I found this article particularly interesting to read because it was written when I was in junior school and, as I remember, we had about 2 computers in the school and a very basic one at home. It was certainly before they became widespread and at a time when their educational use could surely have been speculated about only. Hawkridge details 4 popular rationals for the use of computers in school. The main issue 18 years ago seems to have been if, and not how, computers should be used. The four rationals are as follows:
1) The Social Rationale: A need for awareness of, and familiarity with, computers. Computers need to be de-mystified and children need to be unafraid of them.
This does not seem to hold much relevance for most children in the UK now, being applicable to digital immigrants. Frequently, in fact, children are much more confident than their teachers. Hawkridge questions the origins of this rationale, ending with the suggestion that perhaps they are in hindsight, as an after-the-fact justification of the way they have already been used in schools. I found this particularly interesting in the sense that we can never take ideas of cause and effect for granted.
2) The Vocational Rationale: Children should learn to operate computers as preparation for a career in computer science, or one in which computers will be needed.
This is based on an instructional training for a completely related purpose. Hawkridge points out the links with the country's economy and questions whether school is right place for vocational training. This is an aspect that is entering more fully into secondary education, but I would describe primary education as a building of skills, thinking and concepts that can later be applied to any situation. This kind of vocational training skips straight to the application stage and could be missing key concepts of understanding.
3) The Pedagogic Rationale: Computers can teach and should be used where CAL is advantageous. Hawkridge cites Physics as the predominant subject here, although this would now apply to every area of the curriculum. The key terms here are 'enrich', 'improve', 'extend' and 'offer' and the author finds the most support for this rationale. Problems with it are technical and financial, and he reminds us that when teachers can do it better, let them. This balace is still a relevant issue today as fitness for purpose must always be remembered.
4) The Catalytic Rationale: Schools can be changed for the better. Computers can improve efficiency of teaching, administration and management; they can reduce the dependence on teachers for learning; they could lead to a shift in learning from memorising facts to problem-solving, and to a shift in attitudes from competing with other children to collaborating with them. This is a slightly idealistic rationale, with computers solving all problems, but Hawkridge prophesies a move away from rigid programmes of learning to an environment where children have control over their own learning and where they control computers not the other way around. The phrase "... if only computers could be present in large enough numbers" sounds ironic now, but also highlights this factor as important, which it still is.
Financial cost, Hawkridge points out, determines to a large extent the rationale countries choose. Pedagogic and Catalytic rationales lead to more expense, whereas the vocational route, as chosen by China, promises to yeild beneficial results for the country's economy. Hawkridge's outlook is pessimistic, concerned with the "dark realites of costs". Fortunately, it is not just the technology that is changing quickly, but also its financial cost. While much of this article is interestingly far-seeing, there is just as much that can never be predicted.
Monday 25 February 2008
David Puttnam, 'In Class, I have to power down' (Guardian)
The main point of this article lies in the gap between the experience of ICT children have at home, compared with that they have at school. Freedom and control are what make home experiences exciting. Note that this is just one 12 year old's view, but I do think that the sense of ownership is an important issue in any activity. Puttnam suggests that we should be looking for the education in what children do by choice, namely games, forums and websites. While I think there is a lot of value in this, we can't limit ourselves to only teaching children about what they already like. Like the Ofsted report, he hints at the difference between the needs of the teacher and the needs of the learner. Perhaps we should be trying to fit in with our children instead of making them try to fit in with us.
ICT Articles
I have been writing my thoughts on the readings on paper due to computer-sharing issues and so I can refer to them easily. My blogs about these will concentrate on the main issues, as I see them, arising from the articles.
School Inspector's Report 2004/5
One of the main points from Ofsted here is that ICT provision has improved. As technology is advancing so rapidly, I would hope that the provision in schools would follow. Ofsted details funding, curriculum support and teacher confidence as contributing factors. The gap between the best and worst ICT provision is, however, growing.
