European eLearning Forum for Education ELFE

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European e-Learning Forum for Education ELFE
ELFE

• Summary of findings
• Tjeerd Plomp
• University of Twente
• Enschede, the Netherlands

Conference 21-22 November2005
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Three Aims
ELFE

• 1 Analyse and share good experiences and
  identify good practices in using ICT in schools
  ELFE teams to schools
• 2 Study the possibilities of transferring these
  good practices to other schools and countries
  school-to-school visits
• 3 Create a debate on how a European policy on
  e-Learning and use of ICT in education -
  conferences

Conference 21-22 November2005
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This presentation
ELFE

• Conceptualization
• School visits
• Selection of schools
• Findings
• ICT use and infrastructure
• Experiences of/in schools
• School-to-school visits

Conference 21-22 November2005
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Some general wisdom
ELFE

• ICT is means, not goal in itself
• Our society has transformed from an industrial
  society into an information or knowledge society
• gt Have consequences for education and for how
  schools function and teachers teach
• In 21st century our perception of what is good
  education has to change this pertains to all
  components of the teaching-learning (T/L) process
  

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Components of the Teaching/Learning process
ELFE
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(No Transcript)
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Good education for 21st century
ELFE

• may mean different things dependent on context
  and choices made, e.g.,
• existing goals and content, but innovative
  pedagogy
• new goals and content, with new pedagogy (e.g.
  non-traditional grouping, location, time and/or
  assessment)
• ICT as instrument in realizing changes
• Important
• change is a PROCESS not an EVENT

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Possible shifts in pedagogy (adapted from Kozma
et al., 1999)
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Possible shifts in pedagogy (contd) (adapted from
Kozma et al., 1999)
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Good education for 21st century
ELFE

• A good balance between what is traditionally
  valued and what is needed in an information
  society.
• as stated - it may mean different things in
  different schools and in different countries,
  dependent on context and choices made.
• But we believe that using ICT is key in realizing
  changes

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Criteria for selecting schools
ELFE

• General
• normal schools, i.e. no specific ICT projects
• Mixture of primary secondary schools
• Specific
• ICT use aimed at pedagogical innovation new
  methods and/or new goals
• ICT intensively used in teaching-learning in
  school as a whole

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Implications for project
ELFE

• Great variation in 15 schools selected
• in pedagogical approaches and in ICT applications
• in degree of dissemination and use of ICT,
• BUT
• all school have policy aimed at integrating ICT
  in teaching learning
• See Summary Table on p.3

Conference 21-22 November2005
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Implications for project
ELFE

• The small number of schools does not allow for
  any statistical generalisation
• But
• the analysis of the cases form a rich input for
  discussions, reflections and recommendations on
  use of ICT in education recommendations.

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Approach for school visits
ELFE

• AIM 1 identify good experiences and good
  practices in using ICT in schools
• Data collection and reporting structured
  according to two perspectives
• ICT use and infrastructure
• Experiences of/in schools
• Each perspective elaborated in a a number of
  analysis questions.

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Approach for school visits
ELFE

• ELFE team visited schools for 1 day
• Interviews with
• Principal
• Innovative teachers and ICT coordinator
• other teachers
• Students
• Questionnaires to Principal and ICT coordinator
• (adapted from IEA SITES-M2 study)

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Approach for school visits
ELFE

• Data collection and reporting structured
  according to analysis questions.
• Per school
• Narrative report for use by school and to be
  placed on ELFE website
• Structured data report for cross-case analysis

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Findings ICT use infrastructure
ELFE

• Important educational goals for using ICT
• to develop students independence and
  responsibility for own learning
• to promote active learning strategies
  (individualizing, projects, etc)
• to improve student achievement
• to prepare students for future jobs.
• school leaders good balance between what is
  traditionally valued and what is considered
  important in the 21st century

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Findings ICT use infrastructure
ELFE

• ICT related policies
• Students can access external databases via WWW
• Majority of schools teachers and students can
  email via school
• Many schools relieved teaching load for few
  teachers to support colleagues (10/14)
• Most schools address issue of norms and values in
  using Internet/WWW (12/14)
• Only 8/14 schools have written policy!

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Findings ICT use infrastructureHardware
ELFE

• Most schools studcomp ratio lt6
• Mostly multimedia computers in LAN with access to
  Internet and WWW
• Placed in various locations special areas for
  individual and small group work important!
  often a problem
• Peripherals adequate for use
• NOTE innovativeness of ICT use not dependent on
  amount of ICT!

