Students' information and communications technology skills and their use during teacher training

Abstract

Two surveys of the 1997–98 cohort of Postgraduate Certificate of Education students in the United Kingdom showed that students had a wide range of information and communications technology (ICT) skills at the start of their course; much of their experience had been gained during their undergraduate studies or at home. They also had considerable enthusiasm for learning more skills and using them in their future careers as teachers. However, as many other researchers have also found, students were not always able to transfer their skills to use in the classroom, although they very often used them in preparing both classroom materials and assessed coursework. Significant differences in ICT use were found between students studying different subjects; availability of ICT facilities in schools (varying between subjects) also affected use of ICT. The results are discussed in terms of attitudes to ICT in schools.     

Learning environments in information and communications technology classrooms

Abstract

The study of learning environments provides a useful research framework for investigating the effects of educational innovations such as those which are associated with the use of the Internet in classroom settings. This study reports an investigation into the use of Internet technologies in high-school classrooms in Australia and Canada. Specifically, it combined the investigation of the physical and psychosocial learning environments featured within these ‘technological settings’, as well as interactions among the selected physical and psychosocial factors in influencing students' satisfaction with their learning in these settings. Further, we explored how both the physical and psychosocial domains can effectively enable or, alternatively, constrain the teaching methods used in these classrooms. We first explored the learning environment in these classrooms through the use of a questionnaire measuring aspects of the psychosocial learning environment together with ergonomic site evaluations. Next, we investigated interactions among physical and psychosocial variables in these classrooms through selected and detailed case studies, which included a more detailed assessment of the physical classroom environment in tandem with classroom observations and student/teacher interviews. The results offer insights into new approaches to technology implementation and teaching practice and call for teachers to take a leading role in classroom laboratory design.     

Using affordances and constraints to evaluate the use of information and communications technology in teaching and learning

Abstract

Evaluating the nature and extent of the influence of information and communications technology (ICT) on the quality of learning is highly problematic, owing to the number and complexity of interacting variables involved in settings for teaching and learning. Yet, for those responsible for allocating large sums of money to the development of ICT in education, it is important to identify, characterise, measure and model more precisely the features and processes through which technology impacts upon teaching and learning activities. This article offers a framework for analysing the effects of ICT in combination with the other factors which may enhance or ameliorate the positive impact of ICT in the classroom and beyond. This framework is applicable to different levels of evaluation, including large scale curriculum development programmes, curriculum and pedagogical change in particular schools, and individual teachers' planning and reflection. Its use in evaluating new ICT-based teaching approaches at classroom level is illustrated and analysed in the context of an in-service teacher education programme in the United Kingdom, and suggestions are made concerning the development of evaluation tools based on the framework     

The emerging information and communications technology educational research forum

Abstract

In education, research presents a number of challenges. One of these is to ensure that educators are well placed to utilise the outcomes of research, and conversely that the profession is able to inform the research agenda. This is as true for the application of information and communications technology in education, as in any other field. At the same time, there is a growing perception that the education profession needs to become more ‘evidence based’ and draw on educational research and validated good practice. This applies to teachers in all phases of education, from the nursery school to the university, and to those who provide services to education and training and inform their strategic development. However, because teaching and learning take place in increasingly complex environments and across multiple organisations and systems, careful interpretations are required to put research into practice.     

Images of school principals' information and communications technology leadership

This article describes a qualitative study designed to investigate information and communications technology (ICT) leadership by considering the lived experiences of principals in 10 carefully selected ICT-enriched schools in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. To encourage further discussion regarding the impact of ICT on educational leadership practice, I have outlined a framework that suggests eight categories of ICT leadership. Although this study focussed on principals of ICT-enriched schools, the practical wisdom of the study participants has potential to assist other educational leaders who are expected to ensure that ICT becomes a tool to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.     

