The Use of ICT in Education: a survey of schools in Europe

The Survey of Schools: ICT in education commissioned in 2011 by the European Commission took place between January 2011 and November 2012, with data collection in autumn 2011. This article presents the main findings of the Survey based on over 190,000 questionnaire answers from students, teachers and head teachers in primary, lower and upper secondary schools randomly sampled. The article details the analytical framework design and the survey methodology implemented. It then presents the main ‘state of the art’ indicators that have been built, concerning ICT infrastructure and access to it, frequency of students' ICT based activities during lessons, level of teachers' and students' confidence in their digital competences, their opinion about using ICT for teaching and learning, and the school strategies to support ICT integration in teaching and learning. The article also presents the main findings of the exploratory part of the analysis, introducing the concepts of digitally supportive school, digitally confident and supportive teacher and digitally confident and supportive student, estimating their respective proportion at EU level on average and by country and investigating whether high percentage of digitally supportive schools include high percentages of digitally confident and positive teachers and students. A few recommendations for policy making at European, national, regional/local and institutional levels conclude the article.     

Educational technology on a turning point: curriculum implementation in Flanders and challenges for schools

In this essay, we state that establishing technology curricula by national governments causes a shift in the policy actions of educational technology support: from a technical rationale with a main focus on funding and resources to a pedagogical rationale with a main focus on student competencies. We illustrate our point of view by describing the formal educational technology curriculum recently administered by the government in Flanders. This curriculum is written in terms of attainment targets and has clear implications on the nature of educational technology which is no longer dependent on teachers’ individual efforts or willingness, but is becoming compulsory at the school level. Furthermore, we present two levers that facilitate the integration process of educational technology in general and the realization of technology curricula in particular. Technology coordinators should act more as curriculum managers and change agents, and schools should jointly establish a technology policy plan.

Introducing ICT in schools in England: Rationale and consequences

This paper provides a critical perspective on the attempts to promote the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning in England. It describes the rationale given for the introduction of ICT in terms of its potential to impact on educational standards to contribute to developing a curriculum which has more vocational/social significance and, more generally, to provide a catalyst for curriculum reform. The introduction of ICT is underpinned by the argument that schools should show a higher degree of correspondence with a wider world where the use of technology is pervasive. However, the claims made for ICT display excessive optimism and a sense of “inevitability.” ICT has had only a modest impact on schools, though impact has to be considered in the context of what can realistically be expected: the contribution of ICT has not been negligible. Future development in the use of ICT should be more measured and adaptive, taking account of the multidimensional nature of technology.     

Equality or equity: Gender awareness issues in secondary schools in Pakistan

This paper focuses on gender awareness issues as a dimension of addressing the wider issue of the quality of education in Pakistan from the perspective of social justice. In Pakistan classrooms, boys and girls learn separately and therefore teachers and others tend to think that there are no gender issues once access is achieved and the learners are in the classroom. However, beyond access there are several factors that compromise quality of education and raise issues for gender equity as an element of social justice. These issues are examined in the context of a professional development intervention on promoting gender awareness among secondary mathematics teachers in disadvantaged schools in rural Pakistan.     

Examining the role of the ICT coordinator in Irish post-primary schools

This paper reports on a study into the roles and attitudes of ICT coordinators in a sample of 37 schools in the Republic of Ireland. The research took an interpretative stance employing both questionnaires and interviews to explore the participants’ experiences. The study revealed that the ICT coordinators’ roles varied across schools. This variation was evident in the status of the position with considerable variance in the time allocated for their duties. In line with previous research, their duties appeared to be targeted towards maintenance and upkeep of equipment. The study raises questions relating to the gap in the rhetoric of the ICT coordinator’s role and the reality of their day-to-day duties. The study also questions the prevailing discourse in relation to moves towards greater levels of pedagogical leadership, as opposed to maintenance and support.     

Holocaust Memorial Day in schools - context,process and content: a review of research into Holocaust education

The Holocaust was officially remembered in Britain for the first time on 27 January 2001. This is to be an annual event and it is intended that it will provide a focus for work in schools. The paper reviews the findings of research into Holocaust education and discusses the implications for teachers intending to respond to this important initiative.     

