Supporting Learning with Technology: Essentials of Classroom Practice

The author has written a new and unique text for courses in Computers in Education or Instructional Media and Technology. The purpose of this text is to address what technology teachers should know and be able to do, but the focus is on learners and learning rather than on the technology itself. The book is unique in that it presents the students’ learning goals first rather than the technology tool, thereby focusing on the learner and the learning rather than the technology.

The examples throughout the chapters present ideas for tasks that can be completed with a variety of tools rather than one specific tool that teachers may not have access to. Each chapter includes a brief summary of research from educational technology, learning theory, and other areas to build a foundation for chapter examples and activities. The chapters also include examples for learning in a variety of contexts and content areas and can be applied easily to teaching other ideas and subjects. A unique chapter (Chapter 9) on teacher productivity helps support future educators in their everyday tasks.

The book illustrates what technology-enhanced learning can be like today and prepares teachers and administrators for what may come tomorrow.

Some of the pedagogical features in the book include:

Cases–These appear at the beginning of each chapter and provide a framework for the chapter discussion that follows.

~These cases are compelling snapshots from real classrooms that help students to connect educational concepts to the real world.

~Related questions within and at the end of each chapter encourage the reader to think critically about the material and its related application to the classroom.

Meet the Needs of Today’s Students feature–Each chapter contains margin notes to help the readers address the learning needs of ALL students including those with diverse needs and English Language Learners.

Meeting the Standards feature–This feature shows how the National Educational Technology Standards connect to the learning goal of each chapter.

~Additional state standards are listed on the book’s companion website.

Tool CloseUp feature–These boxes explore the features of technology tools discussed in the chapter in more detail.

Learning Activities feature–Provide opportunities to apply the chapter’s guidelines and technology tool discussions to a variety of learning activities related to all grade levels and content areas.