Draft ELFE 2 Policy Recommendations

1. Draft ELFE 2 PolicyRecommendations Bled, 13 – 15 September 2009 Hans Laugesen ELFE project coordinator Senior educational policy officer, GL, Denmark

2. Goals for use of ICT • Train students in use of modern technology • Digital competence 1 of 8 EU key competences • Train new competences • Collect information, be critical, project workSocial and civic competences plus initiative andentrepreneurship are also EU key competences • Learn more in the subjects • No evidence in ELFE or in Handbook on Informa-tion Technology in Primary and Sec. Education   ÷

3. PISA on ICT use in Denmark • Boys are among the best in Europe • Girls are at the bottom The teachers of boys and girls are the same • Same level of technical equipment available It is a pedagogical challenge for teachers!

4. PISA CBAS 2006 Júlíus K. Björnsson

5. Un-used possibilities • Use of ICT as • A passive OH-projector for PowerPoint presentations • A type writer to register notes or measurements • Does not exploit the possibilities for training • New working methods • And creativity

6. OECD’s TALIS 2008 Teachers’ professional development needs

7. Poulsen & Sørensen’s 5 scenarios • The Glasshouse: control the use of ICT, expose the use, and keep part of use hidden without logical order • The Nest: student build a nest of relations internal in class – protect them from the outside and the teacher • The Machine: ICT as a collective ritual – all focus on the Smart board • The Two Towers: students are segmented: the ambitious girls, the party girls, and the ICT-clever boys • The Ford: close to introduce new technology and has given up the old. But in the mean time nothing interesting happens

8. Daily use of ICT in classroom From Michael Poulsen and Erik Kruse Sørensen’schapter in Ret og Gyldighed i gymnasiet (IFPR/South Danish University, nov. 2009)

9. Consequence of a choice ICT use creates • Glasshouse: conflicts and hierarcy • Nest: excluding security zones • Machine: a collective mass • Two Towers: division • Ford: boredom • The differences is a result of what school and teacher has made of choice regarding use of ICT – or not chosen

10. What to do… • No easy recipe. One solution does not fit all. • No simple answers in Handbook of Info. Technology • But get inspiration • From in-service training, other schools, and colleagues • Speak to students on how they use ICT • Game and learning interacts • Google, Face book and Messengers are new classrooms • School policy on ICT-use must be discussed w teachers • And leave room for trial and error • Teachers in teams should agree on use and variations

11. EDUsummIT09 Call to Action • Better understanding needed on ICT’s role in learning • Especially in relation to 21st Century Skills • Restructure schools – address individ. needs of students • Change assessment framework when ICT becomes part of curriculum • New models for teacher learning on technology use at both pre- and in-service level • Support practitioner driven research and networks • Develop mechanism for sharing and distributing research

12. The need for funds • Funds for equipment • Funds for support • Funds for proper training • Time to reflect • Room for errors • Public funds must be sufficient to meet requirements • The question of sponsorships… • Stay in full control of pedagogical decisions • How to continue after sponsorship period? • Schools should not be part of advertising programmes

13. Recommendation to teachers • Be open-minded for pedagogical changes experiment with new tools • Require the necessary time to think and reflect and require a margin for innovation trial and error • Make the most of blended learning where you mix traditional teaching with ICT • Add ICT-based visual and emotional stimuli to the learning process and be aware to include all students • Consider how ICT can be used to create contacts between classes at different schools and countries • Participate in professional development and in teacher networks and follow innovative developments

14. Rec. to school leadership • Discuss and develop the school’s ICT goals and policy with teachers. Support the policy in school’s budget • Encourage variety in teaching. Respect that develop-ment of new practices require time to plan and reflect • Implement change as a stable element in education. Promote a culture where you can learn from mistakes • Offer teachers the relevant in-service training. Support teacher cooperation and exchange of experience both at school level and between schools

15. Rec. to teacher educ. institutions • Integrate training in pedagogical use of ICT in teacher education • Establish partnerships between teacher education institutions and schools to strengthen the pedagogical use of ICT. Dialogue with training schools during students training periods at schools can support this process. • Focus more on research in the pedagogical use of ICT

16. Rec. to teacher unions • Promote that teachers do engage in relevantuse of ICT • Monitor the workload and protect the teacher from being available 24h a day. • Promote exchange of experience between teachers both at school level and between schools • Identify teachers needs of ICT-based instruction and promote long-term continuous in-service training • Call for authorities to appropriate the necessary funds for equipment, for support, for professional development and time to develop teaching

17. Rec. to teacher unions - 2 • Work on disseminating existing tools and resources that closely relate to their affiliates daily needs • Build networks for action research in teacher development • Negotiate the balance between protecting intellectual properties and making relevant material available • Point out the need for more resources to research related to the use of ICT in education. Consider how Unions can support such research

18. Rec. to school authorities • It’s essential that schools are allocated the necessary funds to implement the political goals set up for the use of ICT at schools. This should include funds for both equipment, support and the professional development of teachers • Make sure that the political vision and expectation for the use of ICT at schools corresponds to the learning requirements set up in the curriculum but for the education as a whole and in the requirements to each subjects

19. Rec. to school authorities - 2 • Provide ICT infrastructure and maintenance • Provide funds for educational research • Provide funds for pilot projects on ped. use of ICT • Strengthen focus on ped. use of ICT in teacher educ. • Build a system of dissemination of good practice among teachers • Provide policy for blended and distance education • Provide policy for implementing both egalitarian and diverse visions of education

20. Rec. to school authorities - 3 • Ensure that formal assessments are organised to respect the teaching method and measure the same competences as were trained at school • Develop school evaluation criteria for innovative activities that take into account a margin for error • To include in their national lifelong learning strategies a coherent set of objectives linked to digital competences as defined by the European reference Framework of key competences for lifelong learning

21. Rec. to European Commission • Support member countries in their efforts to provide teachers with adequate training in the use of ICT • Support member countries in providing access to the internet for all schools • Continue to support information exchange between schools, teachers and pupils exchanges and networks • Support initiatives in school and research that aim at deepening teachers’ knowledge on ped. use of ICT • Influence the international surveys like TIMSS and PISA so the evaluation of 21st century skills become more visible in the published results

22. Rec. to ETUCE • ETUCE should try to promote these recommendations in dialogue with the member unions and in the European institutions. • ETUCE should look for funds for a follow-up project focusing on pre-service and in-service training on the use of ICT in education. • ETUCE should follow the development on the pedagogical use of ICT by arranging seminars on the topic every 2-3 years.