基础教育信息化可持续发展的战略思考

当前我国基础教育信息化发展取得了巨大成绩,然而在体制、机制、设施、标准、培训、资源等方面面临困难,而核心问题主要在宏观政策、财政投入与教育体制三个方面。文章认为,要实现教育信息化可持续发展,除国家应保证有效投入外,充分调动内、外部力量,实现教育信息化发展评估的制度化与透明化,构建基于内外互动的教育技术应用支持服务体系是今后促进教育信息化发展的努力方向。     

基于“学习设计”开发支持过程与活动的ICT教育应用模式

学习设计是教育技术领域最近最有意义的发展之一。它关注E-learning中的学习过程和活动,旨在描述各种各样的教学方法及过程,并能适应教学方法的不断更新。学习设计与教学设计存在着联系和区别,它通过教学设计进入教育实践应用中,为教师表达教学思想提供一个过程框架。它也可以帮助我们更好地理解信息技术在传统学校教育中的应用,为设计和开发支持过程与活动的ICT教育应用模式提供有效的途径。     

ICT in European schools: emerging issues from the ValNet project

ABSTRACT

Investigations of aspects of differentiation in primary and secondary schools showed that even teachers believed to be ‘good differentiators' have difficulties in allocating tasks to pupils which are appropriate to their attainment levels. Teachers identified a number of key needs to be met if they were to improve differentiation, in particular the need for detailed, manageable, accessible information on pupils' attainments. Among the needs of learners identified by pupils was a need for more information on their learning goals, problems and the means of their solution. A partnership model of assessment is described which has been developed by teachers to meet the needs of both teachers and pupils.     

ICT tools in environmental education: reviewing two newcomers to schools

United Nations of Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO’s) founding statements about environmental education (EE) in the 1970s positioned it as a multidisciplinary field of inquiry. When enacted as such, it challenges traditional ways of organising secondary school education by academic subject areas. Equally, according to UNESCO, EE requires various forms of integrated and project-based teaching and learning approaches. These can involve hands-on experimentation alongside the retrieval and critical analysis of information from diverse sources and perspectives, and with different qualities and statuses. Multidisciplinary and knowledge engagement challenges are key considerations for an EE curriculum designed to harness information and communication technologies (ICT) to support and enhance student learning, which also challenge traditional instructional priorities that for example are largely based on textbooks. This review summarises research that has sought to integrate ICT and digital tools in EE. A key finding is that while there is a rich variety of such tools and applications available, there is far less research on their fit with and implications for student learning. The review calls for further studies that will provide models of productive forms of teaching and learning that harness ICT resources, particularly in developing the goals and methodologies of EE in the twenty-first century.     

国际教育信息化的现状与趋势*--访新媒体联盟CEO拉里·约翰逊博士

拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)博士是美国新媒体联盟(New Media Consortium, NMC)的首席执行官,是国际知名的教育信息化专家,一直致力于为学习、研究和创新来探索和开发新技术。他曾担任过高等教育领域的多个研究机构的主席或高级管理人员,拥有将近30年的全球教育领域的经验。从教授到院长,教务处长到校长,从首席技术官(CIO)到首席执行官(CEO),拉里·约翰逊博士具有丰富的跨领域工作的经历。到目前为止,他已出版了5本专著,参与7本著作的撰写,发表50多篇研究论文和研究报告,被世界各国的权威组织、科研机构和政府部门邀请作了125场主题报告。近20年来,新媒体联盟持续关注国际教育信息化的发展趋势,其成员来自于全球数百个知名大学、博物馆和顶尖企业。作为美国新媒体联盟地平线项目(Horizon Project)的创始人,拉里·约翰逊博士与来自世界各地的未来学家和思想领袖就新技术应用开展对话和合作,并探讨新出现的趋势和问题。该项目已发布了一系列《地平线报告》(Horizon Reports),覆盖视觉素养,学习对象,教育游戏,沉浸学习和社交网络等议题。目前,地平线报告已通过六种语言发布,为全球100多个国家的教育机构提供信息化发展战略咨询,在全球150多个国家拥有超过125万读者,已成为高等教育学校和博物馆高级管理人员的重要参考资料。在访谈中,拉里·约翰逊博士与我们一起分享了《地平线报告》的发展历程,并对全球教育信息化的发展现状和未来趋势进行了介绍和评价。     

ICT for education: a conceptual framework for the sustainable adoption of technology-enhanced learning environments in schools

The paper presents an evaluation of student and tutor experiences in the introductory module of a European Masters programme in e‐Learning, Multimedia and Consultancy. The aims and outline of the Masters programme are described, together with the pedagogical approach adopted in the introductory module which explores open and flexible learning environments with students and tutors from four European countries. The second part of the paper evaluates the success of the teaching and learning that occurred in this unit, from the perspective of both the students and tutors. Data collected include student and tutor written evaluations, reflections on the authors’ own roles in the programme, and analysis of the products contained in the environment. The paper concludes by detailing future developments in the Masters programme that have been influenced by this cycle of evaluation.     

