Curriculum Design
One aspect of the project work is to acquaint higher education faculty
with the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers and Students
(NETS-T and NETS-S)
and the pertinent program standards of the National Council for Accreditation
of Teacher Education (NCATE), although not all of our IHE partners seek
NCATE program approval. The work of the project supports faculty in their
own professional development related to effective technology use. In years
one and two of the project, Apple’s Professional Development Division
provided consultants to conduct “Integration Sessions” to focus
on both technology skills acquisition and on educational practices. This
has laid the groundwork for faculty to align their core courses with NETS
and for teacher preparation programs to redesign their curriculum to include
effective technology use. This PT3 project is primarily focused on supporting
faculty in this work, and it provides various resources to do so. Each IHE
partner is at a somewhat different stage of this work, as suited to their
institution.
In Year Three, each IHE prepared a progress report of their curriculum alignment
to NETS-T efforts, which then guides their work in the final year of the
project. Participating IHEs schedule days during the year for curriculum
alignment work sessions at their campus. To create maximum program impact
for the future of each teacher preparation program, all education faculty
are encouraged to participate in this work. Apple professional development
consultants are made available through a project wide contract to facilitate
this work at each institution.