Description
Educational practice exists in tension between two functions: education as a matter of assuring continuity of knowledge and society; and; education as a matter of fostering creativity and change. These dual agendas often result in a range of clashes and issues about the purpose of Education, conceptions of learning and the role of the teacher. In contemporary education, these endeavors are supported by digital technologies, which have the capacity to bridge these two functions and even create connections. However, using digital technologies in learning poses an additional set of challenges. These challenges affect teacher training institutions, schools, and teachers. To be able to navigate this educational landscape teachers are expected to effectively integrate technology in teaching and learning processes to teach expected content and support creative thinking.Yet, technology integration and related change in practice continues to be a challenge for many teachers and educational institutions. Many of the questions related to the training for digital technology integration are still unanswered and attempts to address them have generated widespread debates. In an effort to address these issues, teacher training institutions have been considering a range of questions about how to best connect teachers’ competencies and institutional culture in the digital age: Which strategies are effective to train teachers? How can they develop the competencies to adequately use technology in specific subject areas? Can we address the complex systemic nature of digital technology integration at the school level?
Although digital technology integration depends in large part on the profile of teachers, innovations should be situated within the wider field of school improvement. An important conclusion is that school characteristics have the potential to promote individual digital technology use. During the keynote speech, Jo Tondeur and Sarah Howard will explore how to successfully develop teachers’ digital competencies, how this relates to individual characteristics, such as pedagogical beliefs, and the connection to educational institutional culture and change. A central theme of the talk will be: how can useful connections be made between research and practice, to inform digital technology use across levels of education and competing agendas, and to equip our next generation of teachers for technology integration? Using a new approach, they will employ artefacts to explore digital competencies in teacher training. Practical strategies to develop connections and digital competencies to support digital technology integration in teaching practice for continuity, creativity and change, will be discussed.
| Period | Jun 2020 |
|---|---|
| Event title | EdMedia & Innovate Learning |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | AmsterdamShow on map |