. . .scientific knowledge will doubtless continue to improve our ability to get the things we value, (but) nothing in science can ever tell us what to value. . .we have to write the script ourselves. Steven Weinberg, in The Future of Science and the Universe, 2001 In his book Telecosm, a paean to the golden future that he predicts technology soon will make possible, George Gilder speaks of new technology that "makes men into bandwidth angels," capable of electronically enhanced flight "beyond the fuzzy electrons and frozen pathways of the microcosm to a boundless realm . . . ." Gilder is the acolyte for those who see unlimited access to technology as equivalent to heaven. But David Denby, writing in The New Yorker about the Evernet (the next incarnation of the Internet), sees the potential for something less celestial. "Are we truly standing on the edge of greater freedom and personal control?" he wonders. "Or are we unwittingly putting ourselves in thrall to a system that will dazzle us with choices yet dislocate us, pull us apart, even consume us?" Weinberg seems to see clearly that both futures are possible and neither is inevitable. The difference, he says, depends on "the script," that is, a recognition and articulation of what we value about ourselves, our society, our civilization. These are the guideposts, he says, that will show us how to use well the products of our scientific knowledge. So inspired and guided, we can create a future in which technology is our ally rather than our undoing, our salvation rather than our damnation. What are the values that should underlie our use of technology in education? The following are suggested as essential elements: Good teaching comes first. Recent innovations in bandwidth-enabled distance resources gave renewed hope to those who predicted, as did their predecessors in the 1960s, that technology would eliminate the personality of teachers from the instructional equation. Our experience with web-based learning in the past 5 years, however, has shown that interaction with teachers, flawed and variable as it may be, is more important than ever before. This textbook proposes that technology is, above all, a channel for helping teachers communicate better with students. It can make good teaching even better, but it cannot make bad teaching good. Consequently, technology-using teachers never can be a force for improved education unless they are first and foremost informed, knowledgeable shapers of their craft. Before integrating technology into their teaching, educators must know a great deal, for example, why there are different views on appropriate teaching strategies, how societal factors and learning theories have shaped these views, and how each strategy can address differing needs. Technology is us. Rather than seeing technology as some foreign invader come to confuse and complicate the simple life of the past, we can recognize that technology is very much our own response to overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of a better, more productive way of life. As Walt Kelly's "profound 'possum" Pogo said, "We has met the enemy, and he is us." Technology is us our tools, our methods, and our own creative attempts to solve problems in our environment. There will be turmoil as we go through periods of transition, adapting to the new environment we ourselves have created. But technology is, by definition, intended to be part of our path to a better life, rather than an obstacle in its way. We control how technology is used in education. As a follow-up to our recognition that "technology is us," we must recognize the truth of Peter Drucker's statement: "The best way to predict the future is to create it." Both individual teachers and teaching organizations must see themselves as enlightened shapers of our future. Each teacher must take a position as a "script writer," helping to articulate the vision for what the future of education should look like; each should acquire skills to help work toward realizing that vision. The purpose of this book is to show how we are challenged to shape the future of educational technology. How we respond to this challenge is guided by how we see it helping us accomplish our own informed vision of what teaching and learning should be. Our approach to accomplishing this purpose rests on three premises: Integration methods should be based in both learning theory and teaching practice. There is no shortage of innovative ideas in the field of instructional technology; new and interesting methods come forward about as often as new and improved gadgets. Those who would build on the knowledge of the past should know why they do what they do, as well as how to do it. Thus, we have linked various technology-based integration strategies to well-researched theories of learning, and we have illustrated them with examples of successful practices based on these theories. Integration should match specific teaching and learning needs. Technology has the power to improve teaching and learning, but it can also make a teacher's life more complicated. Therefore, each resource should be examined for its unique qualities and its potential benefits for teachers and students. Teachers should not use a tool simply because it is new and available each integration strategy should be matched to a recognized need. We do not oppose experimentation, but we do advocate informed use. Old integration strategies are not necessarily bad; new strategies are not necessarily good. As technology products change and evolve at lightning speed, there is a decided tendency toward throwing out older teaching methods with the older machines. Sometimes this is a good idea; sometimes it would be a shame. Each of the integration strategies recommended in this book is based on methods with proven usefulness to teachers and students. Some of the strategies are based on directed methods that have been used for some time; other strategies are based on the newer, constructivist learning models. Each is recommended on the basis of its usefulness rather than its age. This edition differs in some structural ways from the first two, but its goal remains the same: to help teachers see their role in shaping the future of technology in education. This book can help them perceive that writing a script for the future requires some faith in ourselves, a belief that we can fly into the future with wings of our own making. Who Will Find This Book Helpful? This book is designed to help teach both theoretical and practical characteristics of technology integration strategies. It is useful in several different types of education settings. As primary instructional material. It benefits instructional technology courses for preservice teachers and workshops and graduate courses for inservice teachers. As supplemental instructional material. It supports research and content-area methods courses. As a reference. It provides topical information in K-12 school libraries/media centers and university college of education libraries and media centers. New to This Edition This edition has added new information and reorganized some information from the first and second editions to help make sense of both new and emerging concepts. Readers will note the following changes and improvements: A technology integration model for teachers. Chapter 2 offers a more detailed, step-by-step approach to guide teachers in integrating technology, linked to rubrics and checklists (in the Appendix) to assess the impact of their integration. Additional learning theory and assessment information. Chapter 3 has additional Insight boxes: one summarizing John Dewey's contributions and another describing how to structure and use electronic portfolios. This edition also includes a variety of rubrics and checklists for assessing technology's impact on teaching and learning. These have been placed in the Appendix for easy reference. A focus on relative advantages of technology tools. In light of teachers' key role as potential adopters of innovation, it is important to clarify even further the unique benefits offered by each educational technology resource. In this edition, these advantages are identified in terms of what diffusion of innovations expert Everett Rogers called their "relative advantage" to teachers and students. Revised and updated multimedia/hypermedia chapter. Chapter 7, Integrating Multimedia and Hypermedia into Teaching and Learning, has been revised to reflect recent innovations in and integration strategies for authoring, presentation, and video editing software. Expanded coverage of the Internet. In recognition of the growing importance of the Internet in communications and distance learning, Chapter 8 provides expanded coverage of distance learning with an even greater emphasis on web-based learning. Expert authors for content area chapters. In this edition, Chapters 10 through 15 have been written by content-area experts who detail appropriate, up-to-date integration strategies for each of the subject areas. Additional technology integration ideas and Internet links on a CD-ROM database. This textbook is packaged with a CD-ROM containing a searchable database of technology integration lesson ideas for many content areas. Spanning a variety of content areas and grade levels, these teacher-tested lessons are keyed to national content standards and ISTE technology standards. For this edition, 250 new ideas have been added, and most have links to Internet sites containing additional information. Users can modify existing lesson ideas or add new ones. Look for the CD-ROM icon throughout the text. A User Manual is printed after the index and is also contained on the CD-ROM. Enhanced Companion Website. A website with additional support materials that is integrated with the text is available at [A HREF="http://www.prenhall.com/roblyer"> http://www.prenhall.com/roblyer . Look for the Companion Website icon at the end of each chapter. For more specific information about the features of this website, please read the Discover the Companion Websit...