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.     

Experiences in the dissemination and utilisation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) research findings from three southern African Universities

Abstract

The dissemination and utilisation of research knowledge produced at universities has been debated in recent times. Recent changes and developments at universities suggest an entrepreneurial model of academic research production in which universities have the responsibility not only to carry out research and teaching but also to disseminate research outputs directly to the users for economic growth of the society. In this paper, we present findings on the nature of ICT research studies conducted, the dissemination and utilisation of the research findings in the past five years at the three universities in Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. A major finding of the study was that many ICT studies conducted at these universities did not target particular community groups for dissemination of knowledge generated and consequently, research outputs from these projects were not delivered to their potential end-users. The ICT research knowledge findings remained located mostly in university departments, libraries, and donor or government ministry offices. The main challenge was that of effective dissemination and utilisation of research knowledge outputs by these academic institutions. The main recommendation emerging from the study was on policies and strategies to monitor research outputs and to intensify dissemination and utilisation of academic knowledge produced.     

What can policy makers do to encourage integration of information and communications technology? evidence from the irish school system

Abstract

While most countries have invested heavily in information and communications technology (ICT) in education in recent years, the progress with integration of ICT into the teaching of other subjects has often been disappointing. How to encourage integration remains a serious question for policy makers and teacher educators. This article proposes some answers to that question, based on examination of data from the Irish school system. It suggests that ICT integration is associated with two kinds of teacher professional development: postgraduate ICT courses, and short in-service courses focused on specific integrated uses of ICT. The data reveal a strong association between the use of ICT in the school and the ICT usage of the school principal. Finally, it calls into question the use of pilot projects as the agents of change.     

兰德公司“T项目”研究及其对我国学前教育的启示

兰德公司"T项目"充分探讨了数字化信息与通讯技术(ICT)对学前教育的影响及学前教育应当采取的回应方式,认为信息技术素养对儿童的数字化生存意义重大,学前教育应担负跨越"数字鸿沟"的使命。因此,当以儿童发展为本,从ICT的使用目的、发展适宜性ICT的界定、相应的支持体系、师资准备、家长参与等方面综合建构有效的工作模式。中国学前教育也当直面数字时代的挑战,基于深入研究寻求ICT在儿童生活中的有效整合。     

新数字鸿沟：信息技术促进教育公平的新挑战

随着信息化进程的加快和互联网的迅速普及,信息技术在促进社会公平和均衡发展方面的潜力已经得到普遍认可甚至推崇,但与此同时,关于信息技术是否可能导致新的不公与不均也出现了越来越多的争论。传统意义上的“数字鸿沟”指的是人们在信息技术使用机会上存在的差异,通常以个人电脑和互联网普及率作为重要测算指标,聚焦“物理接入”层面。“新数字鸿沟”更多关注因计算机或上网技能差异而导致的“技能鸿沟”,以及因网络使用带宽、时长及使用方式差异而导致的“使用鸿沟”。虽然我国在运用信息技术促进教育公平方面取得了很大成效,但已有政策和实践从整体上看还是更多着眼于“物理接入”层面。从“新数字鸿沟”的视角看,按照解决传统“数字鸿沟”问题的惯用路径,仅仅关注“物理接入”已不足以缩小数字差距和促进教育公平,对“技能鸿沟”和“使用鸿沟”的关注应该成为决策者、研究者、学校甚至企业未来制定政策和开展实践的新着力点。     

Development of an instrument to measure Faculty’s information and communication technology access (FICTA)

The phenomenon of “digital divide” is complex and multidimensional, extending beyond issues of physical access. The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure a range of factors related to digital divide among higher education faculty and to evaluate its reliability and validity. Faculty’s Information and Communication Technology Access (FICTA) scale was tested and validated with 322 faculty teaching in public and private sector universities. Principal components analysis with varimax rotation confirmed an 8-factor solution corresponding to various dimensions of ICT access. The 57-item FICTA scale demonstrated good psychometric properties and offers researchers a tool to examine faculty’s access to ICT at four levels – motivational, physical, skills, and usage access.     

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.     

Critical analysis of the effects of the digital technologies on reading and learning / Análisis crítico sobre los efectos de las tecnologías digitales en la lectura y el aprendizaje

Abstract

In the digital age, the introduction of digital technologies (or information and communication technologies, ICT) in classrooms is a necessary, imperative reality. However, the educational results do not seem to match the expectations generated. For this reason, this revision seeks to make up for the scant attention paid to the possible harmful effects of the use of ICT based on research and educational practice. After providing a general overview of the impact of ICT on learning, we survey the results of studies that reveal potential negative consequences of their use inside and outside the school context. We analyse their impact on both academic performance and other more specific areas, such as reading comprehension, and we stress the negative effects on so-called ‘digital natives’. In short, what stands out is the importance of an evidence-based education practice which bears in mind the possible harmful effects of using ICT and bears in mind that its beneficial effects seem to rely on not only how much but also how they are used.     

