Teacher Education and ICT PDF

**3.10. Teacher Education and ICT** According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (n.d. ), a teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils (children) and students (adults). The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a schoo1 or other place of formal edu...

**3.10. Teacher Education and ICT** According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (n.d. ), a teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils (children) and students (adults). The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a schoo1 or other place of formal education, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain [specified professional qualifications] or credentials from a recognized institution of higher learning. These professional qualifications may include **[in-depth knowledge of one's discipline and the study of pedagogy (the science and practice of teaching).]** Teachers, like other professionals, may have to continue their education after they qualify, a process known as continuing professional development (CPD). Teachers may use a lesson plan extracted from a course of study called the curriculum to facilitate student learning, teacher's role may vary from culture to culture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teacher, on 29/03/012). Thus a teacher can be described as one who organizes, directs, instructs, guides, and mentor a learner in order to acquire requisite knowledge and skills as prescribed in the relevant and approved curriculum. **3.10.1. What is Teacher Education?** According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (n.d,), teacher education refers to the policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school and wider community. Teacher education is often divided into these stages: - Initial teacher training / education (a pre---service course before entering the classroom as a fully responsible teacher); - Induction (the process of providing training and support during the first few years of teaching or the first year in a particular school); - Teacher development or continuing professional development (CPD), and in service training/refresher courses for practicing teachers. Dan Cavallari (2003) on the other hand, defines teacher education as a Process of providing teachers and potential teachers with the skills and knowledge necessary to teach effectively in a classroom environment. Most teacher education starts with initial training such as a degree program at a college or university, though other paths are available for a candidate to begin teacher education. Once a teacher has completed a degree program, and he or she has obtained certification, a teacher may continue his or her education while teaching full-time. Continuing education courses, seminars, and professional development activities are all considered part of ongoing teacher training. A teacher must complete some sort of teacher education before becoming a full-time teacher. In most cases, a teaching candidate will enroll in a teacher training program at a college or university, thus allowing them the opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree in education. A student may then choose to continue his or her teacher education by obtaining a master's degree, PhD, or professional certificate, (http://videos.wisegeek.com/videos/517283890.htm). From the foregoing definitions, one can conclude that teacher education is a kind of education offered to those who wish to be teachers and/or who are already in the profession, thus a teacher education programme is a kind of programme designed, organized and planned for the production and/or development of persons who intend to be professionals in teaching, accordingly there is therefore the need for the inclusion of ICT related content in every teacher training programmes. **3.10.2. The Need for the Inclusion of ICT in Teacher Education** That teaching involves the use of a wide body of knowledge about the subject being taught, and another set of knowledge about the most effective ways to teach that subject (pedagogy) to different kind of learner, hence the need to consider the role of ICT in supporting teacher education today. The traditional view of the learning process is typically teacher-centered with teachers doing most of the talking and the intellectual work, while students are passive recipients of the information provided. This is not to indicate that the traditional lecture method is without value, as it allows the teacher to quickly convey lots of information to students and is a useful strategy for recall or rote learning. However, it is not the most effective way to help students develop and use higher cognitive skills to solve complex real world problems. As noted by Driscoll (1994), we can no longer view learners as 'empty vessels' waiting to be filled, but rather as active organisms seeking meaning. ICTs in teacher education, describes the essential conditions that must be met for successful technology integration and provides guidelines for the development of a strategic planning process. It also identifies important strategies for managing the change process in the teacher education programme as technology becomes a catalyst for transforming the teaching-learning process. Teacher education institutions may either assume a leadership role in the transformation of education or be left behind in the swirl of rapid technological change. For education to reap the full benefits of ICTs in learning, it is essential that pre-service and in-service teachers have basic ICT skills and competencies. Teacher education institutions and programmes must provide the leadership for pre---service and in service teachers and model the new pedagogies and tools for learning. They must also provide, leadership in determining how the new technologies can best be used in the context of the culture, needs, and economic conditions within their country. To accomplish these goals, teacher education institutions must work closely and effectively with administrators, national or state educational agencies, teacher unions, business and community organizations, politicians and other important stakeholders in the educational system. Teacher education institutions also need to develop strategies and plans to enhance the teaching---learning process within teacher education programmes and to assure that all future teachers are well prepared to use the new tools for learning. The challenge confronting our educational systems is how to transform the curriculum and teaching- learning process to provide students with the skills to function effectively in this dynamic, information---rich, and continuously changing environment. IC1 s provide an array of powerful tools that may help in transforming the present isolated, teacher-centred and text---bound classrooms into rich student-focused, interactive knowledge environments. To meet these challenges, schools must embrace the new technologies and appropriate the new ICT tools for learning. They must also move toward the goal of transforming the traditional paradigm of learning. As technology has created change in all aspects of society, it is also changing our expectations of what students must learn in order to function in the new world economy. Students will have to learn to navigate through large amounts of information, to analyze and make decisions, and to master new knowledge domains in an increasingly technological society. They will need to be lifelong learners, collaborating with others in accomplishing complex tasks, and to master new knowledge domains in an increasingly technological society. They will need to be lifelong learners, collaborating with others in accomplishing complex tasks, and effectively using different systems for representing and communicating knowledge to others. A shift from teacher---centered instruction to learner--- centered instruction is needed to enable students to acquire the new 21^st^ century knowledge and skills. Sandholtz, Ringstaff, and