Using New Technology

An innovative new project at Champlain will put Education students in front of digital cameras, and will also sit them in the editor's chair.

Champlain has hired Ken Reissig, a former technology teacher and principal, to coordinate new initiatives to integrate technology throughout all teacher education programs at Champlain College. His students will master the use of digital video cameras and editing software, some of the most current and effective technologies in teacher education.

After student teaching in area schools, students will be able to review classroom footage with their college supervisors and their mentor teachers to fine tune their teaching skills. Then, the students will be able to cut some of the video into electronic portfolios to demonstrate their best classroom lessons.

A grant from the U.S. Department of Education called "Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology" brings these additional resources to Champlain. Champlain students will be able to pass along their new technology proficiency to the next generation of students, as well, because the technology can be incorporated into lesson plans they develop for their students.

Historically, education students prepared paper-based portfolios of their finest classroom lessons. They’ve been used when applying for teaching licenses and their first job placements. Today, many educators believe the electronic portfolio will soon replace these three-ring binders as the standard showcase for collegiate and career achievement. With e-portfolios, principals and school board members can witness short movie clips of a prospective teacher in a classroom.

“If you can watch a teacher in action, then it’s a lot more powerful,” said Education Program Director Dr. Colin Ducolon.

“To get a teaching job these days, you’ve got to be skilled and competitive,” Ducolon said. “Something has to be different about you, and I think that is one example of how technology can help.”