Jacobsen, Michele

Dr. Michele Jacobsen is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, University of Calgary, where she supervises and teaches graduate students in educational technology along with student teaching in the MT program. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Calgary and now serves as editor of The Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology and EGallery. Dr. Jacobsen has also authored articles, reviews and book chapters, as well as delivered conference papers on subjects related to professional development, teacher education, and the use of technology in education.

Learning Technology in Continuing Professional Development

2006 0-7734-5525-6
This book, being a case study of the Galileo Network, a Canadian organization that exists to promote innovative teaching and learning practices among K-12 students and educators, contributes to current scholarship in such areas as continuous professional development, children’s learning with technology and educational reform. First, the study documents an innovative approach to continuous professional development that puts teachers in control of their own learning and leads to transformed practice as teachers develop innovative pedagogical approaches. Second, the study provides evidence that students in schools can participate in meaningful inquiry with the aid of technology and that teachers who are engaged in further learning themselves are better able to engage the hearts, minds and spirits of their pupils. Third, the study documents the work of the organization, which focuses on improving and increasing opportunities for children to inquire with technology by considering two problems: first, how to leverage the successful examples of children’s and teachers’ inquiry with technology throughout educational systems and communities and, second, how to build upon knowledge of the essential conditions for children’s meaningful learning with technology to guide larger and more widespread educational reform efforts, the conditions of such reform being defined and considered.