I found the mentionof assessment an interesting issue to bring to light: We need to understand what expectations we have for children and their use of ICT. These often seem to be underestimated.
The report also warns about overuse of interactive white boards (IWBs) and reminds us that, as with every other subject, the focus should be on learning. There is a balance to be found between learning ABOUT ICT and learning THROUGH ICT: In my experience, so far I have seen much more of the former than the latter, which would seem to point to children knowing how to use a computer but not what to use it for.
School Inspector's Report 2004/5
One of the main points from Ofsted here is that ICT provision has improved. As technology is advancing so rapidly, I would hope that the provision in schools would follow. Ofsted details funding, curriculum support and teacher confidence as contributing factors. The gap between the best and worst ICT provision is, however, growing.
I found the mentionof assessment an interesting issue to bring to light: We need to understand what expectations we have for children and their use of ICT. These often seem to be underestimated.
The report also warns about overuse of interactive white boards (IWBs) and reminds us that, as with every other subject, the focus should be on learning. There is a balance to be found between learning ABOUT ICT and learning THROUGH ICT: In my experience, so far I have seen much more of the former than the latter, which would seem to point to children knowing how to use a computer but not what to use it for.
SBT1: Post 3 - Use of ICT
I only saw three taught ICT lessons in my first placement, but these all took place in the 'IT suite'. The class were usually told what their task was, given a demonstration and an example of the end product and questionned as to techniques they could use. One lesson on databases began with a physical demonstration that was effective: Children wearing a red jumper stood up, then children wearing black shoes, then children wearing a red jumper AND black shoes, and children wearing a red jumper OR black shoes. This illustrated the search terms AND and OR in a way that was easy to access and the class got the impression that a search using OR could yeild more results.
There were some practical issues, such as the sharing of computers: As mentioned, there are 16 computers for 31 children and I was interested by the difference in what was achieved when a child had a computer to themself in comparison with the children sharing. On the other hand, the class was placed in ICT pairs so less confident children could, theoretically gain support from their partner. The partners did not seem to be particualarly set up so that a more able child was with a less able. The pairs were kept the same each week and so prevented time lost in children choosing their own partners. I think that, in an ideal world, I would spend two lessons on a similar subject and have the first lesson with mixed pairs and the second session in matched-ability pairs so that children confident in ICT could be challenged and take part in more open-ended activities.
One ICT lesson, planned for the week after the placement ended, was due to take place in the classroom, measuring the items in the classroom and producing a plan to use the following week in a CAD program on the computer. I do not believe that this is the best use of an ICT session, especially when there is only one per week. Instead, this measuring could be done in a maths lesson. Alternatively, depending on adult support, the lessons could be staggered so that half of the class could be measuring while the other half have a computer each.
I saw laptops being used in Numeracy work on graphs: This proved effective, especially as the previous lesson on co-ordinates was mostly spent drawing out graphs, which detracted from the learning objective. A digital camera was taken to a history field trip, I recorded some of the class's stories onto the laptop and used resources from the internet and media files in my lessons and we took a 'secret camera' film of ourselves eating chocolate in the staffroom to kick start a learning event. The major benefits I found of using ICT within lessons was in pupil motivation and in the link it provides to real life situations.
There were some practical issues, such as the sharing of computers: As mentioned, there are 16 computers for 31 children and I was interested by the difference in what was achieved when a child had a computer to themself in comparison with the children sharing. On the other hand, the class was placed in ICT pairs so less confident children could, theoretically gain support from their partner. The partners did not seem to be particualarly set up so that a more able child was with a less able. The pairs were kept the same each week and so prevented time lost in children choosing their own partners. I think that, in an ideal world, I would spend two lessons on a similar subject and have the first lesson with mixed pairs and the second session in matched-ability pairs so that children confident in ICT could be challenged and take part in more open-ended activities.
