Informatique Pour Tous: a case study of information technology in teacher education in France

ABSTRACT

The national program Informatique Pour Tous was announced in France in 1985. This paper describes a resulting training program conducted in French secondary schools, the assessment of this program, and conclusions that can be drawn from it in terms of contents for pre‐service and in‐service teacher training in the educational use of computers. In this article, after a short background on the French policy of computer equipment in schools, the objectives of the training program are presented. Then the activities of the teachers who were trained in this program are analyzed, on the one hand through information gathered during their annual meetings and on another hand through interviews with the heads of some of the teachers' schools. Requirements for training contents and practices in teacher education are developed.     

The Needs of Secondary School Information Technology Co‐ordinators in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on a survey of secondary schools in the West Midlands, England, in 1991 and was conducted to measure the tasks required of information technology co‐ordinators and the training requirement of their schools. The main emphasis of information technology work was still on taught, examination courses and there was a perceived need for information technology awareness courses for all pupils. Many co‐ordinators had no clear perspective of the level of information technology permeation across the curriculum in their schools, and thus demonstrated an urgent need for audits of staff awareness and pupil access. Information technology co‐ordinators also saw a need for further in‐service training for many staff to enable delivery of their pupils’ information technology entitlement. Most staff training was school based and included collaborative teaching and courses run by the school staff. Little use was made of co‐operation with subject staff from other schools or outside specialists. The co‐ordinators defined their needs as being predominantly in the areas of time for co‐ordination duties, assessment of information technology across the curriculum, and training in new developments in the wider aspects of information technology.     

The face of digital literacy for Muslim teenage girls: a comparative study of Bradford Muslim girl schools

This paper is grounded in a qualitative approach, to call forth the views of Muslim teenage girls on their access and use of learning technologies for inclusive educational practice. The 45 Muslim teenage girls, aged 14–19 years old, from three British Muslim girls schools participated in this empirical study. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection and the data were analysed using template analysis, matrix analysis, and cross-case analysis. The pupils had strong aspirations that learning technologies and computers should support their learning and attainment, but their access and use to supporting technologies was mixed. It was found through a comparative analysis of the data that all the Muslim teenage girls that entered Muslim schools felt secure and performed competently. Furthermore, the educational success of School A was attributable to educational norms and values relative to the provision of digital resources and skilled teaching staff. The educational experiences of School B and School C were more variable due to access to digital technologies, provision of digital contents and skilled teaching staff. Furthermore, this research study seems to highlight a marked difference between the Muslim School environment and the social context of teenage girls outside the educational setting.     

Hiring criteria, duties, and professional growth opportunities for residential staff at schools for the deaf: a survey

Seventy-three schools identifying themselves as having a residential program for deaf students were surveyed to determine demographic information about dormitory staff, qualifications required for employment in the residential program, opportunities for continuing education, and issues relating to the roles and responsibilities of dorm employees. The data showed that schools are committed to providing in-service education for the dorm workers but have minimal educational requirements for employment in their residential programs. The data were compared to the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD) Certification Requirements for Dormitory Counselors. Recommendations are made in regard to the updating of the CEASD certification requirements; the authors also recommend that schools make a stronger commitment to upholding those requirements.     

The system of education in Sweden: An outline and review

Abstract

Part of the rationale for the use of ICT in schools is the need to ensure that some sectors of society are not placed at an advantage as a result of unequal access to ICT. Taking this rationale as its starting point, this paper examines the patterns of equipment, access and use of ICT in Irish schools. The paper draws on data from two census surveys of ICT in Irish schools, conducted in 1998 and 2000. Patterns emerging from the data suggest that the young people most at risk of falling on the wrong side of the digital divide may be in relatively well‐equipped schools. However, there remain patterns of access and type of use that give rise to cause for concern.     

Changing Teachers – Teachers Changing Schools: assessing a graduate program in technology education

ABSTRACT

Innovative uses of technology may require a revision of educational policy and practice if technology is going to have an impact on the educational system. In 1993 the University of New Mexico College of Education began a four semester in‐service graduate program to develop teacher knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that might assist the teacher to confront today's challenges without being restricted by past patterns. During the second year of its implementation, a comprehensive research study was instituted to assess the impact of the program. This paper presents findings relevant to the outcomes of the program. The results reveal that significant shifts occurred among participants in the frequency of use of technology and student‐oriented strategies and that participants were increasingly concerned with assuming leadership roles in their schools and school districts. Four dimensions of the program were central in achieving these results: its cohort nature, the fact that it was graduate, the use of telecommunications, and the incorporation of group activities by faculty that modeled frameworks and practices under study. The program was effective in helping participants to examine their educational beliefs and assumptions, to turn their perceptions into practices, and to shift their concerns from personal impacts and insecurities to global and system‐wide impacts and potentials. Graduate study for these educators has become a process of change with already discernible consequences for New Mexico schools.     

