3 Wicked Problems and Other Thoughts on Issues of Technology and Teacher Learning Hilda Borko Stanford University Jennie Whitcomb Daniel Liston University of Colorado This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seri- ously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us. An internal Western Union memo, 1876 I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. IBM chairman Thomas Watson, 1943. There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. Ken Olson, founder, chairman and president of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguisha- ble from magic. Arthur C. Clarke (1963), English physicist and science fiction writer, p. W e’ve come a long way and at an incredible pace. What was magic less than a generation ago is now part of everyday life. Digital technologies are changing the way we live, work, and learn. Their potential to trans- form K-12 education motivated our decision to devote a theme issue of Journal of Teacher Education to the inno- vative uses of technology for teacher learning. 1 Although optimistic about the possibilities new technologies offer to support K-12 learners’ achievement, teachers’ produc- tivity, effectiveness in classrooms, and teacher learning, we also recognize that teaching and learning with new technologies represents a “wicked problem” (Koehler & Mishra, 2008). Rittel and Webber (1973) characterized Journal of Teacher Education Volume 60 Number 1 January/February 2009 3-7 © 2009 Sage Publications 10.1177/0022487108328488 http://jte.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com Authors’ Note: We would like to thank our colleagues Susan Maunders and Karin Forssell for their critical reading of this article. As an editorial team, the editors write editorials collaboratively. To reflect the nature of this joint work, they rotate the order of authors with each journal issue. wicked problems as problems that include a large num- ber of complex variables—all of which are dynamic, contextually bound, and interdependent. The rapid growth of digital technologies, coupled with the com- plexity of classroom life, increases both the potential transformative power and the difficulty of problems associated with incorporating innovative technologies in teaching and teacher education. Our aim in organizing this theme issue was to explore these possibilities and complexities. Our call for this issue invited “research manuscripts that address how these technologies inform teacher candi- dates’ understanding of real classrooms and veteran teach- ers’ professional development . . . that examine the unique opportunities and obstacles presented through these inven- tive uses of technology, or that provide evidence for their impact on teachers’ learning and practice.” Perhaps it is not surprising that our understanding of what it takes to integrate technology effectively into teaching and teacher education has grown through the process of putting together the theme issue. We now have a sharper sense of the relationship between issues involved in using technology to support teacher learning and those that must be addressed to support the uses of technology to foster K-12 student learning. In the big pic- ture, innovative teacher educators are creating technology- rich approaches that promote the development of tech-savvy teachers—teachers who regularly use digital Editorial