Computers in schools.
Created | Updated Oct 2, 2013
The National Curriculum which all schools follow is designed to give every school aged child a balanced and fair education for all.
Every pupil should be given the opportunity to reach their full potential by being able to express themselves in speech and writing, solving problems, make deductions, and carry out investigations through obtaining knowledge, organising it, memorising it, and selecting from this knowledge what is appropriate. In addition to this pupils should be able to work under pressure, take time to reflect and observe and have self-discipline. They need to make decisions and take increasing responsibility for their own well-being without having to rely on adult supervision. They need to acquire skills in functioning effectively either as a leader or member of a group or team so that in due course they may play a useful part in the community at large. This in turn will give them the ability to relate to other cultures and to take their place in the wider world by means of language learning, travel and foreign exchanges. To be able to do these pupils need to be able to aid these processes by means of an effective use of available resources such as computers and libraries.
The latest National Curriculum also provides for the first time a framework for the teaching of citizenship, personal, social and health education. All elements reflect the fact that education is also about helping pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to live confident, healthy, independent lives, as individuals, parents, workers and members of society.
Launching the government consultation paper ‘Curriculum Online’ in 2001, then secretary of state for education David Blunkett argued that the use of ICT in schools needed to be balanced with more 'traditional teaching methods'. He went on to say that ICT made possible the delivery of highly specialised content to small groups of pupils, in forms that could be tailored to the unique learning styles of individual pupils. This, he concluded, made it possible to develop a truly 'individualised' curriculum customised to the unique preferences and aptitudes of pupils.
In the same year a report produced by Becta for the Dfee stated secondary schools with ‘Very good’ ICT resources achieved, on average, better results in the 1999 Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 tests in English, mathematics and science than those with ‘Poor’ ICT resources Further evidence of the impact of ICT on standards is revealed when the research on subject attainment is examined. Schools that used ICT to support science and mathematics generally have better achievement in those subjects than schools that do not.
The ‘ICT in Schools’ survey also shows that the more widely a school uses ICT across the subject curriculum, the better its GCSE results. The overall picture is that individual subject use at secondary level is enhanced by the use of ICT across the whole curriculum. This suggests that a whole-school policy of support across the curriculum is necessary, and that the development of pupils’ ICT skills is transferable from subject to subject.
It is true that in an ICT environment, on-line tests can easily be used which instantly provide the teacher with a wide range of information associated with the learner's score. Comparisons of previous scores and dates of assessment for example, will indicate a child's progress, and each student can be allocated an individual action plan data base, stored in electronic format into which each successive test's results can be entered automatically.
However the application of educational technologies has progressed beyond the use of basic consolidation and testing software, and now includes the use of complex multimedia products and advanced networking technologies. Today, pupils use multimedia to learn interactively and work on class projects. They use the Internet to do research, engage in projects, and to communicate. The new technologies allow pupils to have more control over their own learning, to think analytically and critically, and to work collaboratively.
This "constructivist" approach is one effort at educational reform made easier by technology, and perhaps even driven by it. Traditional teaching methods could be left behind as pupils collaborate and teachers facilitate.
The Internet gives access to an exponentially growing storehouse of information sources, almost unlimited networks of people and computers, and unprecedented learning and research opportunities. The Internet is a network of networks, providing opportunities for inquiry-based learning where teachers and pupils are able to access some of the world's largest information archives. Pupils and teachers are able to connect with each other, learn flexibly, and communicate with others around the world. Generally speaking, geographical distance is no longer a barrier, and the age of the 'borderless' provision of education is upon us (THES, March 2000). Teaching strategies and resources can be shared through communication with other teachers and may be integrated across the curriculum. Lesson plans can be downloaded from the National Grid for Learning which also presents examples of 'best practice'. Thousands of pupils can be directed towards the same CD-Rom or computer programme stored anywhere in the world.
The wealth of information the Internet provides has risen to the extent that it is now impossible to comprehensively track the amount of information available. Unfortunately, misinformation and inaccuracies are similarly present in great numbers on the Internet so one of the new roles of the teacher within the electronic classroom will be to separate out quality information from misinformation. Identification, classification and authentication of electronic information sources will be critical new tasks for teachers.
