Mobile Technologies in Teacher Ed - Chatting with Dr. Diane Burke

I love talking to other people who are passionate about their interests and research---educators who are trying new things, asking pertinent questions, and searching out the answers.  Dr. Diane Burke, Professor Emerita from Keuka College in NY, is exactly that type of person.  Today I am excited to share my interview with Dr. Burke, focusing on her recent research (with several colleagues) regarding mobile technologies in teacher preparation programs.

At the end of this post is the embedded podcast, but below are just a few highlights to heighten your interest and entice you to listen.

• Only four teacher preparation programs that responded to the nationwide survey reported full implementation of mobile technologies across the curriculum.  (I'm not really surprised by this finding---just sad.)
• One of the most important aspects of utilizing mobile technologies in teacher education is about actually utilizing them in lessons, not the devices themselves.  (Who knew that after we actually all bought the devices, that it wouldn't even be about the devices!?!)
• Mobile devices are not a panacea for all the problems in education today, but they are an excellent tool for differentiating instruction.  (If you haven't figured this out yet, there really aren't any panaceas in education.)
• Dr. Burke raises the question---"As teacher preparation programs, is it our job to prepare teachers for what exists now in classrooms?  Or for the future?"  (In other words, not all classrooms have mobile devices yet, but they soon will.)

If you are a teacher educator interested in utilizing mobile technologies in your program, don't miss this interview!  You can find more information about Dr. Burke's research with her colleagues here:

Foulger, T. S., Burke, D., Williams, M. K., Waker, M. L., Hansen, R., & Slykhuis, D. A.  (2013).  Innovators in teacher education:  Diffusing mobile technologies in teacher preparation curriculum.  Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 30(1), 21-29.

As a follow-up to the study above, an article that specifies which four institutions are fully implementing mobile technologies into their teacher preparation programs with details of how mobile devices are actually used will soon be published.  I got a sneak peek recently, and you don't want to miss it!