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Findings ICT use infrastructureSoftware
ELFE

• All schools software according to need
• general application software
• digital learning resources (esp for math,
  sciences, languages, informatics)
• network/communication tools,
• computer and digital tools
• Learning and communication platforms (like
  Digital Brain, ClassFronter, First Class) are
  crucial in realising major innovations

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Findings ICT use infrastructureSupport
ELFE

• Support a key factor!
• Integration of ICT in T/L evokes need for new
  type of support (staff) in schools
• Both technical and pedagogical support staff
  needed
• Sometimes techn support at municpl/ regional
  level, but also schools without
• Often relieved teaching load for few teachers to
  support colleagues (10/14)

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Findings ICT use infrastructureStaff
development
ELFE

• Another key factor!
• Almost all schools (13/14) have policies and
  provide facilities
• often outside school
• often regionally/locally co-ordinated
• In most schools distinction between focus on ICT
  (ECDL) and pedagogical use of ICT (PCDL)
• In DK, EN, NW national policy!

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Findings Experiences of schools
ELFE

• Not school descriptions!
• But
• Observations and conclusions from interviews and
  questionnaires

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Findings Experiences of schools
ELFE

• Does use of ICT make a difference?
• Learning goals changed to some extent next to
  traditional subjects, new ones such as
  promoting active learning, and developing
  independent learning skills, information handling
  skills, communication and collaboration skills
• Content changed to some extent
• new methods become new content
• also integration of subjects in project-based
  learning

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Findings Experiences of schools
ELFE

• Does use of ICT make a difference? (cont)
• New materials and resources web-based, via
  systems like Digital Brain, via communication
  with experts, teacher development and exchange,
  etc.
• Changes in grouping indiv and small grp learning
  communctn facilitated by ICT!
• NOTES
• variation in methods increases with use of ICT
• studs in one school small group work more on how
  to work, less on content part

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Findings Experiences of schools
ELFE

• Does use of ICT make a difference? (cont)
• Changes in location and time
• project-based and independent learning supported
  by ICT often outside classroom also often not
  according to school time table (e.g. project
  weeks/days)
• Infrastructure important
• Learning communication platforms
• Physical environment of/in school

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Findings Experiences of schools
ELFE

• Does use of ICT make a difference? (cont)
• Also totally new forms of arranging T/L
• e.g. in Norway distance education approaches
  form of distributed learning in upper 2nd
  vocational educ
• students work from home and do internships at
  local busineses, whilst communicating with
  teachers via _at_ - only few times per year to the
  school.

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Findings Experiences of schools
ELFE

• Does use of ICT make a difference? (cont)
• Changes in student assessment evaluation
• Not much changed!
• Although examples
• electronic portfolios (projects, indiv tasks)
• software tools for formative evaluation
• in DK use of computer in final exams

Conference 21-22 November2005
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Findings Experiences of schools
ELFE

• Does use of ICT make a difference? (cont)
• Changes in student assessment evaluation
• But also in number of schools
• national paper and pencil examinations
  conserve traditional methods of teaching and
  assessing students progress!
• NW school no approval from govt to use ICT in
  final exams, where all stud evaluation is
  ICT-based gt experienced as problem!

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Findings Experiences of schoolsTeachers
perspective
ELFE

• Important to realise
• Integration of ICT in T/L combined with adapting
  to needs of 21st century (new competencies) is
  complex, multidimensional change
• change in materials
• change in pedagogical methods
• change in beliefs of what is good education

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Findings Experiences of schoolsTeachers
perspective
ELFE

• Vision on teaching and learning
• - teachers clearly support 21st century goals
  (such as acquire 'productive' skills, problem
  solving skills, independent learning skills
  and/or skills for life long learning such as
  information handling, collaboration and
  communication skills)
• - where management communication platforms are
  used ICT also used to enhance teaching (e.g. less
  admin tasks)

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Findings Experiences of schoolsTeachers
perspective
ELFE

• Approaches to teaching and learning
• one scenario emerges
• project-based learning small groups or indiv
  tasks with teachers in role of facilitator
• - ICT provides studs with access to a variety of
  resources (via Internet WWW).
• - often multidisciplinary projects in which
  teachers of various subjects are collaborating in
  supporting and coaching

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Findings Experiences of schoolsTeachers
perspective
ELFE

• Approaches to teaching and learning
• project-based learning scenario
• - students are challenged to develop and/or
  apply new skills, such as
• information handling problem solving -
• collaboration, communication presentation skills

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Findings Experiences of schoolsTeachers
perspective
ELFE

• Approaches to teaching and learning
• project-based learning a observations
• - Teachers using platforms consider these
  indispensable!
• - in some countries this approach part of natl
  policy but ELFE teachers convinced!
• Some warnings by students
• - Teacher is not as rich in comp room
• - Tchers assume studs can work in projects

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Findings Experiences of schoolsTeachers
perspective
ELFE

• Perception of impact of ICT
• students are better motivated, having increased
  self-esteem and developing new competences
• in some cases better learning results are
  mentioned (often impressions)
• the more open relationships with students is much
  appreciated, and
• teachers experience the collaboration with other
  teachers as enriching.