Communal constructivist theory: information and communications technology pedagogy and internationalisation of the curriculum

Abstract

This article explores communal constructivism as a unifying theory that encapsulates the ways in which information and communications technology (ICT) enables learners to collaboratively create knowledge. The authors review the research outcomes from several international ICT projects in the light of communal constructivist learning theory, which provides a rationale and explanations for some of their findings exploring the effectiveness of new pedagogical practices emerging in ICT-rich innovative learning environments. They argue that the term ‘communal constructivism’ conveys a meaning that captures specific elements of the additional value that various forms of ICT bring to learning environments, specifically the different forms of virtual and real community building, as well as the different ways in which knowledge is constructed, shared and reconstructed, published and republished by both teachers and learners alike. The aim of the article is to start the debate about communal constructivism as a unifying theory for aspects of ICT pedagogy, and to identify some of the characteristics of ICTrich learning environments where the authors suggest communal constructivist pedagogy is in operation.     

Pedagogy,information and communications technology and teachers' professional knowledge

In this article UK governmental policy imperatives to apply new forms of information and communications technology (ICT) to school improvement are explored, with particular reference to the National Curriculum for England and Wales. The analysis juxtaposes the piecemeal, random way in which ICT is used in National Curriculum programmes of study and schemes of work with the government rhetoric that requires coherent planning and integration of ICT within all aspects of teaching learning. The article argues that this contradiction within the policy process could be overcome if a stronger conceptualization of teachers' professional knowledge was embraced. An example of such a conceptualization is presented and this is exemplified by accounts of teachers' development of ICT within their pedagogic practice.     

A review of pedagogy related to information and communications technology

Abstract

This article reviews research on pedagogies associated with the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in primary and secondary schools. We propose a framework for examining pedagogical practices based on an analysis of the nature of pedagogy as revealed in the literature. In the light of this framework we discuss empirical evidence of the use of different types of ICT in different subjects and phases of education. We identify pedagogical issues associated with ICT use and their implications for teachers' pedagogical reasoning and practices. The evidence suggests that new affordances provided by ICT-based learning environments require teachers to undertake more complex pedagogical reasoning than before in their planning and teaching that incorporates knowledge of specific affordances and how these relate to their subject-based teaching objectives as well as the knowledge they have always needed to plan for their students' learning. In addition the research shows that teachers' beliefs about the value of ICT for learning and the nature of successful learning environments are important in teachers' pedagogical reasoning     

数字技术赋能乡村治理的制度分析与理论启示

分析数字技术赋能返贫风险治理问题,对巩固拓展脱贫攻坚成果、守住不发生规模性返贫底线十分重要。基于返贫风险分析,可探索建立一个数字技术赋能返贫风险治理的分析框架。在返贫风险暴露阶段,数字技术可从排查风险来源、识别风险类型、评估风险程度、确定风险警示等方面赋能异质性和协同性返贫风险预警机制的构建。在返贫风险应对阶段,数字技术可赋能政府、脆弱人口、社区、企业、公益组织等主体,形成多元协同共治的合力。在抗逆力提升阶段,数字技术可通过素质技能提升、交互权利发展、外部资源获取等方面赋能个体抗逆力;通过优化政策制度、管理服务和治理结构等方面赋能组织抗逆力。为提升数字技术赋能返贫风险治理的效果,需要建立返贫风险数据的标准和规范、破除返贫风险信息的“数据孤岛”、提高返贫风险数据的自动化采集程度、关注基层管理与数字化赋能的协同、提高脆弱人口与管理人员的数字素养与数字技能。     

Primary science and technology: How confident are teachers?

Science and Technology is a new Key Learning Area in NSW Primary Schools. Survey results are used to compare preservice teachers (on entry and in the third year of their degree) with practising teachers, on their confidence in their knowledge about the topics in the syllabus, as well as their confidence to teach these topics. Reasons for stated confidence (or lack of it) are reported together with preservice and practising teachers' views about what needs to be done to improve their confidence. Preservice and practising teachers' opinions of the major sources of their knowledge about the topics in the new syllabus are contrasted. Results are discussed in the light of severalDiscipline Review recommendations. Specializations: primary science teacher education; environmental education; curriculum development.     

