASED CURRICULUM Competency based curriculum has been around for a considerable period. It is important to understand how the various countries around the world are integrating digital literacy in their various models of competency-based curriculum. CBC is intended to equip students with necessary new competencies and develop further the competencies which have already been acquired. This section will discuss the various approaches of integrating digital literacy in the competencybased curriculum and the pertinent issues. Kouwenhoven (2003) has defined competency as “the ability to choose and apply an integrated combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes with the intention to realise a task in a certain context while competence is the capacity to accomplish ‘up to standard’ the key occupational tasks that characterise a profession” p.46. Hager & Gonczi, 1996 has a similar conception of what competencies refer to. Thus, the application of competency-based curriculum within the context of digital literacy includes the use of a combination of digital skills, knowledge and attitudes in digital literacy. In this case, competency is domain specific and relating to this specific area of knowledge.

Electronic Resources in Teaching And Learning Khromov and Kameneva (2016) affirm that to effectively implement curriculum by means of e-learning, there is need to establish a level of awareness. Teachers need to be made aware of online information resources, e-learning resources, information technologies which ensure student learning. With the introduction of the new competency-based curriculum and digital instruction, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development is spearheading the development of relevant content for the new curriculum. These efforts are jointly being supported by public private partnerships. There are pertinent issues around

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content development that needs to be addressed and understood. The Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2019 has prioritized the role of public private partnership in the development and provision of ICT in education.

Teacher Training For Digital Andragogy The most important issue in digitized instruction is teacher preparation. Blackley and Shefffied (2015) came up with the phrase “digital andragogy” which refers to digital activities that are undertaken within the context of a classroom or learning environment. Paul Gilster (1997) introduced the term “digital literacy” which refers to the ability to retrieve and use information from various digital sources without being concerned about different competencies mostly criticised for being restrictive (Koltay, 2011, p. 216). As teacher educators approach instructional design, they must integrate research-proven techniques that ensure the quality of teaching is acceptable and is relevant to the societal needs (Sharp, 2018). With growing significance of digital environments among learners (Hoskins, 2011), there is need to understand the various ways of integrating digital technology in teacher training and how teacher training institutions are adopting to the changes in the education system. The question that needs to be addressed is whether the teacher training curriculum at tertiary and university levels is adopting to the realities of the day and incorporate the changes in the school curriculum. There are several issues around teacher preparation that need to be addressed in relation to digital literacy. Obanya (2002) has pointed out programmes used for training teachers are still largely based on traditional modes while Rozalind (2003) asserted that frequently the training focuses the ways of using digital equipment such as computers but does not address the issues of how to utilise the underlying technology to improve instruction and curriculum delivery. Many teachers in sub-Saharan Africa have not fully imbibed the use of mobile technology in teaching. While they use mobile phones in their daily communication, such as texting and calling, they still do not use their smart phones for teaching purposes. Obanya (2002) conducted a study amongst social studies teachers and found out that with proper training, teachers’ self-efficacy on the use of mobile technology in teaching can greatly be improved. Sharp (2018) found out that teachers engaged in collaborative digital literacy were not well acquainted with digital learning environments such as wikis, blogs, and asynchronous discussions. Learning environments have made it possible for a large number of learners to access educational resources. However, they have also changed the way in which instruction is delivered. Due to their fundamental difference from the traditional face to face environments, digital environments require different methods of delivery (Linder-VanBerschot & Summers, 2015; Scanlon, McAndew, & O’Shea, 2015). Therefore, this calls for enhanced teacher training to equip teachers with appropriate pedagogic techniques as they prepare to teach in the changing educational environments. Several countries have made significant strides in this direction. In a training conducted by UNESCO in Zimbabwe, the teachers were equipped with skills in digitization of instructional materials, incorporation of games and gamification in instructional modules and integration and incorporation of inclusivity in blended learning (“Workshop on Digitization”, 2018). Web-based learning environments provide rigorous learning environments where learners gain from varied online experiences (Sharp, 2018). These are the some of the areas that revised teacher education curriculum content need to incorporate. Available literature describes some of the digital learning environments that can be used in instructional design. These include cognitive apprenticeship methods (Boling et all., 2014), virtual tutorial (Taylor, Dunn, & Winn, 2015), virtual experts (Mudd, Summey, & Upson, 2015), use of social networks (Eid & Al-Jabri, 2016) and digital discourse (Kent, Laslo, & Rafaeli, 2016). These instructional approaches have several benefits to the learners that include improving learner retention, increasing opportunities for interaction 149

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and student engagement, as well as enabling a more learner-centered approach in instructional delivery (Sharp, 2018). Consequently, collaborative digital literacy practices have received a lot of attention with children and adolescent learners (Sharp, 2018).

Mobile Technologies In Digital Education The advent of mobile technology has made the teaching and learning process to assume a totally different dimension. Gone are the days when teaching and learning could only take place within the confines of the classroom under the guidance of a physically present teacher. In the modern dispensation, computers and mobile technology has made it possible for teaching and learning to occur beyond the boundaries of the traditional classroom. Since the development of mobile technology, there are suggestions for educators to undertake new methods of curriculum design and delivery (Looi & Sun, 2018). Mobile learning has the potential to enhance student memory and promote critical thinking, creativity and collaborative learning. (Otero, Milrad, Santos, Verssimo, & Torres, 2011). The use of mobile technology creates more opportunities for learning. Chin and Chen (2013) reiterate that teachers can create smart learning environments using modern technologies. There are several ways of using mobile technologies to facilitate the achievement of learning outcomes. These technologies include m-learning and u-learning (Badiwi, De Runz, Faiz., Cherif, 2018). The use of social media offers a fertile ground for teachers to venture into in the teaching of curriculum content in school. Integrating digital media into classroom instruction requires various levels of competencies because young people access and use digital media at different levels. The type of media and its complexity determines how learners and teachers perceive digital practices within the classroom. The wider population uses digital media in their daily activities and the inability to engage with emerging digital technologies in the classroom leads to a disconnect between everyday life and educational practices (Creer, 2018). Since digital literacy practice is a relatively new and dynamic field it is constantly changing due to fast technological developments. In his study Creer (2018) established that people particularly the young generation use digital media of different types for a wide range of purposes. This implies that educators dealing with young people in the classrooms must create a conjecture between how they integrate the use of digital media and the way young people utilise the same in their daily lives. This calls for a change in perspectives and approaches. The use of smart phones in education creates greater access to information and other learning resources. Smart phones can be used to do what previously was done using pen and paper. Teachers and students can access digital platforms such as facebook, Instagram, twitter and other social platforms for educational purposes. Recently the WhatsApp platform has provided a suitable interface for students and lectures to interact through groups. Communication has been greatly enhanced. At the touch of a button instant messages can be relied between the teachers and their students. Short messages can be used to convey a sense of friendship and cordial relationships which can also convey emotions. Teachers use blogs to share notes and thoughts with their students and are suitable platforms for communicating and developing literary skills. Twitter is a very useful tool which can be used for educational purposes. It enables the user to conduct blogs and has the advantage of being real-time (Creer, 2018). Profile pictures which appear on the homepage personalises each site. These functions use many modes and enable users to share visual and verbal symbols. These modes are important in face-to-face communication, and so by incorporating this feature, twitter brings into the virtual space, the features that are important during face-to-face communication (Creer, 2018).

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Linda, Lindstrom and Hashemi (2017) conducted a study amongst newly arrived migrants to investigate their mobile activities. The study investigated how the immigrants used a mobile app to learn the Swedish language. The findings showed that in comparison to the control group, the experimental group revealed some improvement in the speed of their speech and showed more confidence while speaking. This confirms that the use of pronunciation app can be beneficial in developing language skills. While reviewing studies related to mobile language learning, Bachore (2015) explains that this is a field that is growing quickly where research confirms that mobile devices are useful in teaching and learning of languages. African countries represent the sectors with the fastest growing number of mobile phones uses and therefore this presents a great potential for teachers of non-native languages to incorporate the mobile technologies in teaching and learning. These technologies offer the benefits of accessibility, immediacy, interactivity and versatility.

Online Content In Teaching There is a huge base of e-resources that teachers can use to enhance their teaching. Most of these resources are available online and accessible to teachers. Several websites have been developed to provide open access to e-resources which teachers can use in their classrooms. Teachers can use podcasts to enrich their lessons. Podcasts are pre-recorded rather than broadcast live (Linda, 2010). The challenge for practitioners is to provide an environment that is challenging for children to use technology. Teachers can engage children by preparing podcasts which can be watched at home or during specific times in the school timetable. Websites such as www.storynory.com provide a lot of stories for children which can be useful in teaching English comprehension to children. A detailed discussion of websites and how to use online content is outside the scope of this chapter, but the reader is advised to contact the recommended reading list for practical uses of technology in teaching.

CONCLUSION This chapter has dwelt at length with issues touching on digital literacy and how educators can integrate the same in the curriculum to build the necessary competencies in the children and youth. The issues discussed include the use of virtual learning environments and online electronic resources to enrich the learning experiences of leaners and make the whole teachers process rich and rewarding for teachers. The Chapter has explored the various online resources available and presented a repertoire of digital tools which the teachers can use in their pedagogic practices. Various challenges facing online teaching and the use of digital media have also been addressed satisfactorily. The Chapter has presented an overall perspective and suggested specific ways of integrating technology in education.

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RECOMMENDATIONS The preceding discussion has led to several recommendations that can be adopted to integrate digital literacy in the curriculum. Firstly, teachers need to be well trained so that they can integrate technology in their teaching. They need to be sensitized regarding the available resources and tools and be informed on how they can use them to improve instruction. Teachers must rethink their pedagogical practices with a view of integrating and mainstreaming digital literacy in the curriculum areas which they teach. Learners with special needs must be considered in digital literacy programmes to ensure there is inclusiveness. The institutions responsible for teacher training such as Universities and colleges need to review their curriculum and introduce vital components of digital literacy. Countries particularly in the developing world need to embrace modern technological advancements in the use of social medial platforms, mobile technology to ensure young people develop the necessary competencies which will enable them to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Given the gaps in knowledge in the existing literature, there is need to conduct more research on the efficacy of digital technology to improve learning in other curriculum areas. Adequate work has been done to explain how digital technology is useful in enhancing the learning of languages, however, there is need to research on how this technology can be used to improve learning in other curriculum areas.

REFERENCES Bachore, M. M. (2015). Language learning through mobile technologies: An opportunity for language learners and teachers. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(31). Bdiwi, R., De Runz, C., Faiz, S., Cherif, A.A. (2018). Smart learning environments. In Teacher’s role in assessing classroom attention. Research in Learning Technology. Blackley, S., & Sheffield, R. (2015). Digital andragogy: A richer blend of initial teacher education in the 21st century. Issues in Educational Research, 25(4), 397–414. Retrieved from http://www.iier.org. au/iier25/blackley-2.html Boling, E. C., Holan, E., Horbatt, B., Hough, M., Jean-Louis, J., Khurana, C., & Spiezio, C. (2014). Using online tools for communication and collaboration: Understanding educators’ experiences in an online course. The Internet and Higher Education, 23, 48-55. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2014.07.002 Care, E., Kim, H., Vista, A. & Anderson, K. (2018). Education system alignment for 21st century skills: focus on assessment. Centre for Universal Education at Bookings. Care, E., & Luo, R. (2016). Assessment of transversal competencies, policy & practice Asia-Pacific region. Bangkok, Thailand: UNESCO. Chin, K. & Chen, Y. (2013). A mobile learning support system for ubiquitous learning environments. 2nd International Conference on Integrated Information, 73, 14–21. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.02.013

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Sharp. (2018). Collaborative Digital Literacy Practices among Adult Learners: Levels of Confidence and Perceptions of Importance. International Journal of Instruction, 1(11), 153-166. doi:10.12973/ iji.2018.11111a Creer, A. (2018). Introducing everyday ‘digital literacy practices into the classroom: an analysis of multilayered media, modes and their affordances. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 7(2), 131-139. Doi:10.7821/naer.2018.7.265 Eid, M. I. M., & Al-Jabri, I. M. (2016, August). Social networking, knowledge sharing, and student learning: The case of university students. Computers & Education, 99, 14–27. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2016.04.007 Hager, P., & Gonczi, A. (1996). What is competence? Medical Teacher, 18(1), 15–18. doi:10.3109/01421599609040255 Hoskins, B. (2011). Demand, growth, and evolution. Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 59(1), 57-60. doi:10.1080/07377363.2011.546267 Kame’enui, E.J., & Wallin, J.U. (2002). Information technology and literacy needs of special populations: Ode to FedEx and Dairy Farmers. In International Handbook of Literacy and Technology (vol. 2). Lawrence Erlbaum, Associates, Inc. Karaduman, H., & Ozturk, C. (2014). The effects of activities for digital citizenship on students’ attitudes toward digital citizenship and their reflections on students’ understanding about digital citizenship. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 5(1), 38-78. Kent, C., Laslo, E., & Rafaeli, S. (2016). Interactivity in online discussions and learning outcomes. Computers & Education, 97, 116-128. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2016.03.002 Khromov S.S., Kameneva N.A. (2016). Modern approach to the formation and development of digital literacy in education. Open Education, (1), 60-65. doi:10.21686/1818-4243-2016-1-60-65 Kılıç, A. E. & Yılmaz, R. (2019). Descriptive Analysis of the Articles Published in the Last10Years within the Context of Lifelong Learning: A Meta-analysis. Bartın University Journal of Faculty of Education, 8(1), 322-359. Koltay, T. (2011). The Media and The Literacies: Media Literacy. Information Literacy. Kouwenhoven, G. W. (2003). Designing for competence: towards a competence based curriculum for the faculty of education of the Eduardo Mondlane (Doctoral dissertation). Enschede: Twente University. Linda, T. (2010). 21st century digital technology and children’s learning. In Reflective practice in Early Years. London: Sage. Linder-VanBerschot, J. A., & Summers, L. L. (2015). Designing instruction in the face of technology transience. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 16(2), 107-118. Looi, C., & Sun, D. (2018). Boundary interaction: Towards developing a mobile technology-enabled science curriculum to integrate learning in the informal spaces. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(3). doi:10.1111/bjet.12555

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Mudd, A., Summey, T., & Upson, M. (2015). It takes a village to design a course: Embedding a librarian in course design. Journal of Library and Information Sciences in Distance Learning, 9(1-2), 69-88. do i:10.1080/1533290X.2014.946349 Nir, A., Ben-David, A., Bogler, R., Inbar, D., & Zohar, A. (2016). School autonomy and 21st century skills in the Israeli educational system: Discrepancies between the declarative and operational levels. International Journal of Educational Management, 30(7), 1231–1246. doi:10.1108/IJEM-11-2015-0149 Obanya, P. (2002). Revitalizing Education in Africa. Stirling-Horden Publishers (Nig.) Ltd. Olsson, L. (2006). Implementing use of ICT in teacher education. In Education for the 21st Century: Impact of ICT and Digital Resources. Chicago: Springer. Otero, N., Milrad, M., Santos, A. J., Verssimo, M., & Torres, N. (2011). Challenges in designing seamless learning scenarios: Affective and emotional effects on external representations. International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, 5(1), 15–27. Republic of Kenya (2019). Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2019 on A Policy Framework for Reforming Education, Training and Research for Sustainable Development. Government Printers. ROK. (2016). National Information Communication and Technology Policy. Retrieved from http://icta. go.ke/pdf/National-ICT-Policy-20June2016.pdf Rozalind, G. (2003). Technology and its impact in the classroom. Computers & Education, 42(2), 111-131. Schrum, L., Strudler, N., & Thompson, A. (2011). ICTs and Teacher Competencies. Policy brief. UNESCO. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000216691?posInSet=10&query Id=131d494b-2c29-457e-bc42-7be6c37daaed Taylor, J. M., Dunn, M., & Winn, S. K. (2015). Innovative orientation leads to improved success in online courses. Online Learning, 19(4), 112-120. UNESCO. (2011). UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2016). School and teaching practices for twenty-first century challenges: lessons from Asia-Pacific Region. Regional synthesis report. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/ pf0000244022 Workshop on ‘Digitization of Instructional Materials in Teacher Education’ produces resource persons development. (2018 July 5). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/harare/about-this-office/ single-view/news/workshop_on_digitization_of_instructional_materials_in_te/

ADDITIONAL READING Abbot, J., & Ryan, T. (2000). The unfinished revolution. Stafford, UK: Network Education. Collins, J., Harkin, J., & Nind, M. (2002). Manifesto for Learning. London: Continuum.

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Ortlieb, E., Cheek, E. H. Jr, & Semingson, P. (2018). Best practices in teaching digital literacies. Emerald Publishing. Hobb, R. (2017). Create to learn: Introduction to digital literacy. Media Education Lab. Wiley. doi:10.1108/S2048-0458201809 Reed, M., & Canning, N. (Eds.). (2010). Reflective practice in Early Years. London, UK: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781446288924 White, J. (2015). Digital literacy skills for FE teachers. Sage publications. doi:10.4135/9781473909571

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS 21st Century Skills: These are skills that have been recognised as being essential for a person to live meaningfully and succeed in the 21st century. Collaborative Learning: This involves learners’ participation in the learning process in a joint and interactive manner. They share variety of learning experiences and support each other in the learning process through questions and answers and group discussions. Competency-Based Curriculum: This is the curriculum whose content areas place more emphasis on the acquisitions of transversal competencies rather than the acquisition of knowledge for the sake of it. Digital Citizenship: This is the demonstration of behaviours necessary for appropriate use of information communication technologies in online environments. Digital Literacy: The advocacy and application of information communication technologies in online settings. Lifelong Learning: This involves learning that is continuous and never ending which continues even after individuals exit formal schooling and proceed to adult life.

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Chapter 9

Student Agency:

A Creatively-Focused Digital Critical Pedagogy Shawn Robertson https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8900-9604 St. Joseph’s College, USA

ABSTRACT This chapter explores the theoretical ideas educators should explore and understand in relationship to developing student agency as a pedagogy. It also examines how using it can potentially inspire digital critical pedagogy. The process by which certified teachers engaged in to become more aware of their own critical pedagogy and skill to implement student agency is discussed throughout the chapter. Their perceptions of what student agency is and should be is explored alongside ideas for instituting creative digital pedagogy and student agency in a practical fashion in a focal point of the chapter.

INTRODUCTION Teachers have not been prepared adequately to integrating technology in their teaching some of this is caused by the philosophy of education imparted to them by teacher education programs. Many teacher education programs employ strategies that are geared towards the learner of yesterday not the learner of tomorrow. Public and private P-12 schools also structure their learning environments based on “old school” methods of teaching and learning. For the betterment of society and the full engagement of students, teachers need the training and resources to fully implement instructional practices that will support thinking that promotes 21st Century skills and leads our students into the future. One aspect of 21st Century skills is the concept of self-directed learning that is inclusive of self-efficacy or agency. This notion of agency is one that has been largely neglected by instructional structures at all levels of education, but none so prevalent as in our P-12 schools. In fact, in recent years a standards-focused assessment craze has hijacked sound instructional practices in favor of instructional practices that test

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch009

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specific ways of thinking, but creativity has been left out of this new focus. Technology Thought Leader Will Richardson (2019) clarifies this point further by stating: That creative freedom, or “agency,” is a key aspect of almost every deep learning experience that we have in life. Our ability to decide on our own terms what, when and how to learn leads to learning that “sticks” far more than when we are given little or no choice. (p.14). In every way we can think of choice matters. Empowering students with that opportunity is the key to unlocking a new future that is yet to be created. Technology has enhanced and accelerated the opportunities for such learning to take place for students. However, without changes in structure and philosophy students are being developed as thinkers who are devoid of the opportunity to think creatively for themselves within the framework of agency.

TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CREATIVE FASHION This chapter will explore current learning structures in school systems and present theoretical recommendations for changes in learning practices that will support student agency and promote critical digital independence with and for students. Critical independence related to one’s own creativity is the most powerful tool we can give to students. This notion of critical creative pedagogy has its roots in Project Based Learning (PBL) and other creative products. Author Patti Drapeau author of Sparking Student Creativity (2014) states “Creative thinking lessons build on critical thinking and go beyond simple recall to consider “what if” possibilities and incorporate real-life problem solving; they require students to use both divergent and convergent thinking.(p.2)” In diving in deeper into the topic, Nodoushan and Deeson (2015) explain that there must be deep conceptual understandings of content before true creative thinking can take place. The intricacies that exist in such frameworks are deep and complex. Teachers often shy away from engaging in such instructional strategies because of logistical issues or lack of a perceived linear structure for learning. What educators fail to recognize as a result, is that activities like PBL can lead to what Savin-Baden (2016) refers to as Transdisciplinary Threshold Concepts. Transdisciplinary Threshold Concepts (TTC) are: ...concepts which transcend disciplines and subject boundaries but which are challenging and complex to understand, but once understood, the student experiences a transformed way of understanding, without which the they would struggle to progress through the curriculum (Savin-Baden, 2016). Providing students with opportunities for TTC is one of the benefits of creative critical pedagogy. Such a pedagogy recognizes the intersectionality of learning within varied contexts, content areas and peoples. Creatively engaging in such instructional deconstruction of teaching and learning is at the core of this chapter’s purpose. This chapter also seeks to provide practical and thoughtful instructional goals for teachers to consider while building unique learning structures for their students. Finally, it will also share teacher perspectives on the nuances of aspects of becoming a more critical teacher in relation to instructional risk, pedagogy and student agency.

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STUDENT AGENCY Unpacking agency within the context of learning within a digital framework is a critical activity. This section explores the concepts that are necessary components to connect agency with regard to teaching and learning in relationship to critical pedagogy. One key question explored in this section is: How can we begin to connect the intersectionalities that exist within the paradigm of creative learning? Teaching and learning are as much about culture as they are about process, and teachers learn to process but often neglect the cultural connections that link to those processes. Most teachers, especially new ones, simply are not aware of their digital cultural beliefs on any actionable self-reflective level. Digital cultural beliefs are the ways in which an individual thinks and acts in relation to the technical world. For instance, some believe that technology is central to how we live and learn and thus it should be a major part of how we “do” schooling. Others believe that technology should not be a central aspect to our lives at work, school or play. The reality is that whether it is embraced or rejected, technology is here to stay. Our deconstruction of that reality and how we can understand it in relation to our pedagogy is key to developing new, innovative common sense frameworks for teaching and learning. Examples of frameworks that bridge the divide between what exists and what could exist within a digital critical pedagogy are digital frameworks such as TPACK (Mishner and Koehler) and the SAMR model (Reuben Puentedura). Each of these frameworks offer teachers a structure by which to begin to assess where they are individually in varied areas and build new instructional beliefs, thoughts, practices and student centered tasks. TPACK offers teachers the opportunity to assess their Technological Knowledge and understand how that knowledge links to their Pedagogical Knowledge as well as their Content Knowledge. It provides a view to see the connections of our teaching. When used reflectively, TPACK can provide teachers with strong guidance on how to improve the connectedness of their knowledge competencies in the aforementioned areas. The SAMR model is useful in a more specific way in that it shows teachers specifically where their designed activities fall in terms of the quality of their technological instruction. Allowing teachers to measure whether their activities are at the “Enhancement” level or at the “Transformation” level by giving them clear guidelines for those concepts is a useful transition tool to help teachers make their thinking about digital pedagogy clear and visible. What these conceptual frameworks have in common is that they aid in the creativity development of teachers by forcing them to think differently about their pedagogy. The challenge for such models of instruction is that they often fail to address the need for “Agency” in an explicitly transparent and clear fashion. Agency should be a part of the context(s) that such models are based on. While the aforementioned models move the bar higher in terms of what teachers should be engaged in understanding theoretically as well as practically to benefit their students and themselves, agency is still amiss.

Deconstructing Purposeful Student Agency For the purposes of this chapter, Agency is conceptualized as the opportunity to demonstrate creative, critical, self-directed and actualized learning activity and thought within a digital learning environment. Generally, student agency or the concept of Agency is one that educators have defined as self-directed learning. The difference between the two may be significant depending on the implementation of the concept. Self-directed learning usually takes place within the confines of a learning context that has been largely developed and designed by the teacher or instructor. This sort of learning opportunity is laden with value-based judgments about what is important for the student to learn about. Such a peda158

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gogy operates within the confines of the teacher’s mind and desires for, what, when and how to teach her students. When put into practice it does not give way to the student in any significant way. What the student is left with is a version of teaching and learning that is dominated and limited by the perspectives of that teacher, be they critical perspectives or biased ones, the student is forced to operate within that teacher’s world. Her world typically relies on the status quo to direct her in terms of what a student is allowed to learn about and when. All too often teachers complain and then explain what it is that they can and cannot teach and how they can or cannot teach that content. They usually reference the desire to remain employed and thus they believe that they have no power to change their circumstances, or the position of their students in their classrooms. Thus, teachers are teaching as they have been taught and following the rules of engagement for teaching and learning that were established long ago as a means to re-create socially constructed elements of society. These strategies are ways of teaching that perpetuate and re-create existing structures of power and oppression. Such teaching is an artifact and social construct of the banking system of education as coined by Paulo Freire (1968). Freire helps us deconstruct this insidious process through the following passage from his text Pedagogy of the Oppressed: This solution is not (nor can it be) found in the banking concept. On the contrary, banking education maintains and even stimulates the contradiction through the following attitudes and practices, which mirror oppressive society as a whole: (a) the teacher teaches and the students are taught; (b) the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing; (c) the teacher thinks and the students are thought about; (d) the teacher talks and the students listen — meekly; (e) the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined; (f) the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply; (g) the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher; (h) the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it; (i) the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which she and he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students; (j) the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects. (Friere, 1968, p.22) Through this deconstruction of the teaching process within the banking concept, Freire helps us break down the interplay between teaching and learning. All of the aforementioned sub-points (a-j) speak to the subversive nature of the banking model in which the teacher is at the center of all supposed learning. These sub-points impact the opportunities for students to discover and enjoy “Agency”. In particular, the notion that “...the teacher chooses and enforces his choice…”(p.22) shows how arbitrary pedagogy can be as it is dependent upon the teacher, and the learner is simply the object. Freire also states “...the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it…(p.22). This closed-loop perpetuates the silencing of students and destroys any opportunity for self-efficacy to be nurtured through the educational process in a purposeful manner. With the teacher enforcing his or her own way as well as choosing the content, the students are effectively silenced and don’t have an opportunity to develop a voice as they sink deeper into the banking education model. Freire writes: It is not surprising that the banking concept of education regards men as adaptable, manageable beings. The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world. The

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more completely they accept the passive role imposed on them, the more they tend simply to adapt to the world as it is and to the fragmented view of reality deposited in them. (1968, p.22) The idea that the students develop less critical consciousness is one that is central to the notion of student agency. Agency cannot be developed in such an intellectually isolated model. Agency requires that students are able to foster their own critical consciousness in order to have a direct hand in transforming their own world and society-at-large. This also impacts on the students’ ability and opportunity to tap into their own creative power. Freire (1968) posits The capability of banking education to minimize or annul the students’ creative power and to stimulate their credulity serves the interests of the oppressors, who care neither to have the world revealed nor to see it transformed. The oppressors use their “humanitarianism” to preserve a profitable situation. (pp. 22-23) Unearthing and exposing the fact that students don’t have the opportunity to express their creative power underscores how they are oppressed by the banking system of education. Focusing on mundane facts and nominal teachings keep students from realizing their true potential to learn, grow and be free. Therefore, it is necessary to train teachers in the principles of critical pedagogy to help free their minds and thus open the floodgates of possibility for all students.

Digital Practical Pedagogy Practiced Within the framework of digital pedagogy, students are more free to recognize their potential, but the challenge is that they are of course operating within the banking system of education unless they are liberated, or liberate themselves. Teachers are learning that technology is a great leveler of opportunity for many students. In order to practice digital critical pedagogy we must understand that the object to be known is the self. That is, that the individual must come to understand their place in society through the lens of critical pedagogy. This is done through the deconstruction of the traditional pedagogy and the embracing of digital pedagogy. Such a pedagogical shift allows students and teachers to acknowledge the power structures that impact their daily learning opportunities. Conceptual models for digital pedagogy are limited in that they don’t challenge the biases and assumptions made in the process of teaching or the aspirations of creating an educated person. Many teacher preparation programs simply aim to provide their preservice teachers and in some cases inservice teachers what is considered to be the best pedagogical frames available. For example, previously I developed digital pedagogically focused assignments for graduate students. In previous work I challenged my students to create new projects for their students by transforming what used to be done using paper and pen to a completely digital activity. My students happily engaged in such work. They moved from creating graphic organizers to digital ones, they created blogs that took the place of classroom discussions and other so-called new pedagogically focused practices. However, in reflecting upon what I provided for my students my critical consciousness did not go far enough because it stopped short of problem posing.

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Problem Posing In my previous teaching, what was not addressed was the mode itself, that is power relationship between the teacher and the student. I took into account the fact that students needed to be taught 21st Century Skills, but I didn’t address why those skills were necessary beyond the fact that they were promoted by educational institutions and think tanks. Some of those skills such as, creativity and innovation, critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and collaboration hint toward a critical disposition, but when placed within the banking model they fall short of providing students the framework for student agency. From a practical standpoint, I think it’s necessary to regard student agency as a concept to be understood and fused with one’s pedagogy as it is being implemented. This implementation may occur in an imperfect fashion, but it’s more important that it occurs in the first place. Rather than continuing the process of learning being more about the teacher than the students, it is supposed to support and emancipate the learner through the process. In order to support and develop student agency I embarked on a digitally focused pedagogy that centered around the fact that students ought to have control of their own learning. In fact, if they don’t have control over their own learning then one would say that it is not their own, but the learning that the educational culture desires to input into them. Though this is part of the real goal of learning, the emancipation of the mind where one can see fully and experience life without the shackles that hold one down and assist in helping the teacher pull the student down a prescribed path that the teacher and government have devised- without the student. The struggle to first help teachers “see” what they are doing to students is the first aspect of this process, followed subsequently by teaching them how to “let go” of the reigns while continuing to support students in their personal development and growth. They had to learn how to problem pose for themselves to see the value that it could have for their students.

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND PARTICIPANTS This critical work took place in a graduate course for special education teachers. Each participant had generally 1-7 years of teaching, and there was a wide range of grade levels that the participants taught on. The levels ranged from pre-k to 12th grade. The focus of the course was the usage of technology and other issues of diversity.

Critical Consciousness The concept of unlearning was a key tool for helping the teachers move through the process of enhancing their own critical pedagogy in order to develop a process for student agency. Robertson (2019) states: Unlearning can best be defined as the process of examining one’s beliefs about a particular topic, concept, idea or thought and deconstructing it to the core in order to re-establish a new belief. Teachers must see that they may have limited pedagogy and should always be open to questioning themselves and their instructional choices.

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Table 1. Critical thinking rubric Identifying the Background

Recognizes others’ and personal POV

Group A (lowest level)

Cannot correctly identify the problem(s) clearly.

Shows some understanding of where the problem(s) is coming from, but cannot be specific.

Group B

Can name problem(s), but cannot explain them (why & how).

Shows understanding of the background of the problem(s) with a couple of details

Identifying Problem

Group C (highest level)

Can identify problem(s), explain the why/ how, and identify any related problems.

Shows understanding, as well as gives clear, specific details about the issues related to the background related to the problem(s).

Relating it to the world around them

Gathers evidence

Creates an unclear POV for him or her self and gives no support for their POV or others’ POV

Can relate problem minimally, but cannot give clear explanation for it.

Enable to summarize or represent issues. Cannot express point of views clearly.

Struggles to identify conclusions and consequences of the issue.

Creates a clear, standard POV and is able to give some strengths and weaknesses of POV

Identifies and evaluates to an extent how problem relates personally and socially.

Clearly identifies and summarizes main issues. Formulates a clear and precise view point.

Identifies and briefly discusses conclusions and consequences.

Identifies and evaluates problem personally and socially, as well as explains how others may perceive the problem through their contexts.

Successfully identifies main issues, problems, and questions, Formulates clear and precise viewpoints. Intensely evaluates all important information.

Identifies and thoroughly discusses conclusions and consequences.

Creates a clear and precise POV, gives strengths/ weaknesses, and acknowledges alternate POVs that may conflict with their own.

Comes to conclusion

*Graduate Students cited the following as inspiration for their rubric: http://www.neiu.edu/~neassess/pdf/CriThinkRoger-short.pdf http://www.criticalthinking.com/company/articles/critical-thinking-definition.jsp

The key characteristics of unlearning are: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Being self-reflective Committed to Learning Willingness to Change one’s self for the better Open to new and different ideas (p. 267).

This process of unlearning and problem posing had to take place in relation to the participants’ own critical pedagogy. In order to facilitate this, graduate students were asked first to work individually to develop a definition for critical thinking and creativity. Through this activity, the participants utilized the internet and scoured over scholarly resources in order to develop a definition for critical thinking and creativity respectively. I have included an example of what was a typical creation for these graduate students.

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The graduate students, in this case, were significantly thoughtful about how to evaluate critical thinking in this case. I found that many groups when properly motivated, created similar types of rubrics. They framed their rubrics within familiar constructs but did see the value in understanding point of view or multiple perspectives. The students also problem posed when creating their rubrics by asking themselves critical questions about the context for learning in relation to the rubric.

Contexts for Learning After creating rubrics such as Table 1. students were responsible for presenting and discussing their rubrics to the class. During those discussions students were asked to critique the form and substance of their rubrics as class. Such actions fall into the continuum of unlearning. The students engaged in thoughtful discussions about unlearning what they thought they knew about critical thinking and moved closer to recognizing that as they unlearned their pedagogy evolved to a more critical ontology. As our conversations progressed students faced the following challenges in their thinking: 1. What does evaluating critical thinking look like in teaching in practice? 2. How can I actually use a rubric to evaluate someone’s critical thought? 3. If someone’s thoughts are their own how can we truly measure them and put a value on them? While those thoughts were critical in nature it was more important that they continue the process of unlearning and relearning. Asking those questions were examples of problem posing, the process by which students would be able to unlearn and relearn. This process is key for students to begin to “see” more clearly. The graduate students also had to unlearn what their perspective of students would be in their pedagogy. For example, although many of these preservice and inservice teachers believed in project-based learning most only sought to do so if they had clearly articulated every aspect of the assignment for the student. For the teachers’ when building and/or discussing a pedagogy for their students, there was little creativity involved and certainly there was limited choice for students, but more importantly, they would not or could not completely add self-directed learning to their teaching. Adding such a goal would allow their students to explore what they wanted to explore more fully in order to self-actualize their role in education and society. The first step in developing such a pedagogy that included student agency would be to try to clearly define it the concept. In attempting to do this in an authentic manner, students engaged in a few key activities.

Defining Student Agency Authentically The graduate students were asked what they thought student agency entailed. They were to write down their answers first and subsequently use the internet to search for scholarly articles and other writings that explored the topic in detail in order to give them multiple perspectives and thus the opportunity to develop their own definition of student agency. Table 2. Student Agency Defined, shows examples of how some of the students initially thought of student agency and why they thought it was important to support it.

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Table 2. Student agency defined Student Agency Defined

          Student Agency Importance

What is student agency and self-efficacy?

          Why is it important? How can we support it?

