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The increasingly critical role of technology in teaching has resulted in noticeable reform efforts and updating Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) programs to meet new educational needs. This study investigated the technology components included in PETE undergraduate curricula in U.S. public research universities. Using comparative content analysis, descriptive analysis, and proportion test, 89 PETE undergraduate curricula were examined focusing on technology course credits. The results revealed that: (a) PETE undergraduate programs were less likely to include technology components in their PETE curriculum across the U.S.; (b) among the programs that had technology components, 75% of them included technology credits in their degree/certificate requirements; and (c) fewer PETE oriented technology courses were specifically offered to PETE students. The data from the study suggested that there was a lack of technology-related training in the existing PETE undergraduate programs. More research is needed to ensure that preservice teachers possess the needed technological knowledge.

While there is evidence of the growing popularity of iPads and other tablets in K-12 education, little is understood about how teachers use these devices in their instruction. This study examines 342 teachers' comfort level with and perception toward iPad use and any changes that occurred over the implementation year. Using a mixed-methods design, this study found significant differences in comfort level by years of teaching and school levels. Female teachers, teachers with 20 years or less of teaching experience, and elementary school teachers were more positive about their perception toward iPad use than the other groups. High school teachers' perception was the lowest overall. Analyses of teacher interviews revealed affordances, challenges, and diverse ways of how teachers used iPads in their instruction. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

This four-year, cross-sectional study, situated in one U.S. university, investigated 206 preservice teachers' use of social network services (SNS) in teacher preparation and their disposition toward using it in their future teaching. Using descriptive survey methodology, results revealed nearly all preservice teachers used a general SNS (e.g., Facebook), but about 40% never read blogs, wrote blogs, or read wikis; about 90% never wrote wiki, and about 80% never read/wrote Twitter. SNS users consumed (e.g., read) more content than shared or generated (e.g., posted, wrote). Use of SNS for professional activities rose from 7 to 22%. Trends indicated general SNS (e.g., Facebook) and Twitter use was mostly personal, while reading blogs, wikis, and writing blogs was equally personal and educational, and writing wiki was mostly educational. The majority of these preservice teachers put 'a lot' of restrictions on their SNS accounts. The likelihood that preservice teachers felt they would use social networking in their future teaching became less likely. Discussion examines (a) how teacher education programs prepare new teachers as learners and designers of new technologies and (b) describes a sequence of SNS experiences that develop preservice teachers as learners, designers, and ultimately connected educators.

This 7-year, cross-sectional study of a 1:1 laptop teacher preparatory program in the United States examined the nature and change in faculty technological modeling. Using survey methods, preservice teachers (n = 932) reported their faculty's use of technological activities in coursework. Through descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and qualitative analysis, researchers found change in the number of faculty members incorporating presentation, word processing, email, learning management systems, and digital video activities in coursework. Emergent activities with low but increasing use included digital audio, social networking, text messaging, and blog activities. Less widely reported activities included social bookmarking, desktop publishing, webpage creation, and games. Overall results indicated all students did not report similar faculty technological modeling, which also meant that students had divergent technological experiences from which to base their future teaching. The discussion outlines an expansion of educational technology integration across teacher education methods/content courses to increase systematic and contemporary coverage of technological advancements in education through codeveloped curriculum and coteaching by educational technology and teacher education faculty.