Integration of Information Technology (in Education Classes)

1. Integration of Information Technology (in Education Classes) STLHE 2002 Mhairi (Vi) Maeers University of Regina

2. Best Practices in Higher Education--Seven Principles 1. Good Practice Encourages Contacts Between Students and Faculty 2. Good Practice Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students 3. Good Practice Uses Active Learning Techniques 4. Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback

3. Best Practices in Higher Education--Seven Principles 5. Good Practice Emphasizes Time on Task 6. Good Practice Communicates High Expectation 7. Good Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning Retrieved from: http://www.aahe.org/bulletin/sevenprinciples1987.htm

4. Advancing the Seven Principles--With Technology 1. Contacts--communication technologies (AIC and SIC) 2. Reciprocity--as # 1 with colleagues--collaborative learning 3. Active Learning • tools & resources; time-delayed exchange; real-time conversation 4. Prompt Feedback • e-mail; performances; critical observations (video); OLE 5. Time on Task--attractive/motivating; efficient; distance learning--busy schedules; access to learning opportunities 6. High Expectations • real-life problems--set challenges; publishing; 7. Diverse Styles • different ways of learning can be enhanced with technology Retrieved from: http://tltgroup.org/programs/seven.html

5. Best Practices Sites Pedagogy Nutshells--retrieved from WWW at http://www.gsu.edu/%7Ewwwdls/kbh/PedaRouter.htm • Angelo (1993)14 succinct, research-based, elements of effective teaching and learning, with implications. • Chickering & Gamson (1987) Seven simple, research-based principles to improving undergraduate education. • Langlois & Zales (1992) Eight research-based principles for effective classroom instruction. • Knowles (1980) Knowles introduced the term androgogy, to distinguish the instruction of adults from that of children.

6. Instructional Approaches/Best Practices Engaging learning environments (Means,1993) • authentic tasks • interactive participation • collaboration • heterogeneous groupings • learning through exploration • teacher as facilitator • authentic assessment

7. Instructional approaches/best practices--continued • Engaged Learning (Means, 1993; Jones et al, 1995) • student interaction, connections among schools, collaboration among teachers and students, teachers as facilitators, and an emphasis on technology as a tool for learning. • Project-based Learning (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Penuel & Means, 1999; Stites) • a nontrivial or driving question with real-world relevance, sustained, cooperative investigation and collaboration, and the use of cognitive tools to support student representation of the ideas developed. • Problem-Based Learning (Nagel, 1999) • a philosophy of teaching and learning through which students work together to solve problems of priority to them and to their community through input from experts, research, and the collaborative testing of potential solutions.

8. Instructional approaches/best practices--continued • Engaging learning environments (ELE) require a different kind of relationship between teacher(s) and learner(s) • ELE take individual student learning styles into consideration • ELE distribute technology equitably and conveniently for student and teacher use • ELE use technology in meaningful ways to support learning

9. Teaching styles and beliefs • Anyone can use ICTs but any ICT use will be informed and driven by a deeply held conception about teaching and learning • Constructivist approaches address a non-traditional teaching/learning style • contributions of learning theories • constructivism and social constructivism • cognitivism-->cognitive apprenticeship and situated cognition • personal examination of learning theories and beliefs about teaching and learning, about knowledge, and about children

10. Best Practices--With ICTs--”Add-ons” or Integrated? Can we simply “add on” ICTs to our “regular” face-to-face practice? Do we need to think differently about teaching and learning? Do ICTs easily and naturally “enfold” into current teaching? Paradigm shift needed in how we think about teaching and learning and in how we participate in the age of Networked Economy. Retrieved from: http://www.itu.int/wsis/documents/documents01.htm

11. Paradigm Shift BrainBinder Research--4 major school divisions in Saskatchewan 2001--SunRay implementation Summary quote from final research report “the dramatically increased access to computers, particularly in classrooms, is creating a paradigm shiftin teaching and learning … increased computer access to educational Internet sites and learning applications enables students to pursue their unique learning goals through resource-based learning … however, paradigm shifts take a considerable amount of time are not without severe growing pains.”