          “Student agency includes activities that are meaningful to the learner. This includes areas of interest, meaningful and relevant topics and self expression. Self-efficacy is the ability of the learner to see their own potential, to have confidence in themselves as achievers.” -J

“These strategies are important for students to be the center of learning. It is a taught strategy but encourages abstract and higher level thinking. It is important to give the students an opportunity to make their own choices and use their own voices. It allows them to learn in ways that they learn best. They become more engaged in learning and better prepared for their futures. They get to think and create more abstractly on their own. As educators, we can support these practices by incorporating real life lessons and projects to drive their learning. The educator can encourage the students and teach them how to have a growth mindset in the academic setting as well as life overall. Educators can also support this learning by providing the correct environment for the students academically, socially, and emotionally.” -J

“Student agency is the idea that the student takes more of an active role in their education. According the Ed Tech Team, when students have self agency, “the student is making, creating, doing, sharing, collaborating, and publishing in ways that are meaningful to them, using real-world tools.” The teacher encourages students to participate in meaningful and authentic activities and practices to better themselves. This process is guided by the teacher and is differentiated towards the individual. Self efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to succeed, or achieve a goal. When a student has self efficacy they have confidence in their abilities, they are self motivated to set goals and work to achieve those goals, as well as the ability to advocate for themselves.” -F

“[Student] agency and self efficacy are extremely important ideals to instill in our students so that they are confident and know they can succeed. Self efficacy also promotes positive emotional well being as well as boost achievement. When students lack self efficacy or student agency, motivation to succeed, and set goals for the future is low, thus decreasing the opportunity for the student’s success. Teachers can support students to build agency and self efficacy by helping students to build a positive growth mindset. Teachers can also support this through celebrating big and small achievements. Positive praise for academic or social success encourages the student to strive for greatness and build confidence in their abilities. Peer modeling is another strategy to increase self efficacy and student agency amongst students. Seeing peers fail at first and keep pursuing until they achieve a goal is the best model for students because it makes goals seem more attainable.”-F

“Student agency is a learning environment in which students thrive from engagement and relatable material. Student agency also allows choice in the classroom and the United States department of education defines it as “personalized learning”. Self-efficacy is the idea of our own abilities to succeed and overcome challenges.”-D

“Student agency is so important for so many reasons. It personalizes learning and makes the material more relatable and meaningful for the specific age group learning. As a math teacher, the number one question I receive is, “when will I ever use this in the real world”. Because of how frequently I get this question asked to me, I make sure to make all of my lessons relate to the real world in one way or another so that students can connect on a personal level and take the learning outside of the classroom. I also find giving students choice really makes them more engaged because they feel they have a say and gives them freedom to show their strengths.”-D

“Student agency is what allows students to take an active role in shaping their future, rather than being solely influenced by their circumstances. It includes a capacity for self-efficiency, but also requires the intentional forethought to set a course of action and adjust it as needed to fulfil one’s goal. Student agency refers to learning through activities that are meaningful and relevant to learners, driven by their interests, and often self-initiated with appropriate guidance from teachers. To put it simply, student agency gives students voice and often, choice, in how they learn.”-L

“It’s important because it encourages self esteem and good work ethic in our students. Student agency keeps students engaged since they are part of the lesson plan in the first place. Students must be able to demonstrate mastery. If students know what their goal is and trust their teacher is going to allow them to move through their chosen path to the goal while providing expert feedback, students are more invested in their own growth. We as teachers can support this by providing tasks that will be appropriately challenging (not too easy and not too hard). This will build students’ confidence.” -L

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The answers to the aforementioned questions in Table 2 demonstrate how students were thinking about two significant concepts, the definition of student agency as well as their views on how they could support its development through their instruction. It also gives us a window into their perspective on teaching and learning. Student J states the student agency “...includes activities that are meaningful to the learner. This includes areas of interest, meaningful and relevant topics and self expression.” These ideas are integral to student agency, and it is important to note that the student developed this idea in isolation, with the benefit of using the internet to inform her thoughts if she so chose. Student F explores the concepts a bit more explicitly and deeply as she states that “The teacher encourages students to participate in meaningful and authentic activities and practices to better themselves. This process is guided by the teacher and is differentiated towards the individual.” This quotation demonstrates that the teacher is making a connection to the fact that the students’ activities ought to be authentic and that the learner herself should be at the center of the educational process- not the teacher. However, the teacher still believes that her guidance is necessary for student to navigate that process successfully. Student D states “...Student agency also allows choice in the classroom and the United States department of education defines it as “personalized learning”....” The fact that this teacher chooses to use a definition from the government shows that she deferred to organizational structures for her pedagogical development. While the explanation holds some merit, student agency in a critical paradigm would begin to question why the government would be allowed to define one’s scope of thought. Their definition would be deconstructed and critiqued and not simply accepted. Finally, student L states “Student agency is what allows students to take an active role in shaping their future, rather than being solely influenced by their circumstances….” This definition holds promise in that it recognizes the student shaping his future instead of being influenced by the circumstances of his educational situation.

Supporting Student Agency The students shared several different ideas on how to support student agency in their quick study. Student J states “These strategies are important for students to be the center of learning. It is a taught strategy... It is important to give the students an opportunity to make their own choices and use their own voices... As educators, we can support these practices by incorporating real life lessons and projects to drive their learning.” The full context of her quote demonstrates that she still believes that the teacher is at the center of the learning experience because she is the one choosing for the student. It is only after she (the teacher) chooses does the student get the opportunity to have a choice. Additionally, J states that the teacher should “incorporate real life lessons and projects…” however, she gives no context for what she considers to be real life lessons. Student F states “Teachers can support students to build agency and self efficacy by helping students to build a positive growth mindset.” This perception is a popular one, and is a thinly veiled reference to Carol Dweck’s work on Growth Mindset. While the concept of a growth mindset could definitely assist students in becoming themselves more fully it is still somewhat empty as a consistent practice in relation to student agency. These responses were a major step in moving philosophically towards a creatively focused digital critical pedagogy for the students in the course within the framework of student agency.

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Table 3. Survey responses on student agency, creativity and pedagogy Survey Question

Response Average

I am a progressive teacher

8.16

At the start of this course I did not want to take instructional risks using technology

4.74

Risk taking is integral to learning

9.25

Before taking this course I was confident using technology in my pedagogy

5.8

After taking this course I am more confident using technology in my pedagogy

8.77

(Response range 0-10/ Disagree-Agree)

Activity Take Away Through the latter activity I learned that the students in this course had at least a base from which to build a more critical pedagogy using technology, and that understanding would be built on their own individual research on the topic of student agency, their past experiences and their personal pedagogy. These components, along with creativity would make up the goal for developing a student agency philosophy. Understanding creativity would be the next hurdle.

Creativity This section will explore, in-depth, creative models of critical digital pedagogy in order to provide potential exemplars of the aforementioned strategy in motion. Key question: What is a creative mindset? Creativity is a multifaceted dynamic concept that transcends linear or stagnant definitions. Sir Ken Robinson identifies creativity as “The process of having original ideas that have value” (Ted Talk, 2007). This process is one that many teachers have great difficulty engaging in fully. Traditional socialization and models of teaching that stress teacher-centeredness helps to limit the development of creativity in the classroom. Teachers largely see creativity as a “loose” way of teaching in which students just “have fun” but don’t really learn anything useful. They equate creative instruction with games. Often many teachers create or utilize games that have little to no educational value and simply justify the usage of such games as just something fun to engage in. When teachers are asked to develop creative instructional strategies, they are more often than not at a loss in developing one that is instructionally sound and purposeful in its intended outcomes. This is especially true in relation to teachers’ consciousness about the topic of creativity. In order to measure the effect of the impact of having my students study student agency and digital pedagogy I surveyed their perspectives on the topic. They completed the survey at the end of the course. Thirty-one students participated in the survey, all of which were fully licensed teachers. The students answered 25 questions overall, but only a relevant sampling will be used to further this topic. When asked directly if they thought they were progressive teachers the average score out of 0 to 10 was 8.16. Though many felt that they were progressive teachers when asked the question: At the start of this course I did not want to take instructional risks using technology the average score out of 0 to 10 was a 4.74. This indicated that although the teachers believed themselves to be progressive they were not as willing to take instructional risks- though that would be a progressive teacher’s trait. Addition-

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ally, they indicated that they believed that risk was in integral part of learning and growing with a 9.25 average score. However, they were not initially willing to take risks in their instruction in any significant way until after completing the course. Before taking the course, the participants averaged only a 5.8 confidence level on average for using technology instructionally with confidence. After taking the course average was a 8.77 out of 10. All of the categories measured here are aspects of having an attitude and perspective in line with growth and critical consciousness. From the results of the survey it was clear that the course impacted the participants’ growth significantly. Creativity in pedagogical practice was the key to their development and growth as instructional designers, especially in relationship to technology.

MODELS FOR CREATIVITY IN TECHNOLOGY In order to help the teachers in this course adjust in their comfort levels with regard to risk, I designed some learning experiences to help them develop their creativity. In prior iterations of this course I had always expected teachers to come to the course with some measure of creativity, but as the years passed I learned that most of the teachers I had as students did not understand creativity or see themselves as being creative. This was evident because when the opportunity came to them to be creative they often wilted- though they were given complete autonomy. This is ironic given the fact that most of the teachers indicated that they wanted more control over their instruction, but when they received it they did not know how to effectively handle it. Many were not ready to take on such a responsibility because they had been crippled by the banking system in their own education. Teachers were confused and lost when they were given too much power. For example, in the past I gave teachers an assignment to create a digital learning center and many were initially excited to do it until they started the process. They wanted me to tell them what they should include and specifically how they should set it up. I encouraged the students to take the reins themselves but most relentlessly asked for strict guidance. As a result of this situation it was necessary to scaffold their learning process so that the students could begin to access what was inside of them. In order to deal with the gap of creativity we first defined creativity using the same process we used when we defined critical thinking. After going through the process of defining creativity, students developed rubrics on creativity Rubric in order to have a clear perspective on how to view creativity, and because it was self-generated it was an authentic representation. In order to assist them in moving forward in their understanding I created several short activities for them to engage in. The first activity is called: Risk Taker- students would try to do something instructionally that they have never done before such as act out a scene, sing, create a video, or do something else that they had never engaged in before. They would choose the content area and the topic to be explored and then create it however they would like. This activity is one that is likened to grabbing low-hanging fruit. It is accessible, and they get to choose how and to what extent they want to complete the assignment. I also ask the students to refer back to their rubrics on critical thinking and creativity to judge their final products. Some of the products that students developed were activities like: Vlogs (Video blog), Making Educational Music and Digital Posters. These activities started students down the road of connecting ideas. A secondary activity that the students engaged in was: Fuse 2- This is where the creator (student) has to try to put together two ideas in creating a product. Students engaged in creating activities like digital debate sessions and leveled leveraged activities that build on one another such as Digital Close Reading and Tags (where the student would do a close read of material and tag it with other relevant labels thus making the document searchable using tags). This would enable their students 167

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Table 4. Stages of agency Stage 1

Creating Audacious Goals for Oneself

Stage 2

Self-directed free choice

Stage 3

Revisit One’s Thoughts

Stage 4

Seek Continuous Improvement: Know Thyself

Stage 5

Re-engage in the cycle from the beginning

the opportunity to organize and reorganize content for varied purposes such as summarizing and critical analysis. Another example is the: Conquer Your Fears Fest- This is where people actively write down what their instructional fears are and create an activity to help them overcome that fear. Often times elementary teachers feel inadequate in teaching math, so they choose an activity that helps them overcome the fear of teaching it. They have created activities such as interactive whiteboard scaffold notes, Voicethread video notes and Speak into the camera activities where they engaged in public speaking. What’s true of teachers in terms of their weakness and personal challenges is also often true of students in a classroom. When trying to fuse together the purpose of student agency and the practicality of it within a digital pedagogy in a creative way, it is important to note that there are many skills being utilized here. Other activities that help bridge the gap to student agency are Project Based Learning activities that are genuinely authentic and lead to TTC. Twitter backchannels where the students are able to engage in conversations that are self-directed also provide a powerful way for teachers to begin the process of opening the gates of power with her students. Roadblocks to creativity and student agency are many such as lack of a critical perspective, inability to take risks, seeing the power that exists in education as a zero-sum game, not fostering and developing a true authentic understanding of agency, creativity and critical thinking. The following is an example of a process for student agency represented in stages. Educators must be aware of the stages for student agency and be willing to be patient as students navigate through its challenge pathway. In fact, many educators are willing to engage students as part of developing their student agency, but they fail at going through the whole process because of its challenging nature. Often times the “loose” nature of how students go about developing their own unique self-directed voice leaves the teacher out in the cold waiting to see what the student comes up with. This is why having an understanding of the stages is invaluable. Recognizing that the process is not a linear one, but one that could take many twists and turns on its way to full actualization is also central to realizing student agency.

Questions to Consider 1. 2. 3. 4.

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 Student Agency

CONCLUSION The construct of student agency is one that deserves more of educators’ attention. Student Agency is a way that students can take control over their learning in ways that teacher-centered instruction could never accomplish. Creativity is also a staple of pedagogy that will assist both students and teachers alike in realizing the fullness of learning. Critical pedagogy is the glue that holds it all together in that without it, no real self-actualization can take place for either the teacher or the student. Teacher preparation programs and individual teachers alike owe their students increased levels of support that will “prop up” and give “new light” to multiple perspectives and diverse ways of thinking. Technology can either help or hurt the prospect of student agency through how it is used. Utilizing technology in deconstructive self-edifying ways will empower the students of tomorrow to develop their own “Agency” and as a result change the landscape of education and improve our future societies as learners begin to direct their own paths.

Student Agency: A Creatively Focused Digital Critical Pedagogy Guiding Questions for Reflective Thought 1. How can teachers understand student agency through critical pedagogy? 2. How can we embrace the notion of student agency in our pedagogy? 3. What are the steps one must take to develop a creative digital pedagogy mindset? Three Standards for Student Agency 1. Critical thought is the basis for critical pedagogy 2. Self-actualization is key for understanding one’s reality 3. Technology helps us create

REFERENCES Drapeau, P. (2014). Sparking student creativity: Practical ways to promote innovative thinking and problem solving. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, NY: Herder and Herder. Robertson, S. L. (2020). Digital Pedagogy for the 21st Century Educator. In J. Keengwe (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Innovative Pedagogies and Best Practices in Teacher Education (pp. 258–275). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-9232-7.ch015 Salmani Nodoushan, M., & Deeson, E. (2015). Teaching for creativity in the common core classroom. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(5).

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Savin-Baden, M. (2016). The impact of transdisciplinary threshold concepts on student engagement in problem-based learning: A conceptual synthesis. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 10(2). doi:10.7771/1541-5015.1588 TED TALK Do Schools Kill Creativity. (2006). In YouTube. Retrieved June 10, 2019 from https://www. ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Critical Pedagogy: The philosophical theory and practice of deconstructing teaching and learning through understanding self and society. Digital Instruction: The utilization of technology in any learning experience. Student-Centered Learning: Learning experiences that place the student at the core of the experience.

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Chapter 10

Indigenizing and Mentoring Technology Usage in Undergraduate Teacher Education Doug Reid Thompson Rivers University, Canada

ABSTRACT As a partnership between a teacher education program and a public school, an introductory course in education was modernized to reflect the current technological and cultural contexts of the teaching profession. This was done to ensure the course would still be a transfer credit at other universities in the region and to ensure undergraduate students would receive a current perspective of teaching in Canada. The result of this initiative was the development of an undergraduate course infused with modeling technology used in classrooms today designed upon an indigenous pedagogical model. In theory, this allowed the students to explore the interaction of technology-enabled learning and indigenous pedagogy. In practice, this allowed the students to learn in a low-risk environment designed to reflect current realities and advances in educational practices.

INTRODUCTION This research was initiated as part of an investigation into mentoring in a technology rich classroom (Reid & Reid, 2015). The University implementation aspect of the research is what will be presented in greater detail here. The focus of this research project was to explore an implementation of pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning to pre-service teachers that included technology infusion in an indigenous-structured undergraduate education course.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch010

Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.

 Indigenizing and Mentoring Technology Usage in Undergraduate Teacher Education

Teacher preparation has attempted to keep up with current societal trends and the attrition rate of early career teachers (Greiner, & Smith, 2009; Mee, & Haverback, 2014) shows that more innovative practices need to be developed. In this research, introduction to responsive course design based on digital technology integration, blended learning, and Indigenous pedagogical approaches within a teacher education program to attempt to address perceived limitations in recent education graduates to promote resilience and reduce early career teacher attrition. Society and teaching environments have continued to change through the years. Early career educators find themselves in a wide variety of school environments have been identified throughout the literature and summarized numerous times (Buchanan, 2012). There are a number of environmental factors presented in the literature that affect early career educators include the cultural & societal transition from pre-service teacher to early career educator, lack of support from the school district and the community, working conditions, and feelings of isolation. The literature also identifies factors that impact success for early career educators including institutional factors like the teacher evaluation process, administrative burdens, the predominance of teacher educators who have never or have barely been teachers themselves. More individualized factors include their contract status, their inexperience in school settings, and the appropriateness of their teacher training (Forret, Fox-Turnbull, Granshaw, Harwood, Miller, O’Sullivan, & Patterson, 2013). The need for mentorship of early career educators in appropriate pedagogy has been argued in the literature (Steinke & Putnam, 2011). The case study for this mentorship approach in a technology and indigenous pedagogy school environment identified factors in three categories including what the early career teachers were strong with, what they were not prepared for and what they identified as overwhelming in their first year of teaching (Reid & Reid, 2015). The identified factors were then integrated into the planning and delivery of a university teacher education program. This is the result of applying the identified factors in a teacher education program. The final aspect of the larger research endeavour concerned bringing the experiences of the technology, cultural, and mentorship process to the university teacher education program. The research team was concerned for the high attrition rates that exist in the teaching profession especially in the first five years of a teachers’ career. It can be argued that it is important that pre-service teachers be able to experience the unknown and be provided with the opportunities to enable them to make informed decisions about teaching (Trinidad, Sharplin, Lock, Ledger, Boyd, & Terry, 2010). After the initial phase of the research concluded which coincided with the end of the school year, the lessons learned and factors identified were examined. This was done with a view to design a highly practical learning experience particularly focused on aspects of the teacher education program that needed to be present to help provide resilience and insight for early career educators to find success.

BACKGROUND The entire research project took place in a K-12 school and a postsecondary institute in the same community. The K-12 portion of the research was published previously (Reid & Reid, 2015). The university setting was an undergraduate teaching institution in a Canadian city. The author taught in an undergraduate general education course that was an introductory class that potential education majors could complete for transfer credit to a BEd program at other universities. It was a three-credit course that was based on a complete/incomplete experiential model that allowed students. The course had a long history at the institution and had been taught for well over a decade without major revisions. This course existed in 172

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a Department of Psychology and a university transfer program that allowed students to do their initial education courses at one institution, then transfer to another institution to complete their education degree. The physical learning environment at the institution was a basic university classroom with an overhead projector as the only technology beyond white boards and paper. The pre-service teachers were not initially encouraged to bring their own devices to class and use them to participate in class. A learning management system was not initially used to provide a repository for files or teaching, not for teaching in any sort of face-to-face or blended way. This initial offering of the class provided an interesting perspective to the multiple iterations of the course using digital technology as an add-on and later as an integral part of the course design. This perspective allowed for the determination that technologically blended learning design to this course was needed and many initially face-to-face activities were moved out of the classroom and into other environments. It is in this context, informed by the mentoring experience in the K-12 classroom, that queries related to teaching practice enabled by technology use emerged. The findings of the original research were integrated into an introduction to the profession of teaching class. This class was an introductory class that all education majors and education minors were required to complete. This course was designed on an experiential model where students engaged with the perceived realities of being a professional teacher in a K-12 classroom. The course had been taught for many years and the structure of the learning has not changed a great deal in all that time. For example, the textbooks for this course were initially published in the early 1990s and were still being published just for this course. The course content and design was used across a number of sections of the class so the findings of the K-6 school location were initially interposed into a solitary section of the class. Since the author originally taught only one section of the course, there was no freedom to make wholesale changes to the design of the course that would impact other professors teaching their versions of the course. However, after one year, the department chair responsible for the course was so impressed by the feedback she received from others regarding the modifications that came out of the initial research study, that she approached the author and had him make wholesale redevelopments to every section of the course. The author therefore redeveloped an aged introductory education course to ensure that our partner institutions would continue to accept the course as a transfer credit. It had been a long time since the course had undergone a major redevelopment and it was necessary to modernize the course for many reasons. It was decided that the course would be changing from a second year education course to a first year course. The course would also need to change from a pass/fail format to a graded course based on GPA similar to the majority of courses that offer results from A+ to F. There were two key components to the redevelopment, the use of technology, and the inclusion of indigenous pedagogies. This research study had a number of people involved with it, including the primary author, one full time early career teacher, several peripheral early career teachers, several adjunct professors, and twelve classes of pre-service teachers. Each group will be presented below. The author is a career educator with K-12 teaching experience and several graduate degrees from accredited universities. The author was based in a university and was responsible for the design, development and delivery of the K-6 research findings into the pre-service teacher education program. The other researcher was based in the K-6 school environment and was responsible for the mentoring components of the study. Both professionals spent time in both environments interacting with all the participants to some extent. The school based author spent time lecturing and instructing the pre-service teachers in the university class. The university-based author worked with the students and the teachers in the K-6 school as well. The early career teacher was a newly graduated teacher. The two adjunct professors were hired to teach the revised undergraduate course after the redevelopment of the course based on the research 173

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feedback had taken place. Both adjunct professors had PhDs in education, and both had a great deal of experience in K-12, post secondary, and instructional design expertise. The pre-service teachers were all enrolled in an introductory undergraduate education course. The pre-service teachers were university students had varied including cultural backgrounds, economic backgrounds, and ethnic backgrounds and were coming into the program with a wide variety of life experiences.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS This chapter presents a case study of proven practice strategies and approaches designed to support early career teachers with not just surviving, but thriving in their chosen career. These practices are more than supplementary to their experiences in the education programs they recently graduated from. This case study will provide answers to the following questions: (a) What successes and challenges are present for pre-service teachers in their undergraduate programs? (b) How can digital technology modeling by college professors support pre-service teachers find success in 21st Century classrooms? (c) How can pedagogical issues be addressed in teacher education programs to promote indigenous understandings in industrialized countries?

DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH A key belief that drove this research was the basic objective to not fail in the teaching of the preservice teachers, to promote students success and to have the designed teaching be part of the preservice teacher success. These objectives guided the exploration that technology could play a valuable part of the preservice teacher experience. In previous offerings of this class, students had stated their beliefs regarding the reality of field experience versus the novelty of technology enabled learning. Students often highlight the novelty of technology use (Visser, Plomp, Amirault & Kuiper, 2002) and believe the use of technology is a design principle for the novelty effect rather than designing technology enabled learning activities. Many preservice teachers made statements regarding the belief that technology improves learning opportunities but did not detail how this occurred (Li, 2007). These beliefs may befuddle educators and preservice teachers from asking fundamental questions that improve student success. Technology use has often been seen as a cure to fix what ails education. In some circumstances technology is seen as being able to replace the older models of instruction (Zhao, 2007). Uninformed technology belief embraces the notion that sparkle breaks through the tedium of daily classroom routines. It suggests an environment far removed from the stereotypical world of boredom, black and white answers, and repetitive routine through the creation of an environment for greater research possibilities. Nevertheless, these uninformed technology beliefs conflicts with the literature that repeatedly argues that technology will not replace teachers but will assist students if used correctly (Collinson, 2001).

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It can be understood why educators continue to embrace such a myth of uninformed technology use in education. Technology enabled learning in classrooms has been discussed in the academic literature for well over a century including when Teacher’s Aid published an argument entitled ‘Paper Versus Slate’ (The Education Circular, 1901). This article offered many reasons why paper and pencils were superior educational technologies compared to chalk and slate. This theme in the literature continues to this day including a comprehensive report (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, 2003) that maintained that all educators must be trained in the technical and pedagogical aspects of technology enabled learning and teaching. Other literature of that era argues that teacher education programs need to incorporate practical training and appropriate modeling of technology enabled learning across the curriculum (Sahin, 2003). This struggle against uninformed technology use in K-12 classrooms continues. As part of technology enabled learning in teacher education, educators need to critically examine their modeling of teaching and learning experiences through the filter of their beliefs about and their usage of educational technologies (Zhao, 2007). It is questionable if reflection of individuals’ technology enabled learning professional practice is currently happening on a universal level in K-12 schools and teacher education atmospheres. If this reflection is not consistently happening, the development of pedagogies to improve technology enabled learning, including blended learning strategies infused with indigenous pedagogies may not have occurred yet either. Changing preservice teacher views were paramount to the research. Many teachers are inclined to focus on integrating technology simply for transmission of knowledge rather than supporting higher level learning such as critical analysis or problem solving (Kayler & Sullivan, 2004). The literature (Archambault and Crippen, 2007) argues that teachers and preservice teachers needed to extend their beliefs of instruction past simply increasing the amount of technology tools added to an educational offering. In addition to examining the modeling of digital technology enabled learning, indigenous pedagogical principles, and modernizing the content was the examination of the institutional structuring of the course offering to create an optimum learning environment for learners. These influences address the heart of what the research investigated. Creating an optimum learning environment for students to obtain the goals they wish to accomplish was vital to the design of the course. This matches with the goal of broadening of teachers views of the role of educators especially related to technology enabled learning in university classes and K-12 classes (Archambault & Crippen, 2007). The design of this research established that any design or technology innovations would be unable to meet the outcomes of a course unless they are tested in the context of identified learner-based objectives required for future endeavors. It is the focus on learner-centered goals and pedagogies that are the basis of indigenous pedagogies and whether technology supports the outcome that is at the core of the course design process. One key design concern that was addressed involved ensuring that activities and technology use did not restrict students from engaging with the challenges of authentic learning required to build an ongoing process of being an active learner. The research introduced a mentorship process in a K-6 classroom that was team taught by an experienced teacher and an early career teacher. The lessons learned from the mentorship process were used to inform the teaching of pre-service teachers the following academic years. There were a number of initiatives that were implemented throughout the year and they are organized into three main categories: Digital technology modeling, Indigenous pedagogy, and Conceptual perspectives. The research findings from phase one of the study were introduced as addons to an existing course and later formed the basis of a completely redeveloped class.

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INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION OF FINDINGS The findings of the first phase of the research were integrated into the teaching of an existing introduction to the profession of teaching class. This course was an introductory class that all students planning to be education majors and education minors were required to successfully complete. This course was originally designed on an experiential model where undergraduate students engaged with the realities of being an educator in a K-12 classroom. The course had been taught for many years and the structure and content of the learning has not changed markedly in that time. The structure was used across a number of sections of the class so the results of the first phase of the research of the K- school location were introduced into the teaching of a solitaire section of the course. The author taught the one section of the course, therefore there was no freedom to make wholesale changes to the structure of the entire course including all the other sections being offered. As designed, the course was heavily focused on lesson planning and the philosophical underpinning of teaching and learning as perceived by retired school administrators. The research demonstrated that the teacher education program did a strong job with lesson planning was so little adjustment was needed. Societal changes were identified as needing a more prominent role in the teacher education program and this included realities dealing with professionalism, parent communities, legal issues like FIOPP, and use of social media for professional use. A change in the focus of the course was to remove as many implicit understandings and overtly state these understandings to give pre-service teachers an opportunity to discussion and learn from people with other backgrounds and experiences. Early in the course activities on professionalism and how to act like a professional were included to ensure opportunities to interact with authentic examples of situations current teachers faced on a day-to-day basis. The prescribed readings in the syllabus of the course were supplemented with the findings of the research. Examples of additional readings and resources came straight from the professional practice of current teachers in the field and included non-academic sources like professional publications and teacher blogs. A new aspect of teacher professionalism involved communications with colleagues, students, administrators and parents. The parental component was greatly fleshed out including social media use, parenting magazines impacts, the trends parents are learning about, and how teachers can preserve a professional persona without being caught by surprise by parental actions in current school settings. Additionally behaviour, deportment, and professional clothing choices were presented in an activity to demonstrate how early career teachers sometimes get themselves into uncomfortable situations with their appearance. Without informing the students beforehand, the author fundamentally changed his appearance and his clothing choices and had the pre-service teachers review their reaction to him based on the difference between the two looks. After nearly a full semester of having long hair, a bushy beard and wearing suits and ties to every class, he cut his hair very short, shaved his beard and dressed in jeans, Hawaiian shirt, and a baseball cap with the university logo on it. The reaction of the class was prodigious, as many students though a guest speaker was in class and other students felt uncomfortable with the radically different appearance. The author did not change his behaviour, routines and procedures and there were may statements from the students for the rest of the semester how eye opening that change of appearance was and how it was going to make the students rethink what they would wear as teachers when they had their own classes.

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The realities and practicalities of teacher contracts were also offered from an early career teachers’ point of view. The whole process of getting a teaching contract was presented transparently with bringing human resources professionals in to the class to discuss employment. The pre-service teachers were also given examples of the teacher evaluation process such as the number of observation sessions, the paperwork involved, the different between a teaching contract and a teaching license. School philosophies and school cultures were demonstrated less from the traditional style of the region and more alternates were presented. This included examples of team teaching and students had to reflect upon how they could work with a variety of other professionals in their class, be it on a full time or a part time basis. Another focus was on teachable moments as the students did a great deal of presentations and mock lessons and were actively encouraged to follow any teachable moments without fear of being reprimanded for not strictly following the prepared lessons. Different school philosophies were also discussed and students were able to take the lead with their previous experience if they had volunteered of been students in one of these settings like Reggio Emilia, Montessori and International Baccalaureate. Lastly, an emphasis on new initiatives and technology were added throughout the activities and the assignments in the course. Technology was basically not used in the course before this research and digital technology was shunned with students usually being told not to use any electronic technology in class. For example, cutting and pasting meant actually using scissors and glue as the learning management system was never used in this course. Another new initiative involved in-class activities, and students were now expected to use their technology to provide proof of student learning in every class. Some of the activities in the class now allowed the students to model pedagogical appropriate uses of mobile technology in educational settings and share them with their peers after modeling from the professor. Less technologically inclined students were given opportunities for support through peer mentoring support and scaffolded activities based on their pre-existing understandings. The students were now encouraged to portray technology initiatives they had experienced as students and reoriented their view to discuss what that must have been like for the teachers implementing the initiative. This led to dialogues and explorations regarding the non-technological pedagogical initiatives that were expected from the schools as well from the school districts and the government. Without the experience of the first phase of the research regarding how early career teachers can get overwhelmed by the amount they need to learn in order to flourish in the teaching profession, the university class would not have focused to greatly upon the initiatives that more experienced teachers’ deal with every year.

REDEVELOPMENT AND MODERNIZATION The author was approached to redevelop an aged introductory education course to ensure that our partner institutions would continue to accept the course as a transfer credit. It had been a long time since the course had undergone a major redevelopment and it was necessary to modernize the course for many reasons. It was decided that the course would be changing from a second year education course to a first year course. The course would also need to change from a pass/fail format to a graded course based on GPA similar to the majority of courses that offer results from A+ to F. There were two key components to the redevelopment, the use of technology, and the inclusion of indigenous pedagogies.

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A key component of the redevelopment was the integration of digital technology throughout the course as it was very paper-based with lots of handouts and activities done only with pens and paper. The indigenous pedagogical component of the redevelopment came out of a concern for modernization of the course. In Canada, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission have released findings that are beginning to be included in curricula across K-12 and post secondary educational offerings in Canada. The decision to provide the course in a blended format was seen to promote the underpinning of the pedagogical beliefs of technology enabled learning and whole student focus of indigenous pedagogies.

Digital Technology Modeling The concept behind the technology usage in the course was based on several factors. These factors include the current context of teaching in our province, their growth as learners, pedagogy, and technology found in classrooms. The initial design of the course was long before current technological literacies were expected of teachers. Everything was based on the teaching experiences of teachers who had left the classroom decades ago. The technology use in this course had the basic assumption that pre-service teachers had some experience with digital technology. There was no expectation that pre-service teachers had ever used technology to teach anything. Therefore, a great deal of understated technology use was designed to reduce potential stress for the learners. The pedagogy and their growth as learners were continually emphasized and the technology use was used in a scaffolded way to allow students to determine how much technology they wanted to us, while ensuring they met a predetermined minimum level throughout the course. A practical view was taken on how to design technology use and explaining that decision to the preservice teachers in the class. All the technology used in the class is currently used in K-12 classrooms in local school jurisdictions and its use was mandated that teachers must use it in their teaching practice. This included interactive white boards, data projectors, word processors, spreadsheets, shared databases, multimedia manipulation, and the like. When challenged about the requirements to using these digital technologies, class time was provided in the first class to have this discussion. Examples were provided for each type of digital technology use sorted by its’ functionality and how teachers currently are required to use it. The interactive data base system was explained through attendance requirements as to school systems in the region all have digital systems in place to provide attendance information to the office. For the more intractable Luddite pre-service teachers, the non-optional nature of the digital technology use was decontextualized to support their appreciation of the current contexts they might find themselves in when they graduate and get hired as early career teachers. The example was given involving automobile drivers’ licences and how this could parallel their upcoming teachers licence. All the students were asked if they had a drivers’ licence and in seven classes, every student had a drivers’ licence. The students were then asked how many used indicator lights (or blinkers) when they operated a vehicle. Most said they did and the conversation was then guided towards why indicators were used and how did people feel about drivers that did not use indicators. Eventually, students came around to the notion that they were necessary for the safety of everyone and that they could be fined and lose their licence if they were caught not using indicators. The example was then transposed for the pre-service teachers when then asked to imagine how school administrators and parents would react if the required technology was not used, students demonstrated an increased understanding of why the technology was required. This greatly conversation, the provision of learning resources, and the professor modeling the technology throughout the semester, reduced any complaints on this subject. There were still concerns 178

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by some in the class and this was handled in many ways, including one-to-one tutoring, peer supports, technology use options in assignments, and learning resources to each technology used in the class. Some students went far above the designed expectations for technology use and they were treated as technology leaders in the class who could help show what was possible, and would assist fellow students less confident in their technology usage skills. Every activity and assignment was designed with a digital technology component. Each activity was designed to scaffold skills, pedagogy and technological familiarity for later parts of the course and the program. During the first class, students were required to submit a selfie for the professor to help create a student list that when compiled had everyone’s pictures on it. This was a low risk task that allowed students to master and demonstrate the ability to take electronic images, manage files, navigate the LMS, and meet deadlines. All these skills were used throughout the course and added to as the semester proceeded. Another example was midway through the course, there was a demographics activity that involved student discussions, collecting data, graphing, using electronic spreadsheets, and sharing the files in several ways. There were also practice teaching sessions where students chose curricular outcomes, planned, and delivered lessons. They were required to use digital technology to address the K-12 curricular outcome of their choice. There were other activities based on non-technology content like educational philosophy and classroom layout that students were required to use their choice of image manipulation software or communication apps to demonstrate their increasing fluency with digital technology. All of the activities lead to the final project. The final assignment was a cumulative “Journey of Learning” multimedia project presented at the end of the semester. The project had students use all the professional practice materials, any supplemental materials from their experiences to demonstrate their journey to become a teacher. They were required to apply the medicine wheel domains to create categories for their oral presentation. This enabled students to analyze their learning and understandings through the end of the course. Students had the option to create PowerPoint presentations, videos, and the like. They also had the option to post an electronic version of their project online and present virtually, rather than face-to-face.

Indigenous Pedagogy In Canada the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has presented their Calls to Action in 2015 that include many that impact education (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015). The redevelopment of the course to include an indigenous pedagogy component was challenging. The move to include culturally appropriate material was seen by some to ask questions like “What percentage of the course would be indigenous?” The decision to use indigenous pedagogy rather than indigenous facts and figures was a radical one at the institution and was quite typical according to the literature (Alfred, 2004). The transformative nature of the approach coincided with suggestions for success in the literature (Mihesuah & Wilson, 2004; Pidgeon, 2016) concurred with some Calls to Action from the TRC. This pedagogical design decision was also supported by the Association of Canadian Deans of Education who acknowledged the roles and responsibilities of educators in addressing cultural shifts through new approaches to teacher education programs (Pratt & Danyluk, 2017). This led to the emphasis on the whole student at the centre of the course redevelopment.

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Figure 1. Provincial first nations, Métis, and Inuit professional learning project medicine wheel

The centre of the design of the course was respecting the journey of all students and allowing preservice teachers the opportunity to experience modeling of digital technology in a robust contextual framework. A four-point medicine wheel was used to provide the basis of the course. Indigenous notions of teaching/ learning often have the medicine wheel at their core (Toulouse, 2016). Medicine wheels are sometimes known as the living teachings and are described as the circle of life. This exhibits that everything is connected and everything is sacred. Each domain represents aspects of learners that make them whole balanced beings. Disrupt the balance in any domain and each domain of life is impacted. Medicine wheels have a direct relationship to quality learning environments that extend beyond typical K-12 curricula. They are based in holistic learning environments that treat the learner as a whole by valuing the health, the emotional, the intellectual and the creative aspects of the whole person (Malott, 2008; Toulouse, 2016). Not every medicine wheel uses the same four domains and several will be presented below. Medicine wheels can have different domains and several were identified for potential use. These medicine wheels may have mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual domains designed to allow a fourpart person to emerge, as educators learn to pay deeper attention to the interconnectivity of creation in our educational practices (Latremouille, Bell, Kasamali, Krahn, Tait, & Donald, 2016). This model is designed to allow each individual’s educational journey to maintain its integrity and distinctive voice as it travels its path a good way while being wisely aware of how it is progressing. Another medicine wheel has domains that include respect, relevance, reciprocal relationships, and responsibility which become the guiding structure for student growth and acceptance (Kirkness and Barnhardt, 1991; Pidgeon, 2016). Reviewing these medicine wheels lead to the decision to adopt one particular medicine wheel as the basis for the course and all its activities.

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The Provincial First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Professional Learning Project (Alberta Regional Consortia, 2015) created a medicine wheel based on the UNESCO Pillars of Education and Alberta ministerial order (Figure 1). The four domains were Learning to Relate, Learning to Be, Learning to Know, and Learning to Do. Every reading, student activity, and discussion was based on this model. This included every implementation of digital technology and blended learning as an integrated seamless approach to technology use and pedagogy was adopted.

