ERIC Number: ED392997
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1995-Dec-3
Preparing Technical Educators for Interactive Instructional Technologies: A Review of Research and Practice.
Galliher, Ronald; And Others
New interactive technologies create new roles for teachers, present opportunities for and barriers to effective instruction, affect student and teacher satisfaction, and demand increased teacher time to learn to use the emerging interactive environments. Faculty development is vital for technical instructors to make effective use of new interactive methods of teaching and learning. It must be noted, however, that technology does not solve all teaching-learning problems, and it may not even be effective in some situations. Teachers are challenged to do the following: (1) become futurists; (2) become action scientists-researchers in the classroom; (3) be resource brokers; (4) be aware of results of research about teaching and teaching style; (5) be supported in their own intellectual work; (6) be encouraged to develop leadership; and (7) do evaluative and applied research. Barriers to the use of interactive technology in instruction include lack of access, inconvenient scheduling, unsupportive attitudes, and lack of time to integrate technology into the curriculum. Teachers presently teaching may not be familiar with computer uses; as they retire, new teachers will be recruited who will be more technologically involved and able to use new teaching methodologies. Southeastern Regional Vocational-Technical High School in Massachusetts is an example of a school that has restructured to change the process of instruction to take advantage of new teaching technology and theories. The latest technology is used to teach students in the various vocational programs at the school. Interactive learning environments of the future will use technology as a tool for delivering the curriculum in a learning environment that will reflect the diversity of the learners and the changes in society. Innovations include virtual field trips, learner-controlled classrooms, and use of Internet services. (Contains 21 references.) (KC)
Descriptors: Computer Uses in Education, Curriculum Development, Educational Needs, Educational Technology, Educational Trends, Futures (of Society), Inservice Teacher Education, Interactive Television, Interactive Video, Postsecondary Education, Secondary Education, Teaching Methods, Technological Advancement, Technology Education
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual American Vocational Association Convention (Denver, CO, December 1995).