52:17 minutes (23.94 MB)

This show featured Clif Mims, a professor at Memphis State University, and Bethany Smith, an Instructional Technologist at North Carolina State University. Both of them work with pre-service teachers to help them learn about how to effectively use technology in the classroom.

We started off with our backgrounds, and what we were required to do vis-a-vis technology in our pre-service. Then we looked at these essential questions:

• Are pre-service teachers being well prepared for entering k12 classrooms today.?
• Are pre-service teachers bored in college lectures? Does this affect entry into the field?
• What are your recommendations for best preparing pre-service teachers?

Bethany felt that teachers needed to have a PLN through Ning, or another service, to go to. Clif thought they needed to see examples of teacher who are using technology successfully. Alice felt that with the advent of more scripted/prescribed curriculum, teachers needed to see what project-based learning looked like. It was a great discussion, and the text chat log below includes comments from teachers who are taking a class on education technology.

47:35 minutes (21.78 MB)In Transit(ion) was broadcast live on Saturday 12 July at 3:30pm Eastern. The show was streamed by Jose Rodriguez, co-host of It's Elementary. During this show Steven Kimmi interviewed Patrick Higgins. Patrick Higgins is the Director of Curriculum for Sparta Township Public Schools in New Jersey and author of the http://chalkdust101.wordpress.com . These educators discussed how colleges and universities could best prepare pre-service teachers as well as the relevancy of 21st century skills in k12 education today. The host of the show, Steven Kimmi is a 5th grade teacher at Schilling Elementary in Salina, Kansas and author of http://expintech.blogspot.com