12. Paradigm Shift • Tim Pychyl in a keynote address said the following: “[We need to] challenge the notion that we can simply add on these technologies for teaching and learning by supporting them adequately -- these are ‘disruptive technologies’ requiring more radical change in what we value, what we do, and how we do it.” Retrieved from: http:///www.carlton.ca/~tpychyl • Fullan & Stiegelbauer (1991)--3 components of change new materials, new teaching approaches; possible alteration of beliefs--need to question and change behavior and beliefs • 1998 National US Survey in Higher Education--paradigm shift required from ‘teaching’ to ‘learning’

13. Paradigm Shift Bridget Somekh, SITE, 2000, San Diego--Keynote address on “Educating for Agency: Teacher Education in the Technology Revolution|” • teachers lack confidence in using technology • new technologies: • give us new capacities and enable new processes and procedures • change institutional structures--taking away security and/or liberating us • demand that we engage in ‘psychic reconstruction’ and exercise agency

14. Eliciting Children’s Mental Representations of Computer Systems. we use computer to get in touch with other people in the world. we can download imfernation for computer and news it. we use computer in door outdoor and at home. we can put a bisk in. we can work on it and save work on it then go and work on it again. SUZANNE

15. KEITH The hard drive is for storing games . You go on to run to lode games and ennethinc (anything) else . The screen isent the computer is were the switch is . I usely run my games on a drive or d . We have 6 computers in this school only one has the internct ( internet) thats the one in the libry 3 more are going to have been internet . I have the internet and my friend rihard has to . we are beast friends and we lode game togetha we like eche (each) other wen I rote this I was sitting nest to him him and me like computers I like historey but he dose not . we play one game togetha and we like that alote it is cold GarmaGGdon 11. The compeny who makes that is cald refekshons ( reflection.) this is a pichur of the chip. Speak Laptos are verry useful you charge them up and of you go and you can play it . my parrans (parents) use a computer to sort munney (money )out .

16. Paradigm Shift • Work of REPRESENTATION • Book--”Learning to Change: ICTs in Schools”--a CERI publication 2001 • --quote from R. G Baird (reviewer) “I was particularly impressed by its conclusions that ICT will not work without a radical rethink of teacher training and staff development, an old and very obvious problem which it is taking a long time for institutions and governments to address.”

17. Paradigm Shift Other work that addresses the paradigm shift: • Jo Szostak PhD student U of R (2001-2) • Jo makes a link between integration of ICTs and implementation of other changes in practice resulting in amore student-centered environment; change in teachers’ beliefs have occurred--how did change occur: implementation of ICTs -->shift in beliefs or did already existing beliefs support integration of ICTs? • --integration of technology facilitated a change in teachers’ practices • Kathryn Fulton (1999) • use of technology changes the way teachers teach, by making it possible to do different things in the classroom

18. ICTs and Teaching Approaches

19. Change Components Plus Strong Leadership

20. Change--Gradual! • With vision, skills, incentives, resources, and an action plan change only occurs with strong leadership AND a desire on the part of the teacher. • Even with all of the above, change occurs slowly, with teachers (professors) at many different stages of implementation. Level and type of ICT use must be valued and respected at all times. • We are not N-geners; we need to unlearn or relearn--like a second language--not natural; some need to know ‘a lot’ before using ICT (control, power, authority)

21. BrainBinder Kids “old teachers’ don’t use them or like them; younger teachers really like them and use them a lot” “those who knew computers before just use them like they used the PCs” “my teacher doesn’t use them much; he waited for the kids to figure it out and then they (kids) taught others.”

22. BrainBinder Kids “I do assignments at school on the SR—if they are small ones. At home I use quatro-pro files, slide show presentations, software, games, the Internet and other documents” “SRs are slower than PCs. At home I use the Lotus program and Internet sites.” “I can download stuff at home; I can’t at school” “We don’t use the computers at school like we use them at home…different reasons to use them”

23. BrainBinder Kids “We know what to do--we just wish the teachers would let us do it!” Sure, computers are the future—you have to understand many different types of computers.” “I learned by eavesdropping! (on the technology consultant teaching my teacher—then I showed my friends how to do it”) “I know how to FTP and I taught the technology consultant!” “It took me five minutes to figure it out on my own. I sit at the computer and ‘play’!” “Just learning things ourselves is easier. Teachers don’t know enough.” “students helping students”

24. Response to Students • Enabling students to learn about (and with) the SR environment in a manner compatible with students’ learning styles and learning needs may demand a change in teaching style. • This kind of massive computer implementation challenges school divisions to address issues of student learning and to provide adequate, appropriate, and just-in-time teacher inservice.

