Infusing technology into a mathematics methods course: any impact?

In this paper, I examine some issues within the new frontier of integrating technology into teacher education and professional development. I present an approach to teach a secondary mathematics methods course integrating technology. Specifically, this study focuses on how the integration of multimedia and online discussion into a mathematics methods course affect student teachers' beliefs about geometry and their attitudes toward educational technology. Empirical data collected from students enrolled in a methods course include students' written assignment, transcription of online discussion, multimedia projects, and instructor's journal. The qualitative analysis of data revealed that two themes are particularly salient: 1) the student teachers' attitudes about using technology in classrooms had changed; and 2) for at least some of the student teachers, the fact that multimedia project focused on geometry positively affected their attitudes toward geometry and teaching geometry. Three cases are described of the impact that the use of technology had on student teachers' learning experience. Reflection on the experience and recommendations for design principles for teacher educators are presented.