In their Standards for the English Language Arts, the International Reading Association and National Council of Teachers of English (1996) set the following standard for students: “Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge” (standard 8).
Setting this standard for students makes the assumption that teachers can instruct accordingly. However, while the information age marches on, many colleges of education continue to lack systematic instruction for pre- and in-service teachers about ways to use technology in their classrooms (Willis & Raines, 2001).
A report from the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (2001, online document) indicates that the teacher’s role is changing, but current teacher education and training in methods of using technology in the classroom are insufficient.