Implementation of ICT in Higher Education

1. Implementation of ICT in Higher Education Tom Nyvang nyvang@iastate.edu / nyvang@hum.auc.dk

2. Agenda • My background • Research focus • Methodology • Action stages • Activity theory on implementation of ICT • Analysis preview • Dissertation content and structure Please Interrupt!!

3. My Background • 2001- Ph.d. student in Human Centered Informatics Department of Communication Aalborg University • 2000-2001 Teaching assistant Department of Computer Science Aalborg University. Supervising student projects. • 2000 Research assistant VR-Medialab Aalborg University. Developing interaction techniques in large virtual reality environments. • 2000 – 2001 Teaching assistant Aarhus University. Developed and taught a course for a distance education programme called ICT and Learning on use of authoring tools in development of e-learning. • 1999-2003 Consultant IT Innovation Aalborg University. Working on IAUP (International Association of University Presidents) projects for the IAUP Commission on Technology in Higher Education (see http://www.ia-up.org for more details). At the European level involved in ECIU (European Association of Innovative Universities) project on development of course modules for web supported learning (see http://cvu.strath.ac.uk/eciu/ and http://www.eciu.org for more details). Also involved in local and national projects on university web-portals, e-learning projects and staff development in relation to implementation of ICT in teaching and learning. • 1998 Developer of e-learning courses in a Nykredit (large Danish financial institution). • 1998 – 2001 Teaching assistant Department of Communication Aalborg University. Teaching courses in ICT in organizations and development of ICT. Also supervising student projects. 1994-2000 B.A and M.A. in Human Centered Informatics Department of Communication Aalborg University. Master thesis on design and use of augmented reality interfaces in cooperative work.

4. Research Focus • Implementation of ICT in higher education • What characterizes the implementation process (what challenges are teachers, students and others met by)? • How can we support it? • Implementation as a social and democratic process • … the process leading from one practice to a new practice where the new practice is characterized by a new use of ICT…

5. Research Methodology • Action Research • Intervention and Evaluation • Research in and on practice • Case: Human Centered Informatics (B.A. and M.A.) • Communication, organization and ICT • Problem Oriented Project Pedagogy • 500-600 students, 50-60 teachers • Four guiding values: Coherence, flexibility, transparency and quality (->effectiveness) in teaching and learning – retrieved from literature and goals set up by Human Centered Informatics

6. Research Methodology • 4 action stages • Literature study and preliminary study of practice. Low degree of intervention (work in progress grounded in this phase). 21 students and 6 teachers. • More students and teachers involved. Higher degree of intervention. 75 students, 15 teachers. • More students and teachers involved. Higher degree of intervention. 160 students, 20 teachers. • Full educational programme involved. High degree of intervention. 500-600 students, 40-50 teachers. • Data collection: Interviews and teaching/learning related products (infrastructures, dialogues etc.) • Analysis based on activity theory

7. Action Stages

8. Implementation of ICT – Different Perspectives • Systems development (Scandinavian tradition) • Positive: Focus on technology and development, foresees organisational change • Negative: Doesn’t say much about organisational change • Organisational change/learning • Positive: Focus on change/development • Negative: Little focus on the role of technology • ICT in learning and teaching • Positive: Focus on the goal of implementation • Negative: Little focus on the implementation process • Diffusion of innovations • Positive: Focus on technology and change • Negative: Management perspective, to little focus on technology users, technology turned into the subject

9. Activity Theory on Implementation of ICT I • Social psychology with focus on: • The context we act within • Mediation • Contradictions as driving force / (critical) • Vygotsky (1896-1934), Leontjev (1904-1974) and Engeström (active)

10. Activity Theory II • AT integrates agent, community, culture and technology in one perspective.

11. Activity Theory III

12. Selection of ICT/Tool Adaptation of ICT/Tool Change of practice with ICT/Tool Activity/Motive Improve Quality of learning and teaching Action/Goal More on the following slides Operation/Condition Teachers Implementing ICT – Findings from Stage 1

13. Action: Choosing New Tool • Teacher 1: I see Lotus Learningspace as a tool for what they call webbased training where you see learning as a matter of training. I think it is great for that. • Teacher 2: Yes, but it is not that suitable for our context.

14. Action: Adapting Tool for Use in Change of Practice • Teacher 2: That’s what I mean because of course we had to learn to use Learningspace but that didn’t take long time. What took the time was to decide how to use it.

15. Action: Changing Teaching and Learning Practice • Teacher 1: I thought that we have a system made for distance education then lets try to use it that way just as an experiment. Then we instead of a traditional lecture spent time on on-line discussions. I sat in my office and the students sat in a lab or somewhere else. I had spent long time on preparation and upload of exercises but the students thought it was stupid.

16. Dissertation Content and Structure Part one: • Introduction and research questions • Methodology • University learning and teaching (context and culture of my study) • Implementation and activity theory • Implementation study and analysis • A theory of implementation of ICT in higher education Part two (papers): • Pilot projects as research and change methodology • A Survey of Technologies Supporting Virtual Project Based Learning • Teachers Implementing ICT in Higher Education • Students Designing CSCL • //Anyone interested in co-writing something??//

17. Links • Summary of project: http://www.hum.auc.dk/~nyvang/phdisu/ • This presentation: http://www.hum.auc.dk/~nyvang/phdisu/seminar100903.ppt