Creating Social Relationships - The Role of Technology in Preservice Teacher Preparation

Source: Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 59, No. 2, 117-131, March-April (2008)

In this article, the authors explore how the pervasive availability of technology allows for new social arrangements in teacher education by connecting preservice teachers, school-based personnel, university faculty, and others in deep and engaging ways.

The authors illustrate this perspective and then propose four implications for teacher education institutions that build on this view. Specifically, the authors recommend that technology be used in teacher education to (a) create technically literate education professionals, (b) strengthen the practice—theory connection, (c) provide more practice-centered training, and (d) reflect deeply into the scholarship and practice of teaching. The authors discuss each of the four implications in turn and provide examples of institutional practices aligned with these goals.