Improving Mathematics Instruction and Learning in the Junior High School: An Israeli Example

Abstract

A 4‐year project is described which was designed to improve mathematics instruction and achievements in two Israeli junior high schools. Project activities focused on the individual teachers, the mathematics staff, and the organization of instruction at the school level, under the assumption that more efficient teaching would lead to greater pupil learning.

Evaluation data gathered from classroom observation, questionnaires and tests indicated a general positive impact: many teachers improved their teaching strategies, more curricular material was being covered in class, a school‐wide program for mathematics instruction was established, teamwork among teachers was formalized, and pupil achievements improved.     

Effectiveness of a satellite educational television program for Ethiopian secondary education

This study examined the actual practice and effectiveness of a satellite educational TV program in Ethiopian secondary schools. Participants in the survey were 228 students and 63 teachers from secondary schools. The results of the data analysis indicate that Ethiopian students and teachers scored highly in the evaluation areas. Levels of students’ general satisfaction with the satellite educational TV program were not equal for the variables of location and gender. It was also found that for students, learning demand, learning content, and class management were factors affecting their satisfaction with the satellite educational TV programs. For teachers, learning content and class management were the factors. The statistical mean difference in the satisfaction with the satellite educational TV program was between students and teachers. These findings suggest that the satellite educational TV program has the possibility of improving the quality of education in Ethiopian secondary schools.     

Videoconferencing to help build a state network

Conclusion The experience gained by AETC and the staff at Arizona State University in the production of the videoconference and the details of establishing a network of meeting sites has opened the door to future use of this medium to reach a statewide audience for other educational forums. Encouraged by this first success, the staff at University Media Systems produced a statewide videoconference on foreign language instruction in the elementary schools in the Spring of 1990. The videoconference introduced hundreds of education, business, and government professionals to the potential of telecommunications for instruction. Now that they have been excited by the capabilities of these media, the continuing challenge for AETC members and the Arizona educational community will be working together to persuade the Arizona legislature of the need to fund the creation and maintenance of a statewide educational telecommunications system.     

Effects of a Classroom Management Intervention on Student Achievement in Inner‐City Elementary Schools

ABSTRACT

As part of a study of the life‐cycle of inner‐city schools, the achievement of elementary school students (on MAT6 and TEAMS tests) who had teachers trained in a classroom management program in one school were compared with students in a comparison school during a four‐year period. Students at Madison Elementary School showed statistically greater achievement gains on both nationally normed achievement tests (MAT6) and on state criterion‐referenced achievement battery than students at the comparison school in each of three years. The overall effect size due to program treatment on the MAT6 test scores was large, ranging from .43 (1986–87) and .83 (1987–88) during intervention to .73 (1988–89) after intervention. Similar results were found in the TEAMS test associated with the program intervention with overall effect size of 1.02 (1987–88) and .78 (1988–89) in mathematics, .68 and .77 in reading, and .59 and .77 in writing for the respective years. On measures of learning environment, in a post hoc analysis (1990–91), students at Madison perceived their environment to be significantly more positive than comparison students. Teacher and principal interviews during and after the intervention periods provided contextual guidance for the findings.     

A teacher's use of digital video with urban middle school students: Expanding definitions of representational literacy

Abstract

The role of educational technology as media is rapidly expanding. When placed directly into the hands of students, digital video, in particular, has the potential to transform schooling. In this case study, members of the Naptown Prodigy, an after school club, produced music videos and iMovies of streetball performances. The club's advisor, an urban middle school English teacher, participated in the PT3 Vanguard program, a university—public school staff development collaboration. The teacher's access to technology through the Vanguard program enabled her students to use digital video as both a construction and expression medium. This project provides a unique and promising example of the ways in which teachers can use digital video to foster representational literacy among inner‐city youth.     

Provision of public educational services and access to higher education among the Negev Bedouin Arabs in Israel

This paper deals with the provision of educational services and access to higher education of the Negev Bedouin Arabs in Israel, in the context of the social change this community is undergoing. The Negev Bedouin have been transformed from semi‐nomads and agriculturists to urban town dwellers. Education in general, and higher education in particular, are crucial to their adjustment and development. As members of the Arab minority in Israel, they face a number of inequities in the provision of educational services, access to higher education and access to job opportunities. The Negev Bedouin schools face additional problems related to the lack of qualified teachers and proper facilities. These schools have the highest drop‐out rates and the poorest success rates on the matriculation exams in the country. As of the 1993‐94 academic year, there were only 135 Bedouin Arab university graduates and 163 university students. Their higher education ratio is 2 per 1000, which is far below the Israeli national average of 80 per 1000. Recommendations are offered for improving the access of Negev Bedouin Arabs to higher education and their subsequent absorption into the Israeli labour market.     

The role of facilitators in Virginia's electronic classroom project

Abstract

Although distance education is experiencing rapid growth in the United States, there is little research that measures the beliefs of certified public accountants (CPAs) toward the use of distance education in obtaining continuing professional education (CPE). This study examined the beliefs of CPAs in the state of Georgia concerning the effectiveness of distance education in providing CPE. The basic findings indicate that CPAs in the state of Georgia believe distance education to be an effective mode of learning. In addition, they indicate that the technological capabilities necessary to participate in distance education are available to them. However, with the exception of print‐based distance education, the percent of professional learning received via distance education is minimal. The results of this study may provide information beneficial to program planners of CPE.     

