The potential of information technology in support of teachers and educational managers managing their work environment

The use of information technology (IT) to support the classroom teacher and school managers to organize and manage the learning environment better has received little specific attention, even though many applications or systems purport that this is one of their aims. This special issue attempts to fill that gap. This introduction paper provides an overview of the range of support that IT can provide in the field of education, and discusses how the development of these support systems needs to be approached analytically. Finally, there is an overview of the papers invited for this edition of the journal that are illustrative of the wide ranging development of IT to support teachers, teaching and the management of both     

IT Project Evaluation and Investment Decision

There are many kinds of real options, which are valuable, in each phase of the lifetime of an information technology(IT) project. However, in the current IT investment decision theory, real options that embedded in IT projects are not considered. In this paper, the process of IT project decision and implementation is fully analyzed, the real options that may be embedded in an IT project are identified, and a real option analysis (ROA) method is proposed for evaluation of an IT project under uncertain business environment. ROA employs BlackScholes expansion model and cancels the assumption that the cost of project is certain. The numerical example manifests that the ROA can better evaluate IT project and select the IT investment alternative. Finally, a road map is provided to help selecting the suitable evaluation method to make IT investment decision.     

The Internet: a New Frontier for Pupils with Severe Learning Difficulties?

David Banes, Headteacher, and Richard Walter, IT co-ordinator, describe ways in which the Internet has been used by a group of pupils with complex needs at Meldreth Manor school. The rationale, some teaching techniques and methods of evaluating the experiment are discussed, and a range of issues requiring further investigation are identified.     

Selecting software tools for IS/IT curricula

The evaluation and selection of software tools for use in an IS or IT curriculum is difficult not only because actual industry software tools are often used but also because there is no formal approach to guide the process. How does one choose between SQL Server and MySQL, or Dreamweaver and Expression Studio? IS and IT educators must periodically go through the process of assessing the most suitable tools for their courses. Given how common such decisions are and how frequently they must be made, it is surprising to find that there is a lack of literature that deals with comparative studies of software tools for higher education. This paper proposes a set of criteria for the selection of software tools for IS and IT programs, explains how multi-criteria decision analysis can be used to weight those criteria, and details an approach for the application of those weighted criteria. The proposed approach is structured and replicable, and allows for a more thorough evaluation of the available options and a more easily supportable selection.     

Teaching web site design: science or art?

In this paper we discuss an approach to teaching web site design to higher education (HE) students that attempts to balance the artistic and scientific aspects of the web site design process. The design of IT systems has traditionally been viewed as a technical activity. However, unlike existing types of IT systems, an organization's web site is available to the general public, and as such needs to be designed in a different manner, with far more emphasis on presentation and ease of use than existing types of IT systems. This is necessary since if the web site is not appealing to the user they can simply choose another web site, and potential customers or clients are lost. Hence, students need to be taught how to incorporate both artistic and scientific aspects when designing a web site.     

Going beyond access: On-line education in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands

This paper discusses several approaches to Web-based learning, on-line learning and IT instruction that have been implemented at the University of Hawaii, including studio-based learning, techniques for implementing critical evaluation skills when utilizing on-line sources, virtual museum use, the use of metacognitive prompts in on-line instruction and outreach to other Pacific Island communities. The paper also addresses aspects of ICT and on-line instruction and community building in multicultural settings that represent some of the most geographically isolated regions on the planet, with socioeconomic disparities spanning the digital divide. This paper shows how technology can be used to promote higher order thinking, metacognition and critical evaluation skills that encourage students to use ICT in more discriminatory and evaluative ways. The paper also shows that using virtual museums for sharing cultural knowledge and using metacognitive prompts for critical analyses are other ways of enriching knowledge through the use of the Internet. Furthermore, technology can be used for communicating with different populations regardless of income or ethnicity, and the Internet can improve access to higher education for rural populations that would not consider university access a possibility without being provided with the support that technology can give.     

