 The
Gap
Research has found that most internet-using
students say their teachers don't make good use of the web as a classroom
tool.
According to the study commissioned by the Pew
Internet and American Life Project, The Digital Disconnect: The Widening
Gap Between Internet-Savvy Students and Their Schools, many schools and teachers have not yet
recognized the new ways students communicate and access information over
the Internet, and students feel a disconnect between how they use the
internet and how it is used in schools (Levin & Arafeh 2002).
From interviews of teacher candidates and their
experiences,
it was found that:
 | their educational experiences for the most part
do not include technology integration in education.
|
 | lack of background technology integration
experiences |
 | many support text material do not include
integrated technology |
Sample book analysis of commonly used book on the
literature circle, a search through the entire book found that the words
technology, internet, and eBook
do not occur on any of the
176 pages of the text, and that the word computer is only used once in the
entire book.
International Reading Association (IRA 2002)
recommends that teacher educators should:
 | Integrate effective
instructional models that use the internet and other technologies into
preparation programs in literacy education |
 | Show pre-service teachers
through practice how new literacies are an essential component of the
literacy curriculum |
 | Provide opportunities for
pre-service teacher to practice using age-appropriate information
technologies |
 | Include online resources in
the instructional program |
 | Acquire and make available
technology resources for use in pre-service education classes.
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