The virtual microscopy database—sharing digital microscope images for research and education

Over the last 20 years, virtual microscopy has become the predominant modus of teaching the structural organization of cells, tissues, and organs, replacing the use of optical microscopes and glass slides in a traditional histology or pathology laboratory setting. Although virtual microscopy image files can easily be duplicated, creating them requires not only quality histological glass slides but also an expensive whole slide microscopic scanner and massive data storage devices. These resources are not available to all educators and researchers, especially at new institutions in developing countries. This leaves many schools without access to virtual microscopy resources. The Virtual Microscopy Database (VMD) is a new resource established to address this problem. It is a virtual image file‐sharing website that allows researchers and educators easy access to a large repository of virtual histology and pathology image files. With the support from the American Association of Anatomists (Bethesda, MD) and MBF Bioscience Inc. (Williston, VT), registration and use of the VMD are currently free of charge. However, the VMD site is restricted to faculty and staff of research and educational institutions. Virtual Microscopy Database users can upload their own collection of virtual slide files, as well as view and download image files for their own non‐profit educational and research purposes that have been deposited by other VMD clients. Anat Sci Educ 11: 510–515. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.     

Legitimating status: perceptions of meritocracy and inequality among undergraduates at an elite British university

Given the frequent critiques of elite universities for admitting low numbers of state school graduates and, more recently, British Afro‐Caribbean students, how do students attending those universities make meaning of the admissions process? Through an analysis of 46 one‐on‐one in‐depth interviews with undergraduates attending Oxford University, we show that students believe in the fairness of the admissions process, while lamenting the lack of opportunities for educational advancement faced by some disadvantaged youth in British society. Despite their understanding that many British youth do not have access to educational experiences that make Oxbridge an attainable goal, most students do not support changes to make access more equitable across class or racial/ethnic lines. This perspective, which legitimates the status students gain through matriculation at an elite university, supports the maintenance of unequal access to an Oxford education despite the advantages that education is known to confer to graduates. The findings demonstrate elites acknowledging the disadvantages of particular groups in society without acknowledging their own advantages in the same system. They do so by recognizing two elements of merit: (1) intelligence, which most students assumed led to their own admission; and (2) cultivation of that intelligence, which requires elite secondary schools and which most students see as disadvantaging particular groups in society. In the paper we highlight differences in meaning‐making between graduates of grammar, comprehensive and private schools.     

Sign language vocabulary development practices and internet use among educational interpreters

Sign language interpreters working in schools often face isolation in terms of their sign language vocabulary development opportunities. The purposes of this study were to determine the key demographic characteristics of educational interpreters in British Columbia, to identify the resources they use to learn new vocabulary, and to shed light on their Internet use and access levels, with a view to exploring the viability of this resource as a tool for vocabulary development for interpreters working in educational settings. Key demographics associated with interpreters' access to time and materials in advance of a lesson were job title and graduation from an interpreter training program. Interpreters with job titles that reflected their status as interpreters had more preparatory time each week than interpreters who had job titles focused on their roles as educational assistants. Interpreters overwhelmingly expressed the need for continuing professional development with respect to vocabulary development. In terms of the resources currently used, human resources (colleagues, deaf adults) were used significantly more often than nonhuman (books, videotapes, Internet). The resource use results showed that convenience was more important than quality. Books were used more often than videotapes, CD-ROMs, and the Internet, although the latter three had higher percentages of very satisfied users than did books. The design and content of online vocabulary resources and limited interpreter preparation time were identified as current issues keeping the Internet from reaching its potential as an easily accessible visual resource. Recommendations aimed at enhancing the viability of the Internet as a vocabulary development tool for educational interpreters are discussed.     

The curriculum for children with severe and profound learning difficulties at Stephen Hawking School

The increasing number of children with profound and multiple learning difficulties means that many schools for children with severe learning difficulties are having to review the curriculum that they offer. In addition, these schools are continuing to question whether a subject‐based approach, in line with the National Curriculum, is the most appropriate way of meeting the educational needs of children working at the earliest stages of development. The staff at Stephen Hawking School, in east London, have been reviewing their curriculum over the past two years to try and meet the needs of their changing population, the needs of the National Curriculum and the suggestions and proposals in both the Rose and Cambridge reviews.     

Teleconsultation to Support the Education of Students with Visual Impairments: A Program Evaluation

ABSTRACT

Teleconsultation is being increasingly used in schools to support children with disabilities; however, further evaluation of the impact of this practice is needed. This study describes a teleconsultation model used to provide educational support for students with visual impairments being educated in their local school districts and examines the initial acceptability and feasibility of this teleconsultation model. In addition, the current study discusses some of the recommendations for improvement regarding program implementation, with the goal of increasing the ease of use of teleconsultation in schools. Stakeholders reported qualitative and quantitative data indicating that the teleconsultation model is acceptable to and feasible for families and school district staff.