Teachers' beliefs and integration of information and communications technology in Italian schools

Abstract

The goal of the present study was to examine teaching styles with information and communications technology (ICT); in Italian schools and in particular to explore whether there is a relationship between personal theories of teaching and learning, levels of competence in ICT, and how ICT is integrated into classroom activities. Teachers with high and low levels of competence in ICT were interviewed in order to examine their beliefs, perceptions, and experiences related to teaching with and without the computer. They were asked to reflect both on themselves as teachers and on their pupils. The results of this preliminary study appeared to indicate that both personal theories of teaching and the level of competence with ICT play a major role in how teachers implement ICT and in their perception of their own and their pupils' motivation     

Technology and education: ICT in Ugandan secondary schools

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) could, if adopted and implemented appropriately, support learning and teaching in developing countries to provide young people with skills they need to participate effectively in the global economy. However, a significant digital divide still persists between developed and developing countries in terms of both physical resources and the capabilities of teachers to effectively utilize limited ICT resources. A very real challenge for schools is to acquire and effectively utilize ICT given the reality of an environment of scarce and limited resources. This study examines ICT infrastructure and use in 11 secondary schools in Mukono, Uganda using qualitative case study methods including an ICT infrastructure assessment, observations, and interviews. Stratified random sampling was used to identify 7 schools initially; 4 additional schools were also purposefully sampled based on their high levels of ICT. Findings indicate that despite limited resources, schools are investing heavily into ICT. Researchers found that teacher ICT usage at school could be grouped into three categories: administrative (86%), entertainment (45%) and pedagogical (45%). Administrators at some schools reported using ICT primarily to attract students and increase revenue. Implications of this study will assist school administrators to make informed decisions concerning further investment in ICT, efficient use of limited technology resources, and improvement of educational opportunities for students.     

Pedagogical Perspectives and Practices Reflected in Metaphors of Learning and Digital Learning of ICT Leaders

This study examines the meaning attributed to the contribution of technology to pedagogical practices from the perspective of school ICT leaders. While previous studies use metaphors for bottom-up exploration, this study employs an innovative combination of bottom-up and top-down metaphor analysis based on two frameworks: (a) metaphors of general learning (Paavola, Lipponen, & Hakkarainen, 2004)—acquisition, participation, and knowledge creation, and (b) metaphors of digital learning (Shamir-Inbal & Blau, 2016)—toolbox, active player, creative mind, shared desktop, and inter-connected world. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 ICT leaders, including eight elementary school ICT coordinators and five regional ICT coordinators. All three metaphors of general learning and five digital learning metaphors were found in perspectives and pedagogical practices reported by the interviewees. However, the prevalence of each metaphor and the intersections of general and digital learning metaphors were quite different. The analysis based on metaphors shed light on the perspectives of ICT leaders regarding the meaning and nature of learning processes and on pedagogical practices in their schools.     

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.     

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’.     

Supporting online collaborative design for teacher professional development

ABSTRACT

This article describes a study of online collaborative design in the context of teacher professional development. Twenty-five teachers from different Spanish universities participated in the online course. The aim was to understand how to support teachers in interuniversity teams to collaborate fully online throughout the learning design process of a scenario based on their discipline integrating information and communications technology (ICT), an issue scarcely tackled in the literature. The described interpretive study, using mixed methods, explores the support of online co-design provided by a novel ICT community platform named ILDE (Integrated Learning Design Environment). Lessons drawn from the results can contribute to the improvement of online collaborative design processes in the context of teacher professional 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.     

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.     

How the ICT Development Level Influences Students’ Digital Reading Literacy: A Multi-level Model Comparison Based on PISA 2018 Data

The purpose of this study is to systematically showcase and evaluate how students’, schools’, and countries’ Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development levels influence students’ digital reading literacy by using the data of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 and the multi-level model approach. It is found that the ICT development at each level has a significant positive effect on students’ digital reading literacy, and there is a significant interactive moderating effect between different levels. The gap in ICT development levels between the countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and developed economies has a “Matthew effect” in widening the digital reading literacy gap in the short term, but in the long run, the faster growth of the countries participating in BRI in ICT development levels will narrow the gap and alleviate the effect. China should make use of its advantages in ICT development to engage in global education governance, facilitate the co-development in both the ICT development level and the digital reading literacy for the countries participating in BRI, and contribute to the development of global education by opening up a new way of development.     

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.     

MICTS: Municipal ICT Schools – A Means for Bridging the Digital Divide Between Rural and Urban Communities

There is a substantial difference in use and development of information and communication technologies and services between and within countries. Some denote this phenomenon as the digital divide.This paper addresses the competence aspect of the digital divide. It proposes municipal ICT schools as one model aimed to bridge this gap and provides an assessment of the model based on the results from a field trial in three rural municipalities in Norway. The model brings the benefits of increased competence of ICT in the communities but in addition have a potential with regard to stimulating talent development, serving as a resource for local business and offering meeting places in the communities for building social capital. The model may be successfully implemented within reasonable economic limitations but is also challenging in several ways, for instance on how teaching resources are recruited and supported.The purpose of the paper is to bring forward the discussion about how to bring all people, also those in rural areas, to be participators in the information technology age.