Effective integration of information and communications technology in teacher education

Abstract

Effective delivery of the new information technology (IT) curriculum for student teachers in the United Kingdom, which started in September 1998, is an important challenge for initial teacher training institutions. This article identifies three main obstacles that may limit its successful implementation – student access to computers, the communications and information technology (ICT) policy adopted by initial teacher training providers and the lack of encouragement for students to use ICT on teaching practice. The work is based on a survey carried out in 1997 of lecturers and students in three teacher training institutions in Northern Ireland. The findings have led to the proposal of basic guidelines to contribute towards the development and implementation of an effective ICT policy in initial teacher training institutions.     

Learning information and communications technology skills and the subject context of the learning

Abstract

There is a growing body of evidence which suggests that information and ccommunications technology (ICT) can support, enhance and extend learning potential. Yet this all presupposes that students are confident and competent users of technology based on assumptions that presume they are conversant with basic applications. This article seeks to explore the tensions of teaching ICT skills in ways that enable students to perceive the benefits and potential of using computers to support their work. It also considers how much direct instruction is needed in order for sufficient competence to be acquired which will subsequently enable students to learn to use other features of the application to maximise these benefits. ICT as a cognitive tool is described and the development and design of ICT resources and lessons are also considered.     

应用信息技术促进学生认知发展

当前，信息技术为学习者提供了新型的学习环境，在这种环境之下，学习者的认知学习过程有什么变化?信息技术能为学习提供哪些支持?本文试从认知心理分析出发，并结合相关学习理论，对信息技术环境下学生的认知活动作一些分析探讨。     

Towards a learning society in finland: information and communications technology in teacher education

Abstract

This article describes the recent development of Finland as a learning and information society. Education, training and research have been seen as core factors to accelerate development towards a society where all citizens have a high level of competence in using information and communications technology (ICT) in their lives. A short review is given of the present situation in schools and teacher education and of how governmental strategies have guided the development and use of ICT for a learning society in Finland. The strategies of teacher education departments in universities are then analysed with the main focus on how teachers learn to use ICT as a tool which opens up high-quality learning opportunities for pupils and challenges teachers' growth as professionals. Cases have been selected to describe good examples of teachers' pre-service and in-service education. These draw a picture of how ICT is applied in different fields of teacher education. At the end of the article some trends from the late 1990s to early 2002 will be summarised. These trends are: using ICT more as a mindtool, moving towards more collaboration, interactivity and active learning, more integration of ICT in curricula and a better technical and pedagogical infrastructure.     

小学信息技术课堂中培养学生信息素养和综合能力

作为新世纪的学生,必须掌握信息技术能力才能在学习和发展上符合现代教育的标准。本文基于小学信息技术课堂中培养学生信息素养和综合能力的策略进行探究,首先分析了信息技术课程与信息素养,然后分析了其实施策略,从建立学生的信息意识、创新教学模式,激活课堂、积极创设实践活动、加强对学生的信息道德培养四方面进行阐述。     

信息技术教学与创造性思维培养

创造能力的培养是素质教育的一个重要方面.本文论述了在中小学信息技术课程教学中实施素质教育,培养学生创造性思维的优势、切实可行的方法和实践.     

Perspectives on continuing professional development in and through information and communications technology

This paper considers the role and development of meaningful dialogue in digitally mediated learning (DML) in UK higher education for teachers. It argues that more research is vital in the field of meaningful dialogue if we are to avoid the risk that pedagogic values in DML become increasingly driven by market forces toward ‘data vending’ without sufficient contextualisation of learning as social practice. Three data collection sources are interpreted. The first is the narrativised experiences of a DML development team transforming an MA Education award; the second is some key reflections on the experiences of MA participants on a newly transformed DML module and the third is a brief analysis of student results and evaluations. The key focus for the paper is how important and challenging it can be to nurture a dialogic academic community online that clearly supports and nurtures the professional development of teachers across the education sector. Using a methodological approach incorporating Ulrich’s notion of ‘reflective competence’, the paper considers the pitfalls of transforming face-to-face modules into DML, arguing that both staff and participant preparation for DML must be at the forefront of such transformations. The paper concludes with a consideration of the vital role in DML of pedagogies which promote emotional engagement and ‘kindness’.