The impact of information technology on internal communication

This study explored the impact of information technology on internal communication at a tertiary education institution. An employee survey was distributed to determine the current impact of information technology on internal communication, and to explore the possible impact of two further information technology based communication systems. The survey found that despite a preference for face-to-face communication, respondents were better informed, more willing to communicate and exchanged more job-related information since the introduction of e-mail, voice mail and Wordview (policy and academic documents available on the network). The survey explored the possibility of introducing an electronic meeting system with 50% of respondents willing to try such a system. As the majority of respondents spend minimal time travelling and freely give their opinions at meetings, however, it is unlikely that such a system would result in further improvements in internal communication. Survey findings indicate the need for respondents to be better informed about the information available on their computers and how to access the information. The findings also indicate that there may be potential improvements in internal communication if an intranet is established. © 1998 IFIP, published by Chapman & Hall Ltd     

马来西亚智能学校发展研究

“智能学校”(Smart School)计划是马来西亚在20世纪90年代末提出的一项宏伟的教育改革工程。虽然它只是其国家多媒体超级走廊计划(MSC)的七个应用性项目之一，但它是一项全国性项目，目标指向马来西亚学校教育的整体性变革，同时也集中体现了马来西亚教育技术的应用。     

Using information and communication technology (ICT) to the maximum: learning and teaching biology with limited digital technologies

Background: The ubiquity, availability and exponential growth of digital information and communication technology (ICT) creates unique opportunities for learning and teaching in the senior secondary school biology curriculum. Digital technologies make it possible for emerging disciplinary knowledge and understanding of biological processes previously too small, large, slow or fast to be taught. Indeed, much of bioscience can now be effectively taught via digital technology, since its representational and symbolic forms are in digital formats.

Purpose: This paper is part of a larger Australian study dealing with the technologies and modalities of learning biology in secondary schools.

Sample: The classroom practices of three experienced biology teachers, working in a range of NSW secondary schools, are compared and contrasted to illustrate how the challenges of limited technologies are confronted to seamlessly integrate what is available into a number of molecular genetics lessons to enhance student learning.

Design and method: The data are qualitative and the analysis is based on video classroom observations and semi-structured teacher interviews.

Results: Findings indicate that if professional development opportunities are provided where the pedagogy of learning and teaching of both the relevant biology and its digital representations are available, then teachers see the immediate pedagogic benefit to student learning. In particular, teachers use ICT for challenging genetic concepts despite limited computer hardware and software availability.

Conclusion: Experienced teachers incorporate ICT, however limited, in order to improve the quality of student learning.     

A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effectiveness of information and communication technology (ICT) on the teaching of spelling

Recent Government policy in England and Wales on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools is heavily influenced by a series of non‐randomised controlled studies. The evidence from these evaluations is equivocal with respect to the effect of ICT on literacy. In order to ascertain whether there is any effect of ICT on one small area of literacy, spelling, a systematic review of all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) was undertaken. Relevant electronic databases (including BEI, ERIC, Web of Science, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Library) were searched. Seven relevant RCTs were identified and included in the review. When six of the seven studies were pooled in a meta‐analysis there was an effect, not statistically significant, in favour of computer interventions (Effect size = 0.37, 95% confidence interval =–0.02 to 0.77, p = 0.06). Sensitivity and sub‐group analyses of the results did not materially alter findings. This review suggests that the teaching of spelling by using computer software may be as effective as conventional teaching of spelling, although the possibility of computer‐taught spelling being inferior or superior cannot be confidently excluded due to the relatively small sample sizes of the identified studies. Ideally, large pragmatic randomised controlled trials need to be undertaken.     

Information and communication technology (ICT) in secondary schools: the role of the computer coordinator

A study was conducted in 2002 to evaluate the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in 21 secondary schools in one region of New Zealand. As part of the study, the role of the ICT coordinator was investigated. All the ICT coordinators were surveyed and 14 of them were interviewed in‐depth. It is found that they were all well‐equipped to take up a significant leadership role in their schools and some of them have already demonstrated visible leadership. This paper also identifies some obstacles that have reduced their effective leadership in ICT use in their schools.     