Conceptual Perspectives While the research project was underway, the university setting had begun to promote blended learning and that was initiated with courses that were undergoing major revisions. The concept of a blended learning course was to incorporate online and non-synchronous learning activities with face-to-face learning experiences. Reporting of student engagement in post secondary education (Vaughan, 2010) informed the basis of what type of model of blended learning this research was attempting to implement. The largest challenge was what to put online and what to instruct in the face-to-face environment to promote technology enabled learning with the indigenous pedagogy design. Initially it was clear that blended learning courses were not being received by students. For many blended learning initiatives students were facing, it was basically an anachronism for “give me more” subject matter that couldn’t be done in face-to-face courses. There were many stories across the student body about receiving more quizzes, tests, and assignments and discussion boards being little more than time sponges offering little deeper or engaging discussions. Some stories denoted that blended learning courses were merely a ploy for the university to save money and had little to do with learning and student success. This issue of students being skeptical of the actions of the university is supported throughout the literature (Harris and Cullent, 2008). Budgets, fads, and administrative decisions have challenged educators to shape and redirect efforts in accomplishing educational goals (Hauptmann, 2007). Educators have worked within institutional structures to create peak approaches given the resources they must work with (Leithwood & Riehl, 2003). This presented an important design issue to be overcome. The design of the blended learning components was explored how to create learning activities that meshed well with face-to-face and online environments, as well as the indigenous pedagogies. There were practical limitations to using online components in the course to enhance the learner experience. The learning management system tools were primarily used to provide integral quality blended activities rather than being seen an addition or a novelty. Entering into this paradigm shift of indigenous pedagogy and digital technology enabled learning regarding the blended course initiative required deliberate design decisions. It was acknowledged that digital technology impacted the place, the time, and the milieu of learning experiences (Zhang & Zhou, 2003). The key to learner-centered indigenous pedagogy is that each activity requires that it is designed for a purpose and that it provides adequate time, place, and communicative aspects to ensure the optimum reflective experience for the learner. The pre-service teachers needed to get something out of a reflective learning activity rather than it being merely a time sponge (Shoffner, 2009). To connect this to a learner centered design, the content of the course was organized to be not be just covered, but to be used to establish a knowledge base for the preservice teachers (Weimer, 2002). The importance of practice that enriches the experience of the learner and is authentic to the material of the course (Jay & Johnson, 2002) coincides with the indigenous pedagogy the course was based on. The reflection components of the course were chosen as the location

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to explore how a blended learning design could enhance an area of learning that could not be replicated in the face-to-face classroom experience. Through a process of scaffolding where the learner builds on previous knowledge a new schema is supported with the blended learning activities. Reflective thinking was the identified as vital to the development of the pre-service teachers’ development. It challenged thinking to explore the processes that influenced the changes and maturing understandings to make sense of how to apply such knowledge in real world experiences (Piaget, 1970; Vygotsky, 1986). This understanding of reflective practice, established a learner-centered view that dovetailed with the indigenous pedagogy beliefs of important aspects of student success and was characterized by the following considerations. Students had to be provided many things including: time to think, time to evolve ideas, time to connect new information to field experiences, a personal “location” to think, time to construct new meanings, and time to test assumptions. This design empowered students to take on more control of the construction of their own knowledge. Students were now responsible to control the time and place where they felt most productive and capable of quality reflective thought with the deadlines for this work known well beforehand. Lastly, the inclusion of blended learning included action research (Mertler, 2008), where ideas and actions were examined and reviewed over time, as were all the design decisions that were learned from the initial modification to the previous course offering. The process involved collected data from the instructors’ own observations, written student feedback, and oral student feedback. The final element was the ongoing discussion of the experience with colleagues and pre-service teachers where the author would explore specific issues that bade open dialogue that informed future practice.

DISCUSSION A key component of the redevelopment was the integration of technology throughout the course as it was very paper-based with lots of handouts and activities done only with pens and paper. The successful infusion of technology in the initial course allowed some insights from the research to form the basis of instructional design to demonstrate strategies for improving and modeling digital technology and literacy integration in a teacher education course. The indigenous pedagogical component of the redevelopment came out of a concern for modernization of the course. In Canada, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission have released findings that are beginning to be included in curricula across K-12 and post secondary educational offerings in Canada. These are not limited to adding an “indigenous piece” but to actually base the design of the entire course on indigenous pedagogical practice. The opportunity to develop formerly face-to-face courses into blended learning courses with embedded technology use and structured on inclusive indigenous pedagogies highlight learning hurdles to be overcome for students. Like many instructors in post secondary institutions, the author initially thought this an administrative strategy and was purely economic and politically correct in design. There was a sense that interest for these initiatives had increased, but time for instructors to establish the value of such practices still remained unclear across the wider institution. The preservice teachers provided copious evidence that all shifts in education need to be purposeful and carefully designed and examined. Hoping for results is simply not effective. Overdoing any one strategy often becomes a time sponge for students that can ruin a learning opportunity because students are inundated with a plethora of the same old administrative or time wasting thing. If introduced poorly, 182

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technology enabled learning initiatives can recreate very similar barriers that exist in traditional outdated face-to-face environments. It became clear that the approach to shift to digital technology enabled learning required getting guided feedback from the students being designed for. This included asking questions directed toward the learning requirements of the students in the courses to ensure that engaging and authentic design and observing how the findings of the first phase of the research were being engaged with by the students.

FINDINGS It is essential at this point to state that incorporating new technology and new approaches to pedagogy into a learning environment should not be shunned for any reason. The key to this premise is being challenged to designing the use of technology for optimum potential into the authentic learning environment to best ensure student success after they graduate and have to meet the rigorous standards in a K-12 school classroom. The redeveloped course did indeed improve practice in the initial offerings of the courses that were included in this chapter. The initial application of the findings was an improvement and the redevelopment was markedly better as the redevelopment process was scaffolded by both the K-12 mentorship findings and the action research findings of the initial changes. What was observed was that quality of reflective pieces of writing the students were producing were of a greater quality than earlier writing. Previously, students produced a quickly drafted half a page of “I want to get out of here” type of writing, students after the redevelopment demonstrated deeper thinking. Students demonstrated they were trying to make sense of their course topics to their present life experiences through shared information about concerns they had for future employment, career choices, topics of interest and many other topics. They were reconstructing and demonstrating areas of future interest, how to apply this in their own future teaching practice, and this was more valuable to them than previous reflective work that did not seem valued. This redevelopment helped the students in developing their professional trained gaze, and it presented a challenge to instructors. It challenged university instructors to think about the focus of their teaching practice, the currency of their teaching practice, and to examine how their course design would benefit their pre-service teachers. This course redevelopment challenged the instructors to explore their practice and ask whether the introduction of digital technology enabled learning truly enhanced authentic learning possibilities in a way that would be of value to students when they were faced with the realities of a K-12 classroom. Many students commented about the unique perspective of this course, as they had never engaged with indigenous pedagogy before even if they had indigenous teachers in the past. Many pre-service teachers commented that this was the first course taught in a truly constructivist format that utilized digital learning opportunities that enhanced and supported what they had understood constructivist, student-centered courses to be. The impact of having a truly constructivist learning environment and having the learner be the center of design was evident in this research and needs to be explored further. There was great value having students give feedback and have that feedback go right into the course redevelopment process for the next iteration of the course. Also valuable was having the digital technology learning material incorporated into the key curricular outcomes of the course rather than be an add-on strengthened to positive feedback regarding the redevelopment process. The concept of time, it value to the students and the importance of time was a constant theme throughout the research study especially as it connected 183

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with the indigenous pedagogy concepts presented in the course. The pre-service teachers continually emphasized their preference for their control of the time they spent on activities and control of when they could do the asynchronous activities because the reflective nature of what was expected of them. Lastly, the process provided opportunities for insights for the author to better understand how the technology provided an opportunity for students to build their learning experiences. These specially designed courses offered the autonomy and flexibility of bringing the technology with students, wherever and when ever they choose to find that place of reflection went well beyond the classroom and scaffolded by the belief that the whole student was important and needed to be at the centre of the course. The students had the freedom and flexibility to dialogue with others, build new connections to current discussions, and find a common space that offered them a place to test ideas, receive immediate feedback and test assumptions by offering them in a low risk setting based on respect and inclusion. It was this control that ensured that these learning opportunities made sense to the pre-service teachers. However, the course had to be constructed and designed to incorporate the needs of the students and to ensure it would not impose new barriers, but take barriers away that existed in the older versions of the course.

CONCLUSION The same issues continue to face instructors of pre-service teachers. While it might not be a piece of chalk, it might well be an iPad or other form of technology that will appear archaic in the future. The same challenges to create authentic quality learning experiences for students will always remain regardless of technological advances.

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Pratt, Y., & Danyluk, P. (2017). Learning What Schooling Left Out: Making an Indigenous Case for Critical Service-Learning and Reconciliatory Pedagogy within Teacher Education. Canadian Journal of Education, 40(1), n1. Reid, D., & Reid, E. (2015). Mentorship in Technology-rich, 21st Century Classroom. In J. Keengwe, J. Mbae, & G. Onchwari (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Global Issues in Next-Generation Teacher Education (pp. 246–259). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Sahin, T. (2003). Student teachers’ perceptions of instructional technology: Developing materials based on a constructivist approach. British Journal of Educational Technology, 34(1), 67–74. doi:10.1111/14678535.00305 Scully, A. (2012). Decolonization, reinhabitation and reconciliation: Aboriginal and place-based education. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 17, 148–158. Shoffner, M. (2009). Personal attitudes and technology: Implications for preservice teacher reflective practice. Teacher Education Quarterly, 36(2), 143–161. Simpson, L. (2014). Land as pedagogy: Nishnaabeg intelligence and rebellious transformation. Decolonization, 3(3). Steinke, L., & Putnam, A. (2011). Mentoring teachers in technology education: Analyzing the need. The Journal of Technology Studies, 37(1), 41-49. Toulouse, P. (2016). What Matters in Indigenous Education. Measuring What Matters. Trinidad, S., Sharplin, E., Lock, G., Ledger, S., Boyd, D., & Terry, E. (2010). Developing strategies at the pre-service level to address critical teacher attraction and retention issues in Australian rural, regional and remote schools. Education in Rural Australia, 21(1), 111–120. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Truth and reconciliation commission of Canada: Calls to action. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Vaughan, N. (2010). A blended community of inquiry approach: Linking student engagement and course redesign. The Internet and Higher Education, 13(1), 60–65. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.10.007 Visser, L., Plomp, T., Amirault, R. J., & Kuiper, W. (2002). Motivating students at a distance: The case of an international audience. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(2), 94–110. doi:10.1007/BF02504998 Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and language (Rev. Ed). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Zhang, D., & Zhou, L. (2003). Enhancing e-learning with interactive multimedia. Information Resources Management Journal, 16(4), 1–14. doi:10.4018/irmj.2003100101 Zhao, Y. (2007). Social studies teachers’ perspectives of technology integration. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 15(3), 311.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Blended Learning: Is a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through delivery of content and instruction via digital and online media with some element of student control over time, place, path, or pace. While still attending a “brick-and-mortar” school structure, face-to-face classroom methods are combined with computer-mediated activities. Blended learning is also used in professional development and training settings, as it can be used to translate knowledge into a particular skill that is useful and practical for a specific job. Early Career Teacher: A teacher in their first 2 years of teaching who does not have a permanent contract or permanent teaching certification. Learner-Centered Pedagogy: Learner-centered education, broadly encompasses methods of teaching that shift the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student. In original usage, student-centered learning aims to develop learner autonomy and independence by putting responsibility for the learning path in the hands of students. Student-centered instruction focuses on skills and practices that enable lifelong learning and independent problem-solving. Student-centered learning theory and practice are based on the constructivist learning theory that emphasizes the learner’s critical role in constructing meaning from new information and prior experience. Mentorship Program: A professional developmental program where a more experienced or more knowledgeable teacher helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable teacher. Pre-Service Teacher: A student actively enrolled in a teacher education program at a college or university. Reflective Practice: The capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning. According to one definition it involves “paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively. This leads to developmental insight”. A key rationale for reflective practice is that experience alone does not necessarily lead to learning; deliberate reflection on experience is essential. Technology-Rich Classrooms: K-12 classrooms with several types of technology used regularly to enhance teaching and learning. Examples of the technology include interactive whiteboards, computers, mobile devices, 3D printers, etc.

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Access, Opportunity, and Curriculum Making Through Multimodal Meaning-Making and Technology Integration in Teacher Education Christi U. Edge https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6968-7790 Northern Michigan University, USA

ABSTRACT This chapter describes an investigation into exploring meaning making through multimodal literacy practices and technology integration for teacher education within the context of an online, secondary reading course for K-12 teachers. Through the use of a collaborative conference protocol, discourse with cross-disciplinary critical friends, and visual thinking data analysis strategies, a teacher educator examined existing multimodal literacy practices and then studied course redesign and technology integration. Results include recognizing opportunities for diverse learners to access and use prior knowledge in the construction of new knowledge, reframing the course delivery platform as a multimodal “text,” increasing opportunity for learners to construct and communicate complex understandings through multimodal texts and technology-infused assessments, and learners’ curriculum making through transmediation mediated by technology.

INTRODUCTION Existing literature focused on educational research and the study of teacher education practices has characterized construct of experience as both problematic and promising for growth in the knowledge and practice of teaching (e.g. Clandinin & Connelly, 1996; Bullough, 1997; Dewey, 1938; Edge, 2015; Hamilton, 2004; Loughran & Russell, 1997; Munby & Russell, 1994; Nolan, 1982). Tensions between DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch011

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depictions of experience in education acknowledge that while the “authority of experience” (Munby & Russell, 1994) honors the knowledge individuals develop from personal experiences, the challenge for teacher educators is to both value their learners’ experiences while also challenging them to see and “to interpret their own meaning in ways that they have not had to before and to translate insights into future teaching” (Loughran & Russell, 1997, p. 164). As Berry (2004) noted, few studies clearly illustrate this tension in action. This chapter illustrates a teacher educator’s negotiating the authority of experience within the setting of teaching, examining, and redesigning a graduate literacy course in response to the teacher educator’s and learners’ experiences. Results from this multi-phase investigation include recognizing opportunities for diverse learners to access and use prior knowledge for constructing new knowledge, reframing the course delivery platform (learning management system) as a multimodal “text,” increasing opportunity for learners to construct and communicate complex understandings through multimodal texts and technology-infused assessments, and teachers’ curriculum making through transmediation mediated by technology. Technology integration was not an intentional focus of the investigation; however, incorporating VoiceThread and Camtasia technologies as ways to facilitate multimodal teaching, learner-learner, and learner-content, and instructor-learner interactions, and learners’ multimodal assessments resulted in teachers generating new knowledge for use in their own teaching practices. This chapter focuses on the process of re-seeing multimodal pedagogy in an online course through collaborative self-study of teacher education practices (S-STEP) methodology, and then describes course design through technology integration intended to foster practicing teachers’ learning experiences, knowledge construction, and K-12 instruction using technology.

BACKGROUND In teacher education, meaningful teacher learning is essential; teachers who learn to use technology for professional learning in meaningful learning contexts and in collaboration with other professionals are more apt to provide similar agentive learning experiences for their learners (Standerford, Sabin, Anderson, Edge, Lubig, & Cameron-Standerford, 2012; National Writing Project, n.d.). If teachers are to help their K-12 learners to read and make meaning from multimodal texts, this knowledge must be a part of teacher education (Riddett-Moore & Siegesmund, 2014; Serafini, 2015).

Technology in Knowledge Building According to Langer (2011), technology is one of the richest spaces for engaging leaners in knowledge building. Through technology, there is space to explore, generate, and imagine. There are opportunities to acquire language, modes of thinking, and problem solving. Langer (2011) writes: From an envisionment-building perspective, the most productive and promising use of technology is its ability to provide learners with cognitive “playgrounds” that let them take on disciplinary problems and manipulate ideas in thinking through their understandings and further developing them, with assistance from peers and teachers as well as the wider world. Online interactions with classmates as well as teachers are important opportunities for learners to learn the vocabulary and modes of presentation and argument that are appropriate to the discipline. Uses of technology designed to involve learners in

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working through problems as a way to understand how concepts, issues, and data interact and connect (or might connect) are available or being developed in every discipline. They are dramatically different from resources that function simply as data sources, although there is certainly a role for these too. (p. 158) Through teaching, research, and the scholarship of teaching and learning, there is a need to design, describe, inquire into and critically examine how technology can generate a safe, “playful” space to interact with ideas and with others. Needed and frequently missing from online teaching and learning are the kinds of technology experiences that …let learners manipulate and build from what they know around problems and issues in the disciplines and to think critically, creatively and reflectively about them. Because technology is becoming the major worldwide mode in and through which people generate reproduce and communicate about knowledge, it must be included with reading, writing, and speaking as a tool for higher literacy across the disciplines. (p. 158) Teacher educators must provide spaces for teachers to engage in exploratory, multimodal learning through technology.

Multimodal Learning Multimodal learning refers to the multiple modes through which people, often simultaneously, communicate and construct new understandings. Modes are made up of socially and culturally agreed ways through which humans create meaning linguistically, visually, artistically, auditorially, and spatially, each with its own grammars (Martens, Martens, Doyle, Loomis, & Agalarov, 2013). Multimodal literacy (Kress & Jewitt, 2003) refers to meaning making through negotiating and creating (Draper, Broomhead, Jensen, Nokes, & Siebert, 2010) multimodal texts. In the online environment, “the synchronous functioning of the modes of image, movement, colour, gesture, 3D objects, music and sound on a digital screen require a different type of ‘reading’ or ‘writing’, a literacy that entails non-linear and simultaneous processing” (Walsh, 2009, p. 3). As a teacher educator and program leader for two fully online graduate programs, I wondered: How might I use multimodal texts and multimodal literacy practices with graduate learners? What might I learn about my teacher education practices for purposes of improving student learning?

Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices Self-study of teacher education practices (S-STEP) seeks to understand and to improve the practice of teaching (Bullough & Pinnegar, 2001; Loughran & Northfield, 1998). Self-study researchers engage in self-study, not just for the sake of theorizing, but out of “pedagogical imperatives, responsibilities to our current student teachers, as well as their learners” (LaBoskey, 2004, p. 819). Citing Russell (1998), Laboskey (2004, p. 819) explains, Self-study is about the learning from experience that is embedded within teachers’ creating new experiences for themselves and those whom they teach. …Our goal may well be the reinvention of learning to teach, enabling others to understand learning from experience by showing them how we do it ourselves. (p. 6)

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The underpinnings of self-study weave the epistemological and practical to generate a guide for the selection and design of pedagogical strategies and research methods that might be generally characterized as student-centered, process-oriented, and inquiry based (Guilfoyle, 1995; Laboskey, 2004). The pedagogical strategies and research methods self-study researchers employ are “models for what we hope our learners will do with their learners and they are context sensitive” (LaBoskey, 2004, p. 820). Self-study researchers, explains Laboskey (2004), characterize their work in ways similar to Robert Bullough (1994): My task as a teacher educator is to encourage my learners through a variety of means to identify the assumptions—many of which are hidden—that compose their implicit theories about teaching and themselves as teachers that are embedded in their personal histories. Then, I prompt them to reconstruct these assumptions in ways that are likely to lead to increased control over future professional development. In particular, my aim is to help them to develop a kind of understanding of self as teacher that will enable them to establish a role in a school and within the community of educators that is educationally defensible and personally satisfying, congruent with a desired teaching self.” (p. 108 as cited in LaBoskey, 2004, p. 820) As a self-study researcher and teacher educator, I sought to examine my own teaching and learning experiences, in part, because I realize that my ongoing learning experiences have helped to inform my teaching practices. Identifying my own assumptions, tensions, and transformations about, in, and through educative experiences, enables me to be purposeful in the pedagogical approaches I employ with my learners. In relationship to learning through multimodal means, I have come to realize through prior self-study research that as a product of the American school system, I have been enculturated to value print-based texts as the authoritative medium for learning. As a result, I have become skilled at the ability to learn from and teach through such texts. However, as a teacher educator, I also value the authority of lived experiences and multimodal meaning making. I recognize that “every instance of making and sharing meaning is a multimodal event involving many sign systems in addition to language” and “when we limit ourselves to language, we cut ourselves off from other ways of knowing” (Harste, 2000, p. 4). Therefore, as a teacher educator leading a fully online graduate reading/literacy program, I wondered what I might learn about my own teaching by exploring the “pedagogic potentials of multimodal literacy” (Walsh, 2009).

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Building from longitudinal collaborative research with critical friends (e.g., Bergh, Edge, & CameronStanderford, 2014; Cameron-Standerford, Edge, & Bergh, 2016; Edge, Cameron-Standerford, & Bergh, 2019) this study was couched in ecological, pragmatist epistemology (e.g., Dewey, 1938; Dewey & Bentley, 1949), Transactional Reading and Writing Theory (Rosenblatt, 1978/1994; Rosenblatt, 1994; Rosenblatt, 2005), transactive teaching and learning perspectives (Edge, 2011; Edge, 2017; Purcell-Gates, Duke, & Stouffer, 2017; Rosenblatt, 1994), feminist communication theory (e.g., Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986; Belenky, Bond, & Weinstock, 1997; Colflesh, 1996) and adult learning theory (Knowles, 1984; Knowles, Elwood, & Swanson, 2015). Epistemologically, transactional and feminist communication theories recognize the dynamic relationship between a knower and their envi191

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ronment, both in what they know, how they know, and implications for why they might communicate that knowledge. Learning events are experiences through which individuals may inquire, investigate, apply and adjust understandings, collaborate, and contribute as active generators and meaning-makers. Practically speaking, teachers and learners, readers and texts, researchers and objects of inquiry condition and are conditioned by one another—“read” and “compose” each other—within the contexts of particular sociopolitical environments, cognitive conditions, times, and places. In teacher education and educational research, these people, objects, and contexts are most often the classroom or, as in this study, the online courseroom.

METHODS I am one member in a group of three teacher educators representing literacy, special education, and educational leadership. Over seven years, we have supported and challenged one another to generate new understandings of practice as critical friends (Costa & Kallick, 1993; Olan & Edge, 2018; Olan & Edge, 2019) through shared inquiry questions and use of cross-disciplinary collaborative conference protocol to study our individual teaching practices (e.g., Bergh, Edge, & Cameron-Standerford, 2018; CameronStanderford et al., 2013; Edge, Cameron-Standerford, & Bergh, 2019). This chapter details analysis of my individual teaching practices contextualized in a specific course setting; the initial inquiry and data analysis process included collaboration with two cross-disciplinary critical friends. During phase one, we utilized a collaborative conference protocol and modified visual thinking strategies (Yenawine, 2013) to study our online courses around the shared question, “How can I/we use multimodal literacies to re-see our teaching practices?” In phase two, we constructed individual inquiry questions in light of shared findings from phase one. Phase two included action research and self-study expanded to include instructor-learner, learnercontent, and learner-learner interactions related to course design (Groenendijk et al., 2013) during the second and third cycles of teaching same courses. Phase two included attention to actions taken in response to phase one; however, the methodology was ultimately still a self-study of teacher education practices. Feldman, Paugh, and Mills (2004) argue that what distinguishes self-study from action research is its methodology rather than the methods used. They suggest three methodological features that would be present in self-studies: self-study would (1) bring to the forefront the importance or role of self; (2) utilize the experience of teacher educator as a resource for research; and (3) researchers would be critical of themselves in their roles as researchers and teacher educators. The question, “How can I use multimodal literacies to empower diverse learners to construct and to communicate meaning?” guided action research and course redesign during phase 2. A summary of these phases is outlined below followed by additional descriptions. • • • •

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Phase 1: Exploratory, collaborative cross-disciplinary self-study of teacher education practices (Pinnegar, 1998; LaBoskey, 2004; Vanassche & Kletchermans, 2015) Question: How can I use multimodal literacies to re-see my teaching practices? Phase 2: Action research through extended self-study (Feldman, Paugh, & Mills, 2004; Groenendijk et al., 2013) Question: How can I use multimodal literacies to empower diverse learners to construct and to communicate meaning?

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Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices Methodology Self-study of teacher education practices (S-STEP) was selected as the methodology for the initial exploratory and descriptive phases of this longitudinal inquiry. Self-study research is rooted in post-modern and feminist thinking; it is self-initiated and self-focused, improvement aimed, interactive, and utilizes multiple, often qualitative, research methods (LaBoskey, 2004). As Berry (2007) describes, “Self-study is an approach to researching teacher education practices that is driven largely by the concerns of teaching and the development of knowledge about practice and the development of learning” (p. 6). Self-study research does not aim to prove “answers” to problems of practice, but instead positions the researchers to explore and challenge their assumptions with the purpose of improving their understanding and practice of teaching (Bullough & Pinnegar, 2001) in order to inform the researchers, improve student learning, produce contextual understandings, and generate knowledge that can be shared both within and beyond the professional discourse community.

Data For this study, I selected a graduate reading course, The Teaching of Reading for Secondary Teachers (TRST), for analysis. Data included screen shots of the course, instructor-produced and instructor-selected teaching materials, instructor-produced discussion prompts, assessment descriptions and instructions, as well as student-produced artifacts such as anonymous survey responses, discussion form responses, and completed assignments. The TRST course is part of an online graduate program in which all courses are delivered asynchronously through the university’s Moodle learning management system (LMS). The course was selected, in part, because I assumed (but did not know) there was an existing relationship between teachers construction of knowledge and multimodal literacy practices. The course is designed to guide prospective and practicing teachers to explore theories and methods for teaching content-area reading and disciplinary literacy to adolescent learners. The course is organized around three essential questions to guide learners to construct knowledge about the process of reading, to broaden concepts, and to learn about methods for teaching adolescent learners. TRST is a required course in an online K-12 Reading Specialist graduate program and an elective course in an online graduate Reading (K-6) program; the course serves as the only graduate course focused on teaching reading to adolescent learners. Graduate learners are advised to take this course in the second half of their program, and for many, it is one of their final courses, as it is offered every-other summer over an accelerated, six-week semester. Prior to phase one of this study, I had taught the course twice. Learners enrolled in this course are typically practicing elementary teachers, not secondary teachers as implied by the course title. Responses on a course entrance survey indicated learners believed they had little knowledge or professional experience related to secondary (grades 6-12) reading or teaching adolescent learners. Many respondents even expressed an initial fear in taking a class so far outside the comfort zone of their existing knowledge and teaching experiences with elementary (grades pre-K-5) learners. Nevertheless, numerous anonymous written comments from learners on the university’s course evaluations communicated positive learning experiences that resulted in changed understandings of reading and reading instruction. One anonymous course evaluation comment, in particular, caught my attention:

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This course was designed in a way that all courses should be—grounded in best practice, engaging, teaching not telling, and meaningful. The ability to be an active participant in learning, read more about concepts to solidify learning, and then collaborate with the instructor and classmates in meaningful ways was so appreciated. I NEVER learned as much as I did this semester. I have also NEVER felt that my money was worth the time and content of a class as much as I did this semester. The student’s and repeated use of “NEVER” certainly caught my attention; however, I found myself reflecting on other words in the comment—seeing oneself as an engaged, active participant who collaborated with me and with coursemates in meaningful ways, whose learning more about concepts resulted in more solidified learning, and feeling as though the investment of time and money in the course was beneficial. I thought, “Isn’t this how I want all learners to see themselves, their knowledge, and the course experience?” What, could I learn from my own course, if I studied, rather than assumed, what was happening in this course? Wondering and desiring to better understand and purposefully guide all learners to be confident and competent, I selected this this course for further exploration through collaborative S-STEP methodology and Visual Thinking Strategies analysis (adapted from Yenawine, 2013).

Data Analysis To examine a course I designed and had taught, I needed to step back from my own lived experiences (Langer, 2011) and re-enter the course from a critical vantage point. Prior self-study research with critical friends (Bergh, Edge, Cameron-Standerford, Imdieke, Standerford, & Reissner, 2013) had tuned my attention to the way that visuals communicate and construct meaning. Building on this, my co-researchers and I realized that we needed to grapple with, negotiate, and discover how multimodal texts might be facilitating learners’ ability to construct their knowledge, professionally grow and guide their own learners.

Visual Thinking Strategies Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a research-based instructional method for teaching visual literacy, critical thinking, and communication through a protocol for analyzing and discussing art (Yenawine, 2013; Visual Thinking Strategies, 2018). Through inquiry, the VTS protocol guides individuals to utilize existing visual and cognitive skills to discover what one knows and does not yet know, and encourages learners to further explore, either alone or with peers, more complex subject matter and interpretations through thoughtful discussions which prompt individuals to observe, listen, ask questions, look for evidence, wonder, make connections, support thinking with details, and be open to an ongoing understanding as well as identifying what they do not yet know and what they would like to know. Through discussion of art, transformational learning can be accessible to diverse learners (Visual Thinking Strategies, 2018). According to Yenawine (2013), the main aspects of VTS teaching practices include three key inquiries: 1. What’s going on in this picture? 2. What do you see what makes you say that? 3. What more can we find?

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As Yenawine (2013) explains, the VTS approach is a learner-centered discovery process that is facilitated by a teacher and focused on a selected image. “The teacher is central to the process but not the authoritative source; instead, the learners drive the discussions, aided by the teacher. As facilitator, a VTS teacher helps learners to: • • • • •

Look carefully at works of art Talk about what they observe Back up their ideas with evidence Listen to and consider the views of others Discuss and hold as possible a variety of interpretations.” (pp. 15-16)

The VTS process, as developed by Yenawine and Housen over nearly two decades of working with adults and children through research and teaching, is meant to help facilitate knowing in action through “viewing skills—observing, interpreting what one sees, probing and reflecting on first and second thoughts, considering alternative meanings, and so on” (Yenawine, 2013, p. 12). The act of …finding meaning in art is a form of problem solving; as we develop skills at viewing, we simultaneously learn how to find and solve problems. While the activity of examining art is not so different from a young person following a line of ants along the sidewalk to see where it leads, it is also how a scientist studies climate and a historian pieces together the past. (p. 13) VTS questions can be adapted to subjects other than art and can be used to assess learner thinking through writing (Yenawine, 2013) Just as learners might need permission to wonder, to engage in “mind-stretching exploration,” (Yenawine, 2013, p. 13) time to see before they speak, the opportunity to first narrate what they see based on their prior knowledge, and then to listen and consider other possibilities based on others’ diverse linguisticexperiential reservoirs (Rosenblatt, 1978), teachers also need time and space to observe the landscape of their classrooms and courserooms, the opportunity to draw first from their prior knowledge as they narrate what they see, and to stretch their thinking through the process of considering others’ observations, diverse knowledge, and wondering their way to additional insights, possibilities, and transformations of understanding and practice.

Visual Thinking Strategies As Data Analysis In Teacher Education This section provides some background and transition between using VTS as an instructional strategy and adapting VTS to analyze online teaching and learning in this study. Prior to this study, I (Christi) had utilized VTS in my teaching practices and shared this pedagogy with critical friends in our earlier study of visuals in our teaching. I had taught, modeled, and practiced the protocol with my undergraduate and graduate learners as a method for teaching reading, critical thinking, and discussion in their K-12 classrooms within the context of broader definitions of text, reading, and literacy in content areas teachers might guide their learners to read and make sense of visual texts which might include art and also other visual meaning-making events and settings such as labs, mathematics, music, political cartoons, and physical performance in education. Additionally, I had informally used these questions with prospective teachers as a guide to analyze teaching events in face-to-face settings. 195

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Following a S-STEP inquiry with critical friends (2013-2014) which focused on the use of visuals in online and face-to-face teacher education classroom settings and an elementary classroom (CameronStanderford et al., 2013; Edge, Cameron-Standerford, & Bergh, 2014), we (Christi, Abby, and Bethney) began discussing how VTS might guide our cross-disciplinary meaning-making and exploration of multimodal literacy practices as we continued collaborative self-study of our teaching practices.

Visual Thinking Strategies As Data Analysis Of An Online Teacher Education Course We adapted the Visual Thinking Strategies approach to explore the visual composition of our online course design, delivery, and student-produced course artifacts. Each researcher critically analyzed her selected course by addressing the questions: 1. What is going on here in the online course? 2. What do I see that makes me say that? 3. What more can we find? The first question, What is going on here? prompted the individual teacher educator researcher to take a “step back” from her course to textualize (Edge, 2011) it, i.e., distance herself from it and position it as a multimodal text that she could read, make sense of, and narrate to critical friends. This stage also directed attention to events happening in the course, to analyze the sense of the whole (e.g., whole course via the main course page, whole events within modules of instruction, and within specific interactive events such as discussions). The second question, What do I see that makes me say that? directed our thinking to details, to elements of design and visual composition, use and placement of visuals, flow, elements of white space, organization, actions, choices, and events happening in the course. It also prompted us to explain our interpretations, to communicate inferences, and to connect observations to our interpretations. The final question, What more can we find? was used in two ways. First, it served as an open invitation to keep looking, wondering, and to articulate questions. Second, it prompted critical friends to ask questions or to offer observations as we collaboratively looked again. We independently asked these questions and prepared notes and visual compositions (screen shots) to share with critical friends for discussion using a collaborative conference protocol. Throughout, we kept in mind our purpose: to explore and discover opportunities for others to learn through lived experiences and multimodal literacies in the online environment. Findings across the disciplines of reading/literacy, special education, and educational leadership resulting from our collaborative self-studies have been reported elsewhere (e.g., Edge, Cameron-Standerford, & Bergh, 2019). This chapter focuses on my (Christi’s) self-study of my teaching practices, aided by discussion with critical friends (Abby and Bethney), through the adapted VTS strategy and collaborative conference protocol.

Collaborative Conference Protocol I am fortunate to work in a university that values practitioner research and with faculty who have engaged in self-study of teacher education practices (S-STEP) methodology. Through collaborative investigations into our teaching through shared inquiry topics, we have developed, over seven years, a collaborative conference protocol. This protocol stemmed from existing protocols for collaboration articulated in the 196

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Figure 1. Collaborative conference protocol

literature (e.g., Sidel, Walters, Kirby, Olff, Powell, Scripp, & Veenama, 1997) and utilized by colleagues (Anderson, et al., 2010). Over time, we studied, refined, articulated and depicted the protocol (e.g., Bergh, Edge, & Cameron-Standerford, 2018; Cameron-Standerford et al., 2013; Edge, Cameron-Standerford, & Bergh, 2019). In each inquiry, we applied this descriptive, recursive process to both articulate how we made meaning and also to focus our interactions. In this study, each researcher orally shared her visual thinking within our established “public homeplace” (Belenky, Bond, & Weinstock, 1997, p.13) environment using the modified collaborative conference protocol. Our use of a collaborative conference protocol included (1) beginning with an artifact from a selfidentified critical event. In the context of this study, each selected an online course archived on our university’s server. We each selected a course in relationship to a shared turning point critical event that transpired during the second year of our seven years of collaborative self-study. Next, we (2) formulated a self-study question to guide our inquiry. We (3) textualized the experience (Edge, 2011) of teaching the course. This step entails distancing oneself from the lived experience by objectifying the archived course shell as an artifact. In other words, we positioned whole course as an artifact, an object, a text that can be read, discussed, and from which meaning can be made. In this study, our teaching practices were textualized. The remaining aspects of our collaborative conference protocol were facilitated through our use of the adapted Visual Thinking Strategies (Visual Thinking Strategies, 2018; Yenawine, 2013). This protocol included: (4) actively listening to each individual’s initial observations, analysis and wonderings related to the contextualized course; (5) taking turns saying what we heard or noticed while the individual who had shared quietly took notes; (6) taking turns offering speculative comments, connections, and wonderings from our vantage points outside the other’s academic discipline; (7) inviting the individual back into the conversation to respond to comments or questions offered

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by the group or to offer additional details or insights sparked by listening to the group; and (8) creating takeaway reflections. Individual take-away artifacts became a way to attend to the themes developing from our collective work. Similar to Yenawine’s (2013) description of an individual’s process for initially tapping into their existing knowledge as they narrate what they see and then growing or modifying that understanding in light of ongoing discussion as well as others’ observations framed by their knowledge, experience, and language, examining our individual teaching practices through the lens of one another’s academic cultures afforded alternative views that disrupted our individual meaning-making and prompted us to question our assumptions. Through our shared experiences and language derived from SSTEP research experiences and literature, we also generated connections to one another’s academic disciplines. Disruptions challenged and expanded our thinking while connections deepened our understandings of teaching and learning in the online environment.

RESULTS Findings illuminate the relationship between multimodality, technology, and meaning-making for multimodal learning in an online course for practicing and prospective teachers. During phase one of this study, VTS applied to an online course coupled with a collaborative conference protocol with critical friends enabled me to take a closer look at the course and to see and re-see what was “going on” in the course. It was during this phase that I also recognized what wasn’t yet going on in the course, but could, if reimagined. I began to reframe what was possible through course redesign. The following resulted: (1) I recognized multimodal texts, multimodal learning, and multimodal literacy practices did and could also further foster access, opportunity, and ownership of knowledge for learners in online courses through transmediation and technology. I also (2) reframed the course learning management system (LMS) as a type of multimodal text that is read and composed through ongoing interactions between learners, instructor, and in relationship to the content studied and technology utilized. Phase two included course redesign and continued VTS applied to course changes and the incorporation of technology to aid learners’ (prospective and practicing teachers’) knowledge construction through multimodal meaning making. During phase two, I realized (3) in my online teacher education course, learners can be/are curriculum makers. In the following sections, each theme includes screenshots of multimodal texts from my course as well as a sample of my visual thinking strategies analysis and summary of new wonderings generated in response to the VTS question, “What more can I find?” and the collaborative conference protocol.

