Challenges for teacher education in the learning society : case studies of promising practice

Abstract

In this chapter we present the results of a project developed in pre-service and in-service teacher education programs at the University of Minho, Portugal. The main goal of the research was to test the importance of providing technological-rich experiences in education programs as a strategy to promote the integration of technologies in the classroom. As educators in a public university we assume that the failure of ICT integration in Portuguese schools is due to a lack of teacher training in technology-supported pedagogy. We present and discuss a set of principles that we consider essential to understand and sustain the importance of the learning experiences we develop in teacher education programs both for pre-service and in-service teacher education. Different Web 2.0 tools were explored in different contexts and with different pedagogical goals: to build e-portfolios, to enhance cooperation and collaboration among peers, to develop skills in searching, organizing and sharing web resources and to facilitate interaction and communication competencies. Results are presented and discussed in order to infer a set of guidelines for the design of teacher education and training programs regarding the use of ICT in teaching and learning.