Untangling the Confounding Perceptions regarding the Stand Alone it Course

Abstract

The stand alone IT/computer course is the earliest IT training model in teacher education|programs. This course model has been severely criticized and there has been a call to eliminate it from preservice teachers' IT training. Over the past decade, new IT initiatives were implemented to integrate the computer use throughout teacher training courses (integrated model) and to promote field-based IT training (field-based model). Overshadowed by new IT initiatives, confounding issues surrounding the stand alone IT course have seldom been brought to the forefront for discussion. The purpose of this article is to review, discuss, and clarify these confounding issues to help teacher educators make evidence-based decisions regarding the stand alone IT course. The authors of this article take the position that the three major IT training models (stand alone, integrated, and field-based) should be viewed as a learning continuum. Efforts should be placed on coordinating the three models so that they complement and support each other.