The role of the teacher must change because ICT will cause certain teaching resources to become obsolete. For example, the use of overhead projectors and chalkboards may no longer be necessary if pupils all have access to the same networked resource on which the teacher is presenting information. Furthermore, if pupils are distributed throughout several classrooms - which is not so unusual these days - localised resources such as projectors and chalkboards become redundant and new electronic forms of distributed communication must be employed.
Perhaps most importantly the teachers’ role must change in the sense that it is no longer sufficient for teachers merely to impart content knowledge. It is however, crucial for teachers to encourage critical thinking skills, promote information literacy, and nurture collaborative working practices to prepare children for a new world in which no job is guaranteed for life, and where people switch careers several times.
Using the Internet can be an excellent way to adapt information to meet the characteristics of human information processing. Traditional methods of teaching such as the format of most lessons and the strict use of text books are characterised by a linear progression of information. Pupils’ minds are more adaptable than this, using non-linear strategies for problem solving, representation and the storage and retrieval of information. Hypertext software enables teachers to provide pupils with the non-linear means to match non-linear human thinking processes.
ICT in education does not only have direct advantages for pupils. Teachers also gain much which improves their teaching, and again help pupils achieve their potential. These benefits, such as using computers to streamline record keeping and administrative tasks, helps to free up time. This can then be used for teaching or increasing professional development activities by taking distance education courses and accessing educational research. Teachers also benefit from a decreased feeling of isolation by using e-mail and the Internet to communicate with colleagues, parents, and the outside world.
To conclude technology is a tool not a strategy, but it is a powerful tool nonetheless which can be used to implement progressive educational strategies. Because of this the classroom of the future will either be equipped with a network of computers linked to local and global networks, or have access to a small suite nearby where pupils can work on specific tasks, alone or together. Pupils will also have laptops or palmtops which they can use at home and connect in school. The class will have display systems for group and whole class presentations, including video and sound conferencing systems. However not all the time will be spent using ICT, pupils will still need time for debate and reflection. The classroom of the future will therefore sometimes be a network of classrooms with hundreds of learners and sometimes it will be an individual pupil with hundreds of teachers.
Some research suggests that ICT is so fundamental to education and the flexibility it affords will mean that eventually teachers will no longer be needed. However no matter how interactive the computer programme, nothing can replace the interaction of one human being with another. Pupils are not robots - they have good days and bad days and they learn in many different ways. Teachers are also individuals, and it is in the complex relationship between the two that real learning lies. A teacher sat in front of a pupil can respond to that pupil's individual learning needs, recognising when to encourage and when to challenge. No computer, however sophisticated, can do this
Therefore the promotion of ICT works best when it is organic and volitional, using the initiative of teachers to decide when it is best to use, rather than regulatory compliance with National Curriculum requirements.
Bibliography:
www.educate.org.uk/teacher_zone/ teaching/inschool/ict.htm
www.warwick.ac.uk/ETS/interactions/vol5no2/ed.htm
http://top.ngfl.gov.uk/content.php3?content=content/b971699325.html&f=0
http://top.ngfl.gov.uk/content.php3?content=content/b963306720.html&f=0
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/cuttingburdens/goodprac/gpindex.htm
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/consultationitem2
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/ictadvice
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/driversforchange
http://www.canteach.gov.uk/
http://www.standards.dfee.gov.uk/beaconschools/grayscon/1002721994/?version=1
http://www.tagteacher.net/grapevine/index.htm?http://www.tagteacher.net/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000048.html
http://buildingthegrid.becta.org.uk/docs/nofimpact.pdf
http://www.cepan.ca/issues/ict_improve_learning_main.htm
www.schoolnet.ca/snab/e/reports/benefits.pdf
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cache:HWjFSgp9RW4C:www.learning-circuit.co.uk/casestudies/WCexamples/StCath/St%2520Catherines.htm+ict+benefits+teaching&hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF8
http://www.tcd.ie/CLT/elearning/definition.htm
http://www.askatl.org.uk/news/Conferences/archive01/ICT_Conference/tabberer.htm
www.ascol.org.uk/pdf/ictbooklet.pdf
www.censusatschool.ntu.ac.uk/files/Coursesummary.pdf
http://www.uhi.ac.uk/spf_1998/5_ICT.html
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Research/ITresearch.html
www.dest.gov.au/iae/fellowship/docs/yelland.pdf
Every pupil should be given the opportunity to reach their full potential by being able to express themselves in speech and writing, solving problems, make deductions, and carry out investigations through obtaining knowledge, organising it, memorising it, and selecting from this knowledge what is appropriate. In addition to this pupils should be able to work under pressure, take time to reflect and observe and have self-discipline. They need to make decisions and take increasing responsibility for their own well-being without having to rely on adult supervision. They need to acquire skills in functioning effectively either as a leader or member of a group or team so that in due course they may play a useful part in the community at large. This in turn will give them the ability to relate to other cultures and to take their place in the wider world by means of language learning, travel and foreign exchanges. To be able to do these pupils need to be able to aid these processes by means of an effective use of available resources such as computers and libraries.
