Helping Trainee Teachers Realize the Potential of Information and Communication Technology: A Case Study from Scottish History

Due to the paucity of software in subjects such as history, it can be difficult for teacher educators in countries with small education markets to provide a vision to trainee teachers as to how they might integrate information and communication technology (ICT) into their teaching. This article discusses how this problem has been surmounted through the development, production, and evaluation of a series of multimedia CD ROMs on themes within Scottish history, which through their use in schools provide trainee teachers with exemplars of how ICT can enhance teaching and learning. These multimedia CD ROMs employ a wide range of primary historical sources now central to the teaching of history. The location, selection, collation, and management of primary sources place added expectations on teachers and trainee teachers. Multimedia can help in the management and organization of primary sources, but to be truly interactive, trainee teachers must see new technology as more than an information repository. Multimedia nurtures knowledge and skills when it is used to allow students to examine the past through a combination of primary sources and learning tasks embracing authentic learning. The article discusses these themes in the context of schools in Scotland, but the underlying principles and conclusions have a wider application