当今信息化对中学生的负面影响及对策

在信息化的时代,信息传播很快,学生除了在课本学到知识之外,还可以从广播、电视以及国际互联网上得到大量的信息或知识.信息化对新世纪学校教育所起的正面作用是十分明显的,所产生的正面影响是十分巨大的.     

Measurement invariance of information,communication and technology (ICT) engagement and its relationship with student academic literacy: Evidence from PISA 2018

The present study aimed to examine the measurement invariance of the information, communication and technology (ICT) engagement questionnaire in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) across countries, and further to explore the effects of ICT engagement on student literacy. The sample included 98,758 15-year-old students from 16 countries in PISA 2018. The multi-group confirmatory factor analyses results indicated that the ICT engagement questionnaire was invariant at the residual level so that meaningful cross-country comparisons can be made at the observed level. Furthermore, the multi-level model results indicated that perceived ICT autonomy was a positive predictor, while use of social media was a negative predictor of student literacy across the countries. However, the relations of interest in ICT and perceived ICT competence to student literacy were inconsistent, with some countries showing positive and linear relationships, while others negative and linear relationships.     

The impact of electronic communication technology on written language

Communication technology is changing things. Language is no exception. Some language researchers argue that language is deteriorating due to increased use in electronic communication. The present paper investigated 100 randomly selected electronic mails （e-mails） and 50 short messaging system （SMS） messages of a representative sample of international students in University Putra Malaysia （UPM） to find out the impact of these two specific modes of electronic communication on written language use. The e-mails from UPM International Students Association （UPM-ISA） yahoo group were content analyzed. A non-probability convenience sampling was used to select the 50 short message services sent to the researcher about different subject matters by Malaysian and international students at UPM. Then, they were also content analyzed. The results indicated that the language used in students＇ e-mails and SMS messaging was full of spoken-like spelling, unconventional use of punctuation and abbreviations, and ungrammatical sentences. However, the more in-depth content analysis of the data revealed that the written language is being creatively adapted, developed, and enhanced to suit the conditions of the electronic communication age. Syntactical and lexical reductions are just strategies used to reduce effort, time and space.     

信息技术对高校的影响及对策研究

随着信息技术的高速发展,互联网已渗透到现实社会的各个领域。网络在对现代大学生的成长起着积极作用的同时,也产生了不少负面的影响。文章针对这些影响进行了深入的研究和分析,并提出了相应的解决对策。     

Creating and maintaining online communities of practice in Malaysian Smart Schools: challenging realities

Wenger describes an educational community of practice (CoP) as a group of professionals who share a passionate concern for practice‐based issues and who voluntarily choose to deepen their knowledge, understanding and skills through collaborative and critical dialogue. Peer collaboration of this kind, which involves social interaction, reflection and a critical engagement with practice issues, has been widely suggested to be effective for teacher learning and professional development. The online continuing professional development for teachers (e‐CPDelT) Vision 2020 model outlined here aims to bring about innovation in practice through an online or virtual CoP (VCoP). Twenty Malaysian teachers in five Smart Schools were invited to take part in a Higher Education (HE) project, funded by one of the main universities in Malaysia. By participating collaboratively in this CoP, it was anticipated that the teachers would form an active online CoP that would lead in turn to innovation in teaching and learning practices in the schools. An action research approach was used in tracing the developmental process of the three subject‐based CoPs (namely, Mathematics, Science and English) and identifying challenges faced by the higher education institution (HEI) project team in fostering the active participation and commitment of the teachers. Preliminary data generated from mentor forum discussion, focus groups and blogs suggested that low levels of participation in VCoP activities were a result of low levels of trust and social affiliation, performance anxiety, time pressure and failure to see the relevance of online interaction as directly related to their individual needs as practitioners. Approaches to remediating these challenges and promoting more authentic teacher engagement are outlined.     

