UC Educator Helps Develop Newest Guidelines on Integrating Technology and Teaching Date: July 6, 2000 By: Dawn Fuller Phone: (513) 556-1823 Archive: General News A University of Cincinnati assistant professor took part in a project that recently made national news in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) released its third publication in a series of guidelines to successfully incorporate technology in classrooms across the country. UC Assistant Professor of Educational Technology Joyce Pittman was a member of one of three national writing teams selected to write the guidelines. The latest publication, National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers, was released June 26 at the National Educational Computing Conference that Pittman attended in Atlanta. Pittman was a key content writer for the national educational technology standards for all teachers and especially pre-service teachers. These standards are designed to guide teacher education programs at university and colleges nationwide. The standards should become the technology competencies for teacher licensure no later than 2002. NCATE/ISTE technology standards, essential conditions and curriculum guidelines, provide teacher education programs with a measure of what new teachers should know about technology as well as what they should be able to effectively do with that technology in the classroom. The book, in which Pittman is featured, outlines four stages of incorporating technology into teacher preparation programs: The general preparation stage demonstrates technology tools to support pre-service teachers in subjects including math, science, and social studies. Stage two, the professional preparation stage, incorporates technology with learning theory, field experience, classroom management and curriculum. Phase three, the student teaching/internship stage, calls for pre-service teachers to put their skills into practice in the classroom, under the watch of an experienced mentor teacher. The final phase of the publication addresses expectations of new teachers and their effective use of technology during their first year in the classroom. The ISTE, a nonprofit professional organization to promote and support teaching and learning through information technology, first began developing the new guidelines last winter, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. Work begins in July 2000 on another phase of the project, as a team designs learning activities in technology for teacher education programs. Pittman is a nationally-recognized educator who has dedicated her career to bridging the "digital divide" affecting urban classrooms. Her research examined school technology programs in 15 states. Pittman will deliver an international message advocating high standards for instructional technology when she presents her research at an international education conference in Bangkok. The conference will be held July 10-13 at Chulalongkorn University, where educators will discuss ideas on how to create global learning communities.