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Starting a Program-Wide E-portfolio Practice in Teacher Education:
Resistance, Support and Renewal
Timothy Hopper (University of Victoria) & Kathy Sanford (University of Victoria)

This paper explains how the practice of developing an ePortfolio (eP) within a traditional teacher education program offers potential insights into how to create a self-renewing process. Adopting a recursive approach to examine the eP practice, three intersecting and repeating phases of actions have been identified that reflect the evolution of the five year project: (1) Technological; (2) Pedagogical; and (3) Formalizing. Finally, in line with reviews on eP development , three evolving themes have been noted in current reflections about the eP practice: (1) from resistance to awareness in the use of technology; (2) staff support above and beyond; and (3) shifting attitude to eP. The paper will conclude with how preservice teachers (PT) can take ownership for their learning as they take on the professional role of defining themselves as teachers. The paper starts with a short movie that highlights the evolution of the ePortfolio software from 2005 to 2009.

Positioning Ideas and Identities in a Multicultural Education Class:
Understanding Students' Use of Web-Based Interactions
Heather Pleasants (University of Alabama)

In this article I examine the discursive, web-based interactions of students within a multicultural teacher preparation class for which I was the instructor. By exploring teacher candidates' use of online written texts to position themselves and others through what James Gee refers to as Discourses with a capital “D,” or "ways of being in the world" as well as discourses with a lowercase “d” that comprise everyday spoken and written communication, I call attention to the informal yet influential discourses that are contained within and enacted through the web-based discussions that explore issues of social justice.

Academic Language, Discourse Communities, and Technology:
Building Students' Linguistic Resources
Dianna R. Townsend (University of Nevada, Reno) & Diane Lapp (San Diego State University)

Because content area teachers find themselves teaching content and language, the objectives of this article are to showcase new understandings of linguistic resources for teachers and students and to address the importance of valuing different discourse communities while supporting students in developing academic English proficiency. Drawing on applied linguistics and sociolinguistics research, this paper follows two teachers and their students in building academic English proficiency and code-switching skills. In addition, suggestions for integrating technological resources as tools to support students' understanding of academic English and code-switching between different registers of English are shared.

Investigating Curriculum:
Pre-service Teachers' Use of Video Records of Practice
Heidi L. Hallman (University of Kansas)

This article discusses the ways in which video records of practice (VRPs) afford opportunities for preservice teachers to contemplate the nature of curriculum in their respective disciplinary field. Documenting analysis of data over the course of two student teaching semesters, the article presents three cases of preservice English teachers' teaching practices and use of VRPs. Findings suggest that VRPs are not neutral documentations of beginning teachers' practices but rather sites for investigating nuanced matters of curriculum. Implications point toward the potential benefits of including video records of practice in preservice teacher education, specifically as a way to assist beginning teachers in understanding matters of curriculum “in action” in classrooms.

Podcasting:
Engaging Pre-Service Teachers in Learning with Web 2.0 Technologies
Elizabeth Swaggerty (East Carolina University), Guili Zhang (East Carolina University), & Terry Atkinson (East Carolina University)

This manuscript reports the impact of a student-created video podcast used as a vehicle to research, synthesize, and share information about prominent figures in the field of literacy education within a university undergraduate reading methods course. After creating and sharing podcast episodes, students' interest in using podcasting for both personal and educational purposes increased significantly and most described higher levels of engagement with the podcast project in comparison to a more traditional format such as PowerPoint. Students also believed that they made gains in both content and technology knowledge as a result of completing the podcast project. Findings suggest that if preservice teachers employ a new technological tool within a meaningful learning experience, they are likely to see potential for using it in their future instruction.

Interactive Teaching Technologies that Facilitate the Development of Online Learning Communities in Nursing and Health Studies Graduate Courses
Beth Perry (Athabasca University) & Margaret Edwards (Athabasca University)

Online teaching technologies that incorporate social interaction facilitate the development of a culture of community in online classes. This sense of community contributes to positive learning outcomes for students and a sense of professional fulfillment for instructors. Online teaching technologies of photovoice, conceptual quilting, and virtual reflective centers are described. The Community of Inquiry Model and Social Development Theory provide the framework for discussion . Teacher educators who want to create a sense of community with online learners may find this paper informative. The teaching technologies presented could be adapted for use by teacher educators. Emerging trends related to interactive teaching technologies in online education and ideas of future research conclude the paper.

An Evaluation of Wiki Implementation in a Teacher Education Course
Cynthia Gautreau (California State University, Fullerton) & Cindy Edwards (California State University, Fullerton)

Quality WebQuests:
Scaffolding Pre-Service Teachers' WebQuest Construction
Sherri Cianca (Niagara University)

Though public schools in North America are connected to the internet, teachers in these schools usually use technology for mediocre, routine tasks. WebQuest development holds possibility for promoting an innovative, transformative use of technology if that WebQuest focuses on high-level critical thinking. To date, poor WebQuests dominate the internet, and teachers lack support in their attempts to create good WebQuests. This study compares two instructional models of support. In comparing these models, the study reflects on the characteristics of quality WebQuests and on scaffolds to bolster pre-service teachers in their development of quality WebQuests. The results of the study suggest that a superior model of instruction includes in-class scaffolds and a high-quality exemplar.

Student Teacher Blogs as a Method to Increase Reflection and Collaboration
Matthew Vick (University of Wisconsin - Whitewater)

A group of eight student teachers made weekly posts to a common blog to communicate with each other and their university supervisor (the researcher). This naturalistic inquiry studied what type of posts the students made and determined whether the student teachers collaborated with each other or reflected on their own teaching practice through the use of the blog. The postings were categorized into two groups: professional interactions and social interactions. The postings showed many examples of reflection about instruction and classroom management, but few examples of critical reflection on the curriculum or power structures were noted. Students described collaborating with their cooperating teachers, but they did not show much evidence of collaborating with each other through the blog.

Seeing You, Seeing Me:
Social Perspective-Taking as Learning
Terry J.Burant (Marguette University) & Francisco Alfonso Rios (University of Wyoming)

This paper examines the use of social perspective-taking as learning in an education course in an undergraduate teacher education program. Using curriculum documents, student writing, field notes, faculty journals, and focus group interviews, the study identified the foundational/multicultural content understandings and the emotional responses that social perspective-taking activities promoted. Implications of social perspective-taking in teacher education courses and broader programmatic questions about social perspective-taking pedagogy for teaching and learning are addressed.

From Emmett Till to the Rose Petal Cottage:
Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in Pre-Service Teacher Education
Jamie Joanou (Arizona State University) & Erica Nicole Griffin (Arizona State University)

This paper examines the ways in which popular media products serve as indispensible pedagogical tools in facilitating classroom discussion relating to issues of race, class, gender and sexuality. We present our experiences teaching pre-service teachers at a predominantly white, large university where the culture is relatively conservative, and where the majority of students come from middle to upper middle class families. The course, whose main objective is to critically analyze hegemonic structures of whiteness, heteronormativity, patriarchy, xenophobia and privilege and how such practices can lead to unequal educational outcomes in K-12 schools, is required for all education majors but includes students from various disciplines. We find using a critical, problem-posing pedagogy, which includes bringing popular media products like film, television and media outlets such as Youtube.com into the classroom environment to be essential in disarming students' resistance to the course's main objective.