Occupational outcomes for Australian computing/information technology bachelor graduates and implications for the IT bachelor curriculum

ABSTRACT

In Australia, the IT workforce and employment outcomes for university IT bachelor graduates have a complex interrelationship. The likelihood of IT bachelor graduates to work in a professional IT role is infrequently discussed in the research literature. It has been suggested that “deficient” undergraduate IT curricula are one contributor to poor employment outcomes for graduates. Using the latest available Australian national census data, we present a detailed analysis of the occupational outcomes for graduates of undergraduate IT programmes, and the makeup of the IT workforce in Australia. This analysis presents important findings for those designing undergraduate IT curricula that seek to equip students to prepare for the best employment outcomes. The finding that, even immediately post-graduation, a significant proportion of Australian IT bachelor graduates do not work in IT roles, even though professional IT job roles outnumber IT bachelor graduates nearly two-to-one, has implications for undergraduate IT education.     

高校信息技术应用过程评估与效益提升策略研究

对高校信息技术应用进行评估和管理,不仅是提升信息技术应用效益的有效方式,同时也是高校实现自我发展的重要途径。该文在对高校信息技术应用进行情境、投入、过程和成果四种评估的基础上,明确了高校信息技术应用管理的战略、投资、组织和运行四个关键环节,并针对每个环节提出效益提升策略。     

Computer Club for Girls: The problem with seeing girls as the problem

This paper presents findings from an evaluation of the Computer Clubs for Girls, an initiative originally delivered in the South East of England, designed to encourage more girls to take up information technology (IT) courses and careers. By targeting girls aged 10–14, the club aimed to provide members with a ‘gender relevant’ experience of IT, tackling issues of access, confidence and negative attitudes about IT. The evaluation, conducted over four years, included the collection of quantitative and qualitative data from members and non-members of the clubs. It included a longitudinal component in order to assess the longer-term impacts of the club. The findings support the critical view that initiatives based on assumptions about the relationship between girls and IT misinterpret ‘the problem’ about female under-representation in IT, and are unlikely to have a significant or sustained impact on what remains an occupational and subject area divided by gender typing. The paper argues for an approach which challenges the social and cultural discourses that maintain this gender divide.     

高校IT服务外包英语教学的探索与实践

IT服务外包英语课程的开设不论是对外包人才的培养,还是对英语教学改革道路的探索,都具有重要的意义。高校应根据服务外包专业的需要确定以专业核心能力和综合职业素质为主线的人才培养方案。高校在IT服务外包英语课程教学中,要为学生创设真实的英语使用环境,设计真实的教学任务,实施多元化的课程评价手段。     

电脑与写作——中小学信息技术应用的教育学反思例谈

在“教育信息化”“信息技术与课程整合”等理念的引领下,信息技术已经走进了中小学课堂,但在热闹的信息化教学中,还存在着重视“形式”而忽略“内容”“意义”的现象。因此,有必要从教育学的角度反思中小学信息技术应用。譬如,在将电脑作为书写工具这一信息技术的“基础应用”场合,遭遇“电脑写作”的学生的“特殊表现”说明,以电脑键盘代替纸笔并不轻松,然而文字输入训练实践与中小学电脑写作研究状况均显示,书写工具的改变对学生写作心理、习惯、过程等可能产生的诸多影响尚未引起我国中小学教学层面的足够重视。     

IT Support for Employment

Geoff Busby is director of a project recently launched by the British Computer Society, IT Support for the Disabled. This aims to draw the attention of employers to the ways high technology can enable more disabled school leavers and adults to go into open employment in a widening range ofoccupations.     

基于实物期权理论的IT基础设施投资评价研究

IT基础设施投资是信息化建设的基础条件,如何对这一战略投资进行合理评价是企业决策者最关心的问题.本文在充分阐述实物期权评价IT基础设施投资的必要性以后,借助具体的应用案例,给出实物期权评价框架,比较运用NPV法、简单的增长期权方法、复合期权方法对其进行评价后得出结论：实物期权理论,尤其是其中的复合期权方法更能客观地评价IT基础设施投资的实际价值.     

