Digital Internships: Using Online Groups to Connect Real-World Learners to Preservice Teachers

• In Event: Technology as a Tool for Shaping the Preparation of Preservice Student Teachers and Interns

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates how preservice teachers have virtually engaged in digital internships in geographically distant secondary English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms over six years. These internships occur in varied online spaces including wikis, nings, and video chats. Preservice teachers are paired with 9th or 12th grade students to discuss literature. After written discussions about literature, secondary students write drafts of literary response papers. The ELA preservice teachers then serve as writing tutors in order to extend and develop students’ written response. The goals of this internship are to build preservice ELA teacher Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Shulman, 1986) and in Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Koehler & Mishra, 2009), specific to the use of emerging technologies within the ELA classroom.

Author

• Katie Dredger, James Madison University