Teachers Discovering Computers: Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom

Summary (from the publisher): Make your introductory computer course for future technology teachers exciting and dynamic-an experience they will remember as a highlight of their educational careers This title covers up-to-date topics in computer concepts, Internet and digital media integration, interactivity, extraordinary visual drawings and photographs, and unprecedented currency. Unique lecture presentation materials help future educators learn practical, theory-based strategies on how to teach these concepts. It is intended for use in a one-quarter or one-semester undergraduate or graduate-level introductory computer course for educators.

Review: I read this textbook (in its lengthy entirety) for a class I am taking entitled Technologies to Advance Learning. In eight chapters, this book deals with different issues with technology and education. I think probably the first edition of this book (I read the sixth) was likely very helpful. However, although the authors have made cursory attempts at updating the text, by adding newer technology definitions like "smartphone" and "iPad", it is largely outdated. For example, this book spends inordinate amounts of time defining terms that any teacher today should know and recognize. For example, I hardly think it necessary to define terms like "mousepad" and "keyboard." It's particularly ironic since I read this book as part of an online class.  It would have been pretty difficult to access the online syllabus to even learn that I needed to purchase this book without being able to navigate rudimentary technology understanding that this book pretends to educate teachers on. It's difficult to imagine many educators really benefitting from this outdated, and far too lengthy, text of common everyday technology definitions. 

The one beneficial aspect of this text are the special features that conclude each chapter, which give practical applications of the technology covered and hypothetical scenarios teachers could find themselves in. In retrospect, I wish I had skimmed the many pages of definitions and instead focused on the special features, where the actual application of classroom technology came into play. 

Although this text was likely very useful when computers were first being introduced to teachers who were unfamiliar with them, it is increasingly irrelevant in a world filled with teachers and students who are more than adept at navigating many forms of technology. Fortunately, this is not the only text required for my course or I would be sorely disappointed in the quality of information I learned. 

Stars: 2