The latest National Curriculum also provides for the first time a framework for the teaching of citizenship, personal, social and health education. All elements reflect the fact that education is also about helping pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to live confident, healthy, independent lives, as individuals, parents, workers and members of society.
Launching the government consultation paper ‘Curriculum Online’ in 2001, then secretary of state for education David Blunkett argued that the use of ICT in schools needed to be balanced with more 'traditional teaching methods'. He went on to say that ICT made possible the delivery of highly specialised content to small groups of pupils, in forms that could be tailored to the unique learning styles of individual pupils. This, he concluded, made it possible to develop a truly 'individualised' curriculum customised to the unique preferences and aptitudes of pupils.
In the same year a report produced by Becta for the Dfee stated secondary schools with ‘Very good’ ICT resources achieved, on average, better results in the 1999 Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 tests in English, mathematics and science than those with ‘Poor’ ICT resources Further evidence of the impact of ICT on standards is revealed when the research on subject attainment is examined. Schools that used ICT to support science and mathematics generally have better achievement in those subjects than schools that do not.
The ‘ICT in Schools’ survey also shows that the more widely a school uses ICT across the subject curriculum, the better its GCSE results. The overall picture is that individual subject use at secondary level is enhanced by the use of ICT across the whole curriculum. This suggests that a whole-school policy of support across the curriculum is necessary, and that the development of pupils’ ICT skills is transferable from subject to subject.
It is true that in an ICT environment, on-line tests can easily be used which instantly provide the teacher with a wide range of information associated with the learner's score. Comparisons of previous scores and dates of assessment for example, will indicate a child's progress, and each student can be allocated an individual action plan data base, stored in electronic format into which each successive test's results can be entered automatically.
However the application of educational technologies has progressed beyond the use of basic consolidation and testing software, and now includes the use of complex multimedia products and advanced networking technologies. Today, pupils use multimedia to learn interactively and work on class projects. They use the Internet to do research, engage in projects, and to communicate. The new technologies allow pupils to have more control over their own learning, to think analytically and critically, and to work collaboratively.
This "constructivist" approach is one effort at educational reform made easier by technology, and perhaps even driven by it. Traditional teaching methods could be left behind as pupils collaborate and teachers facilitate.
The Internet gives access to an exponentially growing storehouse of information sources, almost unlimited networks of people and computers, and unprecedented learning and research opportunities. The Internet is a network of networks, providing opportunities for inquiry-based learning where teachers and pupils are able to access some of the world's largest information archives. Pupils and teachers are able to connect with each other, learn flexibly, and communicate with others around the world. Generally speaking, geographical distance is no longer a barrier, and the age of the 'borderless' provision of education is upon us (THES, March 2000). Teaching strategies and resources can be shared through communication with other teachers and may be integrated across the curriculum. Lesson plans can be downloaded from the National Grid for Learning which also presents examples of 'best practice'. Thousands of pupils can be directed towards the same CD-Rom or computer programme stored anywhere in the world.
The wealth of information the Internet provides has risen to the extent that it is now impossible to comprehensively track the amount of information available. Unfortunately, misinformation and inaccuracies are similarly present in great numbers on the Internet so one of the new roles of the teacher within the electronic classroom will be to separate out quality information from misinformation. Identification, classification and authentication of electronic information sources will be critical new tasks for teachers.
