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ICT Implementation in Education
AUSTRALIA
General ICT implementation guidelines are drawn up by the Australian Commonwealth government, but it is up to the six states to determine their own integration strategies. ICT literacy is considered as being inherent to overall educational objectives, the underlying philosophy being that today's students must expect to work and live in environments requiring competence in computer use and in convergent digital technology. As living and working environments will also increasingly require citizens to accept innovation and adapt skills and understanding to change, it is considered that information skills need to be conceptualised broadly, focusing on learning how to learn, rather than the acquisition of specific technical skills that will need to be frequently unlearned. Students' skills in using information technology are considered inseparable from their analytical abilities and their capacity for creativity, teamwork, problem-solving and communication skills. Australian school systems are therefore subscribing to an integration philosophy involving the infusion of computers as a tool across the curriculum, with strategies directed towards the above goals, but also the more traditional ones such as:
- improving students' understanding, assimilation and creation of new knowledge through the presentation of information in fresh and relevant ways;
- adapting to students with different learning styles or special needs;
- motivating and stimulating learners, thereby reducing the risk of failure at school;
- improving monitoring, guidance and assessment of individual students' progress.
ICT implementation strategies focus on organisational as well as ethical aspects, with "technology and society" studies, and in the later grades media education, playing an important role in the curriculum. National guidelines underline four parameters which determine the success of ICT integration:
- the definition of a clear policy for implementing ICT,
- professional development,
- careful planning to overcome barriers that may impede equitable integration of information technology and thereby compromise the opportunity for all students to acquire information technology skills,
- benchmarking (i.e. continuous search for best practices that will lead to superior performance): it is suggested that performance indicators should be employed at 4 different levels - classroom, programme, school and system - for the use of higher education institutions, government, funding bodies, students, teachers, teacher unions and the public at large.
It is recommended that ICT implementation strategies be developed at three key levels:
- The school
All schools in Australia are required to draw up their own ICT plan, incorporating targets set by the local education authority, but also based on targets of their own. It is suggested that all available resources in the school be linked at a "whole school" level, as this appears to be the key to integrated planning and ensures more successful ICT integration in the school, the classroom, across the curriculum and in the school community. ICT is to be integrated into the curriculum flexibly, addressing the competencies that all students should acquire through horizontally and vertically integrated approaches to curriculum planning. Schools are recommended to explore innovative ways of funding the expansion of IT infrastructure (use of corporate partnerships are central to ICT infrastructure strategies in most states), however, over-emphasis on the amount of equipment in schools (e.g. student-to-computer ratios) should be avoided.
- Teachers
Teachers play a key role both in drawing up well-articulated school-level ICT policy and in the implementation process. But before they are ready to invest in this process by modifying classroom practices, they must see the relevance of using ICT in the learning process in terms of clear links to school curricula and intended student outcomes. Teachers' beliefs have the greatest influence on teaching practice, hence the need to raise awareness to the major changes that have occurred in schooling patterns and the philosophy underlying this evolution. Awareness must also be raised as to the use of ICT in relation to individual learning styles, differences and attitudes.
Level of teacher use of ICT in school is directly linked to:
- level of resourcing and planning in the school,
- access to computers (obsolescence and unsuitable location of equipment have been pinpointed as major barriers to ICT integration),
- availability of software, connectivity,
- degree of support provided for in-service education, including time release
- opportunity for professional recognition and promotion.
It also depends on the amount of time teachers are given to experiment with technology and plan lessons using new methods that incorporate technology Above all, full integration depends on developing an effective mechanism for assessing and reporting ICT outcomes across all curriculum areas.
- Teacher training
If the desired ICT integration outcomes are to be achieved, training institutions will need to support both trainee teachers and those already in the classroom by providing a suitable environment to use computers, not only for instructional purposes but also to develop confidence in using hardware and software. All teachers need the opportunity to become competent in using "higher" computer skills in their own learning (i.e. analysing material downloaded from Internet, creating home pages for schools, facilitating communication between students…) before attempting to use them in their teaching. Lack of knowledge or understanding of best curricular uses of technology (what software to use, how to integrate it into the curriculum and how to organise classroom activities) is the major barrier to integration and can only be overcome by sufficient training, support and models of best practice. Education systems must therefore:
- establish a regime in which ICT skills are expected and rewarded;
- provide professional training activities related to the curriculum and to examination requirements;
- assist teachers to practise computer skills at home and in their own time;
- give teachers access to support staff who are not only technically competent, but who also realise the implications for classroom applications.
