What Does it Take to Teach an Online Technology Course?

Question: What qualifications should somebody have to teach an online course on technology in education?

Answer: Obviously, I'm not certain if this answer is correct, but when I consider the above question I can't help but thinking about several frames of thinking that Lee Shulman laid out in an article entitled, "Those Who Understand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching." According to this article teachers need to understand: available resources; curriculum content; student understanding of content knowledge, including possible preconceptions and misconceptions; milieu of teaching environment; pedagogical knowledge; and pedagogical content knowledge.

Towards the development of a better understanding of teaching technology for education, I wonder what the average teacher and pre-teacher thinks about the role that technology should play in education. What percentage of teachers have at least ten websites bookmarked, in one way or another, that they access as educational resources? In how many classes is the computer primarily a typewriter?

What are the best ways to move teachers from hardly using the Internet in education to actively using the tools of Web 2.0? When I conduct professional development workshops, I often repeat something that David Warlick told me many months ago: "The greatest obstacle in developing the skills needed to use available technology is fear. Get over the fear and nearly everything becomes possible."

But as I think about this statement now, it might be enough for teachers who consciously choose to enroll in educational technology courses. But, what about teachers who don't voluntarily enroll in such courses? How does one get teachers who don't see the value of technology to recognize the ways in which technology can improve learning? The best teachers of educational technology possess frameworks for answering this question.



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