The role of the teacher must change because ICT will cause certain teaching resources to become obsolete. For example, the use of overhead projectors and chalkboards may no longer be necessary if pupils all have access to the same networked resource on which the teacher is presenting information. Furthermore, if pupils are distributed throughout several classrooms - which is not so unusual these days - localised resources such as projectors and chalkboards become redundant and new electronic forms of distributed communication must be employed.
Perhaps most importantly the teachers’ role must change in the sense that it is no longer sufficient for teachers merely to impart content knowledge. It is however, crucial for teachers to encourage critical thinking skills, promote information literacy, and nurture collaborative working practices to prepare children for a new world in which no job is guaranteed for life, and where people switch careers several times.
Using the Internet can be an excellent way to adapt information to meet the characteristics of human information processing. Traditional methods of teaching such as the format of most lessons and the strict use of text books are characterised by a linear progression of information. Pupils’ minds are more adaptable than this, using non-linear strategies for problem solving, representation and the storage and retrieval of information. Hypertext software enables teachers to provide pupils with the non-linear means to match non-linear human thinking processes.
ICT in education does not only have direct advantages for pupils. Teachers also gain much which improves their teaching, and again help pupils achieve their potential. These benefits, such as using computers to streamline record keeping and administrative tasks, helps to free up time. This can then be used for teaching or increasing professional development activities by taking distance education courses and accessing educational research. Teachers also benefit from a decreased feeling of isolation by using e-mail and the Internet to communicate with colleagues, parents, and the outside world.
To conclude technology is a tool not a strategy, but it is a powerful tool nonetheless which can be used to implement progressive educational strategies. Because of this the classroom of the future will either be equipped with a network of computers linked to local and global networks, or have access to a small suite nearby where pupils can work on specific tasks, alone or together. Pupils will also have laptops or palmtops which they can use at home and connect in school. The class will have display systems for group and whole class presentations, including video and sound conferencing systems. However not all the time will be spent using ICT, pupils will still need time for debate and reflection. The classroom of the future will therefore sometimes be a network of classrooms with hundreds of learners and sometimes it will be an individual pupil with hundreds of teachers.
Some research suggests that ICT is so fundamental to education and the flexibility it affords will mean that eventually teachers will no longer be needed. However no matter how interactive the computer programme, nothing can replace the interaction of one human being with another. Pupils are not robots - they have good days and bad days and they learn in many different ways. Teachers are also individuals, and it is in the complex relationship between the two that real learning lies. A teacher sat in front of a pupil can respond to that pupil's individual learning needs, recognising when to encourage and when to challenge. No computer, however sophisticated, can do this
Therefore the promotion of ICT works best when it is organic and volitional, using the initiative of teachers to decide when it is best to use, rather than regulatory compliance with National Curriculum requirements.
Bibliography:
www.educate.org.uk/teacher_zone/ teaching/inschool/ict.htm
www.warwick.ac.uk/ETS/interactions/vol5no2/ed.htm
http://top.ngfl.gov.uk/content.php3?content=content/b971699325.html&f=0
http://top.ngfl.gov.uk/content.php3?content=content/b963306720.html&f=0
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/cuttingburdens/goodprac/gpindex.htm
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/consultationitem2
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/ictadvice
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/driversforchange
http://www.canteach.gov.uk/
http://www.standards.dfee.gov.uk/beaconschools/grayscon/1002721994/?version=1
http://www.tagteacher.net/grapevine/index.htm?http://www.tagteacher.net/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000048.html
http://buildingthegrid.becta.org.uk/docs/nofimpact.pdf
http://www.cepan.ca/issues/ict_improve_learning_main.htm
www.schoolnet.ca/snab/e/reports/benefits.pdf
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cache:HWjFSgp9RW4C:www.learning-circuit.co.uk/casestudies/WCexamples/StCath/St%2520Catherines.htm+ict+benefits+teaching&hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF8
http://www.tcd.ie/CLT/elearning/definition.htm
http://www.askatl.org.uk/news/Conferences/archive01/ICT_Conference/tabberer.htm
www.ascol.org.uk/pdf/ictbooklet.pdf
www.censusatschool.ntu.ac.uk/files/Coursesummary.pdf
http://www.uhi.ac.uk/spf_1998/5_ICT.html
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Research/ITresearch.html
www.dest.gov.au/iae/fellowship/docs/yelland.pdf
