INTIME Six Month Report
University of Northern Iowa
May, 2001

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Brief Description of Project

The University of Northern Iowa is the lead institution for the three-year INTIME (Integrating New Technologies into the Methods of Education) Project to enable future teachers to see video scenarios of PreK-12 teachers integrating technology in the classroom, regardless of the grade level or academic subject. Collaborating universities are Eastern Michigan, Emporia State, Longwood College and Southeast Missouri State.

One hundred ninety-eight completed online videos of 22 different lessons show teachers how to improve learning for children by realizing the full potential of technology.  Fifty-one lessons spanning all grade levels and content areas have already been videotaped.  The remaining 29 are in various stages of editing and over 450 videos will be posted by completion of the project.

The INTIME project website houses the videos and makes them accessible via video streaming. Each lesson is analyzed in seven different versions of the video with narrative describing how the teacher is demonstrating one of the seven elements from the Technology as Facilitator of Quality Education Model (TFQE). Elements of quality education from UNI's TFQE Model include 1)exemplary technology, 2)democracy in the classroom, 3)rich content, 4)information processing, 5)effective principles of learning 6)teacher knowledge and 7)teacher behaviors. In addition to these seven, each lesson also includes a video of the teacher interview and an activity overview for a total of nine videos for each lesson. The edited videos of approximately 5 minutes in length are searchable at the project website by grade level, content area, and elements from the quality education model, which have been identified in the videos by the teachers and project personnel.

University teacher education faculty are revising education courses to integrate technology, including videos and materials from the INTIME website. The videos will also be available on CD-ROM and DVD at completion of the project.  Additionally, university faculty, preservice teachers, and inservice teachers are able to engage in critical dialogue about the videos on the INTIME online discussion forum. Finally, faculty will publish and present analyses of their experiences integrating technology into their courses.

Major Findings/Successes/Concerns

We were able to increase the quality of our video best practices by hiring our own personnel to do the video recording and buying the top digital equipment to do the editing in house. We have also increased the credibility of the Technology as Facilitator of Quality Education Model through extensive research.  We were also able to implement this model in analyzing video for our website.

We capitalized on the ideas of faculty who attended a training workshop about INTIME videos and Technology as Facilitator of Quality Education Model and have added an activity overview video for each lesson, which allows faculty and students to see the scope of the activity before analyzing. One professor stated, “I have viewed the new clip and feel it is more helpful to the teacher educator in this format without the overdubbing.  Students can then be presented with a list of analytical questions they can use to examine the lesson.” We are also in the process of. 

Many of the participating faculty have students watch and critique the videos.  We are pleased that faculty are able to use many of the videos as examples of quality teaching.  There was some concern at our faculty training workshop that not all videos may be examples of quality teaching and are subject to differences of opinion. We have resolved this issue by designing a case study format for videos on our website and adding probing questions for video analysis.

Project URL: We were able to develop the Website and create the database that supports online searching of the videos.   http://www.intime.uni.edu 

II.  PROJECT STATUS

INTIME Grant:

INTIME has posted 22 sets of videos to the website. Each lesson contains 9 versions of the video making a total of 198 videos posted to the website.  INTIME has surveyed faculty regarding their use of the INTIME videos and Technology as Facilitator of Quality Education Model in their course revisions.  Satisfaction with the quality of the videos and Model is very high.  Probing questions and case study methodology will be added to the website to facilitate interaction with and analyzing of the videos. Sixteen of the 37 identified faculty members from the five collaborating universities have implemented INTIME videos and Model into one or more of their courses, and they are in the process of administering the Preservice Teacher Technology Competencies online as a pre and post test for their education students. Extensive technical support has been added to the website in the form of a troubleshooting matrix for the most common problems. In cases requiring more assistance, email and telephone support are available. The database for searching the videos has been completed. 

PT3 Addendum Grant:

One thousand copies of a promotional CD-ROM about the INTIME project have been made. This includes an extensive brochure/CD packaging that explains the INTIME project and the Technology as Facilitator of Quality Education Model (TFQE).  Copies are being handed out at conference presentations and mailed to individuals who have requested them.  Contents of the CD include a narrated explanation of the INTIME project and the TFQE model, a preview of the project website, and 9 sample videos from the website.  The CD also features auto-run and Real Player installation for those who do not already have it.  The CD will be sent to college administrators to familiarize them with the INTIME project and materials.

Kathleen Fulton, Project Director for the Web-based Education Commission  was hired by Tom Carroll to work with INTIME as a consultant for the addendum grant.  She will work with the Public Relations firm hired by PT3, Fleishman-Hillard, and will coordinate with Carole Yates at UNI regarding the materials she developed.  At an early January meeting in Washington, D.C., it was agreed that the quality of the materials developed thus far are comparable to what the P.R. firm would produce.  UNI will continue to work on a mock-up for the PT3 promotional CD (art by UNI student Heide).  Kathleen will pass the promo CD around for feedback.  If the response is positive, we will continue working on it.

We will have more online videos than originally planned.  We expected to have approximately 50 lessons.  We have taped 54 activities already and we will tape several more in year 3 of the grant.  The additional lessons will help to complete the matrix of grade levels and content areas.  In addition the TFQE Model is much more extensive than originally planned and has become widely used by the faculty involved in the grant. 

We are pleased that faculty have used the TFQE Model to have their students evaluate their own teaching. This is a natural extension of the TFQE Model.  

Our data collection instrument is included in the appendix.  The Teacher Technology Competencies Assessment tool is being used to collect information about the technology competencies of students in the courses being revised to include INTIME materials.  It is administered by participating faculty as a pre and post test to determine whether the INTIME infusion has an affect on students’ technology competencies.