CI 201, Introduction to Instructional Technology is the required technology course for all ISU students who are seeking Iowa public school teaching licensure. Between 240 and 330 students take the course during a given semester. The primary focus of the course is on teaching and learning. Students design a series of activities for the grade level and in the content area in which they plan to teach. Projects typically include a detailed lesson plan, an example of what students in the class might create, and an extended reflection on the project. The lesson plan and reflection often count for more than half of the project grade, underscoring the focus on pedagogy rather than technology.

All students attend two 50-minute lectures per week in a large lecture hall. Instructional strategies tend to include lecture with PowerPoint presentation, examples of various types of educational software and web pages from the World Wide Web, video clips, discussion, and written feedback assignments that require applying information from class to a new problem. Interaction between students and instructor occur, but is challenging due to the nature of the class.

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Students also participate in one two-hour lab session each week. Typical labs have between 15 and 22 students and Curriculum and Instructional Technology (CIT) graduate students teach the lab sections. Lab sessions typically center on student projects. TAs explain the project, discuss the grading rubric, give an overview of the software to be used and development process, lead a brainstorming discussion on project ideas and give feedback to individual students. Students often have opportunities to begin work on projects during lab time, but the majority of time spent on projects is done outside of class. TAs work regular hours in the open-access lab so their students can get additional help during those times.

Students in this course use TrackStar to access KITE cased-based reasoning activities to apply, analyze and evaluate their newly acquired pedagogical concepts. Examples of the activities are provided below.

Project: Assessing Quality Education (Team and Individual)
• Activity # 1
• Activity # 2
• Activity # 3
  

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Located at:
http://trackstar.hprtec.org:80/main/track_frames.php3?track_id=174878&nocache=768080153

Equitable Use of Technology in K-12 Classrooms
Track # 174878

K-12 classroom teachers describe access and use of technology resources in their schools. What can we learn from their stories about the digital divide and the use of technology across socio-economic status?

Teacher's Stories
Site Location: http://kite.missouri.edu/jkite/ad_search.htm

K-12 classroom teachers describe their access, and use of technology resources in their schools. What can we learn form their stories about the digital divide and the use of technology across socio-economic statuses?

Recent surveys on K-12 teacher access to technology reveal that distribution of resources between the lower and more affluent students is nearly equitable. However, how that technology is being used with students from different socioeconomic statuses is strikingly different.

1. Find two stories from the same grade level and subject area but from two different socio-economic statuses and compare and contrast the use of technology by:

a. Identifying the nature of the activity
b. Identifying the software is being used?
c. Identifying the expected learning outcome?
d. Identifying level of learning is taking place (knowledge, comprehension, application, synthesis, analysis and evaluation.

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Located at:
http://trackstar.hprtec.org:80/main/track_frames.php3?track_id=144717&nocache=250822

Using Teacher's Stories of Technology Integration to Create Meaningful Learning Experiences for your Students.
Track # 144717

This TrackStar will help you analyze a case of technology integration as told by a practicing 2nd grade teacher. You will use the Active model in order to analyze how well this activity created a meaningful learning experience for the students. You will also use evidence from this case to decide what ISTE NETS Standards for students are being met based on the teacher description of the activity and her goals and objectives for student learning.

Teacher's Story
Site Location: http://kite.missouri.edu/jkite/result.jsp?caseid=8021G&doctable=term&keywords=null

Read this story of a second grade teacher's attempt at integrating technology into her classroom. As you read, consider Grabe and Grabe's discussion of the themes of technology use in the classroom p. 9-14.

• Are these students active in their mental behavior and engaged in higher order thinking activities?
• Is there evidence that the students are working cooperatively?
• Does the activity address more than one content area and does the teacher have more than one learning objective?
• What type of role does the teacher play? Is she a facilitator or a dispenser of knowledge?
• Is the technology being used in a "tools approach? Or is the software specifically designed to teach a particular topic?

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Use evidence from the case to answer these questions. You can copy and paste the teachers' exact words to support your position on these questions. Please e-mail your response to your T.A..

ISTE NETS Standards
Site Location: http://cnets.iste.org/students/s_profile-k2.html

These are the performance indicators for students in Grades K-2. Use them to determine what standards students are meeting as they engage in the activity. You can use the teacher's description of student behaviors as well as the learning goals and objectives to determine which standards this activity fulfills. Copy and paste the teacher words that indicate when a standard is being met followed by the Performance Indicators and the corresponding standard.

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Located at:
http://trackstar.hprtec.org:80/main/track_frames.php3?track_id=174862&nocache=1082443021

Effective use of Computers in the Classroom
Track # 174862
Annotations by: Denise Lindstrom

Examine narratives of K-12 teachers as they describe their technology infused classroom activities.

Case Library
Site Location: http://kite.missouri.edu/jkite/ad_search.htm

Some educators feel that the best use of technology occurs when it allows students to do what otherwise could not be done in the classroom. Examine a case of technology integration by selecting a grade level and subject area. Then answer the following questions.

1. Did the use of technology allow the students to do something they otherwise would not have been able to do inside the classroom? If so explain. If not explain.
2. Would you consider this activity to be a good example of using technology with students? Why or Why not?
3. Do you agree with the initial statement about the use of technology in the classroom? Why or Why not?

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