Most Australian states are using private providers to arrange in-service education for teachers.
The teachers themselves usually opt for school-based ICT training after teaching hours on school days, and prefer short courses and workshops rather than extended modules of study.
Integration assessment
Progress towards ICT integration goals may be evaluated in terms of the extent to which all students are:
- Developing skills in using information and computer-based technologies;
- Expressing ideas and communicating with others using computer-based technologies;
- Demonstrating discrimination in the use of computer-based technologies;
- Developing the confidence to explore, adapt and shape technological understanding and skills to future challenges.
On the basis of these and other criteria, a survey carried out Australia-wide in 1998 by the Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs reveals the following:
- nearly all students have more than half of what is considered basic skills core to the operation of computers (see Annex). Nearly 67% have all of them. The majority of students developed these basic skills at home. Teachers' basic skills are almost equivalent to those of students. In advanced skills (multimedia creation, using video music and sound clips, creating and creating web sites or home pages, see Annex) students are more capable than teachers. Informational use appears to increase with students' ages, creative uses decline. Girls, and students in rural, isolated and low-income areas have less advanced skills than other students, students also tend to learn these skills at home.
- 25% to over 50% of teachers lack some skills necessary to use or teach a range of computer applications. Young teachers enter the teaching profession with more advanced skills, while those with slightly more experience are acquiring them rapidly. Those lacking sufficient ICT skills tend to be over 50, female, and primary school teachers. Many teachers do not find the training available to them adequate to their needs.
- 71% of schools surveyed report a student-to-computer ratio of 15:1, with 40% reporting a ratio of 10:1. Where student-to-computer ratio is advantageous, students are more confident about their own basic and advanced skills, more satisfied with resources provided and more likely to enjoy using computers at school. The majority of schools depend on a single teacher to coordinate information technology provision, large schools call on a wider range of personnel including network managers and technicians.
- Sixty per cent of principals reported that information technology was one of the three highest budget priorities for their schools. The overall highest priority is given to hardware and software for students, with lesser commitments to staff development, technology support, communications and networks and hardware, and software for staff, in that order. Where information technology is a high budget priority, principals are more likely to perceive support services as adequate and to be confident that the staff is well-trained and equipped to adapt to the challenges of ICT.
- More than two thirds of schools have developed a school policy on ICT. There are consistent links between the existence of a school policy on ICT and the priority given, at a school level, to resourcing, networking, technical support and professional development, and to integrating ICT across the curriculum. Most policies cover both immediate and long-term objectives, including those relating to security, regulating access to obscene and restricted material, copyright, health and safety and plagiarism.
- there is a divide between IT "haves" and "have nots", it is therefore most important that equity outcomes of current policy be assessed.
All schools in Australia are required to draw up their own ICT plan, incorporating targets set by the local education authority, but also based on targets of their own. It is suggested that all available resources in the school be linked at a "whole school" level, as this appears to be the key to integrated planning and ensures more successful ICT integration in the school, the classroom, across the curriculum and in the school community. ICT is to be integrated into the curriculum flexibly, addressing the competencies that all students should acquire through horizontally and vertically integrated approaches to curriculum planning. Schools are recommended to explore innovative ways of funding the expansion of IT infrastructure (use of corporate partnerships are central to ICT infrastructure strategies in most states), however, over-emphasis on the amount of equipment in schools (e.g. student-to-computer ratios) should be avoided.