Dwyer (1997), identify that there is a need for a shift from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning. This shift from teaching to learning oriented activity creates more interactive and engaging learning environment for both the teachers and the learners. This new environment also involves a change in the roles of both teachers and students; the role of the teacher will change from knowledge transmitter to that of learning facilitator, knowledge guide, knowledge navigator and co---learner with the student. The new role does not diminish the importance of the teacher but requires new knowledge, technical skills and pedagogies. Students will have greater responsibility for their own learning in this environment as the seek out, find, synthesize, and share their knowledge with others. lCTs provide powerful tools to support the shift to student---centered learning and the new roles of teachers and students. The challenge for ICTs in Teacher Education is to assure that the new generation of teachers as well as current teachers, are well prepared to use new learning methods, processes and materials with the new ICT tools for learning. The following sections provide a road map to help teacher education institutions meet the challenge. There are indications that the new technologies could have radical implications for conventional teaching and learning processes. It notes that, in reconfiguring how teachers and learners gain access to knowledge and information, the new technologies challenge conventional conceptions of both teaching and learning materials, and teaching and learning methods and approaches. The new views of the learning process help shape the new pedagogies for learning. Ultimately, the power of ICTs will be determined by the ability of teachers to use the new tools for learning to create rich, new, and engaging learning environments for their students. The Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education has identified basic principles for development of effective ICT teacher education (SITE, 2002). These are: - Technology should be infused into the entire teacher education programme. Throughout their teacher education experience, students should learn about technology and how to incorporate it into their own teachings. Restricting technology experiences to a single course or to a single area of teacher education, such as methods courses, will not prepare students to be technology-using teachers. Pre-service teacher education students should learn about a wide range of educational technologies across their professional preparation, from introductory and foundations courses to student teaching and professional development experiences. - Technology should be introduced in context. Teaching pre-service students' basic Computer literacy---the traditional operating system, word processor, spread sheet, database, and telecommunications topics is not enough. As with any profession, there is a level of literacy beyond general computer literacy. This more specific or professional literacy involves learning to use technology to foster the educational growth of students. Professional literacy is best learned in context. Pre-service students should learn many uses of technology because they are integrated into their coursework and field experiences. They should see their professors and mentor teachers model innovative uses of technology; they should use it in their own learning, and they should explore creative uses of technology in their teaching. Teacher educators, content specialists, and mentor teachers should expose pre-service teachers to regular and pervasive modeling of technology and provide opportunities for them to teach with technology. - Students should experience innovative technology-supported learning environments in their teacher education programme. Technology can be used to support traditional forms of learning as well as to transform learning. A PowerPoint presentation, for example, can enhance a traditional lecture, but it does not necessarily transform the learning experience. On the other hand, using multimedia cases to teach topics that have previously been addressed through lectures may well be an example of a learning experience transformed by technology. Students should experience both types of uses of technology in their programme; however, the brightest promise of technology in education is as a support for new, innovative, and creative forms of teaching and learning. **3.11. Computer Appreciation/Literacy** **3.11.1. Computer Basics such as MS Word processing, Power Point, MS Access, Excel, etc** **Microsoft Word program:** is a word processor which Can he used to produce typed documents such as letters, essays and reports. Pictures and other graphics can be inserted into the typed document. Word can format your work into columns, tables and simple diagrams. It's also possible to insert links to internet pages. Colour documents can be created and there are also page formatting options to change the look of your document. Word has spell-checker, synonyms, thesaurus and grammar-checker to help ensure that your writing is error free. Word processing involves the use of a mouse and keyboard. **Microsoft Excel:** is used to create spreadsheet (tabulations of data). It is used for financial statements, or compilations of statistics, or other figures. Excel uses the automatic calculation features known as formula, and complex calculations can be done automatically and will recalculate automatically if the figures in the spreadsheet are changed. On excel, graph can be produced in a wide range of styles. This is mostly used for examination compilation and processes hence the need for teachers to be conversant with Microsoft excel. **Microsoft Access**: Database program which allows one to create inventories, lists, catalogues or registers. The database features can be used to generate reports which extract data from your database and print it out in the form you require. There are import and export features which are available to read other database forms or save one database into other formats. **Microsoft PowerPoint:** creates audio visual presentations (projected slide shows") for meetings or seminars. PowerPoint is an effective way to present project results and comes with numerous templates for a quick start. **Microsoft Publisher:** is a powerful, versatile tool to produce documents for publication. Page formats supported include folded brochure, banners, greeting cards as well as flyers (single page documents) and multiple page documents (booklets or newsletters). **3.10.2. Introduction to Internet as an Essential tool for Easy communication, Research etc** **Internet Browsing**: Woltinger, Anne (2007) expresses the opinion that the internet works by allowing you a passage in which to link to a provider. The internet services allow one to connect too many data banks and access their knowledge. According to Carthy Wright (2002) "the links you connect through send your request to many different points around the world to obtain the information you have requested in a search". This also allows for communication by email. **Internet Search Engines**: Closely related to internet browsing are the different search engines through which one can make browsing on the internet. For the students of Islamic Studies and a few of the lecturers who are completely ignorant of computer knowledge and who have no knowledge of internet browsing, one may need to allay their fear by giving them a little information on what they will expect and how they can easily overcome the fear of change which is for the better and to further improve them and enhance their productivity in terms of research and delivery. About 15 of these channels (search engine list 2013) are very popular for linking of the internet which are called search engines. Some of them are [Yahoo Search Engine]. [Google Search Engine]. [Bing Search Engine], [The Opera Search Engine] and [My web search Engine] to mention a few.