Phase One Results During the first phase of the study, I recognized that multimodal text sets facilitated learners’ access to prior knowledge that they could use to build new understandings. These texts served as opportunities to learn multimodally with other learners. For instance, in the first segment of the course, learners engaged in multiple exploratory activities. Each activity required learners to read, view, mark, and discuss a text. In these discussions, learners were able to make and to connections to their previous knowledge, both within and beyond educational settings. Learners constructed responses to the question, “How do

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Figure 2. What’s going on here?

we make sense of texts?” and supported their thinking with textual references and references to their exploratory learning experiences, teaching experiences, and life experiences.

What Is Going On Here? In this course, multimodal learning is happening. Learners are reconstructing their understandings of core tenets of reading including the definitions of texts, reading, and literacy. Learners are exploring the reading and sense-making process through shared experiences, identifying and articulating what they do to make sense of texts. Student knowledge construction is happening through collaboration and interaction around multimodal text sets. Multimodal learning is providing learners with multiple opportunities to experience and to examine their sense-making process in multiple situations. Learners are constructing meaning about secondary reading instruction by accessing what they know, examining and articulating that knowledge, and forming a response to an essential question, “What do I do to make sense of texts?” Multimodal course text sets offer multiple entry points into exploring new possibilities and for constructing meaning about a topic outside most learners’ existing knowledge base (and comfort zones). This construction of meaningful understanding is happening slowly over time, with multiple opportunities to form responses to essential questions in light of exploratory meaning-making experiences, readings, and discussions. Nevertheless, in this course, few opportunities exist for learners to construct multimodal texts or to communicate using multimodal literacies. In a key, multimodal composition, learners’ learning experiences are not only mediated by the generative act of composing multimodally, experiences are transmediated (Harste, 2000), resulting in deepened understanding and confidence for teaching secondary reading and adolescent learners.

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Figure 3. What do I see that makes me say that?

What Do I See That Makes Me Think That? In this course: • • • •

I see choice, space, & expectation to make meaning I see mostly written constructions of learners’ understandings I see learners using literacy strategies to learn about teaching reading In a key assignment, I see the generative power of transmediation—the act of translating meanings from one sign system to another (Siegel, 1995) to synthesize, to extend meaning, and to create new understanding.

After my first round of interpreting what was going on in my course and then sharing the details of my observations with critical friends, I heard myself pointing to mostly print-based opportunities for learners to communicate the meaning they were making. I did not expect to see this event happening in my course; however, as I continued to explore and to examine the screenshots of my course, materials I had curated, learning guides I had prepared, and, in particular, the different ways that learners were communicating their understanding, I began to realize that, both I and my learners had limited their possibility for communicating meaningful understanding in an online course to print-based (written) forms. Realizing this, I felt as if scales had been removed from my eyes-- scales that I didn’t even realize had been there. I had been metaphorically blind to the possibility of learners generating and communicating meaning in multimodal ways in the online course platform. In this online graduate course, I had unknowingly limited how and what my learners could do to construct and to communicate their understanding. While I had provided multiple entry points for accessing prior knowledge and for generating connections and opportunities to re-see the teaching of reading to include texts beyond traditional print-based modalities, I had not paired the reading of multimodal texts with opportunities to generate multimodal texts or to communicate multimodally. Exploring a single, key, assignment in which learners had composed multimodally, I became aware of the generative act of transmediation evident happening in multimodal constructions and communications.

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What More Can I Find? In this course, how can I include additional opportunities for learners to generate multimodal texts to communicate meaning--to create texts and to communicate, not just read and make sense of texts-- in multiple modalities? In this course, I realized that for me to purposefully guide learners to make sense of and to create multimodal representations of their learning, I needed to have deep knowledge of content, methods, learners’ needs, and pedagogic possibilities for facilitating multimodal communication and composition. Deep knowledge of content and methods had enabled me to select multimodal texts for learners to make meaning from, to disrupt and problematize their existing understandings, and to inspire new thinking. Nevertheless, I lacked a vision for the possibilities of multimodal text generation to provide and inspire ways for learners to create multimodally.

Phase Two Results Insights from phase one of the study connected to professional development experiences from an online teaching fellows program (Edge, 2018). During this program, I learned to use VoiceThread and Camtasia technology. As I studied the design and delivery of online teaching and reflected on phase one of this study, I began seeing more subtle and overt ways I could communicate with learners. Framing the course on the LMS platform as a multimodal text with many ways of communicating, even elements such as white space and images could help guide learners if utilized intentionally. I wondered, “How can I use multimodal literacies and a multimodal learning environment to empower others to construct and communicate meaning through multimodal texts and technology tools?” The goal of my course redesign included: • • •

Using what I know about educative experience (Dewey, 1938) to develop opportunities for learning through multimodal means; Providing learners with opportunities to access multimodal tools and texts that would help them to construct and to demonstrate their learning in diverse, multimodal ways; and Modeling multimodal literacy in my online course.

With these goals in mind, I began to redesign the course and to integrate VoiceThread and Camtasia technology as well as other technology tools available within our LMS. Redesigning, teaching, and analyzing the course illuminated the following phase two findings: • •

Shifted focus- I shifted my practice toward purposeful and mindful use of multimodal texts, literacies, and learning. I framed the online course platform as a multimodal text that learners and I each read and collaboratively compose as we interact and generate new knowledge together. Increased opportunity and access-Through technology integration, I could model how to construct multimodal compositions and to utilize technology for multimodal teaching and learning resulting in additional opportunities for learners to access pedagogical knowledge and new opportunities for learners to communicate their constructed knowledge multimodally.

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Figure 4.

• •

Multimodal communication- Incorporating technology created space for instructional texts and learners’ assessments to be communicated multimodally. Multimodal curriculum making- Learners’ use of technology to compose multimodal texts as assessments of their learning enabled them to demonstrate curriculum making through transmediation mediated by technology.

The following sections include screenshots from the redesigned course and describe results from phase two.

Shifted Focus Course redesign reflected a shifted focus. While course objectives remained the same, the integration of additional technology and framing the course platform as a kind of multimodal text shifted my attention to multimodal communication, interaction, and construction of knowledge. For example, as a part of the course introduction, I created a video designed to guide learners through how to read and make sense of features in the LMS platform in the context of this course (figure 4). Camtasia allowed for learners to hear the tone in my voice, detect humor and excitement; it captured my hand gestures as I spoke and captured my computer screen as I navigated and interacted with the LMS. I could model how to think about and to use the technology features in the LMS, much as a literacy teacher models how to navigate and to negotiate text features of a printed text such as an article or a passage from a novel. Learners could hear, see, and read while considering the strategic thinking I offered about how to think about, use, and navigate the course platform. This focus was planned and intentional. Keeping course outcomes in mind as well as insights from phase one, the design and delivery of the course intentionally utilized technology for multimodal learning.

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Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Increased Opportunity and Access While the course still reflected multiple opportunities for diverse learners to access, communicate, and build upon their prior knowledge, technology served as a medium for multimodal learning. For example, in the first module of the course, learners participated in an inquiry activity through the use of VoiceThread (see figure 5). Using this technology as a medium for the activity allowed for me to model my thinking and to demonstrate explicit teaching and the gradual release of responsibility, two literacy pedagogical approaches. Learners could choose to type, audio record, or video record their thinking as they proceeded through the activity rather than only at the end or through a written playby-play. Other learners were able to record or post responses to my or coursemates’ comments as they proceeded through the activity and at the end of the activity, enabling them to capture their in-process thinking as well as their tentative, collected responses to the essential question I posed for that segment

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Figure 7.

of the course. Learners were able to access and to utilize others’ diverse knowledge, experiences, and thinking as they learned about course concepts and shaped their thinking to form responses to essential questions. Communication was multimodally captured, shared, and responded to, positioning learners as co-constructors of multimodal learning events.

Multimodality For Constructing and Communicating Understandings The integration of technology also provided space for me, as the instructor, and for learners to use multimodal texts to organize, construct, compose, and communicate understandings to others in the course. For example, I utilized the image of a tree to metaphorically and visually organize the structure of the course. In the first segment of the course, I displayed a black and white image of a tree with its roots visible (see figure 6). Through image, written text, and video, I explained the purpose of this segment of the course was to examine the theoretical roots of secondary reading instruction. Learners also produced multimodal texts which utilized images to organize and to communicate their new knowledge. Using images, text, audio, and video, learners could construct and communicate their understanding of course concepts multimodally. In addition to these layered compositions, I was able to hear learners thinking and expression of ideas in their own voice.

New Opportunities to Model and to Practice Teaching Multimodal Literacies in The Online Course Through the use of technology, I was able to model how to plan and to teach using the pedagogical, theoretical, and research-based approaches taught in the course. Through VoiceThread, for example (see figure 7), I could display images of content-area texts, mark the text, record my thinking, and also type labels to explicitly communicate what I was doing and why I made instructional decisions during the modeling process. The layered nature of the instruction provided authentic approaches to teaching with the affordances of technology to slow down, repeat, replay, ask and answer questions, and interact over time. Critically, learners could also practice teaching multimodally in ways that demonstrated their understanding of course concepts through the multimodal formative assessments they designed. The

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Figure 8.

multimodal composition also provided opportunity to receive feedback from the instructor and other learners.

Multimodal Curriculum Making Perhaps most significantly, the incorporation of technology into this teacher education course provided learners with the ability to create curriculum and to communicate their personal practical knowledge. In this course, learners practiced creating and received formative assessment feedback from peer learners and from the instructor. Summative assessments required learners to create instruction. Using technology to compose and communicate multimodally was an option. Examining projects that utilized technology to compose and communicate multimodally, it became evident that these practicing or prospective teachers were able to communicate using their “teacher voice,” as numerous students dubbed it, as well as their learner voice. These teacher-learners directed instruction to their imagined learners, and they also “stepped back” (Langer, 2011) from their pedagogy to communicate their pedagogical reasoning. They explained their instructional decisions, connected those decisions to theory and to course concepts, and identified how the instruction was designed and adapted to meet anticipated or observed past learners’ needs. Technology mediated their dual thinking as teachers and as learners in the online environment.

CONCLUSION Reframing Teaching Practices Using multimodal literacies to re-see my teaching practices (phase 1) and then to make changes to course design and delivery for purposes of empowering learners to construct and to communicate meaning (phase 2) resulted in reframing teaching and learning in the online environment.

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Phase One: Through discourse guided by the use of a collaborative conference protocol with critical friends and Visual Thinking Strategies applied to the online course, I was able to see and re-see how teachers and teacher educators can learn from reading, analyzing, and discussing multimodal texts and lived experiences in the context online course settings. In the context of the literacy course I taught, this included recognizing access, opportunity, ownership, and multimodality. Access. Course texts offered multiple “entry points” into learning. The use of multiple, accessible texts and non-traditional text sets were designed to facilitate learner’s critical examination of prior knowledge and to facilitate meaning-making about topics learners perceived to be beyond their existing knowledge and experience. However, most reading and learning activities utilized print-based texts. Opportunity. Text sets and course design demonstrated opportunity for learners to consider multiple perspectives and to construct new knowledge over time. Nevertheless, few opportunities existed for learners to construct multimodal texts or to communicate using multimodal literacies. Ownership. In a key, multimodal composition, the generative power of transmediation provided multimodal ways for learners to construct, communicate, and “own” their understanding. Aside from this exploratory “Sketch-to-Stretch” (Beers, 2003) multimodal composition, opportunities were limited, but could be created for future course offerings. Multimodality. Furthermore, phase one resulted in my seeing the course learning management system as a type of multimodal text, read and composed through ongoing interactions between learners, instructor, and content studied.

Phase Two: Reflecting on action research and course redesign, I understand: • • • •

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Multimodal texts, interaction, and meaning making can provide access to multiple ways of knowing. Learners are curriculum makers (Clandinin & Connelly, 1992)—active agents and generators of knowledge that others can also access and learn from in the online courseroom. Demonstrating learning through multimodal assessments enables learners (practicing or future teachers) to create authentic texts, to communicate in authentic ways, and to develop and to communicate personal practical knowledge (Clandinin, 1985). Multimodal meaning making through technology integration in the online course can provide opportunities for transmediation– for learners to transform course learning across multiple sign systems into curriculum which reflects their and knowledge and ability to create texts for multimodal teaching in their own classrooms.

 Access, Opportunity, and Curriculum Making Through Multimodal Meaning-Making

SIGNIFICANCE The crux of professional learning for educators is to empower others to construct meaningful understanding through educative experiences (Dewey, 1938). In order for teachers to use their knowledge to improve their teaching practice and to create educative experiences for others, they must first construct an understanding as learners themselves. This process of making meaning, as opposed to getting meaning, is dependent on teachers’ opportunities to interact with texts, and is aided by communication with and support from a caring community of learners. Technology integration in teacher education can create space for prospective and practicing teachers to do more than learn about concepts or pedagogical approaches; teacher educators and teacher learners can use technology to compose multimodal texts and to communicate their personal practical knowledge. The layered thinking, decision-making, use of knowledge, and ability to consider others’ interpretations and responses to their teaching reflect the authentic ways that teachers-learners read and compose understandings while teaching. As a result of studying my teaching practices with critical friends, I was able to read and make meaning from my online course design and delivery. The use of a collaborative conference protocol and Visual Thinking Strategies applied to the online course platform resulted in realizing that while I had provided learners with ways to access and use prior knowledge through multimodal learning and interacting with multimodal texts, I had neglected to create opportunities for my learners to compose and to communicate their learning through generating multimodal texts in this online course. This gap was eye-opening and resulted in reframing the course as a multimodal text and to re-seeing my responsibility to model how to teach and how to use technology using technology and multimodal composition. Shifting my focus to multimodal texts and multimodal learning, I now see opportunities for purposefully attending to global meaning making (Tierney, 2018). As I analyze the most recent offering of this course (May-July 2019), I see learners interrogating their prior knowledge and epistemologies and creating knowledge in a shared “third space” of cross-cultural exchanges that draws from local and individual knowledge and experiences to generate cross-cultural, global understandings of teaching reading, multimodally, to all learners.

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ADDITIONAL READING Bailey, N. M., & Van Harken, E. M. (2014). Visual images as tools of teacher inquiry. Journal of Teacher Education, 65(3), 241–260. doi:10.1177/0022487113519130 Garcia, A. (Ed.). (2014). Teaching in the connected learning classroom. Irvine, CA: Digital Media and Learning Research Hub. Hattwig, D., Bussert, L., Medaille, A., & Burgess, J. (2013). Visual literacy standards in higher education: New opportunities for libraries and student learning. Libraries and the Academy, 13(1), 61–89. doi:10.1353/pla.2013.0008 Klehm, M. (2014). The effects of teacher beliefs on teaching practices and achievement of learners with disabilities. Teacher Education and Special Education, 37(3), 216–240. doi:10.1177/0888406414525050 Knobel, M., & Kalman, J. (2016). New literacies and teacher learning: Professional development and the digital turn. New York, NY: Peter Lang. doi:10.3726/978-1-4539-1823-4 Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the new media age. London: Routledge. Kress, G., Jewwitt, C., Ogborn, J., & Tsatsarelis, C. (2001). Multimodal teaching and learning: the rhetoric of the science classroom. London: Continuum. Kress, G., & Van Leeuwan, T. (2001). Multimodal discourse. London: Routledge. Kress, G., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203619728 Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2011). New literacies: Everyday practices and social learning (3rd ed.). Berkshire, England: Open University Press. Mioduser, D., Nachmias, R., & Forkosh-Baruch, A. (2008). New literacies for the knowledge society. In J. Voogt & G. Knezek (Eds.), International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education (Vol. 20). Boston, MA: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-73315-9_2 Parsons, A. W., & Hjalmarson, M. A. (2017). Study of self: The self as designer in online teacher education. Studying Teacher Education, 13(3), 331–349. doi:10.1080/17425964.2017.1365699 Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (2015). Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense. doi:10.1007/978-94-6300-220-2 Walsh, M. (2008). Worlds have collided and modes have merged: Classroom evidence of changed literacy practices. Literacy, 42(2), 102–108. doi:10.1111/j.1741-4369.2008.00495.x

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Envisionment: An envisionment is meaning that is in the process of being made; it is meaning-inmotion. Event: In this study, event refers to a transactional experience. An event is an experience from which meaning is made. Meaning-making and event are biconditional terms. Meaning-making presupposes that a transaction has taken place. Rosenblatt (1978, 1994, 2005) has written that meaning is a transactional event. Knowledge: Knowledge is more than facts or the accumulation of information; it is the understanding of the interrelated information in the context of social and disciplinary conventions. Making Meaning: Meaning is a transactional event. People make meaning during a transaction. Readers make meaning during transactional events by drawing upon their linguistic-experiential reservoir to guide their sense-making (Rosenblatt, 1978, 1994, 2005). In the context of a classroom, meaning is not located in texts or in lessons or even in people; rather, it is made through dynamic transactions with people and various texts in various contexts. Transformative Learning: A revision of conceptions or assumptions and includes a process by which individual learners construct knowledge through critical reflection. Transaction: Transaction does not refer to a business exchange; rather, transaction conveys the ecological relationship between the knower, knowing, and what is known.

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Coding Across the Curriculum: How to Integrate Coding Into Content Areas Janna Jackson Kellinger University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA

ABSTRACT This chapter explores why teacher educators should teach teachers how to integrate coding across content areas and how to do so by applying concepts of computational thinking such as using algorithms, flowcharts, and Boolean logic to all fields. Teaching teachers how to teach coding across the content areas offers opportunities to diversify people in a field where intimidation, discrimination, and lack of opportunities has effectively kept the field of programming largely white or Asian and male. In addition, as our lives become more and more infused with technology, Rushkoff warns that we either learn how to program or become programmed. This means that not everyone needs to become a computer programmer, but everyone needs to understand how programming computers works. In other words, coding across content areas would help prepare all students, not just those pursuing the field of computer science, for the 21st century.

INTRODUCTION Up until recently with the advent of “Everyone Can Code” movements such as “An Hour of Code” and “No Fear Coding”, coding has been regarded as the realm of the geeks, relegated to “computer science” courses that imply that only those in the sciences can comprehend and produce these new languages. Because of this, most content area teachers have shied away from even considering coding as within their subject area domain. Indeed, most people have, unless they fit the white or Asian male stereotype of geeks reified by movies in the 80s like the Breakfast Club and Revenge of the Nerds. Because of this, the most promising field in the workforce is largely male and white/Asian and rampant sexism has kept it so (Myers, 2018). When those of us who do not fit this profile dare enter the field, not only do we face discrimination, but sometimes explicit threats like what happened in GamerGate where female DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch012

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video game designers were harassed and even doxed (Dewey, 2014). This results in a large swath of the population being iced out of one of the most promising fields. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019), “Employment of software developers is projected to grow 21 percent from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average for all occupations.” In addition, that field is missing out on potential talent at a time when new, innovative technological solutions are needed to solve the world’s problems, such as the climate crisis and election interference. My own history is laced with the sexism emanating from this field. In my very first summer job, despite being in Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science, I was assigned to do data entry while the male students from my high school were assigned to the computer room. When my sister, who is now an engineer, went to her high school guidance counselor to find out what elective courses were available, he told her about the gourmet cooking class but not the engineering one and then later discouraged her from applying to engineering school. When I was the only female in a computer science class in college, the professor constantly pointed it out by saying things like, “Gentlemen (pause) and lady” and exaggerating “Miss” when saying my name. By now, we would hope this atmosphere would have changed, but statistics about the computer science field speak to the long-term effects of discrimination (Myers, 2018). Because of intimidation, discrimination, and lack of opportunities, the field of programming has effectively stayed white/Asian and male. One way to open up the field to a wider audience is to introduce programming across the curriculum so that content areas traditionally associated with other demographic groups can introduce students to coding. Since coding is essentially writing a set of decision-making directions, recipes in gourmet cooking are coding; choreography is coding; telling someone how to get from point A to point B is coding; the list can go on and on. Viewing coding this way allows us to see how coding cuts across all content areas. The possibilities are endless. In fact, when I was taking that AP computer science class in high school, the teacher was also the Physical Education teacher. When viewing coding as writing a set of decision-making directions, you can see how this is a perfect fit. After all, playing sports involves making a series of decisions within the confines of the rule set defined for that sport and the referees are the compilers (programs that translate computer code to basic machine language and send out notifications when code does not conform to the conventions of the programming language), who call someone out when they do not conform to the grammar of the sport.

TEACHERS AS CODERS By expanding coding to a set of decision-making directions, we can also see how teachers are natural coders. In fact, they write code every day in their lesson plans. They then are the computers that implement this code, sometimes even changing it up on the spot. Because they are coding humans, or rather creating conditions for humans to learn optimally, you could argue that their coding is even more complicated than coding a computer. Larry Cuban (2001) has lamented about teachers being reluctant to dip a toe into digital technologies. However, introducing coding to teachers in this way and then demonstrating options for ways in which they can integrate coding into their content areas uses Lee’s (2001) cultural modeling to allow teachers to see the connections between coding, teaching, and their subject area.

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Teaching elementary teachers how to teach their students coding basics borrowing from the Total Physical Response (TPR) techniques of World Languages uses Bruner’s (1966) concept of enactive or kinesthetic learning to teach computational thinking skills. For example, having students “program” the teacher to go from point A to point B and having the teacher turn around in a circle instead of turning left or right when the students say “turn” could teach students the importance of being specific, generate a lot of laughter, and teach students how to debug code. Reverse red light/green light where saying red light means move and green light means stop immediately after playing traditional red light/ green light not only is a great way to teach impulse control but also the need for systems engineers to make sure commands are consistent. Writing the TPR “code” so that one word signals a sequence of actions can teach students about functions. Dance “codes” can use repetition to implement looping and songs with choruses and refrains provide natural entry ways into coding for all ages, but particularly for elementary teachers. Designing flowcharts of everyday decisions like what to wear depending on the weather teaches students about logical decision-making. In these ways and others, elementary teachers can teach coding basics.

PULLING AWAY THE CURTAIN Not only would this approach introduce all students to coding, it would also demystify computers so that people are not so easily manipulated as they were in the 2016 U.S. elections. In 2011, Pariser issued a warning about how the internet has become a “Filter Bubble” where “the new personalized web is changing what we read and how we think.” He states, “Democracy requires citizens to see things from one another’s point of view, but instead we’re more and more enclosed in our own bubbles. Democracy requires a reliance on shared facts, instead we’re being offered parallel but separate universes” (p. 5). He goes on to explain how stealth personalization fools people into thinking that what they see on the web, for example, the results of their google search, is what everyone sees on the web so that it does not just shape their reality, it fools people into thinking that is reality. Russia’s disinformation campaign capitalized on this algorithmic manipulation. Rushkoff (2012) issued an even more pointed warning specifically about Facebook: [O]ur kids aren’t Facebook’s customers; they’re the product. The real customers are the advertisers and market researchers paying for their attention and user data. But it’s difficult for them or us to see any of this and respond appropriately if we don’t know anything about the digital environment in which all this is taking place. That’s why -- as an educator, media theorist and parent -- I have become dedicated to getting kids code literate. While not everyone will take a coding class, at least not at this point in public education in the United States, everyone takes English, Social Studies, Math, and Science. Integrating coding concepts into these subject areas removes the mask, allowing the general public to understand how coding works and how it can be used to influence people. While only a small slice of the population codes computers, the rest of the population uses computers. When Massachusetts’ department of education opens their presentation on their new digital literacies and computer science standards, they begin with a Zits cartoon where the teenager asks what someone does for a living, the dad responds that he thinks he does something with computers, and the son re216

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plies, “As opposed to what?” In today’s workforce, every job uses technology. However, there is a big divide between those who produce the software and those who consume it. In his book Program or Be Programmed, Rushkoff (2010) points out: Digital technology is programmed. This makes it biased toward those with the capacity to write the code. In a digital age, we must learn how to make the software, or risk becoming the software. It is not too difficult or too late to learn the code behind the things we use—or at least understand that there is code behind their interfaces. Otherwise we are at the mercy of those who do the programming, the people paying them, or even the technology itself. (p. 134) Black technology users found that out first-hand when face-recognition technology had difficulty identifying their own faces among photographs, not for lack of technological capability, but rather because the software had been coded to recognize features of white faces (Simonite, 2019). Considering that technology pervades our personal and professional lives, combining this with the statistics cited above about the demographic composition of the computer industry, we have a world where a small homogenous few are controlling the rest of us unless we take back this power.

PROGRAMMING A MINDSET Teaching coding concepts is not just a way to ward off dangers, it teaches logical ways to approach and solve problems, what educators call “computational thinking.” While there is a growing movement to make computer science a required course, educators are realizing that the mindset that coding promotes also applies to other types of thinking as well: “many educators want to inject coding into all sorts of courses, from science to art to English. They’re not just out to prepare the next generation of technology workers. Their goal is far more expansive. They want to turn coding into a new kind of literacy—a fundamental applied skill, a mode of inquiry and expression—that everybody should know” (Berdick, 2015). Certainly historical thinking, mathematical thinking, scientific thinking, critical thinking, and creative thinking all employ coding concepts of analysis, synthesis, systems thinking, iterative testing, modeling, predicting, hypothesis-testing, and so forth. Often teaching these concepts can be as simple as explicitly pointing out these connections to make that transfer happen. Teaching teachers how to teach coding across the curriculum offers opportunities to diversify the field of computer science, get students to think more logically about their own fields, and helps arm the citizenry to combat cyber warfare.

TEACHING CODING CONCEPTS THROUGH SUBJECT AREAS Traditionally, coding has been viewed as a science as in “computer science” and loosely associated with the logic behind mathematics as well as the math behind machine language where ones and zeros are multiplied by the number associated with their position and then added together. However, coders actually learn different languages, each with their own set of semantics, syntax, and grammar and therefore can also be viewed as in the realms of World Languages and English Language Arts (ELA). In addition, coding has a history of its own. Therefore, coding can cut across all the “core” content areas. However, this chapter proposes an even more expansive view of coding that applies even to those areas outside of 217

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traditional core subjects such as gourmet cooking, psychology, and physical education. Expanding the definition of coding from writing a set of decision-making directions for a computer to follow to simply writing a set of decision-making directions, changes the focus to the computational skills behind coding and allows teachers to apply coding to a wider variety of content areas, including areas traditionally considered electives. To demonstrate, this chapter will explore various ways to do so. However, this chapter is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather inspirational. The hope is that by enumerating ways in which to use subject areas to teach various concepts in coding, and coding to teach various subject areas, teacher educators will take the ball and run with it by making their own connections, applications, and instructional activities that build these bridges.

Sequencing Sequencing, as the name implies, is putting items in order and is a key component in computer science. Sequencing, however, is also essential in all subject areas. For example, in English Language Arts, students learn the order of typical storylines through the plot arc (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement). In Social Studies, students study and create timelines to order events. Students follow the steps of experimental design in the sciences. Genome sequencing in science speaks to the importance of order. This order, however, is not always linear. In math, students learn the order of operations in PEMDAS—solve the math in parentheses first, then do the multiplication operations, then division, addition, and lastly subtraction in order to solve the equation. In languages, the different grammars demand different orders. In English, adjectives come before nouns; in Spanish and French, adjectives come after nouns. Of course there are also differences in how languages are read—left to right or right to left or even top to bottom. The fact that there are different orders in languages and that order does make a difference is important in understanding how computer languages work. Sequencing is ripe for using enactive (Bruner, 1966), or kinesthetic learning, by having students sequence themselves. For example, in Social Studies, each student can be given a piece of paper with a screenshot from a website about a common topic and students can put themselves in order from most objective to most subjective. Not only is literature full of sequences (e.g. The Old Lady Swallowed a Fly series), in English Language Arts, students can play “mix-up-itis”, a name taken from the children’s television show Doc McStuffins, by putting the different parts of a citation in random order on a SmartBoard and having students put them in the correct order (the modern day version of what I would use when I was a high school English teacher which was sentence strips with magnets on the chalkboard). In science, students can each be different plants and animals on a food chain or a different element and order themselves by the periodic chart (if a classroom has tile floors, you already have the grid laid out for you). In these ways and others, students can enact sequencing themselves, explore the importance of order, and see how ordering differs and makes a difference in various “languages” including the languages of math and science. In order to sequence items, decomposition, or analysis, i.e. breaking something into its parts, is necessary. For example, studying the hero archetype in ELA involves breaking stories into their component parts, as well as abstraction—seeing how this sequence of parts applies across stories. Computer scientists do this all the time—breaking code down into its component parts and putting them back together in different orders to create something new, i.e. synthesis. Labeling these parts is essential as well. It is in the labeling that makes them useful tools. Such representation allows for machine language to become computer code as words are really symbols that tell the computer how to manipulate those ones and zeros. 218

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Algorithms An algorithm is a sequence of steps that produce a result. For example, math expressions result in a product. In science, combining different molecules create a compound and the experimental method provides a roadmap to testing hypotheses. The writing process in ELA and the design process in engineering are algorithms, or a series of steps, to follow to create something new. Different genres in literature have different formulas they follow. Having students to explore cause and effect can show students the algorithms of history. Re-writing history as mathematical expressions (cause 1 plus (cause 2 multiplied by the media) = historical event) can not only undercover patterns in history, but also underscore the human element that logic cannot always capture. Assigning a name to an algorithm allows computer programmers to create functions so instead of having to write out the steps to an algorithm over and over again, coders can simply write the name of the function and the computer will execute the series of steps, or algorithm, associated with that name. In this way, computer code can be made much more efficient. The same thing is done by teachers in various subject areas. When students are told to follow the writing process, do historical analysis, or follow the experimental method, teachers are asking students to execute a function that students apply to the different content areas. Oftentimes teachers use functions, commonly in the form of an acronym, to help students remember the steps, such as DICE in math (dissect, illustrate, compute, and explain) or SOAPSTone (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, and Tone) in ELA. As these examples illustrate, the same function can be applied to different topics. Functions are really just schemas that are executed by computers instead of by people.

Looping In order to make computer code more efficient, computer scientists use loops—otherwise, they would have to rewrite the same thing over and over again. The most simple loop is the repeat instruction. In other words, telling the computer to do the same thing a certain number of times. However, this can quickly become more complicated by having nested loops. When my children were in kindergarten, they had a 100-day project where they had to create something that had 100 items for the 100th day of the school year. In that spirit, I showed them how to create a program that repeated something 100 times. However, the block programming language I chose only allowed the user to use 2-digit numbers for the repeat loop. Instead of using 99 times and then adding one time (duh!), I created a ten times repeat loop within a ten times repeat loop. I’m not quite sure my kids got it as kindergartners, but it felt good to find a workaround. Looping exists in all subject areas. Science is full of loops—the water cycle, the life cycle, and so forth. In fact, these are good to show the difference between endless loops (the water cycle—hopefully!) and loops that have a clear beginning and end (the life cycle—although both ends are subject to debate!). Mathematicians study cyclical functions in trigonometry and analytical geometry. A common topic in Social Studies is studying how history repeats itself and discussing what can be done to disrupt negative patterns. The Give a Mouse a Cookie series has a looping plot structure. The play Hamlet can be depicted as an endless loop. Any type of repetition in any subject area lends itself to being represented with loops in computer code.

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Beyond the simple repeat loop, computer coders also create loops that repeat while a condition is true or false or until an event happens, i.e. a condition becomes true or false. For, While, and Until loops run while or until an event happens. This means that within the loop, some change must occur. To do this numerically, a loop counter is used to determine how many times a repetition has happened. To do so, computer scientists set a variable such as X to an initial state, e.g. one, and then add one to X every time to count the number of loops (X=X+1). Time periods and events that take place over time in history can be used to teach For, While, and Until loops. The same can be said of cultural events studied in World Languages and plot events in literature.

Attributes and Behaviors In HTML, or Hyper-Text Mark-up Language, tags are used to tell a browser what and how to display content on a webpage. For example, This chapter is the best tells the web browser to display the words, “This chapter is the best” in the middle of the row. Within those tags, attributes can be defined: This text is black as well as behaviors: This links to CNN’s website and does so by opening a new window. The ending tag indicated by the back slash tells the web browser when to stop displaying that content with those attributes and behaviors. End users don’t see the HTML tags, just the content that is displayed. Even web designers do not have to see the HTML that is doing the work behind the scenes as many HTML editors are WYSIWIG—What You See Is What You Get. Word processing programs work this same way. As users type, they see what others will see and can control that using the items on the menu but they do not see the coding that goes on behind the page. When you save a document, you are not just saving the words that you have typed, the file also contains all the instructions for how to display those words so it will look the same way when someone else opens that document file. Stage directions in plays do the same thing for actors, props, and sets. These can be simple like the opening stage directions for Romeo and Juliet: “Verona. A public place. Enter Sampson and Gregory, armed with swords and bucklers” or much more detailed such as the opening stage directions in Ibsen’s A Doll House: [SCENE.--A room furnished comfortably and tastefully, but not extravagantly. At the back, a door to the right leads to the entrance-hall, another to the left leads to Helmer’s study. Between the doors stands a piano. In the middle of the left-hand wall is a door, and beyond it a window. Near the window are a round table, arm-chairs and a small sofa. … Theater teacher Meredith Towne notes the connections between coding and stage directions: “The language in Scratch is very similar to theatre language,” she said. “They call it blocking. There are a lot of parallels.” She devised an assignment in which students use Scratch to direct staging—that is, program their fellow-actors. “So they have to perform with the blocking, and it has to match.” (Morais, 2015)

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Using stage directions as an analogy can also help students understand how tags work in HTML. In fact, HTML comes from the world of ELA, specifically, the publishing world. When editors write out instructions for how pages in a book or magazine are supposed to look, things like margin size, font size, spacing, and other stylistic elements, they mark up a text. Instead of each publishing company having their own shorthand set of instructions, editors and typesetters use a common mark-up language to show what they want. Some of this has even tumbled out into the general public as carets are commonly used to indicate that a word needs to be inserted into a sentence or a letter into a word. Any kind of notation used to indicate how something should look can be used to teach about HTML tags. Computer languages that do more than tell a computer how something should look also use attributes and behaviors. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) are types of computing languages where computer coders define objects, or rather classes of objects, and use different objects to build larger objects. A common analogy for this is Legos, those small plastic boxes with raised circles used to torture parents when they step on them barefoot in the middle of the night. In fact, there are several kid-friendly programming languages that are called block languages because the user drags and drops blocks of code to build a program. You can take the same set of Legos and build an airplane, a car, a building, or any number of things. With Legos, you create an object built from smaller objects. A Lego block is the smallest unit in a Lego construction. Each Lego block has its own attributes, namely size, which can be subdivided into length, width, and height, and also has color as an attribute, which can vary. They are the variables that define the properties of an object. Anyone who has played with Legos knows that Legos do not actually come just in blocks. There are several classes of Legos. Just within the Legos used to construct people, there are torso Legos, head Legos, pants Legos, hair Legos, along with the props and costumes such as capes that accessorize the people Legos. While most Legos are static, there are several that are dynamic. In other words, they have behaviors. Technically they do not have their own behaviors, people have to make them behave, just like computer programmers have to tell their computer objects what to do. In the world of Legos, legs can bend, arms can move, cannons can shoot little dot Legos, and so forth. A Lego that behaves will have an initial state (e.g. legs are straight) and an ending state (e.g. legs are bent) depending on what behavior it executes just as objects in object-oriented programming have initial and ending states. Just like Legos and Object-Oriented Computer Languages, subject areas have their own classification systems where different classes of objects are defined by their attributes and behaviors. In Social Studies, there are different types of governments each with their own attributes and behaviors. In English language arts, there are different genres with their own properties and ways the characters and plot “behave.” The building blocks of the sciences involve observation and classification—of elements in chemistry, of plants and animals in biology, of real-world objects in physics, of natural elements in earth science. In World Languages there are classes of languages each with their own attributes and defined ways they behave. All these classification systems can be used to teach the basics of object-oriented programming. In Object Oriented Programming Languages, child objects “inherit” the properties (attributes and behaviors) of their parent objects, just like offspring inherit characteristics from their parents. In OOP, inheritance can be single inheritance, or asexual, in other words, with just one parent and thus creating a clone; or multiple inheritance, inheriting features from more than one parent object, known in biology as sexual reproduction. We see this in other subject areas as well, such as ELA where genres of literature have sub-genres that specify undefined attributes of a genre. For example, there are many types of poetry, but each type of poem “inherits” the attributes of the poetry parent class. There are several types of “child” verbs within the parent class of verbs. There are general characteristics of Latin American 221

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cultures but many subcultures within the larger parent culture. Just like classes in OOP languages define the attributes and potential behaviors of objects within that class, items are classified in subject areas by their attributes and behaviors.