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Findings Experiences of schoolsTeachers
perspective
ELFE

• Perception of impact of ICT
• - Warning students who cannot organize
  themselves have problems with project-based
  learning need extra attention!
• - in many schools teachers mention lack of
  interest or even disagreement of number of
  colleagues
• - gender issue technology not for women?

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Findings Experiences of schoolsStudents
perspective
ELFE

• Students say that they do the following
• - collaborative learning (projects) with ICT
• - communication (with teachers, sometimes with
  peers in other countries)
• - use WWW for searching information
• - sometimes teach teachers and help peers
• Students like using ICT and have no problems
  working with it

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Findings Experiences of schoolsStudents
perspective
ELFE

• Some concerns
• - Students in one school evaluation of own work
  when working in small groups!
• Some principals and teachers about studs
• - Students copy from websites and each other
• - Skills to evaluate quality of web-based
  materials have to be developed
• - Students tend to forget other (non-ICT)
  learning resources

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Findings Experiences of schoolsStudents
problems
ELFE

• on ICT skills
• - Introduction to computers and (complicated)
  software only at beginning of school year is not
  enough!
• - Keyboard skills lacking
• - Differences in ICT skills may frustrate
  collaboration in projects

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Findings Experiences of schools Students
problems
ELFE

• on motivation and methods
• - Too much ICT may become boring mixed methods
  preferred (UK school)
• - Methods of working on ICT-related task too
  prescribed (PT school)
• BUT dominant feature students like working with
  ICT!

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Findings Experiences of schools Students
problems
ELFE

• on infrastructure
• - In some schools wish to have more computers
  and copies of software
• In some schools computers old and system slow
• General schools may have problems to keep
  infrastr up-to-date, whilst many students have at
  home newest equipmt

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Findings Experiences of schoolsInfluencing
factors
ELFE

• Already mentioned
• - Good infrastructure
• - Support for teachers (technical, pedagog)
• - Staff development policy facilities (e.g.
  tims for external course, site visits, etc)

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Findings Experiences of schoolsInfluencing
factors
ELFE

• Further
• - Clear vision, policy and strategy of what
  school want to accomplish
• - Supportive leadership in school
• - Monitoring the processes of change
• - ICT becoming part of schools culture

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Findings Experiences of schoolsInfluencing
factors
ELFE

• ICT becoming part of schools culture
• not fully realized in all schools
• BUT esp in schools with learning mangmt
  communication platforms ICT has contributed to
  new school culture and to school development
• e.g. other communication patterns, other
  relationships between teachers, and teachers and
  students.

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Findings Experiences of schoolsInfluencing
factors
ELFE

• External factors
• - national, regional and/or local policies and
  support (financial, facilities)
• - parents and (in some cases) local communities
  supportive- although not always clear how this
  goes beyond liking and welcoming developments
• - BUT vocational schools much support from local
  business and industry (NW GM)

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Findings Experiences of schoolsSustainability
ELFE

• Developments in all schools are sustainable
• intensive use of ICT for teaching and learning is
  accepted in the school and has a fixed position
  in it
• whilst there are no outside obstacles for keeping
  this situation alive.
• Although some concerns in some schools

Conference 21-22 November2005
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Findings Experiences of schoolsSustainability
ELFE

• Some concerns mentioned
• Part of teachers has not for me attitude
• Sufficient freedom in developing innovative
  pedagogy centralizes systems?
• Sufficient structural budgets to update and
  expand infrastructure?
• Not only for hardware/software, but also to
  develop proper support structure

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Aim 2 transferring good practices to other
schools and countries
ELFE

• Method school-to-school visits (2 teachers)
• - Good first step in disseminating good
  practices, but too soon to observe effects
• - Visits illuminating for most schools
• Could see other policies and practices
• Could value own position often not only
  different, but also better on certain aspects.

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Aim 2 transferring good practices to other
schools and countriesa few observations
ELFE

• from countries with centralized educ system
• - EN teachers in NW
• pupils greater independence from teachers, and
  teachers greater independence from national
  curriculum it can work!
• - PT teachers centralized education system
  limits developing flexible and multidisciplinary
  T/L environments

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Aim 2 transferring good practices to other
schools and countriesa few observations
ELFE

• - Importance of schools having a policy and
  strategic plan to guide educational renewal and
  utilization of ICT
• - With good technical and pedagogical support
  teachers can indeed focus on their core task
  teaching utilizing ICT
• Also admiration and contradictions

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ELFE

• Thank you!

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