Building pre-service teachers' leadership capacity for technology integration

Each semester, the pre-service teachers in my Technology in the Classroom course create multimedia instructional technology presentations that can be used to help teachers integrate technology effectively. The assignment increases my students' comfort and efficiency with the use of multiple types of technology, forces them to think through pedagogical and technical issues related to a specific tech tool, and provides them with an opportunity to take on a teacher leadership role. This past semester, I required my students to present to an audience of educators. In past sections of the course, I did not require students to present due to this being a 1-hour course. However, this semester I removed some other assignments in order to add the presentation requirement. Students had options for when and where to present. Some presented at grade level, department, or faculty meetings at the schools where they are currently interning. Others presented at a technology professional development conference in a local school district. Most students chose to present to the School of Education faculty on campus.

I was able to be an active participant in the majority of my students' presentations and was impressed with their ability to talk with ease about technology integration in a way that's focused on pedagogy, student learning, and student engagement. It was an amazing experience for me to see these teaching candidates present to practicing classroom teachers and University faculty. My primary goal is for these pre-service teachers to become leaders in technology integration in their schools and districts, and this assignment works to build their leadership capacity. One of my students who presented at the local district technology conference said that it was a unique experience to lead a teacher workshop before he ever attended one as a participant. Keep reading for the assignment description and links to student presentations.

Below is the assignment description from the syllabus.

Work in pairs to create a multimedia presentation you could use to teach future colleagues about how to integrate a specific technology tool into their classrooms. Your presentation must give teachers a rationale for why they should use the tool, an overview of how the tool works, sample ways to use it, and technical instructions for using it. Include at least four different types of media, such as images, text, screenshots, screencasts, podcasts, or videos. You will share your presentation with a group of educators in a local school, with the School of Education, or with another LR department. Your presentation must take place prior to the end of the semester, so you will need to begin scheduling it early in the semester. You will give a brief overview of your presentation as the final exam for the course. You will be responsible for providing feedback on your partner’s work as well as your classmates’ presentations. A few possible tools to use: VoiceThread, Animoto, Prezi, Popplet, Glogster EDU, Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, Photo Story, Livebinders. You will upload your presentation to Edmodo.

Presentations from this semester are below. Feel free to leave a comment for my students. Thanks!

Assessing Student Learning with iPads

Cell Phones in the Classroom

Class Dojo

Making the Most of Your Classroom Website

Nearpod

Popplet

SMARTBoards in the Classroom

Symbaloo

Tagxedo

Why One iPad is Better than None