One ICT lesson, planned for the week after the placement ended, was due to take place in the classroom, measuring the items in the classroom and producing a plan to use the following week in a CAD program on the computer. I do not believe that this is the best use of an ICT session, especially when there is only one per week. Instead, this measuring could be done in a maths lesson. Alternatively, depending on adult support, the lessons could be staggered so that half of the class could be measuring while the other half have a computer each.
I saw laptops being used in Numeracy work on graphs: This proved effective, especially as the previous lesson on co-ordinates was mostly spent drawing out graphs, which detracted from the learning objective. A digital camera was taken to a history field trip, I recorded some of the class's stories onto the laptop and used resources from the internet and media files in my lessons and we took a 'secret camera' film of ourselves eating chocolate in the staffroom to kick start a learning event. The major benefits I found of using ICT within lessons was in pupil motivation and in the link it provides to real life situations.
SBT1: Blog 2 - Setup of ICT in the school
In September, every classroom in this school had an interactive whiteboard installed. Every teacher also has a laptop, courtesy of a government give-a-teacher-a-laptop initiative a few years ago. These are for the teachers' use but belong to the school so must be returned on leaving.
I have been considering getting a laptop of my own but, aside from the fact that the 4 grand we're given to live on for a year won't quite stretch to it, I've been put off by my optimism that by September I will not only have been given a job, but also a computer. The problem with this is that I find issues of ownership complicated when I work on a computer that is not mine, whether it's saving something to a drive, which is quite abstract, or a memory stick, which I will potentially lose. I wouldn't be happy doing a lot of work in a notebook that I then had to give back to someone else to look after.
The school also boasts a computer suite, where there are enough computers for a class to have one between two. This seems like a natural arrangement, and typical of each primary school I have seen, but I would argue that, while 'one between two' is adequate for a text book or something children are only referring to, this should not necessarily apply to computers. They are active tools and the equivalent of an excercise book, which children are not expected to share. The computer suite itself is discussed further by Muirhead (ICT reading 6).
Elsewhere in the school, apart from the teachers' laptops, which are not available for pupil use, there are 5 computers in one of the year group shared areas. These are mostly used by teachers and TAs. There is also a portable set of laptops for class use, again one between two, which can be booked out by class teachers for use in lessons where IT is incorporated in another subject area. The children seem quite motivated when using these, or at least more so than a trip to the ICT suite. This is, again, reminiscent of Muirhead's findings. It is an issue of language, but the area is called 'the ICT suite', or 'IT suite', rather than a computer suite and perhaps this implicitly indicates a view that this is the only place that ICT can be used.
I have been considering getting a laptop of my own but, aside from the fact that the 4 grand we're given to live on for a year won't quite stretch to it, I've been put off by my optimism that by September I will not only have been given a job, but also a computer. The problem with this is that I find issues of ownership complicated when I work on a computer that is not mine, whether it's saving something to a drive, which is quite abstract, or a memory stick, which I will potentially lose. I wouldn't be happy doing a lot of work in a notebook that I then had to give back to someone else to look after.
The school also boasts a computer suite, where there are enough computers for a class to have one between two. This seems like a natural arrangement, and typical of each primary school I have seen, but I would argue that, while 'one between two' is adequate for a text book or something children are only referring to, this should not necessarily apply to computers. They are active tools and the equivalent of an excercise book, which children are not expected to share. The computer suite itself is discussed further by Muirhead (ICT reading 6).
Elsewhere in the school, apart from the teachers' laptops, which are not available for pupil use, there are 5 computers in one of the year group shared areas. These are mostly used by teachers and TAs. There is also a portable set of laptops for class use, again one between two, which can be booked out by class teachers for use in lessons where IT is incorporated in another subject area. The children seem quite motivated when using these, or at least more so than a trip to the ICT suite. This is, again, reminiscent of Muirhead's findings. It is an issue of language, but the area is called 'the ICT suite', or 'IT suite', rather than a computer suite and perhaps this implicitly indicates a view that this is the only place that ICT can be used.
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