TEACHING SUBJECT AREAS THROUGH CODING Just as content areas can be used to teach coding concepts, coding concepts can be used to teach content areas. In fact, the website “” uses coding to teach math. Because so many coding languages are rooted in English, Stevens and Verschoor argue that teaching coding leads to incidental language learning for English Language Learners (2017). Just as learning another language teaches students about the construction of their own native language, learning how to code can also help students understand the syntax of their own language. Using coding can help students understand how texts in various subject areas are “programmed”, how to modify (mod) those texts by changing the “programming code”, and how to create texts in various subject areas through using coding tools. Texts encompasses more than just words as maps, political cartoons, graphs, and anything that carries meaning counts as a text. In fact, in one of my classes, a student challenged this expansive definition of texts by arguing that snot cannot be a text. I retorted that at a recent visit to see my sinus doctor, he asked me what color my nasal mucus was in order to “read”, or make meaning, from my snot, thus my snot was operating as a text. “Coding” texts allows students to use the building blocks of various subject areas to dissect, modify, and create their own content area texts.

Conditionals: Writing Content Area Texts as Code Conditionals are statements that can either be true or false. In addition to being used to determine when a loop stops running, they can also be used to create decision trees, or flowcharts. While pictorial flowcharts follow certain conventions (ovals at the beginning and end, steps in rectangles, decisions are in diamonds, directional arrows to indicate what is next depending on the decision made), you can also use IF/THEN/ELSE statements to depict a decision-making process. Using Boolean logic by using AND, OR, or NOT can add to the complexity of IF/THEN/ELSE statements. In addition, IF/THEN/ELSE statements can be nested. For example, IF animal gives live birth AND nurses young, THEN print mammal, ELSE (IF animal lays eggs AND has feathers, THEN print bird, ELSE (IF animal has six legs, THEN print insect, ELSE print arachnid)). IF/THEN/ELSE statements can be used to boil historical thinking, persuasive argumentation, and scientific hypothesis testing down to their essence. Conditionals such as flowcharts and IF/THEN/ELSE statements can be useful in studying historical events, the scientific method, and any process requiring decision-making. For example, students in a Spanish class could create flowcharts to determine how to respond in the target language to different situations or how to make decisions about where to travel and what to do in different cultures. In health class, flowcharts can be used to depict medical decisions. In ELA, students could chart decisions made by characters and how those decisions impact other characters and the direction of the plot. Conditionals allow us to write down the code behind the WYSIWYG text.

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Modifying Texts: Variables Viewing variables as placeholders for data, we can apply variables to any subject. For example, the parts of speech are variables. As such, diagramming sentences can be seen as dissecting a verbal expression. At a more macro level, subject plus predicate equals a sentence. Inverting the typical order, or sequence, of a sentence, in other words object plus noun plus verb instead of noun plus verb plus object, is a common algorithm in Yodish, the language that Yoda speaks, and also in Shakespearean plays. Teaching students to recognize the patterns first in Yodish and then in Shakespeare can help students decode Shakespearean plays. The parts of a story are variables. In fact, a common assignment in ELA classes is to rewrite a story by changing one of its variables, e.g. setting (time and/or place), ending, characters, plot order, etc. West Side Story is a classic example of story, in this case Romeo and Juliet, with the variable setting changed from the 1300s in Verona, Italy to 1950s Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York. You can also argue that humans are variables as well, and often unpredictable ones. Variables vary and humans can vary in their responses, particularly when making close decisions. Using “What if . . .” scenarios is a key to counterfactual analysis in history. For example, what if the South had been allowed to secede without a Civil War to contest its secession? What if the Supreme Court had ruled that Al Gore should be president? Because flowcharts are decision trees and decisions are variables that can be YES or NO, or TRUE or FALSE, or any other number of outcomes, systems diagrams which chart what might happen when variables change can be useful to explore counterfactual analysis or any number of possibilities in any field.

Creating Texts: Coding Teaching a content area involves not only teaching students how to read the texts of that content area, whether those texts be novels or mathematical expressions or graphs or political cartoons or chemical equations, but also how to produce texts in that content area. Coding can be one way to do this. For example, students in psychology can code programs like ELIZA, which fooled some people into thinking they were interacting with a human by using algorithms to respond to people as a therapist might. English teachers can use quasi-coding platforms like Twine to have students create branched narratives. Twine describes itself as: “You don’t need to write any code to create a simple story with Twine, but you can extend your stories with variables, conditional logic, images, CSS, and JavaScript when you’re ready.” Graphing calculators have long been used to allow students to “program” math but other programs, including spreadsheets, offer even more complex mathematical coding. In any subject area, students can code video games about that subject (Kellinger, 2017). For example, in Social Studies, major historical events such as wars can be coded as video games. In Science, biological, physical, or chemical simulations can be coded. Students can code video games using math such as probability. Students can code video games about literature where the player has to make decisions as if they are the protagonist, or even the antagonist or sidekick. Indeed, the process of creating a video game itself mirrors the writing process as students have to brainstorm, outline the game, tailor it to their intended audience, debug or proofread the code, test it, and rewrite it. Students do not have to have great technical skills to do so. Remember, our basic definition of coding as programming a decision tree. These student-designed video games can be no tech—for example, different stacks of index cards where the first index card has a decision and tells the player which stack to pull from next depending on the decision made, much like a Choose Your Own Adventure book which 223

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directs readers to different pages depending on choices the reader makes. Students can also repurpose software programs with which they are familiar to code subject area video games such as using a spreadsheet program to code science or math simulations and powerpoint to create branched narratives by using its internal linking capabilities which allow the designer to put in links that link to any slide in the presentation, not just the next slide. Students can learn to code using block programming languages such as Scratch, Tynker, or Blockly which have different blocks of code in different shapes so that only the correct type of code can be inserted, much like Legos or chemical receptors, thus acting as their own compilers by limiting what can be done by the coder to only what is grammatically possible. Many of these block programming websites have pages devoted to student-created projects in different subject areas.

Programming Socio-Emotional Skills While this chapter has focused on core subject areas such as English Language Arts, the sciences, social studies, and math; some electives such as physical education, music, and the arts; as well as incorporating coding into the elementary school curriculum, there is one growing area of curricular need that cuts across all aspects of life: socio-emotional learning (SEL). Because coding is about decision-making, it promotes executive functioning skills such as breaking problems into smaller sub-problems, planning ahead, making predictions, prioritizing tasks, problem-solving, and perseverance, and thus uses socioemotional skills. Debugging programs teaches students how to identify and troubleshoot problems, how to learn from mistakes, and how to find workarounds. In the realm of computer programming, programmers do not work alone but rather work on pieces of code that are then compiled into one larger program. This means that coders must communicate in order to ensure consistency across code and that all pieces work together. The image of a lone coder is a myth. Teamwork is an essential coding skill.

HOW TO GET TEACHERS AND TEACHER EDUCATORS ON BOARD In addition to the fact that most teachers do not have a background in computer science, there is the “intimidation” factor of doing this work. However, teachers are experts in their content areas and, as stated earlier, coders of learning. Teaching code literacy through content areas provides a comfort bridge for teachers and brings teachers into the world of 21st century learning and working where not everyone is expected to know everything. Instead, a synergistic “collective wisdom” is created, or rather “cocreated”, from putting many heads together (Jenkins, 2009). Karen Brennan calls on teachers to be open to learning from students and allowing students to learn and solve their problems on their own instead of feeling the need to constantly be the expert and the problem-solver: Karen Brennan’s ScratchED is a community of learners and teachers who help each other overcome such hurdles. She has studied the strategies of a subset of students who work on their own more than they rely on support from the community to debug their programs. She uses that knowledge to help teachers with “getting unstuck,” the term Brennan (2014) uses in her talk on the HarvardEducation YouTube channel, where she assures teachers that “students don’t need you in the way you think they need you. They don’t need you to solve every problem.” Instead teachers should “embrace the vulnerability of not knowing” and let students understand the value of learning in collaboration with the teacher.” (Stevens and Verschoor, 2017).

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Inverting learner and teacher can create a collective intelligence that benefits us all and can be particularly useful when learning new technologies.

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS When I was a high school English teacher, on career day students got a list of careers and their salary ranges. I had one student who thought she was going to make a lot of money as a “computer programmer” because she knew how to use a spreadsheet as an end-user. Teachers have a responsibility to dispel these kinds of misperceptions. Teaching students the basics of coding not only promotes a coding mindset, but also shows them that there are people behind the curtain, reveals how their biases impact technologies, and can lead to deeper understandings of the moral and ethical nature of coding. Even The Wall Street Journal has promoted this misperception as they published an article titled, “Apollo 11 Had a Hidden Hero: Software” which belies the fact that it is not the technology, but the people behind the technology, that make it work. Understanding the nature of coding and how coding works is essential to protect people from being manipulated whether that be by advertisers or by a hostile foreign government. Being able to predict the logical consequences of actions, just as coders do, by exploring the “what ifs” of life can save lives. People have died in a car crashes because a group of teenagers thought it would be funny if they removed stop signs at an intersection without thinking about what would happen when two cars arrive at that intersection at the same time. While this is not small scale to those people and their families, scaling up to the potential consequences of not thinking about the human costs of decisions can do serious damage. Promoting a coding mindset is a literacy that cuts across all content areas, is essential in a world of increasing technological invention, and is needed in an age when we are facing many difficult challenges that require diverse and creative solutions.

REFERENCES Berdick, C. (2015). Reading, writing, ’arithmetic, ’programming: Should every school class be a computer coding class? Slate. Retrieved from https://slate.com/technology/2015/04/building-coding-intoart-english-and-history-classes.html Bruner, J. S. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Cambridge, MA: Belkapp Press. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.). Occupational Outlook Handbook, Software Developers. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/softwaredevelopers.htm Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and underused: Computers in the classroom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Dewey, C. (2014). The only guide to gamergate you will ever need. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/10/14/the-only-guide-to-gamergateyou-will-ever-need-to-read/

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Jenkins, H. (2009). Confronting the challenges of a participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. doi:10.7551/mitpress/8435.001.0001 Kellinger, J. (2017). A guide to designing curricular games: How to “game” the system. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-42393-7 Lee, C. (2001). Is October Brown Chinese? A cultural modeling activity system for underachieving students. American Educational Research Journal, 38(1), 97–141. doi:10.3102/00028312038001097 Morais, B. (2015). Can an English teacher learn to code? The New Yorker. Retrieved from https://www. newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/can-an-english-teacher-learn-to-code Myers, B. (2018). Women and minorities in tech, by the numbers. WIRED. Retrieved from https://www. wired.com/story/computer-science-graduates-diversity/ Pariser, E. (2011). The Filter bubble: How the new personalized web is changing what we read and how we think. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Rushkoff, D. (2010). Program or be programmed. Ten commands for a digital age. Berkeley, CA: Soft Skull Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt207g7rj Rushkoff, D. (2012). Code literacy: A 21st century requirement. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www. edutopia.org/blog/code-literacy-21st-century-requirement-douglas-rushkoff Simonite, T. (2019). The best algorithms struggle to recognize black faces equally. WIRED. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/story/best-algorithms-struggle-recognize-black-faces-equally/ Stevens, V., & Verschoor, J. (2017). Coding and English language teaching. The Electronic Journal for Teaching English as a Second Language, 21(2), 1–15.

ADDITIONAL READING Bergin, J., Stehlik, M., Roberts, J., & Pattis, R. (1997). Karel++: A gentle introduction to the art of object-oriented programming. Hoboken, NH: John Wiley & Sons. Bonfiglio, C. (2018). Coding for kindergarten: 5 basic coding concepts 5-year olds can understand. Teach Your Kids Code. from https://teachyourkidscode.com/coding-for-kindergarten-5-basic-codingconcepts-5-year-olds-can-understand/ Card, O. S. (1985). Ender’s game. New York, NY: Tor Books. Choudhary, P. K. (2016). Types of relationships in object-oriented programming. C#corner. Retrieved from https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/article/types-of-relationships-in- object-oriented-programming-oops/ Denning, P. J., & Tedre, M. (2019). Computational Thinking. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. doi:10.7551/ mitpress/11740.001.0001 Grover, S., & Pea, R. (2013). Computational Thinking in K–12: A Review of the state of the field. Educational Researcher, 42(1), 38–43. doi:10.3102/0013189X12463051

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Meadows, D. (2008). Thinking in systems: A Primer. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing. Murray, J. (1998). Hamlet on the holodeck: The future of narrative in cyberspace. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Newton, D. (2019). The way we teach kids to code may be wrong. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes. com/sites/dereknewton/2019/09/11/the-way-we-teach-kids-to-code- may-be-wrong/#358469bf5c75 Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. New York, NY: Basic Books. Petkov, A. (2018). How to explain object-oriented programming to a six-year old. Free Code Camp. Retrieved from https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/object-oriented-programming-concepts-21bb035f7260/ Roland, J. (2013). Integrating programming with core curriculum. THE Journal. Retrieved from https:// thejournal.com/articles/2013/10/03/integrating-programming-with-core-curriculum.aspx?=THEEL Sweeney, L. B. (2001). When a butterfly sneezes: A guide for helping kids explore interconnections in our world through favorite stories. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, Inc. Turkle, S. (1984). The second self: Computers and the human spirit. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. Wing, J. (2006). Computational Thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35. doi:10.1145/1118178.1118215

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Algorithm: A sequence of steps that produce a result. Boolean Logic: Boolean logic uses operators such as AND, OR, and NOT to define certain conditions to determine if something is true or false. Computational Thinking: A way of approaching problems and situations using logical skills often employed in computer programming. Conditional Statements: Conditional statements determine what subsequent actions should take place depending on whether or not a condition is true or false often by using an IF/THEN/ELSE structure. Functions: Functions are segments of code that are given a label so that label can be used to execute that segment of code without having to rewrite the code. Functions often use variables so that function can be applied to more than one situation. Inheritance: An object in object-oriented programming can be classified as a type of a class and thus “inherit” the features of that class. Looping: In coding, any pattern that repeats itself. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP): Any computer program that defines objects and their relationships to other objects. Variables: Variables are placeholders for data.

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Strategies for Improving and Modeling Digital Technology and Literacy Integration Wykeshia W. Glass North Carolina Central University, USA Desiree G. Hickman Jackson State University, USA

ABSTRACT This chapter focuses on the suggestions and strategies of technology being utilized in classroom settings. An emphasis is placed on digital technology and literacy integration. The authors explore the effectiveness of digital technology and literacy integration and identify external and internal factors limiting technology integration commonly found within a typical PreK-12th grade classroom setting. In addition to the authors discussing factors that limit school’s integration, the authors provide solutions and recommendations suggesting resources throughout the chapter to improve and model digital technology and literacy integration in the classroom.

INTRODUCTION Many teachers recognize that literacy education is crucial to student success. School education in today’s society is expected to equip students with both domain knowledge and the twenty-first century skills in order to meet the requirements of a vigorously changing society (Chan, 2010; Gut, 2011). The emergence and rapid development of digital technologies have prompted significant changes in how human beings operate, communicate, and interact with one another on a daily basis (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). This fast-paced evolution and advancement of digital technologies has permeated schools and classrooms around the United States in recent years and how children are growing up in a world that is progressively commanded by computerized environments (McKenna, Conradi, Young, & Jang, 2013). These changes have prompted educators and policymakers to re-examine teaching and learning in the DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch013

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21st Century (Collins & Halverson, 2009) as children must become proficient in accessing, analyzing, evaluating, and producing information in both digitized and non-digitized settings (McKenna et al., 2013). As a result, teachers are being pushed to better prepare students to be college and career ready with a new set of digital literacy skills, but one of the problems of technology integration in the classroom is that teachers often do not have sufficient experience in learning and integrating technology into their classrooms. Hew and Brush (2007) indicated that lack of instruction in programs to prepare and encourage teacher candidates to learn and use technology in their classrooms is an important factor that reduces technology integration skills of future teachers. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) (2010) reported that several teaching institutions were not fully meeting their responsibility for preparing tomorrow’s teachers to use technology. In addition, only a few teacher preparation programs provided sufficient knowledge and opportunities for their candidates to learn and practice integrating technology into their teaching. Most teacher candidates have little technical and pedagogical knowledge; therefore, have little insight in how to integrate technology into their teaching (Recesso, Wiles, Venn, Campbell, & Padilla, 2002; Willis, 2007). With our increasing reliance on technology in all aspects of life, it is important for students to develop digital literacy competencies to be successful in school, productive employees, and empowered citizens in a global world (Kay, 2010, Hobbs, 2010). Teachers can help by learning how to effectively integrate technology into their practice. Several ways to enhance teaching and learning in the classroom can assist in the delivery of instructions, professional growth and/or administrative tasks, and for student learning and collaboration. Throughout this chapter we seek to provide information on the strategies and suggestions of digital technology and literacy integration in classroom settings.

TECHNOLOGY AND 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION Today’s students are growing up in a world where technology is an inescapable key component of daily life (Ito et al., 2008; Lee & Spires, 2009). According to Newbill and Baum (2013), the way the world works is being revolutionized by technology. By today’s standards, technology envelops the future for which schools are charged with preparing their students (Ritzhaupt et al., 2012). With the advancement of technology into mainstream life, technology integration has rapidly become a driving force in education (Dougherty, 2012; Lowther, Ian, Strahl, & Ross, 2008; Project Tomorrow, 2012). Because education coexists on a socio-cultural level, there is an expectation and necessity for education to adjust to the emergent needs of the progressively digital public (Franciosi, 2012; Jenkin, 2009). Current research reported implementing computer technology at the classroom level remained top priority of educational administrators (Crook, 2012; Ian & Lowther, 2009; Kurt, 2013); meanwhile, additional research reports numerous schools are actively engaged in the integration of technology into the curriculum (Cakir, 2012; Iscioglu, 2011; Lei, 2009). Educational administrators recognize the evolution of technological integration as a logical step toward educational reform (Berrett, Murphy, & Sullivan, 2012) because students are now born into our currently and rapidly advancing digital world. Researchers have reported low levels of technology integration and irregular intervals with integration (Gumbo et al., 2012; McGarr, 2009; Pan & Franklin, 2011; Ritzhaupt et al., 2012). Researchers have advised that schools are purchasing devices and placing technology equipment in classrooms, libraries, and labs (Ian & Lowther, 2009: Iscioglu, 2011; Ritzhaupt et al., 2012); nonetheless, teachers are reporting a shortfall

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in training and lack of competency in using current educational technology (Kusano et al., 2013; Potter & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012; Rana 2012). Al-Musawi (2011) indicated that technology is changing our ways of learning and has become a critical component of the educational experience. In the 21st century, technology has become an important part of learning and teaching in the classroom setting. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, also known as P21, provides a framework of holistic views in terms of learning and teaching that is needed to thrive in today’s global economy. In terms of learning, P21 (2011) indicated four essential skills learners in the 21st century need to achieve to be successful in their lives: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. The P21 (2011) organization is providing resources and guidance for developing learning and teaching in the 21st century and indicated that technology is a critical part of learning and teaching to help learners with essential 21st century skills. In terms of teaching, P21 (2011) pointed out that technology is an important tool for enhancing learning in the 21st century. The organization suggested that curriculum and instruction in 21st century education should encourage teachers to integrate supportive technologies to enhance learning, use inquiry and problem–based approaches to strengthen thinking skills, and also include resources outside the classroom to encourage making connections between knowledge learned and the community and everyday living. Professional development is an important aspect for preparing teachers for teaching in the 21st century. The P21 (2011) organization stated that providing opportunities for teachers to learn and practice integrating 21st century skills, tools, and teaching strategies into their instruction is a useful approach and suggested an instruction curriculum for a teacher preparation program should balance direct instruction with project– oriented teaching methods. Furthermore, the curriculum should encourage teachers and preservice teachers to gain experience with various strategies to reach diverse learners and create a motivated learning environment. In terms of technology, P21 (2011) pointed out teacher preparation programs should help preservice teachers gain sufficient technological knowledge. As Smith and Owens (2010) stated, technology becomes an effective learning tool when teachers have sufficient knowledge and become familiar in using technology. It is important to not only help teachers and preservice teachers to use technological tools effectively, but also focus on supporting them in using technology as a tool for motivating learning (McEwen, 2008). Okojie, Olinzock, and Okojie-Boulder (2006) defined technology in education as a technical device or tool to enhance instruction and technology integration and a process of using existing tools, equipment, and electronic media for that purpose. When learning and teaching is taking place in classrooms several types of technologies should be available and widely used. Means (1994) classified technologies based on their roles in education: tutor, exploration, tool, and communication.

Tutor Technology used as a tutor refers to the technology teachers’ use for providing information, demonstration, or simulations within a specific lesson or piece of material. Computer–assisted instruction is an example and is defined as the use of instructional material for presenting information, filling a tutorial role, or testing learners for comprehension (“Computer–Assisted Instruction,” 2009). In the 21st century, computer–assisted instruction is widely used in elementary and secondary school computer laboratories and in college distance education programs (Kridel, 2010). When thinking about various computerassisted instruction technologies one must consider games, tutorials, and simulations to enhance learning.

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Exploration When we use technology for exploration it is typically referred to as open-ended learning facilitated by teachers. In classroom settings, instructors use technology exploration to help learners discover a fact or demonstrate procedures within a specific content area, such as laboratory tools or a multimedia system.

Tool When referring to technology being used as a tool for academia, it alludes to teachers using technology for accomplishing a task, storing data, or data analysis, such as word processing, desktop publishing systems, video recordings, or editing. Computer managed instruction is an example of this type of technology used for branching, storing, and retrieval capabilities to save instructions and maintain tracking of student progress and records.

Communication Technology can be used as a tool for effective and efficient communication when teachers want to create a sense of community within classrooms. This aids in increasing interaction and collaboration, and encouraging learners and instructors to exchange information with each other. Communication mediated by an electronic device increases engagement and interaction between learners and teachers. There are two types of commonly defined computer mediated within education: asynchronous and synchronous technologies. Asynchronous technologies allow learners and instructors to share their thoughts at different times; therefore, they have the freedom to respond and interact with each other at a time and place they prefer. In contrast, synchronous communication technologies requires learners and instructors to collaborate and share their thoughts at the same time; thus, learners and instructors need to be available at the same time or the same place to interact and discuss with each other (Serce et al., 2010). While technology is an important tool for enhancing learning and teaching in the 21st century, technology integration is important for teachers to recognize, as well. Technology integration can be defined as the combination of goals of curriculum with technology (Dockstader, 1999); it can be described as a process of using existing tools, equipment, and electronic media for that purpose (Okojie et al., 2006). Technology integration can also be referred to the use of various types of technology to support meaningful learning in classroom settings. It is a skill that includes teacher motivation, perceptions, and beliefs about learning and technology (Keengwe et al., 2009). Technology integration is an important aspect for learning and considered part of the instructional preparation process (Okojie et al., 2006).

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND LITERACY INTEGRATION IN CLASSROOMS Over the past few years, technology has become a major tool used in just about every career field and has provided educators with a valuable resource to support teaching and learning (Mac Callum, Jeffrey, & Kinshuk, 2014). Today’s students are extremely tech savvy. It’s more common than not to find a student plugged into some form of technology. Their day-to-day lives include some type of digital device; they were born into the age of mobile phones, iPads, smart TV’s and watches. Finding any type of information for them is only a simple click away. Schools now have a responsibility to integrate technology into 231

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the curriculum and prepare students for 21st Century skills and careers (Cakir, 2012; Luterberbach and Brown, 2011). The days of students sitting in rows and receiving whole group instruction is no longer adequate. Schools must incorporate some form of technology to engage students during instruction. Technology is an essential life skill in the workforce. Students who are technologically savvy often have a better chance of getting a job and excelling in their careers (Savage & Brown, 2014). However, the task of integrating technology into classroom instruction in a meaningful and state-of-the-art way remains challenging (Pittman & Gaines, 2015). “There is a general agreement among leaders in the field of educational technology that, due to a variety of barriers, teachers often fail to capitalize on the educational potential offered by technology resources” (Brinkerhoff, 2006, p. 22). Many districts provide their schools with access to technology initiatives; there are numerous circumstances that affect the proper implementation of technology in classrooms. The factors are both internal and external. Some of the external factors include poor infrastructure, inadequate technology and the lack of effective professional development. The internal factors include may consist of low teacher self-efficacy and teacher perceptions. Technology integration is imperative to schools creating global graduates that have the ability to compete in this society. Integration of instructional technologies must be seen as an ongoing innovative process designed to meet the instructional needs of teachers and the learning needs of students (Robey, 1992, as cited by Earle, 2002). Additionally, it is crucial from an instructional standpoint to remember that the integration of technology is not at all about the technology itself, but it is about the content and instructional practices that can flourish as a result of their merger with appropriate technologies (Earle, 2002).

EXTERNAL FACTORS LIMITING TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION Poor Infrastructure There is a new wave of instruction underway in K-12 learning, as school districts and boards adopt a more relatable style of classroom and pedagogy that is appropriate for the 21st century student. School districts partner with network and security vendors that prepare classrooms for advancement. Although these relationships are built to advance schools, many overlook infrastructure when making the decision to purchase digital tools and their implementation in the learning environment. Collaborative classrooms require not only furniture grouped to facilitate clusters of learners, but also a strong Wi-Fi signal that assures students of anywhere, anytime connectivity for a range of devices (Build the 21st Century Classroom, 2018). Wi-Fi connections and internet access can be affected by infrastructure. Older and rural schools must ensure that their buildings have adequate power to support the technology needed. Only 68% of students say they have Wi-Fi access at school (Pearson, 2015). It is critical for districts to partner with businesses that are knowledgeable in supporting the needs of their schools.

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Inadequate Technology Technology integration in classrooms serves both constructivist and socio-cultural principles. Constructivists believe learners create knowledge based on happenings alongside interactions in their environment. Students build from their schema, which is highly dependent on content relevance and activities related to their own lives. From a socio-cultural perspective, technology provides the platform, and the tools to engage via numerous media with other individuals and groups beyond the immediate reach of the learner (Pittman & Gaines, 2015). There is an obvious need for students to be prepared to use technology. In 2013, 71 percent of the US population age 3 and older used the Internet (Snyder, de Brey, & Dillow, 2016). However, due to limited funds and budgets schools don’t have the resources to provide adequate technology for every student. In the Student Mobile Device Survey National Report: Students Grades 4-12 conducted by Pearson (2015) found that 14% of elementary students attend a school with a 1:1 initiative. However, most students’ access to technology is through a computer lab (37%) or shared in a classroom (33%). Sixty-two percent of students want to use technology more in the classroom, but the reality is that the resources are just not available. In schools that implement Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), it is assumed students will have the devices to fill in gaps where schools lack the resources. However, only 8% (elementary) and 13% (middle and high) school students bring their own devices to school for personal use. The opportunity to engage broadly and deeply with virtual environments made possible by technology continues to lag in education. The practical applications for learners as they create knowledge for themselves are numerous and growing, as can be evidenced by a simple Internet search on the subject. As districts continually move toward 21st-century classrooms, it is important to bridge the gap between utilization and adequate resources.

Lack of Sufficient Effective Professional Development Although some schools are privy to adequate technology access, effective and professional development remains as one of the most highly ranked reasons that make it difficult to increase the level of technology integration in classrooms. However, schools are providing technology-related professional development. Recent federal legislation and funding initiatives have focused on the provision of professional development for in-service teachers as a vehicle for changing teacher practice and improving student achievement. Professional development is critical to ensuring that teachers keep up with changes in statewide student performance standards, become familiar with new methods of teaching in the content areas, learn how to make the most effective instructional use of new technologies for teaching and learning, and adapt their teaching to shifting school environments and an increasingly diverse student population (Lawless & Pelligrino, 2007, p. 575). Butler and Sellbom (2002) conducted a study, which sought to identify the major factors affecting the adoption of instructional technology. They found that “not all faculty are innovators when it comes to technology” (p. 25) and that technology staff would need to provide training to “help faculty determine if learning and using technology are really worth it” (p. 27). Other research has shown that “wise use of technology takes adequate training, time, planning, support, and teacher ownership” (Viadero, 1997, p. 16, as cited by Earle, 2002, p. 7) and that the “extent to which teachers are given time and access to pertinent training to use computers to support learning plays a major role in determining whether or not technology has a positive impact on student achievement” (Valdez et al., 2000, p. 6).

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INTERNAL FACTORS THAT LIMIT TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION Low Self-Efficacy The theory of self-efficacy is “that people process, weigh, and integrate diverse sources of information concerning their capability, and they regulate their choice behavior and effort expenditure according to that information” (Bandura, 1977). It is an essential concept of Bandura’s social cognitive theory (1977) that affects how you choose to interact with society and your surroundings. Wang, Ertmer, and Newby (2004) also concluded, “self-efficacy beliefs do not automatically translate into the actual use of technology among teachers, they are a necessary condition for technology integration” (p. 242). Studies have identified technology self-efficacy as a barrier to technology integration, but the relationship of a teacher’s self-efficacy beliefs and classroom technology integration requires further investigation (Ertmer, 2005). Additionally, “it is necessary to move beyond examining usage patterns and general attitudes toward technology in education and toward a better understanding of how self-efficacy beliefs emerge and what factors will influence these beliefs (Abbitt & Klett, 2007, p. 36). With improving student’s success, it is imperative that digital classrooms, in which, involve many technological devices be embedded into school systems.

Teacher Perceptions Teachers are typically viewed as hesitant users of technology despite the increasing access to advancing technology. Seasoned teachers are accustomed to the old standard which can create frustration when trying to shift to a new paradigm leading them to stray away from the use of 21st-century technological devices. This is consistent with other research that found teacher’s readiness, or lack thereof, had the highest total effect on whether teachers integrated technology in their classrooms (Inan & Lowther, 2009). Teachers who are digitally literate, able to understand and use information from a variety of digital sources, will be the ones who integrate technology into their classroom settings. They perceive the effort needed to learn the new technology and practicality or value of it as a significant consideration in whether they use it or not (Mac Callum, Jeffrey, & Kinshuk, 2014). Teachers also perceive technology integration negatively due to the amount of time it takes to integrate into the curriculum through additional training and planning. Technology integration requires preparation, classroom management practices, and demands attention that is not normally spent in those areas. It is easier to just remain with the “status quo.” The integration of technology in the classroom is a multifarious process. One of the greatest challenges for teachers is the link between educational technology innovations, promising practices for teaching and learning and integrating technology with increases in student achievement (Middleton & Murray, 1999). Successful student-use of technology in education hinges on knowing how to manage technology efficiently and overcoming barriers that come with integrating technology. As schools are moving toward college and career readiness, it is imperative that districts address these barriers, and include them in the process when developing technology plans for new investments and expansions. As society continues to grow in its use of technology for social reasons it is expected that education will continue to grow in the usage of such tools as well. Addressing these barriers is a step in a positive direction in closing this gap.

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SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS In order to meet students where they are, it becomes increasingly important for educators to tap into students‘ digital world and engage them through one of the numerous technologies available to them (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). In some areas of the world, school districts may not have access to such resources, but more and more school districts are seeing the value in finding ways to incorporate these technologies into their budgets because of the potential positive effects such resources have on student engagement (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). However, with respect to school districts that have these resources, there are still computer labs going unused throughout the school year, LCD projectors and wireless laptop carts that never leave their media storage closets, and other available digital software that go unnoticed (Littrell, Zagumny, & Zagumny, 2005). Using technology for instructional purposes may have widespread, positive effects on students as various technologies offer relevant and engaging opportunities for meaningful learning experiences (Shell et al., 2005). Below we will discuss foundational literacy and intervention programs that have proven to provide students with meaningful learning opportunities in classroom settings.

PREK-ELEMENTARY FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY AND INTERVENTION PROGRAM ABC Mouse is a digital Comprehensive Early Learning Program in which specific learning activities can be assigned to students based on appropriate learning goals (“ABC Mouse,” n.d.). • • •

ABC Mouse provides schools with online webinars and digital support for effective and efficient classroom implementation (“ABC Mouse,” n.d.); Students are progress monitored and assessed as they complete instructional modules (“ABC Mouse,” n.d.); The Step-by-Step Learning Path presents the full curriculum in a strategically designed program of more than 450 lessons in six levels. As a student completes each lesson, he or she is guided to the next one and is motivated to continue learning (“ABC Mouse,” n.d.).

Renaissance Learning is a technology based educational programs for PK-12th-grade students in which is designed to assess, monitor, supplement, and enhance traditional classroom activities and lessons (Meador, 2016). Renaissance’s high-quality professional development is designed to help you: •

• • •

Implement program with quality and fidelity ◦◦ Selecting the right solutions for your school or district is only the first step. Implementing those solutions with quality and fidelity is the essential next step. In fact, a review of 500 studies found a significantly greater effect on student learning with high-fidelity implementations than with poor implementations (Durlak & DuPre, 2008). Support teachers and staff at all levels, from novice to experienced (Renaissance, 2015) Achieve your school or district goals; aligned with the Common Core Standards (Renaissance, 2015) Connect your student data to instruction to boost growth and achievement (Renaissance, 2015) 235

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•

Build your teachers’ capacity to help them grow in their profession (Renaissance, 2015) ◦◦ Our professional development is rooted in adult learning strategies, with a job-embedded, sustained, and ongoing approach that employs a cycle of knowing, doing, and achieving to close the gap between learning a new strategy and applying it effectively—all while using data to fuel the cycle (Renaissance, 2015)

MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY AND INTERVENTION PROGRAM Edgenuity is a supplemental program designed to meet students where they are in reading and math and give them exactly what they need to catch up, keep up, or get ahead. Through assessments, individualized learning paths, and detailed reports, Edgenuity provides students with age-appropriate online lessons and gives educators the ability to monitor academic progress easily (“Edgenuity Supporting Personalized Learning,” n.d.) Researchers have pinpointed five hallmarks of effective personalized learning environments: • • • • •

Effective personalized learning environments use initial and ongoing assessments and real time feedback to inform instruction (“Edgenuity Supporting Personalized Learning,” n.d.); Effective personalized learning environments offer customized learning paths based on students’ ability profiles (“Edgenuity Supporting Personalized Learning,” n.d.); Effective personalized learning environments provide explicit instruction to help students solidify concepts and skills (“Edgenuity Supporting Personalized Learning,” n.d.); Effective personalized learning environments make instruction accessible for all (“Edgenuity Supporting Personalized Learning,” n.d.); Effective personalized learning environments engage students in interactive activities that promote critical thinking and learning transfer (“Edgenuity Supporting Personalized Learning,” n.d.)

COLLEGIATE FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY AND INTERVENTION PROGRAM Digital Literacy Course in today’s society has the potential to be a powerful tool for improving access to learning for adult learners in classroom settings. According to two recent studies, there is increasing demand for education technology among adult education program administrators and educators (Partners, 2015). Below we will discuss four factors that contribute to effective implementation of technology and ways to help realize the potential to provide a quality learning experience for adult learners.

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Support Multiple Implementation Models •

When incorporating technology into the learning experience, its imperative to consider whether the new technology product or tool supports the learning needs (Constantakis, 2016)

Use Data •

Today’s technology products have built in mechanisms that collect a wealth of information on a learner’s use. Such data can help educators understand how to target and personalize instruction, and it can help program administrators and instructors understand which products are working effectively and which are not (Constantakis, 2016).

Support a Rich Technology Infrastructure •

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology lays out four components to having a robust and flexible infrastructure that supports rich, personalized learning experiences. In their definition, learners should have persistent connectivity and access to the internet, powerful learning devices, high quality digital learning content, and responsible use policies/practices (Constantakis, 2016)

Support the Evolving Role of the Instructor •

As technology is further adopted in adult education, the role of the instructor will evolve. Educators in innovative K-12 and postsecondary classrooms have transitioned from being providers of information and personalizing based on a growing understanding of their students’ needs. This shift from teacher-centered learning in which the teacher directs the student’s learning through planning and orderly lessons to student-centered learning in which the student participates in their own learning process is key to improving support for adult learners (Constantakis, 2016)

CONCLUSION The integration of digital technology and literacy in classrooms and pre-service learning is no longer a “futuristic” idea. We are now living in the age of technology. It is time for digital technology and literacy integration to move beyond the “novel” idea. The field of education is embarking on this exciting new frontier, and there will be many lessons to learn about effective implementation along the way. Every stakeholder in education must be willing to embrace and explore new technologies and make a commitment to further developing and advancing their technological skills. Educators should be active participants in developing the ways that technology can revolutionize effective teaching and learning in a 21st Century classroom. Technology must become so conventional that it is viewed as a natural part of the classroom environment. Once districts equip classrooms and teachers with the proper tools to integrate technology effectively and efficiently allows for us to produce students who are able to compete globally.

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Understanding WebBased Peer Assessment in Teacher Education Xiongyi Liu Cleveland State University, USA Lan Li Bowling Green State University, USA Patrick Wachira Cleveland State University, USA

ABSTRACT With the development of technology, web-based peer assessment has been increasingly used as an alternative, formative assessment strategy with great potential for student learning benefits. The purpose of this chapter is to synthesize a series of empirical research studies conducted by the authors to examine factors that can influence the effectiveness of web-based peer assessment with teacher education students. The findings of these studies are discussed within the larger context of general research in peer assessment. Implications are provided to better inform researchers and teacher educators about the use of web-based peer assessment and how it relates to teacher education students’ ability to apply assessment criteria and their ability to take advantage of peer feedback.