Communities,networks and ICT professional development across schools in close physical proximity

ABSTRACT

Many studies have focused on professional development within schools, while this article focuses on ICT (information and communications technology) professional development across schools. The aim of this article is to explore how the encouragement of communities and networks might contribute to ICT professional development across schools in close physical proximity. The study is based on a two-year action research project and interviews with the participants of a lead teacher community across five schools. Although the lead teachers and school leaders played a central role, ICT professional development was dependent on a complex interplay of different types of communities and networks, both within, across and outside the schools. This study illustrates how ICT professional development occurred in both expected and unexpected ways and emphasises the need for professional development to take account of the complex needs of teachers, rather than being a ‘one size fits all’.     

The global classroom: advancing cultural awareness in special schools through collaborative work using ICT

This paper reports research on cross‐national collaboration through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) within the statutory curricula of 10 special schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Working in north–south paired classes, the pupils carried out joint tasks using asynchronous computer conferencing and videoconferencing. The full spectrum of learning difficulty and disability was represented amongst the participating pupils. Interviews were conducted to elicit the views and experiences of the teachers in the 2002/03 cohort. The main aims were to discover whether cultural awareness developed through joint tasks using the two technologies, if computer conferencing improved literacy and ICT skills, and if videoconferencing enhanced oral communication. The results showed that cultural awareness developed as far as cognition allowed, when pupils in partner schools became aware of similarities as well as differences. Those with sufficient keyboard ability benefited from computer conferencing and ICT competence improved, but the much preferred medium for collaborative, inter‐school work was videoconferencing. All but the most dependent pupils could participate, and valuable, transferable social and communication skills were acquired.     

中外面向教师的国家ICT标准的比较研究

ICT的发展为教育带来了巨变,为教师的能力标准提出了新要求。面向教师的ICT标准研究已经成为世界各个国家关注的热点问题,我国在2004年也适时地推出了《中国教师教育技术能力标准(试行)》。文章就中美英日四国的ICT标准从不同维度进行了比较、分析,并对我国面向下一代教师的ICT标准发展提出了几点启示。     

宏观因素对信息技术在中小学教育中应用的有效性实现的影响

信息技术在中小学教育中的应用是一个涉及多种因素的复杂的系统工程,不仅受到学校环境因素、学校领导、教师以及学生等直接因素的影响,还会受到国家政策、经济以及特有的文化环境等宏观因素的影响。本文正是运用教育社会学、文化学等相关理论观点和研究方法,从国家政策、经济、文化和技术与支持等方面来讨论影响信息技术在中小学教育中应用的有效性的宏观因素,以期为解决我国目前信息技术教育应用中存在的一些实际问题提供借鉴。     

信息技术教育对教师和学生传播行为的影响

信息技术运用于教育教学,丰富了我们的教学资源、教学手段和教学方法.本文在剖析信息技术教育的基础上,从教育传播学的角度,探讨了信息技术教育对教师和学生传播行为的影响.     

Innovative use of ICT in schools based on the findings in ELFE project

The European e-Learning Forum for Education (ELFE) is a project initiated by the ETUCE (European Trade Union Committee on Education). An important objective of the project has been to study good experiences with implementing the use of ICT in schools. This objective has been broken down in seven operational research questions. Three of these questions will be discussed in this article: (1) What difference does the use of ICT make in schools where ICT is intensively used for instructional/pedagogical purposes? (2) How are the students influenced by this different way of teaching as compared to the traditional classroom education, both individually and as a collective? 3) What factors influence the intensive pedagogical use of ICT? The ELFE study applied a case study approach. Three innovative schools in each of five European countries (Denmark, England, Germany, Norway and Portugal) were purposively selected. Data were collected via questionnaires, interviews, observations and school documents. The findings resulting from the ELFE schools case studies illustrate that the implementation of ICT for teaching and learning may influence the functioning of schools in a number of ways. One can also conclude that students like working with computers and that they have no ‘instrumental’ problems. A number of factors seem to influence the successful implementation of ICT at school level such as a good infrastructure, a clear vision, policy and strategy. A crucial factor is support from national, regional and local authorities, as well as from the school leadership and parents.     

Neoliberalism,education and the integration of ICT in schools. A critical reading

This article explores a contemporary perspective of education that aims to radically re-construct schools through the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT). Through the analysis of key texts produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, leading ICT industries, and international educational researchers, the article looks at the apparently neutral and desirable regime of truth surrounding education, where concrete problems are created and certain solutions provided. The findings discuss how the integration of ICT in schools is embedded in a perspective of education based on: new modalities of soft government, the centrality of a self-regulated and entrepreneur learner, and the representation of schools as flexible, autonomous and non-hierarchical environments organised around non-standardised modalities of public ‘accountability’.