Future Teachers Learn to Integrate Technology in the Classroom

PULLMAN, Wash. –Guy Westhoff, assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning in Washington State University’s College of Education, has made integrating technology in the classroom his research and teaching focus. Westhoff is training the next generations of K-12 teachers to use blogs and other new and emerging technologies as teaching tools.

“There are two ways in which undergraduate education students can use the blogs when they start teaching,” Westhoff said. “They can use the technology to maintain the community of learners they have established here at WSU, communicating and exchanging information about their teaching experiences with their colleagues, no matter where they are teaching.”

“They can also use blogs to engage K-12 students with the subject matter they are teaching. For example, they can create collaborative projects with other students in classrooms across the state or the nation, and bring the world to their classrooms. Rural schools could connect with students in Seattle or Denver, share a project, compare data and post their results, all on the blog.”

For his research and as part of his class, Westhoff asks students to create a blog and use it as a professional venue. Students post article reviews and comments on other students’ work. “It really builds a sense of community and enriches the students’ understanding of the issues we explore in the course. It also helps build critical thinking skills. Students have to reflect on what to say before answering and posting comments and the blog allows for multiple points of view,” he said.

Students are given a structure from which to make meaningful posts. “They can’t just say ‘I agree.’ I give them guidelines about how to post comments and questions. They also have to review at least two other students’ blogs and make comments.”

Westhoff said that sometimes students have initial concerns about who will see their work and what they will say, but those fears are quickly diminished as the class starts posting papers and comments. “I also include my comments and what I write in their blogs is not different from what I would write on the hard copy of a project. I do not post or share grades, only my comments,” he said.

Westhoff, who has nine different blogs, brings to the students’ attention the differences between social and professional networking. “I have to remind some students that sites like MySpace or Facebook are public spaces. I think young people get caught up in the excitement of posting pictures and social networking. It’s a pop-culture phenomenon to share your life with the world. But I also remind my students that universities and even the police can look at those pages for information about issues on campuses. When they post a picture I ask them to imagine how a parent would interpret it. We also talk about keeping personal and professional lives separate and how to portray themselves in a professional manner,” he said.

While integrating new technology in the classroom is sometimes difficult, Westhoff recommends other university professors use blogs when possible. “It takes about five minutes to create a blog and to start using the technology. No advanced tech skills are needed and the return on your investment is almost immediate.  Blogs allow faculty to extend the discussion outside the classroom and allows students who normally do not participate in large group conversations to have a voice and provide their viewpoints and feedback.”

For K-12 teachers, Westhoff’s advice is very similar. “I would also encourage K-12 teachers to use blogging technology in their classrooms to engage their students. K-12 teachers will also have to work with their district IT staff to learn about any filtering software in place and make sure their students have access to the blog.

“While there are some risks to using blogs within K-12 classrooms, such as someone posting inappropriate comments, the educational benefits out weigh the risks. Blogs have administrative tools that can assist you in controlling the risks. The blogging software can be set to moderate comments, allowing you to reject inappropriate comments or to control who can post to your blog, and thus avoiding some comments and blog spam.”

Westhoff, who will continue to explore this technology, said, “Blogging is just another technology tool that needs additional exploration and research within the application to teaching and learning environments. Although it is too soon to see if my students use blogs in their K-12 classrooms, I plan to extend my research to explore how these students use blogs when they start teaching.”