INTRODUCTION Web-based peer assessment is a topic that has been steadily growing in interest among researchers and practitioners in education. A literature search through ERIC database results in more than 600 journal articles that have been published on the topics of either “web-based” or “online” peer assessment. Most educators use web-based peer assessment as a formative assessment (i.e., assessment for learning) instead of summative assessment strategy, allowing students to actively engage in the learning process by takDOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch014

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 Understanding Web-Based Peer Assessment in Teacher Education

ing the roles of both assessors and assessees (Cheng & Warren, 1999; Davies, 2000; Li, Steckelberg, & Srinivasan, 2008; Prins, Sluijsmans, Kirschner, & Strijbos, 2005). Reviews of research on formative peer assessment (e.g., Topping, 2008; Topping, Smith, Swanson, & Elliot, 2000) indicate that it can benefit student learning in many aspects, such as content knowledge, higher order thinking skills, assessment skills, learner autonomy, and motivation. Compared with peer assessment in face-to-face settings, webbased peer assessment has obvious advantages (Sung, Chang, Chiou, & Hou, 2005), which include but not limited to a) availability and accessibility anytime from anywhere, b) digital and automatic distribution of student work and peer review-no need to print or copy, and c) easiness in managing the assessment and review process (e.g., deadlines, random assignment, anonymity, etc) (Kwok & Ma, 1999; Lin, Liu, & Yuan; vanden Berg, Admiraal, & Pilot, 2006). In spite of the increasing popularity of web-based peer assessment as a research topic, the student populations involved in previous research vary to a great extent, from K-12 students to doctoral candidates, and the target knowledge and skills being taught in the course where web-based peer assessment is implemented also varies substantially, from general writing ability, presentation skills, scientific knowledge, to research competency. Few researchers have consistently and systematically examined the use of webbased peer assessment in teacher education. If we want web-based peer assessment to be implemented appropriately and benefit more students, we must first introduce it as an effective instructional strategy to preservice and in-service teachers. The purpose of this book chapter is to provide a synthesis of six studies that we have conducted to examine different aspects of web-based peer assessment in teacher education in 2009-2017. We also discuss our interventions and findings in the context of the general research in web-based peer assessment and peer assessment in order to offer teacher educators with more and better ideas regarding specific approaches to enhance the effectiveness of web-based peer assessment.

BACKGROUND Much teacher education research has been published regarding web-based peer assessment systems. Some studies presented standalone web-based peer assessment system for pre-service and in-service teachers. Li and Steckelberg (2005) developed Peer Assessment Support System (PASS), a database-driven website with a student interface and an instructor interface, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Using PASS, undergraduate students taking an instructional technology course were able to anonymously rate and comment on two randomly assigned peers’ projects as well as viewing ratings and comments from their peers on their own project, while the instructor was able to monitor the peer assessment process with “a substantial reduction of management workload (p. 84)”. Tsai and his collaborators (Tsai, Liu, Lin, & Yuan, 2001; Tsai, Lin, & Yuan, 2002) developed a similar networked peer assessment system for secondary science education students to submit, review, and revise a science homework design project at the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. Their system is somewhat different from PASS in that it used a Vee heuristic based interface for guiding the design process, allowed submission of multiple, linked files for one project, and involved more than one rounds of peer assessment and revision. Web-based peer assessment in teacher education has increasingly been integrated into more comprehensive e-assessment and e-learning systems. Gogoulou, Gouli, Grigoriadou, Samarakou, and Chinou (2007) developed the Supporting Collaboration and Adaptation in a Learning Environment (SCALE) system for students taking “Informatics in Education” and “Distance Education and Learning” courses at the University of Athens. The assessment component of SCALE allowed students to engage in self246

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and peer-assessment of a variety of artifacts such as concept maps and instructional events, as well as the evaluation of peer feedback. Welsh (2012) presented the evaluation of an e-portfolio system named PebblePad that supported ubiquitous self- and peer-assessment of group and individual tasks among elementary education undergraduate students in Scotland. Hudson, Hudson, and Steel (2006) illustrated the development of an international master’s program in e-learning multimedia and consultancy that uses web-based peer assessment to foster collaborative problem solving and critical thinking among international teams and create an international learning community. In recent years, there have been more innovations in web-based peer assessment practice in teacher education. For example, Evans, Williams and Metcalf (2010) introduced a web-based system for peer assessment of recorded teaching videos by pre-service special education teachers. Wu and Kao (2008) developed a more sophisticated system where peer assessment process was synchronized with viewing of the teaching videos so that “comments could be linked to the relevant position on the video (p. 45).” Chen (2010) developed a mobile self- and peer-assessment system (MAPS), arguing that it allows “more flexible assessment arrangement, more efficient use of time, and more opportunities for student reflection (p. 229)”. Most studies seem to present positive findings regarding student perception of the web-based peer assessment system. In Chen’s (2010) study, the teacher education students largely acknowledged the efficiency and convenience of the MAPS system. Li and Steckelberg (2005) asked teacher education majors to rate various aspects of the web-based peer assessment activity and found that student perception was generally positive. On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), average rating was 4.19 on the statement “I benefited from peers’ comments”, 3.84 on the statement “I benefited from marking peers’ work”, and 4.06 on the statement “Peer assessment is a worthwhile activity.” Similar findings have been reported in other studies (e.g., Ross & Welsh, 2007). Welsh (2012) reported that 67.5% of their participants agreed or strongly agreed that peer feedback on PebblePad was useful. Sluijsmans, Brand-Gruwel, and Van Merrie¨nborer (2002) redesigned a teacher education course by implementing web-based peer assessment and found that students taking the redesigned course were significantly more satisfied with their course than those taking the original course. However, there have also been doubts about the effectiveness of web-based peer assessment. In many cases both the students and the instructor have serious concerns about the accuracy of peer feedback. Students in particular may have difficulty viewing their involvement in web-based peer assessment as worthwhile and some even develop anxiety and resistance towards it (McGarr & Clifford, 2013; Topping, Smith, Swanson, & Elliot, 2000; Vu & Dall’Alba, 2007). Li and Steckelberg (2005) reported that students found it confusing when two peers gave them conflicting comments. Two thirds of the participants in Chen’s (2010) study expressed some doubts regarding getting unbiased, fair judgment from their peers. The finding of low to no correlation between peer and instructor ratings indicates that such concerns were not unfounded. Loureiro, Pombo, and Moreira (2012) examined peer assessment by teams of doctoral students (mostly in-service teachers) in education in a wiki-based online environment and found that few teams provided enough constructive feedback or applied the negotiated evaluation criteria. Wen and Tsai (2008) found that, after three rounds of web-based peer assessment followed by revision, in-service teachers in a math and science education course showed significantly less positive attitudes toward peer assessment.

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While there have been many studies testing and evaluating increasingly advanced web-based peer assessment systems, a gap exists regarding empirical evidence supporting the learning benefits of using such systems. Peer assessment research in teacher education tends to rely on student perception data to a great extent.

WEB-BASED PEER ASSESSMENT IN TEACHER EDUCATION: SIX STUDIES In an attempt to address this research deficit, we conducted a series of six research studies with undergraduate education majors who were enrolled in an educational technology course at a mid-western university. These studies had similar participants but approached the question of effectiveness of web-based peer assessment from different angles: (1) an analysis of quality of peer feedback, (2) a correlational study of the relationships among quality of peer feedback provided, quality of peer feedback received, and final project performance, (3) a re-analysis of data in the second study to examine the relationship among quality of peer feedback provided, critical implementation of peer feedback received, and final project performance, (4) an experimental study with a two-way factorial design to examine whether low, medium or high ability students benefit the same from the peer assessment process, (5) an examination of the validity of peer marks and the impact of instructor-provided assessment training on the validity, and (6) a study of both the effect of assessment training and anonymity in web-based peer assessment. While the findings from each of the six studies have been analyzed and shared, it became apparent that a larger picture connecting their results could better inform researchers and teacher educators about the use of web-based peer assessment and how it relates to teacher education students’ ability to apply assessment criteria and their ability to take advantage of peer feedback. This review adds to our understanding of how web-based peer assessment relates to various aspects of student learning process by synthesizing the studies’ findings. Although research questions were often built upon previous studies, each of the six studies has contributed to our understanding of web-based peer assessment in a unique way. Following is a brief description of each of the studies.

Quality of Peer Feedback in Web-based Peer Assessment (Li, Liu, & Steckelberg, 2009) Thirty-nine undergraduate students ranging from sophomore to senior standing participated in this study. Participants built a WebQuest project and submitted it on a discussion forum on Blackboard. After a training session on the grading rubric, they reviewed a randomly assigned peer project posted by the instructor on the same forum under their own submission. In the review, they not only rated the peer project with the rubric but also identified the issues with the project and provided suggestions for improving it. Upon receiving peer feedback, they revised and resubmitted their own project. The researchers coded peer feedback by the type of issues (correctly identified vs. incorrectly identified vs. missed) and the type of suggestions (good vs. trivial vs. misleading). The results indicate that the students identified about the same number of issues as the instructor, with most of them missing or misidentifying none or only one of the issues. Typically, students provided one suggestion for each identified issue. While only two students provided all good suggestions, most students provided more good suggestions than trivial

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ones and more trivial ones than misleading ones. The findings suggest that most students, after training on the rubric, were able to recognize most critical issues and provide constructive feedback.

Differentiating the Roles of Assessor and Assessee in Webbased Peer Assessment (Li, Liu, & Steckelberg, 2010) Forty-three undergraduate student participants completed a WebQuest project. They then anonymously rated and commented on two randomly assigned peers’ projects. Based on the feedback they received, they revised and resubmitted their own project. Two independent raters graded student initial and final projects with a grading rubric and coded peer feedback. A multiple regression was carried out to investigate which type of feedback (feedback students provided as assessor versus feedback students received as assessee) would best predict the quality of students’ final projects. The results indicated that, when controlling for the quality of students’ initially submitted projects before they participated in peer assessment, the quality of peer feedback students provided was a significant predictor of the quality of their own final projects, while the quality of peer feedback students received was not. The findings provide support for the benefit of playing the role of assessor but not of playing the role of assessee.

Critical Thinking Matters for Effective Assessees in Webbased Peer Assessment (Li, Liu, & Zhou, 2012) Data from the previous study (Li, et al., 2010) was recoded and re-analyzed to better understand the roles students played as assessor versus assessee in peer assessment. Different from the previous study (Li, et al., 2010) that used quality of peer feedback students received to examine the role of assessee, the evaluation of the assessee’s role in this study was based on their ability to critically judge and act upon peer feedback received. The results of a regression analysis suggested that the way students responded to peer feedback received, as indicated by the number of good versus poor or misleading suggestions that students incorporated into revisions, significantly predicted the quality of students’ final projects. The findings of both studies (Li et al., 2010, Li et al., 2012) support the importance of actively engaging students in both assessor’s and assessee’s roles in web-based peer assessment.

Students’ Ability Level in Web-based Peer Assessment (Li & Gao, 2016) This study examined how students’ ability level interacts with web-based peer assessment in their effect on students’ task performance. In this quasi-experimental study, the researchers used a 2 (web-based peer assessment vs. group discussion) × 3 (low, average, or high ability levels) factorial design. The participants included 130 undergraduate students recruited from teacher education majors enrolled in a technology application course at a midwestern university. Both the experimental and the control groups completed a draft lesson plan project and then a revision after either peer assessment or peer discussion. The experimental group engaged in an anonymous rubric-based peer assessment process online using the Self and Peer Assessment Building Block (SPABB) on Blackboard, while the control group engaged in a forum-based asynchronous discussion. Students’ ability level was defined by the quality of their draft projects. The results showed significant effects of web-based peer assessment, ability level, and the interaction between the two factors. Students of low- or average-ability levels benefited more from the web-based peer assessment process than those of the high-ability level did. 249

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Assessment Training in Web-based Peer Assessment (Liu & Li, 2014) Seventy-eight undergraduate students took an assessment training before participating in a web-based peer-assessment activity. The training module provided opportunities for students to review content learned, examine and discuss the project rubric, practice grading example projects, and compared their gradings with the instructor’s. Data analysis suggested two interesting findings. One, the assessment training had positive influence on reducing the discrepancy between student ratings and instructor ratings of example projects. Two, the degree of rating discrepancy between students versus instructor was highly predictive of the value of feedback that students provided to their peers and the quality of revisions that they made to their own projects. More specifically, smaller rating discrepancies were accompanied by higher quality peer feedback students provided as assessor and better revised projects upon peer feedback received. The findings support the integration of an assessment-training component in web-based peer assessment models. Students systematically trained in the assessment criteria and the rubric are better peer assessors who can both contribute more to and gain more from peer assessment experience.

Anonymity in Web-based Peer Assessment (Li, 2017) In this relatively recent study, the researchers investigated the effect of assessment training and anonymity on students’ performance and motivation in a web-based peer assessment project. Sections of a technology application course (N=77) were randomly assigned to three conditions of web-based peer assessment: non-anonymous, anonymous, or non-anonymous with assessment training provided. Findings indicated that both the anonymity and the assessment training groups performed better than the non-anonymity group. Assessment training was also associated with more positive perception of the web-based peer assessment, including higher task value and lower pressure.

Synthesizing Themes Across Study Findings There are many facets of web-based peer assessment, in understanding how students play different roles and engage in different phases in this process, as well as how instructors can support different roles to facilitate student learning gains in each phase. Several themes emerge from the findings of the four studies above. First, students are capable of providing relatively valid ratings on their peers’ work, when training on the assessment criteria and the rubric is provided prior to engaging them in web-based peer assessment. Students who are not trained are still able to provide some useful feedback to their peers, but their feedback often consists of both useful and misleading information. Assessment training also helps the students to appreciate the value of peer assessment more and experience less stress during the process. Second, students play the roles of assessor and assesse in web-based peer assessment and both roles are important for them to obtain learning gains. While being an effective assessor is largely related to mastery of assessment criteria through training, critical thinking is a much more important skill for playing the role of an effective assesse. An effective assessee can accurately judge the validity of peer feedback that she receives and incorporates the good suggestions while ignoring the misleading ones in their revisions. Third, learning gains from web-based peer assessment are not equal among the students. High-achieving students do not benefit as much as the low- and medium-achieving students from engaging in the peer assessment process. Nevertheless, there may be some motivational benefits for high-achieving students who enjoy providing useful feedback to their lower-achieving peers. 250

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Effective Approaches to Web-based Peer Assessment in Teacher Education Web-based peer assessment is an effective assessment and instructional strategy that is gaining popularity; and researchers are still exploring new ways to use it for maximum benefits for the instructor and the students. Whether from the perspective of educational designers and developers or from the perspective of instructors, the four studies reviewed here exemplified teaching practices that may allow web-based peer assessment to be effectively used in teacher education. In the following, we will discuss major implications that the four studies have for teacher educators to use web-based peer assessment in their own class.

Pedagogical Foundation Knowing the pedagogical principles underlying and guiding the use of web-based peer assessment is extremely important. Web-based peer assessment falls under the constructivism paradigm. Tsai, Liu, Lin, and Yuan (2001) argued that web-based peer assessment “allows students to learn or construct knowledge by submitting homework and receiving comments from peers to improve their work (p. 220).” Wu and Zhao (2008) integrated web-based peer assessment with video-based pedagogy, a widely adopted pedagogy in teacher education. It was argued that peer evaluation of video-recorded microteaching instances allows pre-service teachers to share their experiences and provides impetus for them to critically analyze dilemmas of teaching practices, reflect on their own teaching practices, engage in dialogues about good/ bad teaching practices, and improve future teaching practices. In our studies, we took the constructive approach and formulated our hypotheses with the assumption that students learn when they identify the gaps in their understanding and fill in such gaps by gaining different perspectives from their peers and their instructor and reflecting on similarities and differences among various perspectives. As a result, we are not only strongly convinced of the value of peer assessment but also profoundly interested in the cognitive processes that students may have gone through in order to produce the final products that they submit. When we design our interventions, we put in more efforts in sustaining student engagement in constructing knowledge on their own and co-constructing knowledge in a group. Even our requirement for peer feedback clearly tells the students that they need to provide explanation and justification for their ratings as well as their suggestions for their peers. In Liu and Li (2014), we also required students to engage in group and class discussions to clarify and negotiate meaning and reach consensus. Based on our experience and a review of relevant research in teacher education, we strongly recommend educators who are interested in using web-based peer assessment as an instructional strategy to first decide whether web-based peer assessment activities they want to implement have a solid pedagogical foundation and whether such activities are compatible with their own pedagogical beliefs.

Course Contents Since peer assessment usually involves students judging the quality of a product of their peers, the instructor needs to take into consideration of the course contents when selecting the specific tasks (i.e., products) in the process of implementing peer assessment. Most peer assessment researchers in teacher education choose a task that aligns well with the course objectives and requires the application of knowledge and skills taught prior to peer assessment. For example, when developing their networked peer 251

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assessment system for teacher education students in science education, Tsai, Liu, Lin, and Yuan (2001) chose the task of designing an inquiry-oriented science activity for secondary students and adopted a Vee heuristic that scaffolded the participants to coordinate between “thinking” about scientific philosophies, theories, principles, conceptual structures, and concepts and “doing” the practice of science through records of events/objects, transformation, interpretations, knowledge claims, and value claim. Li and Steckelberg (2005) designed their web-based peer assessment system for teacher education students in an undergraduate technology course. They chose the construction of an instructional activity named WebQuest as the assignment for the participants to submit and assess. WebQuests as used in education are teacher-created webpages or websites that have five key components-Introduction, Task, Process, Evaluation, and Conclusion (“WebQuest”, n. d.). Wu and Kao (2008) implemented their web-based peer assessment with pre-service computer teachers in a teaching practicum course. They chose microteaching and field teaching sessions as the assignments to be peer evaluated and included not only video clips of each session but also lesson plans, handouts, and reflective journals related to each session. Sluijsmans, Brand-Gruwel, and Van Merrie¨nborer’s (2002) implemented their peer assessment in a course named “Designing Creative Lessons” and chose the task of designing a creative lesson in the domains of Art, Dutch Language and Music. Their assessment criteria also followed the redefined course objectives with decomposition of specific skills involved in completing such a task.

Evaluation Rubric If possible, a rubric should be provided for students in web-based peer assessment. Andrade (2005) defined a rubric as an assessment tool that “lists the criteria for a piece of work or what counts … and articulates gradations of quality for each criterion, from excellent to poor (p. 27).” The gradation of quality and associated description represents a crucial characteristic of rubrics that distinguish them from other assessment tools and make it a better choice in peer assessment. Rubrics can be used either to assign grades (summative assessment) or to provide feedback (formative assessment). When students provide, receive, and act upon feedback based on a rubric in peer assessment, it becomes an instructional rubric and a teaching tool. Although it has been noted that assessment criteria for academic tasks in higher education are often complex, multidimensional and difficult to articulate, providing a rubric is an effective way to clarify task requirements and reduce the mismatch between the instructor’s and the students’ understanding of assessment criteria. In all of our studies and most of the other studies on web-based peer assessment in teacher education, a rubric is used - sometimes provided by the instructor and sometimes developed collaboratively by the students and the instructor. The rubrics used in our studies was originally developed by researchers at San Diego State University to align with the five components of a WebQuest product (Introduction, Task, Process, Evaluation, and Conclusion). As a result, it contains multiple items (the number of items on each criterion varies), each with three levels of performance indicators (beginning, developmental, and accomplished). This rubric has gone through revisions and improvements since it was conceived. The first version of the rubric that we used contained 8 items for a maximum of 16 points (Li, Liu, & Steckelberg, 2009). The number of points assigned to an item was exactly 2 for all items (beginning = 0, developmental = 1, accomplished = 2). The second version of this rubric (Li, Liu, & Steckelberg, 2010; Li, Liu, & Zhou, 2012) was more extensive with a new dimension added to evaluate overall aesthetics of the WebQuest and a weighing mechanism was incorporated (http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestrubric. html). This rubric contained 13 items with a maximum of 50 points. Depending on the importance of 252

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an item, the number of points assigned to it can be 2, 4, or 6. The revised rubric has consistently demonstrated satisfactory inter-rater reliability, with the correlation between two independent expert raters in the .80-.83 range. However, students reported more confusion with understanding and grading on the items related to overall aesthetics. Thus, in a following study (Liu & Li, 2014), we removed the items on overall aesthetics and the new rubric consists of 8 items with a maximum of 40 points. The inter-rater reliability between expert raters remained robust and students reported less confusions with the rubric.

Training and Support A noticeable pattern in our research in web-based peer assessment is that we provide more training and support on not only technology skills but also assessment skills that students need in order to engage in and benefit from web-based peer assessment. Assessment training is widely recommended by leading researchers in peer assessment (e.g., Sluijsmans, 2002; Gillies, 2007). Compared to technical support, training of assessment skills is more difficult. Although instructional rubrics can clarify the instructor’s assessment criteria and expectations to a great extent, they are not entirely self-explanatory and additional training is often needed to help students understand a rubric. Findings from our earlier studies clearly indicate that while students benefit from applying the rubric and providing feedback to peers regardless of the quality of peer feedback that they receive, there remains a considerable amount of discrepancies between instructor rating and student ratings and peer feedback consists of a sizable portion of misleading suggestions (Li, Liu, & Steckelberg, 2009). As we found in another study (Li, Liu, & Zhou, 2012), with re-analysis of student data, the quality of peer feedback still matters-students receiving higher quality peer feedback improved more in their revision of WebQuest. Unsurprisingly, in the subsequent study (Liu & Li, 2014), intensive and elaborative training in assessment criteria led to less discrepancy between student and instructor ratings, higher quality peer feedback, and eventually higher quality final project. There are many approaches to train teacher education students in assessment skills. A typical approach to provide the training is through direct instruction on the grading criteria from the teacher. However, such a didactic approach often proves ineffective in promoting the assessment skills required for peer assessment and leads to little improvement in student task performance (Topping, 2010). Peer assessment is a complex process that requires students to take the roles of both assessor and assesse, which puts a demand on a range of higher order thinking skills, including conceptual understanding of grading criteria, critical thinking about the application of grading criteria to the grading of peers’ work, and decision making regarding how to respond to peer’s feedback on one’s own work (Li, Liu, & Steckelberg, 2009). Topping (2010) suggests that better training for peer assessment needs to be provided with a peer interaction component, where students have the opportunity to articulate and negotiate their understanding of the assessment criteria. While peer interaction can take various forms, assigning students to discuss issues or problems in small groups has been recognized as one of the most effective instructional strategies in the acquisition of conceptual understanding and critical thinking (Smith & MacGregor, 1992). From a cognitive perspective, peers working in small groups are more likely to fill in gaps in their understanding when they are exposed to conflicting viewpoints or ideas and have to resolve their differences through discussion (Ames & Murray, 1982).

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We followed the suggestions by Topping (2010) and other researchers, by increasingly adding peer interaction components to web-based peer assessment process. In our earlier studies (Li, Liu, & Steckelberg, 2009; Li, Liu, & Steckelberg, 2010; Li, Liu, & Zhou, 2012), training in assessment skills was provided primarily via lectures to introduce the contents and the rubric. In Liu and Li (2014) and Li (2017), however, training was highly emphasized and consisted of a variety of activities that ranged from lecture presentations, videos, grading of example projects, small group and whole class discussion, etc. There are a few other researchers in peer assessment who have examined the effect of training with more student interactions, with more or less success in terms of student attitudes and performance (e.g., Sluijsmans, Brand-Gruwel, Van Merrie¨nboer, & Martens, 2004; Smith, Cooper, & Lancaster, 2002; Sung, Lin, Lee, & Chang, 2003). There is still a gap in the research conducted by us and other researchers, however. While web-based peer assessment is increasingly utilized and there is growing consensus among researchers that training should be provided with a peer interaction component, we are yet to see an empirical study where such interactive training is provided online instead of face-to-face. Thus a recommendation for future researchers is to develop web-based platforms that allow educators to move the training phase in web-based peer assessment online.

Phases of Evaluation and Revision It is necessary, in the design of any web-based peer assessment system or model, to decide how many phases of evaluation and revision will be included and how students can transition from one phase to the next. There needs to be a reasonable and clear timeline. In most of our studies, students went through one round of peer assessment and revision and followed a simple sequence of instruction → draft project submission → web-based peer assessment → final project submission. With more intensive, elaborate, and prolonged training in assessment skills, our last study (Liu & Li, 2014) incorporated more phases in the web-based peer assessment process. Specifically, between draft project submission and web-based peer assessment, students engaged in a few additional steps: grading an example project with the rubric → discussing the assigned grades in small groups → discussing the grades in whole class with teacher scaffolding and feedback → re-grading the first example project and grading a second example project. The additional training phase has proven worthwhile, since we found strong evidence showing decreased discrepancy between instructor and student ratings on most of the rubric criteria. Such decreased discrepancy indicated improved validity of student ratings and was a significant predictor of not only the quality of peer feedback but also the amount of improvement in one’s own revised project. Existing research on peer assessment suggests that a variety of phases can be potentially incorporated in the web-based peer assessment process, in varying sequences. For example, Sluijsmans, Brand-Gruwel, Van Merrie¨nboer, and Martens (2004) included in their study a phase where students collaboratively defined grading criteria of lesson plans. Smith, Cooper and Lancaster (2002) also included a rubric development phase in their study of peer assessment of student poster presentations, followed by an assessment training phase similar to the one implemented by us in Liu and Li (2014). Althauser and Darnall (2001) had students engage in web-based peer assessment of a series of short take-home essays throughout the semester, instead of focusing on a single, more extensive course assignment. Sung, Lin, Lee and Chang’s (2005) took an interesting approach by having students form permanent teams in web-based peer assessment. First, each team prepared a draft team research proposal and submitted it online. Second, individual students then posted their reviews on all team proposals anonymously, with a summary of their ratings and comments generated by the website and made available to the whole 254

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class. Third, the teams then met several times to discuss peer feedback, revise their ratings and comments accordingly, discuss new peer feedback, and revise their ratings and comments again. Lastly, the teams assessed their own proposal and revised their proposal with teacher feedback. While instructors who plan to use web-based peer assessment can adopt or adapt any of the phases discussed for their own students, they must be cautioned that more phases do not always lead to more learning gains and incorporating the right phases in the wrong sequence can have a negative impact on student experience. When not planned well, web-based peer assessment can run into many barriers and be perceived as pure busy work by the students. A general recommendation is that each phase should lead to student learning gains directly or indirectly and the arrangement of the phases needs to be compatible with course objectives, course schedule, nature of the assignment to be peer reviewed, student needs and preferences, student previous experience with peer assessment, etc.

Anonymity of Assessment In traditional face-to-face peer assessment, maintaining the anonymity of assessors and assessees requires significant efforts of the instructor to remove the identity of the assessors before assigning student work to peers and to remove the identity of the assessees before returning peer feedback to each student. Web-based peer assessment platforms automate this whole process and allow the instructor to manage anonymity level at each phase of peer assessment with ease. Many researchers argue that due to concerns related to friendship, ego, gender stereotypes, and self-esteem, students may feel reluctant to give honest or critical feedback to their peers when anonymity is not provided (e.g., Anderson, 1998; Falchikov 1986; Freeman, 1995; Papinczak, Young, & Groves, 2007). Hiding students’ real identity by assigning codes/numbers or pseudo names helps to create a safe environment for students to comfortably assess peer work without peer pressure (Davies, 2000, 2002; Robinson, 1999) and with more validity (Zhao, 1998). While most of our studies of web-based peer assessment chose a design with anonymity provided for both assessors and assessees, one study (Li, 2017) specifically compared a condition with anonymity and another condition with identity revealed. As hypothesized, students showed more learning gains when anonymity was provided.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS The six studies summarized here, when considered together and in the context of existing research conducted by other researchers, enable us to gain a better understanding of the web-based peer assessment process in teacher education. They also provide important implications for teacher educators on how to effectively use web-based peer assessment as an innovative, formative, and alternative assessment technique to train future teachers in the digital age. It is thus the researchers’ hope that more teacher education students trained this way will be better prepared for teaching the younger generation in the 21st century when they start teaching in K-12 classrooms.

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REFERENCES Althauser, R., & Darnall, K. (2001). Enhancing critical reading and writing through peer reviews: An exploration of assisted performance. Teaching Sociology, 29(1), 23–35. doi:10.2307/1318780 Anderson, R. S. (1998). Why talk about different ways to grade? The shift from traditional assessment to alternative assessment. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 74, 5–16. doi:10.1002/tl.7401 Andrade, H. G. (2005). Teaching with rubrics: The good, the bad and the ugly. College Teaching, 53(1), 27–30. doi:10.3200/CTCH.53.1.27-31 Chen, C. (2010). The implementation and evaluation of a mobile self- and peer-assessment system. Computers & Education, 55(1), 229–236. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.01.008 Chen, Y., & Tsai, C. (2009). An educational research course facilitated by online peer assessment. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 46(1), 105–117. doi:10.1080/14703290802646297 Cheng, W., & Warren, M. (1999). Peer and teacher assessment of the oral and written tasks of a group project. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 24(3), 301–314. doi:10.1080/0260293990240304 Davies, P. (2000). Computerized peer assessment. Innovations in Education & Training International, 37(4), 346–354. doi:10.1080/135580000750052955 Davies, P. (2002). Using student reflective self-assessment for awarding degree classifications. Innovations in Education & Training International, 39(4), 307–319. doi:10.1080/13558000210161034 Evans, C., Williams, J., & Metcalf, D. (2010). Using high- and low-technology tools to enhance selfand peer assessment and feedback for preservice teachers. Journal of Special Education Technology, 25(4), 55–60. Falchikov, N. (1986). Product comparisons and process benefits of collaborative peer group and self assessments. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 11(2), 46–66. doi:10.1080/0260293860110206 Freeman, M. (1995). Peer assessment by groups of group work. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 20(3), 289–300. doi:10.1080/0260293950200305 Gillies, R. M. (2007). Cooperative learning: Integrating theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781483329598 Gogoulou, A., Gouli, E., Grigoriadou, M., Samarakou, M., & Chinou, D. (2007). A web-based educational setting supporting individualized learning, collaborative learning and assessment. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 10(4), 242–256. Hudson, B., Hudson, A., & Steel, J. (2006). Orchestrating interdependence in an international online learning community. British Journal of Educational Technology, 37(5), 733–748. doi:10.1111/j.14678535.2006.00552.x Kwok, R. C. W., & Ma, J. (1999). Use of a group support system for collaborative assessment. Computers & Education, 32(2), 109–125. doi:10.1016/S0360-1315(98)00059-1

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Li, L. (2017). The role of anonymity in peer assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(4), 645–656. doi:10.1080/02602938.2016.1174766 Li, L., & Gao, F. (2016). The effect of peer assessment on project performance of students at different learning levels. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(6), 885–900. doi:10.1080/0260293 8.2015.1048185 Li, L., Liu, X., & Steckelberg, A. (2009). Analyzing peer feedback in a technology-facilitated peer assessment. In C. D. Maddux (Ed.), Research highlights in technology and teacher education 2009 (pp. 213-222). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Li, L., Liu, X., & Steckelberg, A. (2010). Assessor or assessee: How student learning improves by giving and receiving peer feedback. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(3), 525–536. doi:10.1111/ j.1467-8535.2009.00968.x Li, L., Liu, X., & Zhou, Y. (2012). Give and take: A re-analysis of assessor and assessee roles in technology-facilitated peer assessment. British Journal of Educational Technology, 43(3), 376–384. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01180.x Li, L., & Steckelberg, A. L. (2005). Peer Assessment Support System (PASS). TechTrends, 49(4), 80–84. doi:10.1007/BF02824115 Li, L., Steckelberg, A. L., & Srinivasan, S. (2008). Utilizing peer interactions to promote learning through a computer-assisted peer assessment system. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 34(2), 133–148. Lin, S. S. J., Liu, E. Z., & Yuan, S. M. (2001). Web-based peer assessment: Feedback for students with various thinking-styles. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 17(4), 420–432. doi:10.1046/j.02664909.2001.00198.x Liu, X., & Li, L. (2014). Assessment training effects on student assessment skills and task performance in a technology-facilitated peer assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 39(3), 275-292. Loureiro, M., Pombo, L., & Moreira, A. (2012). The quality of peer assessment in a wiki-based online context: A qualitative study. Educational Media International, 49(2), 139–149. doi:10.1080/0952398 7.2012.703426 McGarr, O., & Clifford, A. M. (2013). ‘Just enough to make you take it seriously’: Exploring students’ attitudes toward peer assessment. Higher Education, 65(6), 677–693. doi:10.100710734-012-9570-z Papinczak, T., Young, L., & Groves, M. (2007). Peer assessment in problem-based learning: A qualitative study. Advances in Health Sciences Education: Theory and Practice, 12(2), 169–186. doi:10.100710459005-5046-6 PMID:17072771 Prins, F., Sluijsmans, D., Kirschner, P., & Strijbos, J. W. (2005). Formative peer assessment in a CSCL environment: A case study. Assessment, 30(4), 417–444. Robinson, J. (1999). Computer-assisted peer review. In S. Brown, J. Bull, & P. Race (Eds.), Computerassisted assessment in higher education (pp. 95–102). London: Kogan Page.

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Ross, M. B., & Welsh, M. P. (2007). Formative Feedback to Improve Learning on a Teacher Education Degree using a Personal Learning Environment. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 2(3), 34–39. Sluijsmans, D. (2002). Establishing learning effects with integrated peer assessment tasks. Retrieved from http://78.158.56.101/archive/palatine/files/930.pdf Sluijsmans, D., Brand-Gruwel, S., van Merrienboer, J. J. G., & Martens, R. L. (2004). Training teachers in peer-assessment skills: Effects on performance and perceptions. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 41(1), 59–78. doi:10.1080/1470329032000172720 Sluijsmans, D. M. A., Brand-Gruwel, S., & van Merrienboer, J. J. G. (2002). Peer assessment training in teacher education: effects on performance and perceptions. Assessment & evaluation in higher education, 27(5), 443–454. doi:10.1080/0260293022000009311 Smith, B., & MacGregor, J. (1992). What is collaborative learning? In A. Goodsell, M. Maher, V. Tinto, B. Smith, & J. MacGregor (Eds.), Collaborative learning: A sourcebook for higher education (pp. 9–22). University Park, PA: National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, Pennsylvania State University. Smith, H., Cooper, A., & Lancaster, L. (2002). Improving the quality of undergraduate peer assessment: A case for student and staff development. Innovations in education and teaching international, 39(1), 71–81. doi:10.1080/13558000110102904 Sung, Y., Chang, K., Chiou, S., & Hou, H. (2005). The design and application of a web-based self- and peer-assessment system. Computers & Education, 45(2), 187–202. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2004.07.002 Sung, Y., Chen-Shan Lin, J., Chi-Lung Lee, J., & Chang, K. (2003). Evaluating proposals for experiments: An application of web-based self-assessment and peer assessment. Teaching of Psychology, 30(4), 331–333. doi:10.1207/S15328023TOP3004_06 Topping, K. (1998). Peer assessment between students in colleges and universities. Review of Educational Research, 68(3), 249–276. doi:10.3102/00346543068003249 Topping, K. (2010). Methodological quandaries in studying process and outcomes in peer assessment. Learning and Instruction, 20(4), 339–343. doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2009.08.003 Topping, K. J., Smith, E. F., Swanson, I., & Elliot, A. (2000). Formative peer assessment of academic writing between postgraduate Students. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 25(2), 149–169. doi:10.1080/713611428 Tsai, C., Lin, S. J., & Yuan, S. (2002). Developing science activities through a networked peer assessment system. Computers & Education, 38(1/3), 241–252. doi:10.1016/S0360-1315(01)00069-0 Tsai, C., Liu, E., Lin, S. J., & Yuan, S. (2001). A networked peer assessment system based on a vee heuristic. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 38(3), 220–230. doi:10.1080/14703290110051415 van den Berg, I., Admiraal, W., & Pilot, A. (2006). Designing student peer assessment in higher education: Analysis of written and oral peer feedback. Teaching in Higher Education, 11(2), 135–147. doi:10.1080/13562510500527685

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Vu, T., & Dall’Alba, G. (2007). Students’ experience of peer assessment in a professional course. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 32(5), 541–556. doi:10.1080/02602930601116896 WebQuest. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebQuest Welsh, M. (2012). Student perceptions of using the PebblePad e-portfolio system to support self- and peer-based formative assessment. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 21(1), 57–83. doi:10.1080/14 75939X.2012.659884 Wen, M., & Tsai, C. (2008). Online peer assessment in an in-service science and mathematics teacher education course. Teaching in Higher Education, 13(1), 55–67. doi:10.1080/13562510701794050 Wu, C., & Kao, H. (2008). Streaming videos in peer assessment to support training pre-service teachers. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 11(1), 45–55. Zhao, Y. (1998). The effects of anonymity on computer-mediated peer review. International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 4(4), 311–345.

