Pedagogy, Practice, and the Technology of Writing:
Effective K-16 Computer-Mediated Teacher and Student Training Strategies
Is your institution rethinking how it prepares teachers to teach in computer-mediated environments? How might K-16 schools share resources and ideas? What are some successful models? This article begins to answer these questions by tracing the evolution of a technology initiative from a seed-grant funding a small faculty development effort to a "practical theory" program called "The Writing, Computers, and Literacy Initiative" at Ball State University. This webtext explores systematic (and not so systematic) approaches to faculty development, the creation and impact of the hands-on K-16 teaching institute "Pedagogy, Practice, and the Technology of Writing," and the resulting preparation for hosting the international conference Computers and Writing 2001. The recursive timeline graphic on this page illustrates our progressive approach to teacher-training for technological literacy. We begin with an idea, an epiphany, assess available resources, consider human needs and goals, develop a plan to address our ideas and goals, devise a strategy to assess our progress, and then begin to look for fresh ideas. Initially, we address larger, more general training needs, and then adopt a model which attends to more specific interests. In the process of re-assessing our ideas and goals, we examine our institutional and local contexts and begin the cycle again.
- epiphany > contextual connections > meet goals > (re) assess needs