Dec05/Jan06 Innovate Online

The new edition of Innovate is online. This time around there are three interesting articles, the first (Carolyn Rude-Parkins, Karen Hughes Miller, Karen Ferguson and Robert Bauer) looks at the US Army's implementation of games and simulations in their AC3-DL course for Captains. This is similar to the game Full Spectrum Warrior, where any "Joe or Jane" can take some basic training, but in a situated environment, thanks to the simulation. Again, the success of these simulations is all about making the learning relevant, allowing for risks and rewards, not just stuffing data into heads. The second (Tu Tran, Robert Baker and Margo Pensaville), on ePortfolios doesn't say much more than I/we have already seen out there, and the third (Lorraine Beaudin and Corey Hadden), on teaching with technology is from one of my alma matters - the University of Lethbridge. Not to throw stones, but when I was taking my first ed course there, they looked at me cocked eyed when I was doing my first practice teaching lessons using computers. But all that is past, and I like how the article ends: This article has provided a working definition of techno-pedagogically skilled teachers and exemplified how a hybrid approach of meta-teaching, technology exposure, and critical reflection can be used to enhance instruction. In all of our endeavors to prepare technology-pedagogically skilled teachers, it is crucial that we incorporate an underpinning of technology and pedagogy to prepare our preservice teachers to teach with technology and become learners on a never-ending journey.. Technorati Tags: Technology Integration, Simulations, Game Based Learning, ePortfolios