Teachers play a key role both in drawing up well-articulated school-level ICT policy and in the implementation process. But before they are ready to invest in this process by modifying classroom practices, they must see the relevance of using ICT in the learning process in terms of clear links to school curricula and intended student outcomes. Teachers' beliefs have the greatest influence on teaching practice, hence the need to raise awareness to the major changes that have occurred in schooling patterns and the philosophy underlying this evolution. Awareness must also be raised as to the use of ICT in relation to individual learning styles, differences and attitudes.
Level of teacher use of ICT in school is directly linked to:
- level of resourcing and planning in the school,
- access to computers (obsolescence and unsuitable location of equipment have been pinpointed as major barriers to ICT integration),
- availability of software, connectivity,
- degree of support provided for in-service education, including time release
- opportunity for professional recognition and promotion.
It also depends on the amount of time teachers are given to experiment with technology and plan lessons using new methods that incorporate technology Above all, full integration depends on developing an effective mechanism for assessing and reporting ICT outcomes across all curriculum areas.
If the desired ICT integration outcomes are to be achieved, training institutions will need to support both trainee teachers and those already in the classroom by providing a suitable environment to use computers, not only for instructional purposes but also to develop confidence in using hardware and software. All teachers need the opportunity to become competent in using "higher" computer skills in their own learning (i.e. analysing material downloaded from Internet, creating home pages for schools, facilitating communication between students…) before attempting to use them in their teaching. Lack of knowledge or understanding of best curricular uses of technology (what software to use, how to integrate it into the curriculum and how to organise classroom activities) is the major barrier to integration and can only be overcome by sufficient training, support and models of best practice. Education systems must therefore:
- establish a regime in which ICT skills are expected and rewarded;
- provide professional training activities related to the curriculum and to examination requirements;
- assist teachers to practise computer skills at home and in their own time;
- give teachers access to support staff who are not only technically competent, but who also realise the implications for classroom applications.
Integration assessment
Progress towards ICT integration goals may be evaluated in terms of the extent to which all students are:
- Developing skills in using information and computer-based technologies;
- Expressing ideas and communicating with others using computer-based technologies;
- Demonstrating discrimination in the use of computer-based technologies;
- Developing the confidence to explore, adapt and shape technological understanding and skills to future challenges.
- nearly all students have more than half of what is considered basic skills core to the operation of computers (see Annex). Nearly 67% have all of them. The majority of students developed these basic skills at home. Teachers' basic skills are almost equivalent to those of students. In advanced skills (multimedia creation, using video music and sound clips, creating and creating web sites or home pages, see Annex) students are more capable than teachers. Informational use appears to increase with students' ages, creative uses decline. Girls, and students in rural, isolated and low-income areas have less advanced skills than other students, students also tend to learn these skills at home.
- 25% to over 50% of teachers lack some skills necessary to use or teach a range of computer applications. Young teachers enter the teaching profession with more advanced skills, while those with slightly more experience are acquiring them rapidly. Those lacking sufficient ICT skills tend to be over 50, female, and primary school teachers. Many teachers do not find the training available to them adequate to their needs.
- 71% of schools surveyed report a student-to-computer ratio of 15:1, with 40% reporting a ratio of 10:1. Where student-to-computer ratio is advantageous, students are more confident about their own basic and advanced skills, more satisfied with resources provided and more likely to enjoy using computers at school. The majority of schools depend on a single teacher to coordinate information technology provision, large schools call on a wider range of personnel including network managers and technicians.
- Sixty per cent of principals reported that information technology was one of the three highest budget priorities for their schools. The overall highest priority is given to hardware and software for students, with lesser commitments to staff development, technology support, communications and networks and hardware, and software for staff, in that order. Where information technology is a high budget priority, principals are more likely to perceive support services as adequate and to be confident that the staff is well-trained and equipped to adapt to the challenges of ICT.
- More than two thirds of schools have developed a school policy on ICT. There are consistent links between the existence of a school policy on ICT and the priority given, at a school level, to resourcing, networking, technical support and professional development, and to integrating ICT across the curriculum. Most policies cover both immediate and long-term objectives, including those relating to security, regulating access to obscene and restricted material, copyright, health and safety and plagiarism.
- there is a divide between IT "haves" and "have nots", it is therefore most important that equity outcomes of current policy be assessed.