ADDITIONAL READING Andrade, H., & Cizek, G. (2010). Handbook of formative assessment. Florence, KY: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203874851 Bangert, A. W. (2001). Peer assessment: A win-win instructional strategy for both students and teachers. Journal of Cooperation and Collaboration in College Teaching, 10(2), 77–84. Falchikov, N. (2013). Improving assessment through student involvement: Practical solutions for aiding learning in higher and further education. Florence, KY: Routledge. Hughes, K., & Mylonas, A. (2002). Developing procedures for implementing peer assessment in large classes using an action research process. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(5), 427–441. doi:10.1080/0260293022000009302 Sluijismans, D., & Prins, F. (2006). A conceptual framework for integrating peer assessment in teacher education. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 32(1), 6–22. doi:10.1016/j.stueduc.2006.01.005

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Anonymity in Peer Assessment: Concealing the identity of assessors and/or assesses in one or more phases of the peer assessment process. Constructive/Critical Feedback: Feedback that identifies specific issues and provides helpful suggestions for the improvement of the quality of a product or service. Formative Assessment: A range of assessment approaches that focus on providing ongoing, informative feedback to be used for the purpose of improving teaching, learning, or practices. Peer Assessment: The process of students evaluating each other’s work using performance criteria. Peer Pressure: Pressure that one feels as a member of social groups to behave in a certain way or believe in certain things in order to be accepted by peers in the same group. Rubric-Based Assessment: A tool used to judge performance according to a list of explicit criteria and standards and a grading scale, often developed in the form of matrix. Teacher Education: Any formal program that provides training for prospective and in-service teachers and practitioners to perform various roles at the elementary and secondary school levels. Validity of Assessment: The degree to which an assessment truly and accurately measures what it claims to measure. Web-Based Peer Assessment: Peer assessment implemented in a web-based environment, typically through an integrated database system that automatically distributes and collects peer assessment tasks.

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Crab-Walking in the Crosswalk:

A Standards and Competency Matrix Using ISTE Educator Standards With Teacher Educator Technology Competencies Susan A. Elwood Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, USA Kelli Bippert https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5077-4886 Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, USA

ABSTRACT Faculty integration of the technology standards and competencies remain a concern in higher education, especially in the movement toward competency-based education and portfolio development. The “CRABwalk within the Crosswalk” occurs as both ISTE educator standards and TETC competencies are collaboratively reviewed and worked. This protocol is designed to help align a team’s multiple standards and competencies within one collaborative assessment tool. It provides a cognitive tool to facilitate partnership collaboration that can result in greater individual and team growth and development. This chapter provides a literature review of K-12 teacher education and university faculty perceptions as a cultural models base to the presented Crosswalk to Rubric Alignment (CRABwalk) protocol. Professional standard or competency needs are of focus and therefore meet the needs of each educator group: preservice, inservice, and teacher educator.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch015

Copyright © 2020, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.

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INTRODUCTION One way to help faculty build self-efficacy through experiences with technology, application, and support of the use of technology is through communities of inquiry. The professional teacher education team of teacher candidate, cooperating teacher, and site professor may find the ISTE Ed and TETC Crosswalk Dance helpful in collaboratively planning and designing learning environments while addressing their individual professional development needs. Such processes can greatly facilitate and support such developmental initiatives as competency-based education.

SUPPORTIVE THEORETICAL FRAMES The most supportive theoretical frameworks for the developed competency-based crosswalk were deemed to be those of situated learning and cultural models. More specifically, situated learning will be focused upon communities of inquiry. K12 teacher and university faculty perceptions will also be reviewed. K12 teacher perceptions of a) value of technology, b) teacher access, c) teacher efficacy, and d) training and support will be reviewed. University faculty perceptions related to technology use include self-efficacy, technical support, and generational factors.

Theoretical Frame of Situated Learning: Communities of Inquiry Faculty integration of the technology standards and competencies remain a concern in higher education. Teachers experience a variety of challenges that interfere in their developing positive perceptions, or cultural models, related to technology integration. For this reason, one way to help faculty build self-efficacy through experiences with technology, application, and support of the use of technology is through communities of inquiry. One strand of inquiry study (Kozan, 2016) was “to investigate the predictive validity of teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence from a cognitive load perspective” (p.11). It was found that a statistically significant and predictable connection exists between the presences and intrinsic, extraneous, and total cognitive load. Specifically, cognitive presence was the best predictor for intrinsic load, and teaching presence was the best predictor for extraneous and total loads. While social presence does not directly predict cognitive loads, it has a strong connection with perceived learning satisfaction. This finding also impacts faculty, their students, and cooperating K-12 teachers working as a professional team for individual and collective professional development needs. Co-teaching and cognitive presences are needed and lead to greater social presence satisfaction within professional development teams. Communities of inquiry is a concept derived from literature on situated learning. Situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991) refers to learning that occurs through interaction and collaboration within groups who share a common goal or purpose. Each participant engages socio-culturally with shared goals to develop a set of needed skills. Learning in this sense is seen as connected to all aspects of the social activity related to the skills being learned. For the purposes of this paper, learning to integrate technology in the teacher education classroom would involve active engagement with technology, social interactions with colleagues and/ or students, and learning and teaching occurring between both the perceived expert and learner. Research on faculty professional learning has shown the preference for feedback from a variety of sources, including colleagues and students, a supportive peer network (Saroyan, 2015). 262

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Studies ranging from 2015 to 2019 reinforce the need for learning in this socially constructive way. Studies on faculty technology support for use in online or blended learning have supported the need for communities of inquiry. For example, Wicks (2015) used the communities of inquiry framework to investigate faculty’s implementation of blended learning. This case study determined that participants agreed or strongly agreed peer support played an important role in developing these courses. Terosky’s (2015) qualitative study of the effects of community support on faculty development of online courses found that faculty desired support beyond technical aspects of tool use, and requested more collaboration in the areas of teaching and learning philosophies as related to online instruction. In Baran’s (2016) study of a faculty mentoring program, with twelve pairs of faculty and graduate students, analysis identified motivation and meeting challenges as two important factors that supported the participants. Addressing faculty technology integration issues using communities of inquiry as a frame shows promise for supporting technology standards and competencies; especially in investigating blended learning, a desire for greater collaboration related to online instruction, and greater supportive in meeting challenges. This professional development team of teacher educator faculty, preservice teacher candidates, and inservice cooperating teachers thrive if supported and provide collective support as a professional development team. Such support is better informed through deeper probing into the culture within the professional development team.

Theoretical Frame Addition of Cultural Models Cultural models are defined as the every-day, commonly held beliefs of a particular social group (Holland & Quinn, 1987). Culture is made up not only of a group’s traditions and customs, but their “shared knowledge” as well (Holland & Quinn, 1987, p. 4). Cultural models can be expressed not only by what an individual says, but the actions observed by these individuals, respectively referred to as the explanatory model and the representational model. While the explanatory and representational models frequently contradict one another, it is important to take both into consideration when attempting to identify and support the beliefs held by individual social groups. A cultural model is a simplified way of viewing the world through an individual’s experiences (Gee, 2000) is internalized, and shapes the individual’s sense of reality. These models are shared across specific cultural groups, and are constantly changing over the course of time (Gee & Green, 1998), and shape how individuals identify themselves and others in particular contexts. Factors that affect the value that an individual has for technology as compared to others can be very specific to their unique ideology or belief system. Faculty may also find that once they enter the classroom, their attitudes toward technology become shaped by their identity as a university instructor. Gee defines identity as “being recognized as a certain ‘kind of person,’ in a given context…In this sense of the term, all people have multiple identities connected not to their ‘internal states’ but to their performances in society” (Gee, 2000, p. 99). Teachers develop expectations for what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like to be a university faculty member. Using cultural models as a foundation, inferences can be drawn from an individual’s perceptions or thoughts, to their feelings, and subsequently their actions (Holland & Quinn, 1987, p. 162). The beliefs and attitudes related to these cultural models, held by people within a common social group, reflect their perceptions of the value and usefulness of certain actions or behaviors such as technology applications. Looking more closely at the perceptions can help us understand how cultural models play a role in technology integration and adoption. 263

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K-12 Teacher Perceptions of Technology Use To support pre-service teachers in their development of technology skills for use in their future classroom, it is important for the teacher educator to model such practices. Concerns of teachers’ perceptions of technology in the K-12 classroom has led to a number of studies, typically through survey research. Students are in increasing need of technology experiences within the curriculum. In many ways, schools have made efforts to provide the necessary technology; however, often even the more well-equipped schools are still seeing teachers not utilizing technology within classroom instruction (Cuban, Kirkpatrick, & Peck, 2001).

Value of Technology Several studies used a technology acceptance model survey to try and predict teachers’ attitudes toward technology use. Results across surveys revealed similar findings. One study conducted by Teo (2009) involved 285 pre-service teachers from a teacher training institution in Singapore. Teacher value of technology and ease of use were shown as having a 62% variable, with teacher value of technology showing the strongest relationship to predicting teachers’ attitudes toward technology use. A survey of 592 teachers in Singapore (Teo, 2011), found that usefulness, ease of use, and technology training and support were shown to help predict a teacher’s intention to use technology. In a study conducted in Quebec, 764 elementary and secondary teachers from public and private schools were surveyed (Wozney, Venkatesh, & Abrami, 2006). Findings indicated that the value of technology and self-efficacy were the most important factors in predicting the teacher’s attitude toward computer use with instruction.

Teacher Access Another common barrier to technology use in the classroom is teachers’ access to technology and online resources. Studies conducted to measure teachers’ perceived reasons for their use of technology often addressed access to technology as one important factor. Equal access to technology resources is a concern, especially in respect to schools that lack adequate funding opportunities to provide the most up to date technology equipment to teachers and students. In California, five low-resource schools and one high-resource school were chosen to compare how teachers reported their technology and Internet access, and found that teachers from the high-resource school reported greater access to technology and Internet access (Valadez & Durán, 2007). These schools reported to use technology more frequently and in more creative ways within instruction (Valadez & Durán, 2007). In a survey study of Miami-Dade County Public high schools teachers’ intentions to use Web 2.0 technologies for instructional purposes, the researchers found that regardless of access to technology, teachers’ intentions to use the technology were most strongly predicted by perceived usefulness and the compatibility of Web 2.0 tools to their content (Capo & Orellana, 2012).

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Teacher Efficacy Self-efficacy is another important factor that can predict whether a teacher will or will not attempt to use technology with instruction in the classroom. In a study conducted in Tennessee which intended to measured teacher self-efficacy, surveys were given to 1,382 teachers who were part of the Tennessee EdTech Launch One and Two programs (Inan & Lowther, 2010). Results indicated that teacher age and years of teaching directly affected their computer proficiency and indirectly affected technology use. A study conducted in the United Arab Emirates measuring pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for technology integration found that student teachers’ experiences during student teaching showed a significant positive effect on their self-efficacy toward using technology with instruction in the classroom (Al-Awidi & Alghazo, 2012). The studies conducted by both Inan & Lowther and Al-Awidi & Alghazo indicated the need for teacher training in the use of educational technologies in an effort to improve teacher self-efficacy.

Training & Support Teachers who may have adequate access to the technology that would enable them to use this within classroom instruction still find that they are unable to do so. Even in technology rich areas of the United States, such as Silicon Valley, lack of teacher training and support play important roles in enabling or disabling teachers in using technology (Ramos, 2005). In Tennessee 168 elementary, middle, and high school teachers were surveyed to measure teachers’ frequency of technology use and the ways in which it was used within their classrooms (Littrell, Zagumny, & Zagumny, 2005), and found that teachers were using technology primarily for classroom management tasks rather than instructional purposes and lacked support for use for instructional purposes. A survey from 292 teachers and 107 administrators from primary schools located in Elazig, Turkey (Kazu, 2011) found that while teachers had positive feelings toward using technology within the curriculum, they reported that they were in need of training in the use of technology in the classroom for effective use with students.

University Faculty Perceptions of Technology Addressing university faculty perceptions of technology use and integration informs their cultural models as well. University faculty perceptions of technology have been found to be similar to those of K-12 teachers. Consequently, the adoption of the technology standards and competencies remains a challenge at many institutions. A review of faculty perceptions reveals similar findings related to faculty use and non-use of technology tools. Because of the ever-changing nature of technology applications used by higher education faculty, this review included studies conducted from 2015 to 2019.

Self-Efficacy As with K-12 teachers, faculty efficacy with technology was a recurring factor attributed to their integration of technology. Reid (2017) agrees that it is important to support university faculty in improving efficacy with technology if we expect its use with students. Studies that measure issues that attribute to faculty use or non-use technology support this. For example, in a study of 560 faculty members from two universities, efficacy with technology arose as one of three factors inhibiting faculty from utilizing technology (Fathema, Shannon, & Ross, 2015). Questionnaire responses from 261 faculty members from 265

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universities across Asia revealed that self-efficacy rated as one of the greatest contributors to technology integration, and suggested that universities work to improve this to encourage technology integration (John, 2015). Similarly, based on a survey of 379 faculty members, analysis determined that supporting self-efficacy with learning management systems was one area that should be addressed to improve faculty perceptions of the benefits of these systems (Zheng, Wang, Doll, Deng, & Williams, 2018). Experience, or lack thereof, with the use of computers or technology applications can affect faculty’s willingness to use technology in the classroom. Studies have found that the more experience that the individual has with a tool, the more willing that individual is to implement them. John (2015) surveyed 261 full-time faculty, and found that prior experience with technology as one of the factors related to faculty use of educational technologies. The researcher concluded that faculty who had more experience in technologies in turn had higher degrees of self-efficacy.

Technical Support Another common factor related to university faculty use of technology was technical support with these tools. Surveys conducted by Fathema, Shannon & Ross (2015) and by Zheng and colleagues (2018) indicated that providing faculty with technical support with learning management systems would improve faculty’s perceptions of technology’s benefits, as well as the likelihood that they would utilize technology in the university courses. Studying faculty perceptions of learning management systems, Zeng and colleagues suggested that the more confident the faculty member is with technology, the more willing they are to implement more tools within the online platform. Fathema and colleagues (2018), in their study of faculty attitudes toward learning management systems, found a positive correlation of facilitating conditions, technical support being one, on faculty’s stances toward technology. In a smaller sample of 47 faculty (Loague, Caldwell, & Balam, 2018), researchers found that while faculty perceived technology use as positive, they noted a lack of technology support as one barrier. Faculty in this study suggested support focusing on using technology for instructional purposes.

Generational Factors Another factor attributed to implementation and adoption of technology standards is the generational factors that the teacher educator aligns with: digital native vs. digital immigrant. Digital natives is a term used to describe people who have known digital technology their entire lives (Prensky, 2001). It is usually assumed that these digital natives are also equipped with adequate skills in the use of emerging technologies. While this designation has been challenged by research that points out the over-generalizations of their technology skills and experiences, there is evidence that perceptions of technology are in some ways generational. In Watty, McKay, & Ngo’s (2016) qualitative study, college faculty were interviewed regarding their perceptions of the use of technology. A theme that emerged centered on generational factors attributing to faculty members’ reluctance to utilize technology, including responses related to discomfort with tools, age factors, and reluctance to try new instructional methods (p. 8). In John’s (2015) survey, age was another factor found to contribute to faculty’s implementation. Respondents in this survey fell in one of three age groups: less than 30, between 30 and 50, and more than 50 years of age; faculty between the ages of 30 and 50 responded more positively in relation to ease of technology implementation. A survey conducted by Nelson, Voithofer, and Cheng (2019) investigating the mediating factors contributing to teacher educator implementation of TPACK and ISTE standards provided mixed 266

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Figure 1. The ISTE Educator and TETC Crosswalk Dance Framework

results in relation to teacher educator experience. Analysis of the survey found that teacher educators with more experience in the field reported to have a significantly higher ISTE adoption rate. However, this group of educators also reported to have lower technology knowledge. Overall, however, the researchers in this study concluded that based on their results experience as a teacher educator was not a major factor for ISTE implementation. While findings were mixed, age continues to play a role among studies conducted since 2015. Faculty perceptions focusing on self-efficacy, technical support, as well as generational factors influence the likelihood of utilizing technology. These perceptions reveal faculty’s beliefs about the ways that technology is, and should be, used. These cultural models related to their attitudes toward technology integration and use illustrate challenges faced by universities in addressing the ISTE standards and TETC competencies. Universities need to address the factors that can help improve these perceptions, thereby reshaping faculty’s cultural model of technology use.

RESULTING FRAMEWORK: TETC & ISTE EDUCATOR CROSSWALK DANCE The professional teacher education team of teacher candidate, cooperating teacher, and site professor may find the ISTE Ed and TETC Crosswalk Dance (Figure 1) helpful in collaboratively planning and designing learning environments while addressing their individual professional development needs. The primary cultural model components of value, support, and efficacy inform the communities of inquiry presences and influences within the presented theoretical framework. Peacock and Cowan’s (2016) Communities of Inquiry model including Presences and Influences are deemed more useful in providing design depth. The Presences include trusting, meaning-making, and deepening understanding and are chosen to present “as accurately as possible the rigor of contributions expected from each interweaving of Presences” (p. 272). The Influences include meaning-making in supporting discourse, trusting in setting climate, and deepening understanding in selecting content. Both the cultural model components and the Communities of Inquiry Presences and Influences provide the theoretical base and drive the creation of the two proposed promising practice tools, including the ISTE Educator and TETC Crosswalk and the Crosswalk to Rubric Alignment Blending protocol. The protocol includes inquiry-

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Table 1. The intended co-coaching, inquiry-based learning questions derived from the theoretical framework Cultural Models Components

Communities of Inquiry Presences and Influences

Co-Coaching IBL Questions

Self-efficacy factor

Teaching Presence

How are you currently integrating technology within your lessons? Some strengths I see are… How would you like to move forward with these tools?

Generational reluctance with tools factor

Trusting in Setting Climate Influence

My one top, creative, fun contribution that can help shape this collaborative learning and development opportunity is…

Technical support factor

Social Presence

What I hear each of you saying your key need(s) and outcome(s) for your professional development within this lesson are…

Ease/ discomfort with tools factor

Meaning-Making in Supporting Discourse Influence

I think your desired learning outcomes and my desired outcomes could best complement each other by…

Technical support factor

Cognitive Presence

How can I help you move forward with these tools? How can we share our best network support tools?

Teaching/ instructor experience factor

Deepening Understanding in Selecting Content Influence

What are my top 1-3 professional development standards/competencies, supporting learner objectives, and resulting outcomes I would like to contribute to the professional educator collaborative?

based learning co-coaching questions, as driven by the Crosswalk Dance framework. Each of these three artifacts will be presented in greater detail next. Key inquiry-based questions to help guide the professional educator team of preservice teacher educator, inservice cooperating teacher, and teacher educator were formed by positing the questions from within the theoretical framework. The resulting questions are shown below in Table 1.

TETC and ISTE Educator Standards Crosswalks A crosswalk is a “term deployed to describe a mechanism or approach to translating, comparing or moving between meta-data standards or converting skills or content from one discipline to another… to showcase how to move from the old to the new” (Gross, 2012). Examples of crosswalks include a progression from high school to college, that when created and shared widely, would help with greater college success. Another example is for the purpose in this document: a crosswalk that translates for teacher candidates and teacher educators to illuminate a larger systemic thinking alignment between educator (pre-service and in-service) standards and teacher educator competencies for better technologically prepared and supported learning environments. The Future Ready Librarians Crosswalk (South, Sykora, Stoeckl, Liesch, Malespinna, 2018) served as the crosswalk model for this document. The following crosswalks provide interconnections between the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Educator Standards (ISTE, 2013) and the Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs) (Foulger, Graziano, Schmidt-Crawford, Slykhuis, 2017). These two frameworks support and complement each other in that they share the goals of preparing educators who embrace, support, and are supported by the intentional design within each of the frameworks. The ISTE Educator Standards have core concepts of educators as learners, leaders, digital citizens, designers, facilitators, and analysts. The TETCs have core concepts of instructional design; pedagogical approaches; knowledge, skills, and attitudes; online tools; differentiated instruction; technology tools for assessment; effective strategies;

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Table 2. Crosswalk overview:

technology to connect cultures; legal, ethical, and socially-responsible use; professional development and networking; leadership and advocacy; and troubleshooting skills. Use of these crosswalks may assist teacher educators to guide and deepen their personal growth and development. Simultaneously, teacher educators will help prepare and support teacher candidates’ competencies and personal growth within an ever-changing technological learning environment. As well, these crosswalks will also help teacher candidates see a more comprehensive overview of aspiring learning environments that include educator and teacher educator standards and competencies. Mentoring and reverse-mentoring outcomes are possible, and will be supported through the use of these crosswalks. These crosswalk views may also be valuable for educational leaders, cooperating teachers, technology specialists, and other personnel who participate in and support teacher education collaboratives. Such collaboratives could include Future Teachers of America high school groups looking to teaching, higher education as focused upon certification, higher education as focused upon graduate research and development, community partnerships between universities and schools, administrative policy groups, just to name a few possibilities. Therefore, these bi-directional crosswalks allow the reader an initial perspective approach to the multi-faceted learning environment based upon their professional knowledge base and/or focal point. An overview of the ISTE Educator Standards to the Teacher Educator Technology Competencies will be presented next (Table 2). Preservice teacher candidates and inservice cooperating teachers will find this orientation to the crosswalk most beneficial in seeing how the teacher educator’s competencies align with their standards. The full version ISTE to TETC crosswalk is available in Appendix A. Teacher educator roles vary and include such titles as college professor, clinical instructor, adjunct educator, etc. Teacher educators will find the TETC to ISTE crosswalk most beneficial in understanding how their competencies more directly align with teacher candidate and cooperating teacher standards. The crosswalk overview is shown below (Table 3). Greater detail of the completed table is found in Appendix B.

Crosswalk to Rubric Alignment Blending (CRAB) Walk: Alignment Needs Aligning standards or competencies to rubrics is a recommended process for several levels of educators’ and trainers’ collaborative professional development needs. Those working in collaborative environments with multiple educator levels and roles can be easily overwhelmed in trying to weave complementary, but not directly aligned standards and competencies. Well thought out educator team alignment processes could provide greater efficiency toward accountability reports while supporting collaborative creativity. Such processes can greatly facilitate and support such developmental initiatives as competency-based education. Multiple models of such processes are possible. This article provides one such proposed protocol.

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ISTE Educator Standards to Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs) ISTE Educator Standards

Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs)

Learner - Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning.

10. Teacher educators will engage in ongoing professional development and networking activities to improve the integration of technology in teaching. 3. Teacher educators will support the development of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes or teacher candidates as related to teaching with technology in their content area.

Leader - Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning.

11. Teacher educator will engage in leadership and advocacy for using technology. 5. Teacher educators will use technology to differentiate instruction to meet diverse learning needs. 4. Teacher educators will use online tools to enhance teaching and learning. 7. Teacher educators will use effective strategies for teaching online and/or blended/hybrid learning environments.

Citizen - Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world.

9. Teacher educators will address the legal, ethical, and socially responsible use of technology in education.

Collaborator - Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems.

8. Teacher educators will use technology to connect globally with a variety of regions and cultures.

Designer - Educators design authentic, learnerdriven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability.

1. Teacher educators will design instruction that utilizes content-specific technologies to enhance teaching and learning.

Facilitator - Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students.

2. Teacher educators will incorporate pedagogical approaches that prepare teacher candidates to effectively use technology. 7. Teacher educators will use effective strategies for teaching online and/or blended/hybrid learning environments.

Analyst - Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals.

6. Teacher educators will use appropriate technology tools for assessment.

The proposed “CRABwalk” protocol is designed to help align a team’s multiple standards / competencies within one assessment. Measurable outcomes, when incorporating key words and phrases from the requisite standards or competencies, greatly facilitates future learning artifact to standards and competencies alignments. Such alignments could ease efficiency in developing accountability reports to accrediting and licensing agencies.

The CRABwalk within the Crosswalk A promising practice for transitioning from a crosswalk to a standards-aligned rubric with high accountability can be processed through the use of the Crosswalk to Rubric Alignment Blending (CRAB)walk (Table 4). This Crosswalk CRABwalk provides a cognitive tool to facilitate partnership collaboration that can result in greater individual and team growth and development. Professional standard or competency needs are of focus and therefore meet the needs of each educator (preservice, inservice, and teacher educator). The “CRABwalk within the Crosswalk” occurs as both ISTE Educator standards and TETC competencies are collaboratively reviewed and worked. The process is much like a team of crabs mov-

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Table 3. Crosswalk Overview: Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs) to ISTE Educator Standards Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs)

ISTE Educator Standards

1. Teacher educators will design instruction that utilizes contentspecific technologies to enhance teaching and learning.

Designer - Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability.

2. Teacher educators will incorporate pedagogical approaches that prepare teacher candidates to effectively use technology.

Facilitator - Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students.

3. Teacher educators will support the development of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes or teacher candidates as related to teaching with technology in their content area.

Learner - Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning.

4. Teacher educators will use online tools to enhance teaching and learning.

Leader - Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning.

5. Teacher educators will use technology to differentiate instruction to meet diverse learning needs.

Leader - Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning.

6. Teacher educators will use appropriate technology tools for assessment.

Analyst - Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals.

7. Teacher educators will use effective strategies for teaching online and/or blended/hybrid learning environments.

Leader - Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning. Facilitator - Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students.

8. Teacher educators will use technology to connect globally with a variety of regions and cultures.

Collaborator - Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems.

9. Teacher educators will address the legal, ethical, and socially responsible use of technology in education.

Citizen - Educators inspire students to contribute and responsibly participate in the digital world.

10. Teacher educators will engage in ongoing professional development and networking activities to improve the integration of technology in teaching.

Learner - Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning.

11. Teacher educator will engage in leadership and advocacy for using technology.

Leader - Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning.

ing simultaneously along a beach to provide greater support and strength as a unit seeking survival and growth, rather than single members traversing alone. The Crosswalk CRABwalk process involves three process steps, which include inquiry-based question prompts to facilitate the process:

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Table 4. Template Guide for ISTE Educator with TETC Crosswalk CRABwalk Collective Team Rubric Criteria

Individual Role Rubric Criteria

ISTE Ed

ISTE Ed

ISTE Ed

ISTE Ed OR TETC

ISTE Ed OR TETC

ISTE Ed OR TETC

TETC

TETC

TETC

Key CRABwalk Outcome:

1) Collective review the K-12 learner standard needs, including any learner outcome products: a. Rubric Keyword Generation. What are the key words and phrases of the specific K-12 learner standards? b. Process Needs. What are the requisite learner processes toward achieving the learning outcome(s) for the lesson? c. Outcomes. What are the learner outcome products and rubrics? d. Note: It is important at this stage that the collaborative review maintain focus upon reviewing the existing K-12 items. This meeting can occur synchronously or asynchronously and need not take more than 5 minutes. Do not share any educator needs or ideas for involvement at this step. Allow ample time for the next step of individual educator analysis. 2) Individual educator analysis: a. Brainstorming. What are fun, creative ideas I could contribute to these learning process and outcome needs? b. Learner Outcome Formation. How can my top creative, fun contribution align to my requisite (ISTE educator standards or TETC competencies) in multiple ways? c. Personal Learning Objectives and Outcomes. What are my top 1-3 professional development standards/competencies, supporting learner objectives, and resulting outcomes I would like to contribute to the professional educator collaborative? d. Note: It is important at this stage that individual, solitary analysis be conducted. Reasons include a) desire for best individual, reflective creativity time without group think or loud voice domination; b) empowerment of navigating multiple standards that can be applied to creative thought; c) empowerment of resulting professional development standard to outcome contribution potential to a professional collaborative.

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Table 5. Completed Sample of ISTE Educator with TETC Crosswalk CRABwalk Collective Team Rubric Criteria Goal Setting

ISTE Ed

TETC

L.a.

10.a.

Networking

L.b.

10.b. 10.c.

Pedagogical approaches

L.a.

10.b.

Key CRABwalk Outcome: Share an improved pedagogical approach using creative and collaborative technologies gained through both face to face and online networking and learning goals.

3) Collaborative educator design personal and team reflections: a. 1 Minute Overview Shared Passions. My one top, creative, fun contribution that can help shape this collaborative learning and development opportunity is… b. 5 Minute Sharing of Individual Analysis. My personal learning objectives and outcomes for this collaborative are… c. 1 Minute Needs/ Outcomes Statements Reflection. What I hear each of you saying your key need(s) and outcome(s) for your professional development within this lesson are… d. 2 Minute Complement. I think your outcomes and my outcomes could complement each other best by/through …(list ways). 4) Finalizing the associations for rubric development. a. Title ISTE Educator / TETC columns i. How can we equally merge our most passionate, professional learning outcomes within this ISTE Educator and TETC collaborative lesson? ii. Which of our individual, supporting ISTE Educator and TETC standards/ competencies are to be included in the Crosswalk CRABwalk? Note: Add these alpha-numeric column title references to standards and competencies. b. Determine standards / competencies keywords and phrases i. What are the key words or phrases from each of the ISTE Educator (italicized) and TETC (underlined) standards/ competencies? ii. How can these be combined into criteria for our collaborative product rubric? c. Remaining individual educator needs not met by the Crosswalk Rubric and recommended to be included are added with a definite dividing line to the existing rubric. A completed sample of this process focusing upon the K-12 student’s “Empowered Learner” 1a ISTE Standard pertaining to setting learning goals is provide below (Table 5). The “ISTE Ed” section contains references to the “Learner” (L) specific standards. The ISTE Educator Learner “a” standard of “Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness” and the 10.a. and 10.b. Teacher Educator Technology Competencies of “Define goals for personal growth in using technology,” and “Support teacher candidates’ continuous participation in networking activities to increase their knowledge of technology” were used for this example.

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Table 6. Sample rubric containing ISTE Educator standards and TET Competencies           Collective Team Rubric Criteria

          Exemplary

          Proficient

          Needs Improvement

          Goal Setting

          Technology learning goals were set and defined.

          Goals or technology explorations need greater definition.

          Greater collaboration needed to set learning and/or technology exploration goals.

          Networking

          Professional technology interest learning and possibly contributions demonstrated through local and global networks.

          Professional technology interest learning demonstrated. Contributions and/or global networks needed.

          Greater effort needed in terms of accessing local and global networks focused upon greater technology learning.

          Pedagogical Approaches

          New technologyinfused pedagogical approaches demonstrated and shared.

          Either technology or pedagogy needs improvement.

          Greater efforts in learning and applying technological approached to pedagogy needed.

The “Key CRABwalk Outcome” section contains a sample collective outcome for everyone, including the preservice teacher candidate, inservice cooperating teacher, and higher education educator. No additional individual criteria were deemed necessary in this example.

ISTE Educator with TETC Rubric Finalization and Sample The finalization of the above ISTE Educator with TETC Rubric process steps result in a usable rubric to be used in learning management systems for future learning outcome standards-based alignments. This article assumes educators’ previous learning and development experiences related to rubric development. A completed sample is seen in Table 6 below.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS In an effort to change teacher educators’ attitudes and beliefs and ultimately their cultural models toward technology implementation, it is important to address the main challenges and obstacles they face: selfefficacy with technology, support with technology tools, and possible generational factors. This ISTE Ed / TETC Crosswalk Dance and the CRABwalk protocol are an approach for addressing the multiple standards and competencies through collaboration across all educator groups. The coaching and inquirybased design provides educators a support network that can help alleviate the barriers that impede the implementation of these important 21st century skills.

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APPENDIX 1 Table 7. ISTE Educator Standards to Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs) Crosswalk ISTE EDUCATOR STANDARDS Learner Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. Educators:

Teacher Educator Technology Competencies #10. Teacher educators will engage in ongoing professional development and networking activities to improve the integration of technology in teaching. #3. Teacher educators will support the development of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes or teacher candidates as related to teaching with technology in their content area.

a. Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness. 10.a. Define goals for personal growth in using technology. 10.c. Support teacher candidates’ continuous participation in networking activities to increase their knowledge of technology. b. Pursue professional interests by creating and actively participating in local and global learning networks. 10.b. Engage in continuous professional development and networking activities promoting technology knowledge and skills. c. Stay current with research that supports improved student learning outcomes, including findings from the learning sciences. 3.a. Support teacher candidates’ alignment of content with pedagogy and appropriate technology. 3.b. Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to reflect on their attitudes about using technology for teaching and for their own learning. 3.c. Provide opportunities to develop teacher candidates’ efficacy about using technology in teaching.

Leader Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning. Educators:

#11. Teacher educator will engage in leadership and advocacy for using technology. #5. Teacher educators will use technology to differentiate instruction to meet diverse learning needs. #4. Teacher educators will use online tools to enhance teaching and learning. #7. Teacher educators will use effective strategies for teaching online and/or blended/ hybrid learning environments.

a. Shape, advance and accelerate a shared vision for empowered learning with technology by engaging with education stakeholders. 11.a. Share a vision for teaching and learning with technology 11.b. Engage with professional organizations that advocate technology use in education. 11.c. Seek to influence the opinions and decisions of others regarding technology integration. 11.d. Assist teacher candidates in becoming advocates for using technology to enhance teaching and learning. 11.e. Support teacher candidates in understanding local, state, and national technology policies in education. b. Advocate for equitable access to educational technology, digital content and learning opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students. 5.a. Design instruction using technology to meet the needs of diverse learners. 5.b. Demonstrate using assistive technologies to maximize learning for individual student needs. 5.c. Model using technology to differentiate learning in teaching and learning. 5.d. Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to create learning activities using technology to differentiate instruction. 1.a. Evaluate content-specific technology for teaching and learning. 2.b. Assist teacher candidates with evaluating the affordances of content-specific technologies to support student learning. c. Model for colleagues the identification, exploration, evaluation, curation and adoption of new digital resources and tools for learning. 4.a. Communicate using online tools. 4.b. Collaborate using online tools. 4.c. Design instruction using online tools. 4.d. Assess teacher candidates using online tools. 7.a. Model online and blended learning methods and strategies.

Citizen Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world. Educators:

#9. Teacher educators will address the legal, ethical, and socially responsible use of technology in education.

a. Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic behavior online that build relationships and community. 9.c. Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to design curriculum following legal, ethical, and socially-responsible uses of technology. b. Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online resources and fosters digital literacy and media fluency. 9.a. Model the legal, ethical, and socially-responsible use of technology for teaching and learning. c. Mentor students in safe, legal and ethical practices with digital tools and the protection of intellectual rights and property. 9.b. Guide teacher candidates’ use of technology in legal, ethical, and socially-responsible ways. d. Model and promote management of personal data and digital identity and protect student data privacy. 9.a. Model the legal, ethical, and socially-responsible use of technology for teaching and learning.

Collaborator Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems. Educators:

#8. Teacher educators will use technology to connect globally with a variety of regions and cultures.

continued on following page

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Table 7. Continued ISTE EDUCATOR STANDARDS

Teacher Educator Technology Competencies

a. Dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to create authentic learning experiences that leverage technology. 8.a. Model global engagement using technologies to connect teacher candidates with other cultures and locations. b. Collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and use new digital resources and diagnose and troubleshoot technology issues. 12.Teacher educators will apply basic troubleshooting skills to resolve technology issues. a. Configure digital devices for teaching. b. Operate digital devices during teaching. c. Model basic troubleshooting skills during teaching. d. Find solutions to problems related to technology using a variety of resources. c. Use collaborative tools to expand students’ authentic, real-world learning experiences by engaging virtually with experts, teams and students, locally and globally. 8.b. Design instruction in which teacher candidates use technology to collaborate with learners from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. d. Demonstrate cultural competency when communicating with students, parents and colleagues and interact with them as co-collaborators in student learning. 8.c. Address strategies needed for cultures and regions having different levels of technological connectivity.

Designer Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability. Educators:

#1. Teacher educators will design instruction that utilizes content-specific technologies to enhance teaching and learning.

a. Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs. #5. Teacher educators will use technology to differentiate instruction to meet diverse learning needs. 5.a. Design instruction using technology to meet the needs of diverse learners. 5.b. Demonstrate using assistive technologies to maximize learning for individual student needs. 5.c. Model using technology to differentiate learning in teaching and learning. 5.d. Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to create learning activities using technology to differentiate instruction. b. Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning. 1.a. Evaluate content-specific technology for teaching and learning. 1.b. Align content with pedagogical approaches and appropriate technology. c. Explore and apply instructional design principles to create innovative digital learning environments that engage and support learning. 1.c. Model approaches for aligning the content being taught with appropriate pedagogy and technology.

Facilitator Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students. Educators:

#2. Teacher educators will incorporate pedagogical approaches that prepare teacher candidates to effectively use technology. #7. Teacher educators will use effective strategies for teaching online and/or blended/ hybrid learning environments.

a. Foster a culture where students take ownership of their learning goals and outcomes in both independent and group settings. 2.c. Assist teacher candidates with the selection and use of content-specific technologies to support student learning. b. Manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual environments, hands-on makerspaces or in the field. 2.d. Facilitate opportunities for teacher candidates to practice teaching with technology. 7.b. Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to practice teaching online and/or in blended/hybrid learning environments. c. Create learning opportunities that challenge students to use a design process and computational thinking to innovate and solve problems. 2.a. Model using technology for accessing, analyzing, creating, and evaluating information. d. Model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or connections. 2.d. Facilitate opportunities for teacher candidates to practice teaching with technology.

