TO be edited by Prof Susie Garvis & A/Prof Therese Keane

During 2020 and 2021, many schools and higher education providers around the world made a rapid transition to online learning to support students during remote learning during COVID. This move pushed many schools and higher education providers into new territory, exploring possibilities to support students through technological innovation. The growth in knowledge and understanding during this period was huge and allowed outstanding innovation to be created. In teaching and teacher education, the context of this book, schools and higher education providers continued to support learning of students. As such, it is important that effective practice with such technology and innovation is documented to support and expand teaching and teacher education.

This book provides a snapshot of technology and innovation in teacher education and teaching. By highlighting innovation, we can also highlight the gaps and needs for improvement within student learning in contemporary times. The promise of transforming teachers’ practices challenges the simple industrial model of education which is built on the assumption that what’s worth learning is already known. Technology in education done properly pushes the boundaries of learning beyond what is known. Instead, technology allows us to discover the new and expand the frontiers of what is possible. As such, this book makes a major contribution to technology and innovation in teaching and teacher education.

The challenge of responding to the needs of students in a rapidly changing world requires us to seek new solutions and new ways of learning beyond what is outlined in the teaching standards. Teaching standards forms the basis for initial teacher education programs and the professional development and appraisal of early, mid, and highly experienced career teachers. It is imperative that teachers reflect and support the development of progressive practices and pedagogies.

n emerging trend in education narratives about developing students’ innovation is that teachers’ pedagogies and practices need to go beyond the traditional mastery and become more student centric in order to navigate a complex and uncertain world. This is never more true, given the influence of COVID. For example, in this book we learn about the importance of social media and virtual reality to support teacher education students during their learning that allows continued opportunities for scaffolding and building strong foundation of teacher pedagogy.

This book will explore technological innovation from several perspectives, including teacher educators, and teacher practitioners. Innovation in education will be illustrated through several case studies based on qualitative and quantitative research. The book will be of particular interest to academics, policy makers, teacher educators and teachers interested in the latest technology and innovation. They will be able to learn about current innovation and technology through case studies and other research examples.

Each chapter will follow a similar structure to ensure consistency across the book. At the end of each chapter, there will be a section on ‘key messages’ to expand and support further development of effective technology and innovation in teacher education. The focus will be on future research and theoretical and practical development moving forward to support future technological advances in education. This includes practical advice for teachers and teacher educators to implement technology and innovative practices into their classrooms to support and expand learning.