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Blended learning is increasingly being adopted at all levels of the educational system. It continues to gain primacy in the teaching and learning environment as both students and teachers seek to integrate familiar information communication technology (ICT) into their classroom activities. Additionally, it allows the teacher, as a facilitator of learning, and the learner, the opportunities of working in both the face-to-face and online environments. This paper provides a basic review of blended learning and some ways it may be used in teacher preparation programs to support the effective integration of ICT within the classroom environment., INTRODUCTION Increasingly, variations of blended learning are being adopted at all levels of the education system, as instructors explore different ways to facilitate learning, and learners become more engaged in [...]

During the Spring 2009 semester, a group of students in their first semester of the teacher education program at the University of Texas--Pan American were required to participate in field observations. As part of their field observation assignments, they were required to write reflections on six topics related to learning theory. For each reflection, students followed a specific three part format: 1) observe the theory in question as it was being applied in the classroom, 2) evaluate the mentor teacher's implementation of the theory, and 3) determine what changes they would make to the lesson or strategy to improve its effectiveness. Students then posted each of their reflections on a discussion board, read one other posting by a classmate and responded to it. A rubric based on the higher order thinking skills curriculum (Anderson, 1990) was used to assess the level of critical thinking in each discussion. Results indicated that the majority of subjects did reach the higher levels of critical thinking. Specifically, most students reached the level of analysis (level 4); the mean rating across all six reflections was 4.39, on a scale of 1 to 6 with 1 being recall and 6 being synthesis. The results of the study suggested that the format of the prompts, which required students to not only observe, but also evaluate the implementation of a theory and suggest modifications for improvement promoted the development of students' higher order thinking skills., INTRODUCTION preparing effective teacher candidates is a challenging and complex undertaking. This is due to the ever changing nature of the classroom. In order to better prepare teacher candidates we [...]

This study investigated computer technology preparation of pre-service teachers as well as their willingness and abilities to integrate it into their classrooms in their work as future teachers. Fifty- four female pre-service teachers participated in this study. They were all enrolled in an educational technology course in a leading university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The results indicated that the participants perceived themselves to be ready to use different kinds of software as part of the curriculum. The participants indicated that their abilities to select, evaluate and use different technological resources improved. They also indicated that they were prepared and willing to integrate technology into their classrooms., INTRODUCTION Educational technology courses can provide pre-service teachers with new knowledge, add to their knowledge and enhance their teaching skills and provide them with an access to new resources. Education [...]