MacBook Is the LIFE of
Preservice Teacher Training

Profiles in Success: University of Texas
at Austin College of Education

Apple Trainers Instill Core Competencies

Resta says Apple Professional Development played a critical role in helping to ensure that COE’s faculty had many of these competencies prior to the LIFE program’s launch. “Apple Professional Development was amazing in the early phases of the program. They had some of their best, most outstanding trainers come in and work with our faculty. Since then we’ve developed a lot of capacity here — but we always know that Apple would be happy to help us if we asked.”

These days, any COE professor who’s interested in enhancing his or her course with technology can pay a visit to the COE’s “IDEA Studio” for help. “We’re built on a ‘do with’ as opposed to a ‘do for’ model,” explains Studio Coordinator Dr. Karen French. “Our goal is to help faculty members gain the ability to learn and adopt ever-changing technology tools to enhance their instruction.” Dr. French and her colleagues are currently involved in an effort to map technology competencies mandated by the State of Texas, and align their curriculum with National Educational Technology Standards (NETS).

For Fulton, the use of the MacBook computers has helped bring COE students’ technological proficiency to the highest possible level. “Our challenge is to help our students transform their native technology background, and make that more of an educationally effective set of tools,” observes Fulton. “It’s one thing for students to know how to IM [instant message], and look at social networking sites. It’s another thing to help them be better teachers, and help their students learn. When everyone has a MacBook, the possibilities are endless.”