信息技术与视障教学整合的探索

随着信息技术的飞速发展 ,信息技术已成为在视障学生的教学中应用得越来越广泛。课程整合的概念提出之后 ,教育工作者不应只满足于把信息技术仅仅作为辅助教师教学的演示工具 ,还应该注重把信息技术与学科教学科学融合 ,使视障学生真正成为教育的主体。做为视障教师必须树立全新的教学理念 ,根据视障学生生理、心理的特点 ,熟练运用信息技术 ,让课程整合在视障教学中为视障学生素质的全面提高发挥积极作用     

A hypermedia system for teaching database design task

The number of commercial object-oriented database systems and object-oriented interfaces to traditional database systems is increasing. To facilitate the process of object-oriented data modelling (OODM) for experts and end-users, a hypermedia system is designed that is able to teach and guide users in performing OODM. The system supports the full range of modelling activities, from the identification of a class and its properties, to the relationships among classes. It provides other important functions, such as error checking of the model, graphical interface and the provision of hypermedia contextual explanations. Hypermedia are effectively used in the system so that the users can learn OODM effectively, as well as perform OODM correctly and quickly. The system has been empirically evaluated to gauge its effectiveness and ease of use. The evaluation suggests that the system will be useful for a OODM training or teaching course, and it can also be an effective computer-based learning tool for selflearning     

Quality Judgements and Quality Improvement

This paper considers the quality movement in English higher education through an examination of four quality techniques, those of Total Quality Management, assurance of systems, assessment and audit. A heuristic device is used to further understanding through examination of judgements concerning association of the four techniques with a range of purposes, criteria and methods of evaluation. An emphasis throughout is the connections between improvement and evaluation; teaching and learning are the focus of the discussion. Some of the conclusions are linked to possible ways forward for the next phase of assessment, including the need to reduce emphasis on external evaluation and measurement and facilitate the development of a culture more aligned to improvement.     

以IT治理推动大学信息化建设——以加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校为例

IT治理是当前世界大学信息化体制建设的核心议题。作者考察和分析了美国加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校IT治理改革历程,指出提升大学核心活动价值,以信息化促进大学战略使命实现是信息化发展目标;实现IT管理与IT服务相分离,以对IT项目与预算的决策、监管为主线,构建多群体参与的IT权责框架是IT治理改革的核心;通过IT规划与自我IT治理审查认清问题,在校长直接推动下,以校领导换届为契机,广泛发动校内外多群体推行IT治理改革。实践表明,IT治理改革是校内外相关群体利益的再次分配,是关乎大学文化的一场变革,是推动大学治理改革的切入点。     

浅谈新课程理念下高中信息技术课程评价方法

新课程改革的实施,给信息技术课程带来了机遇,但机遇与挑战并存。评价是信息技术课程的一个重要组成部分。文章分析了目前新课程理念下对信息技术课程评价的要求,对现有的总结性评价方法之一的会考进行了利与弊的分析,进而对信息技术课程中的过程性评价进行了分析介绍,给出了几种形式的过程性评价,最后给出了在进行过程性评价中要注意的几点问题以及当前信息技术课程改革实践中应注意的问题。     

A Partnership Approach to Information Technology in Initial Teacher Training

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the changes to the IT element of the secondary Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course at the University of East Anglia, in the light of the government initiatives requiring a shift to a partnership approach to initial teacher training. This shift means that only one third of the 36 week course is now delivered at the University. The paper describes the recommendations of a joint working party representing partnership schools and university staff. The implementation of the group's suggestions involved a fundamental revision of the IT component for both university and school based elements and a re‐definition of the roles of all staff involved. This paper concludes with a discussion of the evaluation of the new scheme, including the results of a student questionnaire, after it had been implemented for one year. This found that our move to deal with IT as a subject specific issue was successful and highlighted the level of IT use in school subject departments as the single most important factor determining students’ use of IT in the classroom.