Tech EDGE 17: Innovation in Teacher Education

Can it really be August already and nearly time for school to begin? Indeed it is, and along with the beginning of a new year comes the Tech EDGE conference for teacher educators, classroom teachers, administrators, and media specialists. This will be our seventeenth Tech EDGE conference planned to meet our mission, "To create a generation of teachers who are effective and confident using new technologies to prepare the students of Nebraska to participate and lead in tomorrow's global society." For more than seven years Guy Trainin and I have been working with university instructors, classroom teachers, and preservice teachers to impact technology integration in the classroom. Throughout this time dozens of classroom teachers have grown in their use of technology in the classroom, then come to present at Tech EDGE so more teachers and preservice teachers can learn how to effectively integrate technology across the curriculum. Because of the partnerships of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Concordia University Nebraska, and multiple schools throughout the state, Tech EDGE received the AACTE 2016 Best Practice Award for Innovative Use of Technology in Teacher Education.

Specifically in the summer we focus on university instructors. We have found that in order for preservice teachers to effectively use technology in their own teaching they need to experience effective teaching and learning with technology in their classes, as well as observe it in field experiences. We assist university instructors in a variety of student-centered learning including running backchannels to involve students, creating screencasts to share content, collaborating using Google Drive, providing ongoing feedback using online formative assessments, and incorporating democratic principles into classrooms.

We invite and hope to welcome all teacher educators from across the state to join us on August 17. We begin by exploring current best practices in education at all levels. At the university we need to know what technologies schools are using and their expectations for new teachers. Colleagues will discuss current topics in round table format, each sharing what they are finding helpful as we learn together. Participants bring their own devices and learn new tools to begin using this semester. Finally we will explore leading edge practices in higher education, focusing on how we can continue to collaborate among teacher education programs.

Checkout our weekly video podcast about mobile learning in K-12 classrooms on iTunes U and on YouTube. We invite you to join us, and share your ideas for keeping teacher education relevant in 21st century classrooms. All the best in the new year!