NML learners Some considerations

1
NML learnersSome considerations

• Georges-Louis Baron, Eric Bruillard
• UMR STEF (ENS Cachan / INRP)
• IUFM de Creteil

2
Some results

• No clear evidence regarding effects of ICT on
  educational achievements
• Innovative ways of learning but innovations are
  seldom sustainable
• Question effects of ICT? Learning and teaching
  as situated and instrumented activities.
• A new vision of informatics for users

3
From a processing chain
The classical LISP print eval read for
functions
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to an interactive loop
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A socio-cognitive approach

• Software execution combines human activity and
  machine activity
• Set up a significant interaction for human and
  machine
• Take into account the dynamics of the process,
  temporal and situated.
• Cognitive and social questions are inherent parts
  of technical problems.
• Informatics science of design and use of IT
  semiotic artefacts (Nicolle, 2002)

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Three roles for ICT in education

• A new instrumentation
• Educational technology
• General software tools
• Communication, access, production
• Instruments in subject matters
• According to each role, specific processes can be
  observed

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NML learners

• Role 2 is mainly concerned, changes in work
  environment of teachers and students
• May be New capabilities but
• Strong opposition between school use and home use
  of computer instruments
• Same technology
• Immature culture (immediate satisfaction) vs
  distance and reflection

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NML learners?

• ICT uses in school, at home
• At the end of primary schools, no very big
  differences
• How do they acquire ICT competences?
• Their competences what they do?
• Hypothesis a differatiation process during age
  12-16 (grade 7-10)
• Some works in progress

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A PHD thesis (Fluckiger)

• Objective how low secondary students (grade
  7-9) acquire ICT competences
• In schools, at home, with friends
• Links between activities and competences
• Method
• Classroom observation
• Observation during inter-courses, at a local
  center outside school, at home, interviews
• Analysis of student blogs, evolution of blog
  structure, analysis of social networks

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Didatab project

• Analysis of the uses of spreadsheets in schools
  by French students
• Three years project (2005-2007)
• "The use of spreadsheets in business is a little
  like Christmas for children. They are too excited
  to get on with the game to read or think about
  the 'rules' which are generally boring and not
  sexy" in David Chadwick, Stop that subversive
  spreadsheet ! http//www.eusprig.org/eusprig.pdf
• A fruitful business errors in spreadsheets (see
  Panko, 2000).

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Why studying spreadsheets?

• Commonly used by a large number of professionals
• More technical than word processors (programming)
• Designed for end users
• Indicator of computer literacy
• In education, specific links between subject
  matter and spreadsheets

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Methods of investigation

• Content analysis of official curriculum texts,
  educational websites and educational resources
• Interviews of teachers and students
• Classroom observations in different contexts
  middle school, high school, vocational school
• Questionnaires
• Test of competencies (paper test and computer
  tests)
• (Staff 3 researchers, more than 10 master
  students, teachers in different secondary
  schools)

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French educational system
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Objectives and results

• To identify the main trajectories of use
  (Proulx, 2002) personal and social
• Process of differentiation
• Significant events / Role of curriculum,
  activities, social factors
• Some comparisons Greece, Belgium, Italy
• Results
• Stream effect (gender, social background) No
  strict correlation
• Low use and low competencies

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Methodological questions

• Is it possible to have a picture of a seven or
  eight years process?
• Through examples
• With a mainly qualitative approach (and some
  quantitative tests)
• And interpretative process (providing ideal
  types?)
• But relationship with ICT is changing

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Other reflections

• EIAH  Environnements Imaginaires pour
  lApprentissage HumainJacques Wallet
• www.sticef.org
• Non real environments for human learning

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Albert Robida,  Les cours par téléphonoscope  La
vie électrique le vingtième siècle, Paris,
Librairie illustrée, 1892, page 25, bibliothèque
Nationale
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Importance of examinations Generational Gap ?
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(No Transcript)
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Dont shoot the teacher

• Teachers as  bouc émissaires 
• Or double bind
• They have to be modern
• And to control precisely the acquisition of a
  group of students
• Professional uses / few classroom uses
• An official best pedagogy? (towards
  dequalification of teachers)

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Example of new teachersSesamath
(www.sesamath.net)

• French association of teachers
• main goal is to freely provide, via the Internet,
  pedagogical resources and professional tools to
  be used for mathematical teaching and learning.
• a public service approach
• a commitment to the free software movement.
• Many projects. Recently, they produced a
  mathematical textbook for 7th graders
• (Wikipedia like process)

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Manuel Sesamath

• Sésamath 5e is a complete textbook, in
  accordance with new prescribed curricula for 7th
  graders, rather classical in its organization (in
  chapters, and in each chapter, in sections
  methods, activities, exercises...) and in its
  editing quality (quality of the cover, of the
  setting and of the printing)
• (designers discourse)

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Sesamath

• First, it is a textbook (form with great
  resonance), a classical textbook
• Subject matter unique reference and stable (few
  links with research)
• Recommended usage of computer instruments
• Which innovation ?
• Reinforcement of control (see Cuban)

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Bridging the gap
IFIP TC3 / WG 3.1, October 1997, Grenoble (Yvonne
Buettner)
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Building the wall
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• Change school to adapt it to what exists outside?
• Or do the contrary ?

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School at home?