Analyst Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals. Educators:

#6. Teacher educators will use appropriate technology tools for assessment.

a. Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on their learning using technology. 6.a. Use technology to assess teacher candidates’ competence and knowledge. b. Use technology to design and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments that accommodate learner needs, provide timely feedback to students and inform instruction. 6.b. Model a variety of assessment practices that use technology. c. Use assessment data to guide progress and communicate with students, parents and education stakeholders to build student self-direction. 6.c. Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to use appropriate technology for assessment.

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APPENDIX 2 Table 8. Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs) to ISTE Educator Standards Crosswalk Teacher Educator Technology Competencies 1. Teacher educators will design instruction that utilizes content-specific technologies to enhance teaching and learning.

ISTE Educator Standards Designer - Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability. Educators:

a. Evaluate content-specific technology for teaching and learning. b. Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning. Learner b. Advocate for equitable access to educational technology, digital content and learning opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students. b. Align content with pedagogical approaches and appropriate technology. c. Model approaches for aligning the content being taught with appropriate pedagogy and technology. c. Explore and apply instructional design principles to create innovative digital learning environments that engage and support learning.

2. Teacher educators will incorporate pedagogical approaches that prepare teacher candidates to effectively use technology.

Facilitator - Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students. Educators:

a. Model using technology for accessing, analyzing, creating, and evaluating information. c. Create learning opportunities that challenge students to use a design process and computational thinking to innovate and solve problems. b. Assist teacher candidates with evaluating the affordances of content-specific technologies to support student learning. Designer b. Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning. c. Assist teacher candidates with the selection and use of content-specific technologies to support student learning. a. Foster a culture where students take ownership of their learning goals and outcomes in both independent and group settings. d. Facilitate opportunities for teacher candidates to practice teaching with technology b. Manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual environments, hands-on makerspaces or in the field. Facilitator d. Model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or connections.

3. Teacher educators will support the development of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of teacher candidates as related to teaching with technology in their content area.

Learner - Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. Educators:

a. Support teacher candidates’ alignment of content with pedagogy and appropriate technology. c. Stay current with research that supports improved student learning outcomes, including findings from the learning sciences. b. Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to reflect on their attitudes about using technology for teaching and for their own learning. c. Provide opportunities to develop teacher candidates’ efficacy about using technology in teaching.

4. Teacher educators will use online tools to enhance teaching and learning.

Leader - Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning. Educators:

a. Communicate using online tools. c. Model for colleagues the identification, exploration, evaluation, curation and adoption of new digital resources and tools for learning. b. Collaborate using online tools. c. Design instruction using online tools. d. Assess teacher candidates using online tools.

5. Teacher educators will use technology to differentiate instruction to meet diverse learning needs.

Leader - Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning. Educators: Designer - Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability. Educators:

a. Design instruction using technology to meet the needs of diverse learners. Leader b. Advocate for equitable access to educational technology, digital content and learning opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students. Designer a. Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs. b. Demonstrate using assistive technologies to maximize learning for individual student needs. c. Model using technology to differentiate learning in teaching and learning. d. Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to create learning activities using technology to differentiate instruction.

6. Teacher educators will use appropriate technology tools for assessment.

Analyst - Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals.

a. Use technology to assess teacher candidates’ competence and knowledge. a. Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on their learning using technology. b. Model a variety of assessment practices that use technology. b. Use technology to design and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments that accommodate learner needs, provide timely feedback to students and inform instruction. c. Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to use appropriate technology for assessment. c. Use assessment data to guide progress and communicate with students, parents and education stakeholders to build student self-direction.

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Table 8. Continued Teacher Educator Technology Competencies

ISTE Educator Standards

7. Teacher educators will use effective strategies for teaching online and/or blended/ hybrid learning environments.

Leader - Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning. Educators: Facilitator - Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students. Educators:

a. Model online and blended learning methods and strategies. Leader c. Model for colleagues the identification, exploration, evaluation, curation and adoption of new digital resources and tools for learning. b. Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to practice teaching online and/or in blended/hybrid learning environments. Facilitator b. Manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual environments, hands-on makerspaces or in the field.

8. Teacher educators will use technology to connect globally with a variety of regions and cultures.

Collaborator- Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems. Educators:

a. Model global engagement using technologies to connect teacher candidates with other cultures and locations. a. Dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to create authentic learning experiences that leverage technology. b. Design instruction in which teacher candidates use technology to collaborate with learners from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. c. Use collaborative tools to expand students’ authentic, real-world learning experiences by engaging virtually with experts, teams and students, locally and globally. c. Address strategies needed for cultures and regions having different levels of technological connectivity. d. Demonstrate cultural competency when communicating with students, parents, and colleagues and interact with them as co-collaborators in student learning.

9. Teacher educators will address the legal, ethical, and socially-responsible use of technology in education.

Citizen - Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world. Educators:

a. Model the legal, ethical, and socially-responsible use of technology for teaching and learning. b. Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online resources and fosters digital literacy and media fluency. d. Model and promote management of personal data and digital identity and protect student data privacy. b. Guide teacher candidates’ use of technology in legal, ethical, and socially-responsible ways. c. Mentor students in safe, legal and ethical practices with digital tools and the protection of intellectual rights and property. c. Provide opportunities for teacher candidates to design curriculum following legal, ethical, and socially-responsible uses of technology. a. Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic behavior online that build relationships and community.

10. Teacher educators will engage in ongoing professional development and networking activities to improve the integration of technology in teaching.

Learner Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. Educators:

a. Define goals for personal growth in using technology. a. Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness. b. Engage in continuous professional development and networking activities promoting technology knowledge and skills. b. Pursue professional interests by creating and actively participating in local and global learning networks. c. Support teacher candidates’ continuous participation in networking activities to increase their knowledge of technology. a. Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness.

11. Teacher educators will engage in leadership and advocacy for using technology.

Leader - Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning. Educators:

a. Share a vision for teaching and learning with technology. a. Shape, advance and accelerate a shared vision for empowered learning with technology by engaging with education stakeholders. b. Engage with professional organizations that advocate technology use in education. c. Seek to influence the opinions and decisions of others regarding technology integration. d. Assist teacher candidates in becoming advocates for using technology to enhance teaching and learning. e. Support teacher candidates in understanding local, state, and national technology policies in education.

12. Teacher educators will apply basic troubleshooting skills to resolve technology issues.

Collaborator - Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems. Educators:

a. Configure digital devices for teaching. b. Collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and use new digital resources and diagnose and troubleshoot technology issues. b. Operate digital devices during teaching. c. Model basic troubleshooting skills during teaching. d. Find solutions to problems related to technology using a variety of resources. Note: List of current Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs) can be found at http://site.aace.org/tetc

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Technology Integration in Teacher Education: Implications for Policy and Curriculum Reform Charity Mukiri Limboro Kenyatta University, Kenya Ephantus Micheni Kaugi Kenyatta University, Kenya

ABSTRACT This study examined the availability of computers and internet in the classroom or elsewhere at teacher colleges, teacher preparation and training in technology integration, as well as trainers’ use of technology in classroom instruction. A survey questionnaire was distributed randomly to 63 teacher trainers from three public and one private teacher training college in Kenya. The data was analyzed descriptively using SPSS software. The results indicated that technology integration at the classroom level was too low due to lack of computers and internet access in the classrooms. Teacher trainers were inadequately trained in information and communication technology integration and therefore poorly equipped to integrate technology in the classroom. The study concludes that teacher colleges were not adequately prepared for ICT integration in teaching and learning. It is recommended that teacher colleges’ ICT infrastructure be improved and teacher trainers’ capacity on ICT integration be developed for the success of the current curriculum reforms.

INTRODUCTION In the 21st century availability of computers and the Internet in learning institutions have improved and this has led to shift of focus from availability of the technology infrastructure to technology integration in classroom instruction. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration in teaching and learning refers to use of technology tools in general content area in classroom instruction in order DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch016

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 Technology Integration in Teacher Education

to enhance students learning and problem solving skills. However, availability and access to technology is intertwined with technology integration in the sense that, trainers are more likely to integrate computers and the Internet into classroom instruction if they have access to adequate tools and connections (Smerton et al, 2000). Globally, many governments have heavily invested in ICTto improve teaching and learning in schools. In spite of all these investments on ICT infrastructure and teachers capacity building to improve quality of education, integration of technology in teaching and learning have been limited(Buabeng-Andoh, 2012; Hinostroza, 2018). More than ever before, teachers are expected to integrate technology in the classroom instruction so as to facilitate students to learn better. Empirical evidence attests that appropriate use of technology makes learning more meaningful and fun. It also improves learners’ engagement, knowledge and retention of content. ICT- aided education has the potential to develop students’ decision-making and problem solving skills, data processing skills, and communication capabilities (Whitworth & Berson 2002). We are in the digital age where technology is virtually everywhere including our homes, places of work, and social places making it indispensable. Digital devices such as mobile phones are affordable across the social divides which have gone a long way to support access to current and real time information and knowledge which can be used appropriately to enhance learning (Apkan, 2002; Bork, 2002; Dwyer, Ringstaff, and Sandholtz, 1990; Kian-Sam Hong, Abang Ahmad Ridzuan and Ming-Koon Kuek, 2003; Lee and Dziuban, 2002; Thompson, 2003). As a result, learners are already ahead of the teachers in regard to use of technology and this makes it imperative that pre-service teacher training courses should incorporate technology integration in teacher training to empower teachers. Generally, technology has changed the way we do things because with technology information is now accessible by a click of a button. One key benefit of digital literacy and technological integration is the cultivation of the 21st century skills which are collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking. Furthermore, we are in knowledge-based economy that necessitates a workforce that is skilled in the use of technology to gain the necessary competitive edge at the global level. However, technology integration in education requires substantial resource investments and proper planning.

Teacher Preparation In the digital age, there is need to embrace technology integration in order to prepare teachers for the digital workplace. According to ISTE (2000a) a successful school provides integrated technology experiences for the students in order to:(i)increase their technological capabilities; (ii) seek, analyse and evaluate new information; (iii) become problem-solvers and decision-makers; (iv) use tools creatively and effectively to assist them in decisions; and (v) become communicators, collaborators, publishers and producers. Technology should be an integral part of teacher preparation programs. This will support teachers to design learning environments and experiences that leverage digital tools and resources that maximize students’ learning outcomes (Atheya et. al 2016). If well trained in ICT integration, teachers can play a key role in meaningful use of technology in their teaching to enhance learning because teachers tend to teach the way that they were trained (Ball, 1990, Lortie, 1975). Consequently, teacher preparation programs should not simply offer a course in educational technology, but also model effective use of technology in teaching of other courses so as to prepare teachers to integrate technology in the world of work.

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Planning for Technology Integration in Education Technology integration in educational setting requires effective planning. An effective plan should reflect the real needs of education institutions to enhance quality learning environments. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) comprises computers, internet, and electronic delivery systems such as the radio, television, and projectors that are used today in teaching and learning (Jo Shan Fu, 2013). Provision of adequate ICT infrastructure that includes tools for teacher trainers and teacher trainees/students is critical for effective integration of technology in the school curriculum. In this study technology includes the computer system, Internet, networks and communication devices, software infrastructural and financial resources. These infrastructure and the ICT tools are necessary for use by the teacher trainers and trainees to give them hands on experience –how to use the ICT tools which is critical for the field of work (Mishra & Koehler, 2008). A computer is a multipurpose instrument that can be used to store, manipulate, and retrieve information, while at the same time having the capability to not only engage students in instructional activities but to increase their learning (Jonassen & Reeves, 1996) cited in Afshari, et al (2009). This underscores the need for teacher trainers to have adequate competences on how to use them. This is supported by .Beggs, T.A. (2000) and Brzycki, D. & Dudt, K. (2005) who argue that for teacher trainers to require incentives such as training, administrative support, personal comfort to be as buy-in to support the use of teaching in teaching and learning.

Integration of ICT in Subject Areas Technology integration is the use of technology tools such as in general content areas in education in order to allow learners to apply skills to learning and problem-solving. Teacher trainers, especially facilitators of teaching method courses in various content areas, need to be able to use and model appropriate uses of the latest technology available. Hands on experience –how to use the ICT tools is critical for modelling the world of work (CAEP, 2015). Effective integration of technology is achieved when students are able to select technology tools to help them obtain information in a timely manner, analyze and synthesize the information, and present it professionally to an authentic audience. In the 21st century technology should become an integral part of how the classroom functions—it should be accessible like all other classroom tools. Nonetheless the focus in each lesson or unit is the curriculum outcome, not the technology. This calls for appropriate use of technology to enhance learning.

Problem Statement Teachers need relevant knowledge and skills in relation to ICT integration in teaching learning processes. This will empower them to embrace change in the face of the new paradigm shift in teaching and learning brought about by the demands of ICT tools. With emergence of the most recent global movement dabbed the 21st skills, whose main focus is integration of technology in education, it is essential that teachers are digital literate and well- grounded on integration of technology in the teaching learning process. Despite the growth and explosion of ICT globally, developing economies are lagging behind in the adoption and implementation of technology in education. Digital literacy is perceived as the ability to use ICTs to evaluate, create and communicate information requiring both cognitive and technical skills (Viser, 2012). Digital literacy competence will help teachers guide students in the process of sieving 284

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relevant or appropriate information for their consumption. It is for this reason that this study intended to examine the level of ICT integration in teacher training colleges.

The objectives of this study were to: a. Examine the preparedness of teacher trainers on ICT integration in teaching and learning. b. Examine teacher training colleges’ provision of relevant infrastructure to support ICT integration in teaching and learning. c. Find out the extent to which teacher trainers are integrating ICT in teaching and learning.

METHOD The target population consisted of 22 public and 10 private primary school teacher colleges in Kenya, 32 Deans of curriculum and 320 teacher trainers. Three public and one private teacher colleges were purposely sampled while stratified random sampling based on broad curricular areas was used to select 63 teacher trainers from the four colleges. The study employed a survey for data collection. A questionnaire was administered to 63 teacher trainers drawn from three public and one private teacher training colleges in Kenya. According to Gay & Airasian (2003) a survey allows the researcher to collect data from participants of a population with respect to one or more variables. A research permit was obtained from National Commission for Science and Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) and introduction letters from the relevant government officers before commencing data collection. Consent was sought from the respondents before data collection and respondents were assured of confidentiality in handling of the information they provided. After obtaining the necessary approvals from the university and ministry of education the research visited the primary teacher colleges and administered the questionnaires. After the field data collection the questionnaires were checked for completeness and then the data was coded and analysed through use of SPSS version 21.

FINDINGS Teacher Trainers Preparedness on ICT Integration The study sought to find out how well teacher trainers were prepared to use computers and the internet for classroom instruction. On a four point scale (very well prepared; well prepared; somewhat prepared; not at all prepared) the teacher trainers were asked to rate what they felt about their preparedness in ICT integration in teaching and learning. The findings are presented on Figure 1. Nineteen percent of teacher trainers reported feeling “very well prepared,” whereas and 25.9% reported feeling “well prepared” to use computers and internet for classroom instruction, while 43.1% reported feeling “somewhat prepared” to use these technologies for instruction. However, 12% reported feeling “not at all prepared” to use these technologies for instruction.

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Figure 1: Percent of teacher trainers by extent to which they felt prepared to use computers and the internet for instruction

Figure 2. Proportion of trainers reporting the availability of certain incentives from college or ministry of education for participation in professional development

Support for Participation in Technology Training Teacher trainers were asked if the following incentives: Release time, paid expenses, stipends, course considered for promotion, additional resources for the teacher or classroom, or connection to the internet from home were available to trainers for participation in training to use computers or internet. The findings are presented in Figure 2. The main incentive available was release time (26.3%); followed by provision of additional resources like computers (22.2%) and internet connection to their residence from school internet network and payment of training expenses that stood at19.6% for each. Course consideration for promotion purposes and payment of stipends had the least rating at 8.9% and 5.3% respectively. The provision of incentives was low with the highest rated incentive going at 26.3% and the lowest at 5.3%. Although provision of release time to attend training on ICT integration in teaching and learning and connection of internet at residence are key incentives to motivate teachers’ attendance of ICT integration training the study findings show that the provision of the same was low.

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Table 1. Extent to which various players prepared teacher trainers to use computer and internet Types of players

Not at all

Small extent

Moderate extent

Large extent

a. College/graduate work

20%

36%

20%

24%

b. Professional development activities

7%

27%

41%

25%

c. Colleagues

10%

47%

31%

12%

d. Students

47%

34%

17%

2%

e. Independent learning

3%

22%

21%

53%

N=63

Figure 3. Hours of formal professional development teacher trainers were engaged in formal professional development on use of computers and internet

On a scale of 1-4 (Not all, small extent, moderate, large extent) the study sought to find out to what extent the various players (College/graduate work, professional development activities, colleagues, students and independent learning)prepared teacher trainers to use computers and internet. The findings are presented in Table 1. A majority of the teacher trainers (74%) learnt use of computers on their own with a rating of 21% for moderate extent and 53% for large extent. This was followed by professional development activities with 44% (with a rating of 20% for moderate and 24% for large extent); college work/graduate (44%) with a rating of 20% for moderate and 24% for large extent while 43% of the teacher trainers indicated that they were trained by colleagues with a rating of 31% and 12% for moderate and to large extent respectively. Nevertheless, a small percentage (19%) indicated they were prepared by the students with a rating of 17% for moderate and 2% for large extent. The study examined the number of hours that the teacher trainers were engaged in the formal professional development on the use of computers and internet during the last three years. The findings are presented on Figure 3. Many of the teacher trainers (37.9%) had between one and eight hours of formal professional development on use of computers and internet engagement, 20.7% had more than 32 hours and 17.2% had 9-32 hours. Given, 24.1% had no formal engagement on professional development on use of computers and internet and many of the teacher trainers (37.9%) have a minimal engagement of (1-8 hours),this underscores the need for teacher trainers to have adequate competences on how to use ICT tools. This puts into question the capacity of teacher trainers to integrate technology in teaching and learning.

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Table 2. College requirements for technology training for teachers and available incentives College requirements for technology training Require technology training for teachers?

Yes 94.90%

No 5.10%

Encourage technology training with incentives?

54.50%

45.50%

Leave it up to teachers to initiate participation?

52.60%

47.40%

N=63

The study further sought to find out whether the colleges: a) require technology training for teachers; b) encourage technology training with incentives and; c) leave it up to the teacher trainers to initiate participation in technology training. The findings are presented on Table 2. Whereas almost all the teacher trainers (94.9%) indicated that their colleges require technology training, 54.5% encouraged technology training with incentives while 52.6% left the teacher trainers to initiate their participation in technology training respectively. This suggests that the motivation for teacher trainers to engage in training for technology integration is low. On the other hand, teacher trainers may not take training in ICT seriously since they are left at liberty to decide on whether to engage in ICT training or not.

Provision Of Training Opportunities The study also examined training opportunities provided to teacher trainers by college or ministry of education. The teacher trainers were asked, ‘Does the ministry of education or college make the following types of training available to you and, if yes, have you ever participated in these programs?’ The findings are presented on Table 3. The main type of training available for teacher trainers was use of computers/basic computer training (63%), followed by use of internet (49%). Conversely, 40% of the teacher trainers indicated availability of integration of technology in the curriculum while 36% indicated software application and 25% use of advanced telecommunications (e.g., interactive audio, video, closed-circuit TV). Only, 11% of the respondents indicated availability of follow up and/or advanced training. This finding on use of advanced telecommunications is contrary to our expectation that there would be more follow up and/ advanced training on ICT to enable teacher trainers to effectively integrate ICT in teaching and learning. Consequently, teacher trainers do not have adequate opportunities for acquisition of skills in integration of ICT in teaching and learning. In relation to participation in the training, 86% of the respondents who indicated availability of basic computers training (63%) participated in the training. On use of internet, 54% of those who had indicated availability of use of internet training (49%) participated while, 49% of the 40% who had indicated availability of training on integration of technology in the curriculum participated in the training. Further, 48% of the 36% who had indicated availability of software applications training participated. Finally, of the 11% who indicated availability of follow up and/or advance training only 11% participated. These findings suggest that teacher trainers were more likely to participate in the training if the training opportunities were available. However, given that half the teacher trainers did not participate in training on integration of technology in the curriculum, it means they may not have the capacity to integrate technology in teaching and learning.

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Table 3. Training opportunities available and participation of teacher trainers Training opportunities available

If Available Yes

Participated Don’t know

No

Yes

No

a. Use of computers/basic computer training

63

34

4

86

14

b. Software applications

36

59

5

48

52

c. Use of the Internet

49

47

4

54

46

d. Use of other advanced telecommunications (e.g., interactive audio, video, closed-circuit TV

25

67

9

19

81

e. Integration of technology into the curriculum/ classroom instruction

40

54

5

49

51

f. Follow up and/or advanced training

11

79

11

11

89

N=63

The respondents were further asked to indicate the types of incentives available for them to participate in training on computers or internet. The findings are presented in Table 4. Slightly over one quarter (26.3%) of the teacher trainers indicated that their colleges provide release time from classes or other responsibilities to participate in the training on the use of computers and internet. This suggests that a majority of the teacher trainers have to create time outside their official engagement to attend such training which may have negative implications on participation rates due to other competing interests. The second type of incentive was on whether expenses were paid (e.g., tuition, travel, books) for the teacher trainers to attend the training on use of computers or internet. Less than one fifth (19.6%) of the teacher trainers reported that their colleges had provisions to cater for their expenses for training on use of computers and internet. This finding suggests that a majority of the teacher trainers may need to meet their training costs. Bearing in mind that teacher trainers have other competing expenses to meet from their income it’s highly probable that they may not be able to pay for such training. This therefore may impact negatively on their participation in the training on use of computers and internet which is a foundation skill in technology integration in teaching learning. The third type of incentive was on whether teacher trainers were givenstipends/allowances to attend training on use of computers or internet. A negligible proportion of the teacher trainers (5.3%) reported that stipends/allowances were provided. This finding suggests that the ministry/colleges does very little to motivate teacher trainers to participate in training on use of computers and internet. The fourth type of incentive was on whether the training on the use of computers or internet was considered for teacher trainers’ promotion. Only 8.9% answered in the affirmative. Considering that teacher trainers just like any other employee would be motivated to enrol in a course that leads to promotion such a finding implies that the teacher trainers may not really see the need to participate in such training. The fifth type of incentive was on whether there was provision for internet connection to teacher trainers’ residence through the college network as an incentive to attend training on use of computers or internet. Only about a fifth of the teacher trainers (19.6%) reported availability of internet connection at their residence through the college network. This finding suggests that a majority of the teacher trainers use personal internet connections while at their residence. This is likely to negatively impact on such

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Table 4. Types of incentives available to teacher trainers participating in training on use computers or internet Types of incentives available

Yes

Don’t Know

No

a. School or college provides release time from classes or other responsibilities

26.3

57.9

15.8

b. Expenses are paid (e.g., tuition, travel, books)

19.6

66.1

14.3

c. Stipends are provided/allowances

5.3

78.9

15.8

d. Course considered for promotion

8.9

75.0

16.1

e. Connection to the Internet from residence through your school’s network

19.6

67.9

12.5

f. Additional resources for you or your classroom (e.g. computers, software, etc.)

22.2

64.8

13.0

N=63

Table 5. Number of computers per class and those available for instruction by college Number of computers/ Laptops/tablets In the computer lab used for instruction

Number of computers/ laptops/tablets in classroom

College K

0

21

M

0

14

T

0

19

P

0

6

Total

0

60

N=63

teacher trainers’ integration of technology in teaching and learning especially in those activities which they may need to do while at their residence. The last incentive was on whether there was provision for additional resources for teacher trainers or in their classroom (e.g. computers, software, etc.) as an incentive to attend training on use of computers or internet. Only slightly over one fifth (22.2%) reported that such incentives were available. This finding suggests that teacher trainers have to do with what is available and in the event that there is need of such resources then this may negatively impact on the integration of technology in teaching and learning.

Technology Integration Infrastructure The study sought data on the number of computers the teacher trainers had in the classes and how many of such computers were used for instruction. The findings are presented on Table 5. There were no computers available in classrooms for instruction in the subject areas in all the teacher training colleges. The available computers were mainly in the computer laboratories and were especially used for ICT class. In teacher training colleges ICT is a core subject intended to give students a foundation on computer hardware and software which is keyto ICT integration in teaching and learning. However,

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Table 6. Available sources of internet in the teacher colleges Sources of internet

Proportion

Wi-Fi

62%

Cable internet

13%

data bundle

16%

N=63

Table 7. Percentage of the students who had access to a computer and a mobile phone College K

Computer (%) 99.2

Mobile phone (%) 96.8

M

60.9

97.5

T

78.4

91.6

P

48.8

97.8

Total

78.4

95.2

N=63

in view of the few of computers available at the colleges it raises questions on the extent to which the students are grounded on the basic ICT skills for use in the world of work. The study examined the available sources of internet at the teacher training colleges. The findings are presented on the Table 6. Wi-Fi was the main source of internet (62%) followed by data bundles (16%) and then cable internet (13%) at the teacher training colleges sampled. This suggests that the colleges had reliable sources of internet for use in the integration of technology in teaching and learning. The study sought to find out approximately what percentage of the students had access to a computer and a mobile phone. The findings are presented on Table 7. On average 78.4% of the college students had access to a computer while 95.2% had access to a mobile phone. It can be noted that there were wide disparities with regard to students’ access to a computer across the colleges with College K having the highest access at 99.2% and College P having the lowest access at 48.8%. There was little disparity across colleges with regard to students’ access to mobile phones. College P had the highest mobile phone access at 97.8% compared to College T with the lowest at 91.6%. Given that 95.2% of the students had access to mobile phones, this presents a golden opportunity that can be exploited by teacher trainers for integration of ICT in teaching and learning.

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Table 8. Frequency use of listed E-resources by student’s during class time Not at all a. Computers in the classroom

78%

Rarely 19%

Sometimes 2%

Often 2%

b. Computers in a computer lab/library/media centre

24%

14%

24%

39%

c. Internet from the classroom

48%

29%

16%

7%

d. Internet from a computer lab/library/media centre

33%

7%

29%

31%

e. Distance learning via the Internet

72%

16%

10%

2%

f. Distance learning via other modes of interactive media

62%

29%

5%

3%

g. Graphing calculators

74%

12%

7%

7%

N=63

Technology Integration in Classroom Instruction The study examined how frequently students in a typical class used the listed e-resources during class time. The findings are presented on Table 8. A large majority of the teacher trainers (78%) reported that their students do not use computers in a typical class while19% indicated that students rarely use computers .These finding suggests that there is little computer use by students during class time. On use of computers in a computer lab/library/media centre, 39% indicated that students used computers often while 24% used it sometimes. This shows that there was more use of computers in the labs than in a typical class. These finding suggests there could be minimal integration of ICT in the class because the use of computers in the labs is mainly for computer foundational skills. On the use of internet in the classroom, 29% of the teacher trainers indicated that students used it sometimes while 7% used it often. There was more use of internet from a computer lab/library/media centre with 31% using it often and 29% sometimes. Only 10% used distance learning via the internet sometimes while 2% used it often. Only 5% and 3% used distance learning via other modes of interactive sometimes and often respectively. Finally, only 7% of the teacher trainers reported that students used graphing calculators sometimes and often respectively.

Use of Computer for Instruction Teacher trainers were asked whether they used computers or internet for instruction during class time. Of the 63 teacher trainers 20.6% responded in the affirmative while 63.5% responded in the negative. Nearly 16% did not respond. Further, teacher trainers were asked whether they assigned students projects that required use of computers inside the classroom and outside the classroom. The findings are presented in figure 4. Teacher Trainers assignment of projects to students that involved use of computers inside and outside of the classroom varied from one college to the other. Trainers in college P did not assign students projects that involved use of computers inside the classroom. Teacher trainers in college T were more than three times(30%) likely to assign projects that involved use of computers inside the classroom compared to college M (8%). On the other hand, trainers in College T were four times (80%) more likely

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Figure 4: Percent of teacher trainers’ reporting assignment of students’ projects that required use of computers inside and out the classroom

Table 9. Use of technology in instruction tasks Availability Yes

If available, extent of use No

Not at all

Small extent

Moderate extent

Large extent

a. Computers in your classroom

9%

91%

83%

0%

6%

11%

b. Computers elsewhere in the school (e.g., library, Computer lab)

94%

6%

0%

38%

33%

29%

c. Computers at residence

59%

41%

21%

21%

24%

33%

d. Internet in your classroom

25%

75%

41%

23%

32%

5%

e. Internet elsewhere in the school (e.g., library, Computer lab)

82%

18%

5%

33%

43%

19%

f. Internet at residence

54%

46%

21%

21%

33%

24%

g. E-mail at school

88%

12%

27%

27%

27%

20%

h. School network through which you can access the Internet from residence

35%

65%

32%

29%

25%

14%

N=63

to assign students projects that require use of computers outside the classroom than teacher trainers in college K(21%). These findings imply that the use of technology integration in the classroom was limited.

Technology Use For Instruction And Administrative Activities The study investigated the availability and use of various computer hardware and software. The findings are presented on Table 9. More trainers (11%) with access to computers in the classroom used it to a large extent compared to 6% who used it to a moderate extent. Conversely, more trainers (33%) who had access to computer at residence used it to a moderate extent as opposed to those who used it to a large extent (29%).

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 Technology Integration in Teacher Education

Table 10. Trainers use of computers or internet at the collage or residence to accomplish various tasks At school Not at all

A little

At Residence A lot

Not at all

A little

A lot

a. Create instructional materials (i.e., hand outs, tests, etc.)

19%

52%

30%

18%

48%

33%

b. Gather information for planning lessons

17%

49%

34%

17%

40%

43%

c. Access model lesson plans

40%

45%

15%

40%

40%

20%

d. Access research and best practices for teaching

34%

36%

30%

19%

44%

37%

e. Multimedia presentations for the classroom

56%

43%

2%

48%

41%

10%

f. Administrative record keeping (i.e., grades, attendance etc.)…

26%

43%

31%

33%

40%

27%

g. Communicate with colleagues/other professionals

15%

43%

43%

17%

21%

62%

h. Communicate with students’ parents

50%

39%

11%

55%

34%

10%

i. Communicate with student(s) outside the classroom/classroom hours

20%

70%

11%

36%

43%

21%

j. Post residence work or other class requirements or project information

45%

47%

8%

42%

42%

15%

N=63

In regards to the use of computers elsewhere in the school, more teacher trainers (33%) used it to moderate extent than 29% who used it to a large extent. In addition, many trainers with access to internet at residence, 33% of them used it to a moderate extent while 24% used it to a large extent. More teacher trainers (43%) with access to internet elsewhere in the college used it to a moderate extent compared to 19% who used it to a large extent. Furthermore, more trainers (27%) with E-mail at school used it to a moderate extent to communicate compared 20% who used it to a large extent. Teacher trainers with access to school internet via their residence were more likely to use it to a moderate extent (25%) than to a large extent (14%).Overall, teacher trainers were more likely to use computer and internet at residence and elsewhere in school compared to the classroom. This finding points a limited use of ICT integration in the class. Teacher trainers were asked to what extent they used computer or internet to carry out various tasks related to preparation of instruction materials or administrative tasks such as: creating instructional materials, gathering information for planning lessons) and communication; (e.g., communication with colleagues, students and students’ parents). The findings are presented in Table 10. Except for administrative record keeping tasks, trainers were more likely to use internet a lot at residence to accomplish instructional related tasks. More trainers (62%) used computer or internet at residence to communicate with colleagues compared to 43% at college; followed by gathering information for lesson planning (43% at residence; 34% at college); access to best practices for teaching (37% at residence; 30% at college); and to develop instructional materials (33% at residence; 30% at college). In addition, more teacher trainers at residence (21%) used internet for communication with students than at college (11%). Similarly, more teacher trainers (20%) accessed model lesson plans at residence than at college (15%). Further, more teacher trainers (15%) posted class requirements or project information at residence compared to 8% at college; while 10%used multimedia presentations at residence than at college (2%). Conversely, the level of communication with students’ parents by teacher trainers was almost similar at residence and at college (10% at residence; 11% at college). From the above find-

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 Technology Integration in Teacher Education

Table 11. Percent of trainers reporting assigning students various activities that require use of computers or the internet Not at all

Significant extent

Small extent

NA

Practice drills

25%

14%

16%

46%

Solve problems/analyze data

18%

27%

13%

43%

Use computer applications such as word processing, Spread sheets, etc.

25%

16%

20%

40%

Graphical presentation of materials

25%

13%

14%

48%

Demonstrations/simulations

21%

20%

18%

41%

Produce multimedia reports/projects

27%

20%

9%

44%

Research using CD-ROM

38%

13%

10%

40%

Research using the Internet

14%

21%

41%

23%

Correspond with experts, authors, students from other Schools, etc., via e-mail or Internet

30%

16%

25%

30%

Use of social media (WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram)

5%

14%

57%

23%

N=63

ings, it can be noted that teacher trainers are more likely to use internet for instructional preparation at residence compared to at college. This can be attributed to the fact that trainers are engaged in teaching, and administrative activities during the day and therefore the time available for instructional preparation is at residence after work. Teacher trainers with access to computers or internet were asked to categorise to what extent they assigned students he following activities: Practical drills, Solve problems/analyze data, Use computer applications such as word processing, Spread sheets, Graphical presentation of materials, Demonstrations/simulations, Produce multimedia reports/projects, Research using CD-ROM, Research using the Internet; Correspond with experts, authors, students from other Schools, etc., via e-mail or Internet, Use of social media (WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram).The findings are presented in Table 11. At the significant level, more than half of the trainers (57%) reported that they assigned students to use computers or the internet to communicate or post assignments on social medial; 41% for internet search; 25% for correspondence with experts; 20% for word processing/spreadsheets; 18% for demonstration and simulation; 16% for practice drills; 14% graphical presentations; 13% for solving problems and analyzing data; 10% for CD-ROM research and multimedia projects (9%). Evidently, the use of computers or the Internet to communicate or post assignments on social media and research using the internet were the highest rated activities by teacher trainers. This suggests that these two platforms were currently being used for purposes of ICT integration to a significant extent.

Barriers to Technology Integration in The Classrooms Trainers were asked to rate technology integration barriers at the following levels: Not a barrier; small barrier; moderate barrier; great barrier. At the great barrier level, a majority of the teacher trainers (66.1%) indicated inadequate training opportunities; followed by 57.1% inadequate computers; 50% lack of release time; and 47.4% lack of instructional software. Other barriers rated at the great barrier level

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 Technology Integration in Teacher Education

Table 12. Percent of trainers reporting small, moderate, or great barriers to their use of computers and the internet for instruction Not a barrier

Small barrier

Moderate barrier

Great barrier

a

Not enough computers/laptops/tablets

8.9

8.9

25.0

57.1

b

Out-dated, incompatible, or unreliable computers

20.4

14.8

31.5

33.3

c

Internet access is not easily accessible

12.3

10.5

45.6

31.6

d

Lack of good instructional software

5.3

12.3

35.1

47.4

e

Inadequate training opportunities

7.1

10.7

16.1

66.1

f

Lack of release time for teachers to learn/practice

7.7

15.4

26.9

50.0

g

plan ways to use computers or the Internet

8.0

24.0

28.0

40.0

h

Lack of administrative support

16.1

28.6

26.8

28.6

i

Lack of support regarding ways to integrate ICT into the curriculum

10.5

28.1

31.6

29.8

j

Lack of technical support or advice

10.5

28.1

35.1

26.3

k

Lack of time in schedule for students to use Computers in class

17.2

20.7

27.6

34.5

l

Concern about student access to inappropriate materials

10.5

26.3

35.1

28.1

m

Lack of funding

12.3

17.5

26.3

43.9

N=63

includes; 43.9% lack of funding; 34.5% lack of time in schedule for students to use computers in class; 33.3% indicated outdated, incompatible or unreliable computers and 31.6% internet access. In addition, 29.8% reported lack of support on how to integrate ICT into the curriculum, 28.6% lack of administrative support; and 26.3% lack of technical support. These findings suggest that unless the identified barriers are addressed then effective implementation of ICT integration in teaching and learning remains a mirage.

CONCLUSION Teacher trainers were not adequately trained in ICT integration in teaching and learning. In addition, teacher colleges do not adequately prepare teachers on the use of computers and internet. The main type of training available for teacher trainees was on basic use of computers. Consequently, teacher trainees do not have adequate opportunities for acquisition of skills in integration of ICT in teaching and learning. This implies that by the time they start teaching they may not be in a position to competently use computer and internet in teaching and learning. There were few or no computers in the classrooms for integration of ICT in classroom instruction. As a result, there was little computer use by students during class time. This means that the use of technology integration in the classroom was limited. However, there were a number of computers in computer labs even though there were wide disparities in relation to students’ access to a computer across the colleges. There was high use of computer and internet outside the classrooms which is a good indicator

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of the potential that exists for integration of ICT in teaching and learning if adequate computers were available in the classrooms There was high acces