Successful implementation of information and communication technology integration in Malaysian public schools: An activity systems analysis approach

This multiple-case study drew upon Engeström's (1987) activity theory (AT) to understand the conditions and explain the systematic contradictions that facilitate successful Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration in schools. The data were collected through in-depth interviews and document analysis from one primary and one secondary public school in Malaysia. In-depth interviews were carried out with nine participants, including principals, ICT coordinators, and teachers. Findings revealed three conditions that led to successful ICT integration: 1) types of ICT tools in the school, 2) rules and regulations in the school that shape the ICT culture, and 3) division of labour within the school community. The findings indicate that school stakeholders must work together to resolve tensions introduced by systemic contradictions in different activity systems, which shape school ICT culture. The study aims to enrich the discourse on ICT integration by assisting school stakeholders to reflect on their own ICT integration strategies.     

The impact of technology enhanced science instruction on pedagogical beliefs and practices

The paper presents a qualitative case study of a Technology Enhanced Instruction (TEI) model called Technology Enhanced Secondary Science Instruction (TESSI). The implementation of TEI in TESSI classrooms resulted in significant changes in the educational beliefs, and the teaching and learning practices of those involved: a) classroom structures were modified to emphasize guided, self-directed learning; b) views of learning were transformed to regard skills such as time management, goal setting, self monitoring, and problem solving to be as significant as science knowledge; and c) teachers' roles were changed from transmitters of knowledge to facilitators of learning. These changes are illustrated through reflections by the teachers, students, administrators and researchers associated with the Project. TESSI resulted in a significant increase in enrollment and achievement as measured by government exams.     

The peculiarities of teaching information and communication technology as a subject: a study of trainee and new ICT teachers in secondary schools

Abstract

This article reports on teaching information and communication technology (ICT) as a subject. It arises out of research carried out with ICT trainee teachers during their initial training and their first years of teaching. The backgrounds of four cohorts of new ICT teachers are described along with levels of retention in teaching. The associations that trainee and new teachers make with their subject are then explored. It was found that specialist ICT teachers see ICT as a practical subject offering pupils scope for variety and control over their learning. A key, and they felt unique, feature of ICT was its ever-changing nature. The research explores the planning and teaching of ICT and features of ICT subject knowledge. The article concludes by highlighting the continuing shortages of specialist ICT teachers in school and the need to support the career development of those teaching ICT.     

The impact of personal educational experiences and communication practices on the construction of deaf identity in Cyprus

The aim of the study was to investigate for the first time the impact of educational experiences on the development of Cypriot deaf people's identity. To obtain relevant information in depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with 24 Cypriot deaf individuals ages 19-54 years who had graduated from a variety of school settings. The findings indicated that the type of school, and the academic and social experiences shared within the school between the participants and their classmates and teachers, played a crucial role in these deaf individuals' identity development. The findings have implications for curriculum development for deaf pupils, and for parents' counseling about their deaf children's development of "healthy" identities.     

The impact of information and communication technologies on university students: A tentative assessment

Abstract

Practices of knowledge-acquisition, communication and interaction with others have changed substantially with the advent of new, growing, and widespread information and communication technologies. Especially among the younger generations, students' dispositions toward learning are shifting toward a need for greater visual and sound stimuli, faster speed in access to information and reward, shorter attention spans, engagement in multiple tasks while communicating, and greater individual agency in learning. These practices are increasingly prevalent among university students, raising challenges to conventional ways of teaching, particularly excessive reliance on lecturing. Based on the review of existing scholarly and popular literature, this article explores the main characteristics of a new generation of university students in the context of U.S. society, relates these traits and habits to knowledge-acquisition in university settings, and draws several implications for teaching.     

The residual impact of information technology exportation on Thai higher education

Educational technology research and development -