25. General Response to Research • Overall the message received through the research project has less to do with technology and more to do with people and their perspectives on change. • The children knew a lot more about ICTs than their teachers and found both their teachers’ knowledge of, and ability to use ICTs in any meaningful way, very limiting and quite frustrating. Generally, they found the school SR environment inferior to what they used at home

26. U of R Landscape for Change • Institutional vision statements • town hall mtgs/committee mtgs /Faculty mtgs • skills--inservice-->TLC & KnowledgeNet • incentives--URFA clauses; funding (TEL; SSHRC; NSERC; TIF; PD) • resources--public labs; wiring; smart rooms; Office Suite; specialized software • Action Plans: PACIT; ACRIC; TEL; CAT

27. Technology Use • Moersch; ACOT levels of technology use • Regina Catholic Board TLC survey • Online learning survey Technology skills acquisition/integration • individual ‘technology integration’ pathway • a developmental process • who is my ‘audience, what forms of ICT are appropriate for my course, what ICT skills do I need, when do I need them, for what purpose, how do I integrate them into my courses, how can I manage the ICT environment? • I need support, resources, and validation.

28. Faculty of Education Landscape for Change • Letter to Dean 1996 • Program IT templates and theory (SITE 97) • IT modules developed (SITE 99) • Implementation of IT modules • Faculty inservice (SITE 2000) • BrainBinder Project--SunRays--(SIDRU Research--2001) • Mini-Lab experiment (PD Fund research) The work we have been doing in the F of E has, we feel, been cutting-edge work in the field and in our university. We have moved ahead, critically evaluating each new ICT development, and appropriately integrating them into our repertoire of teaching/learning strategies.

29. Faculty of Education Landscape for Change • collaboration; invisible work; research on our practice; reflection/feedback; teaching as a scholarly activity • informed by research: cognitive apprenticeship (Lave & Wenger); community of learners (Rogoff); social constructivism (Vygotsky; Ernest); Microworlds (Papert); Rich Learning tasks (Flewelling) • work well in groups--faculty structure supports group/team work • program work (and most of our ICT journey has resulted in work that has benefited all program groups)

30. Faculty of Education Using ICTs • Planning • Implementation • teacher-led • student-led • Course assignments • Grading/course evaluation • Communication

31. Faculty of Education Using ICTs • We are not all at the same place • Some faculty are just beginning to use e-mail to communicate with students • Some faculty are designing entire on-line courses • We must respect each other’s ‘place’ wrt the use of ICTs and work with anyone who is willing to try.

32. Faculty of Education Using ICTs:Integration of ICTs into the Curriculum • 5 change components • strong leadership at different levels • univ; CAT; CCE; faculty coordinator; indiv. faculty ‘leaders’ • Faculty of Education landscape (letter; templates; modules; collaboration) • ICT use in faculty • One more component--INTEGRATION • Modeling of ICTs in ‘regular’ classes • Time to play with ICTs in class (teacher and students) • Assignment selection/creation with ICTs • Planning for teaching using ICTs

33. Faculty of Education Using ICTs:Integration of ICTs into the Curriculum • Very little in-class ICTs interactivity • BrainBinder research--need to model a mini-lab experience • Creation of 3 classroom mini-labs--to demonstrate conceptual integration in 3 methods courses • PD funded research

34. Faculty of Education Using ICTs:Integration of ICTs into the Curriculum Conceptual Integration: Rational Numbers--equivalence • hands-on concrete activities (geoboards; pattern blocks; cuisenaire rods; play-doh) • children’s literature • software • websites A structured MICROWORLD focused on equivalence

35. Integration and Interactivity • Interactive communication--person(s) & topic • Communication; participation; feedback • SIC; AIC • Attention -- to topic

36. Integration and Interactivity • Individually--with course content/topics • within and between groups • between student(s) and instructor • between instructor and student(s)

37. Our Faculty’s ICT Journey • All faculty members are learning how to use ICTs in appropriate ways in classes to model effective integrated ICT practice for preservice teachers and to enable PST to plan for and ICTs appropriately in their teaching • We are knowledgeable about effective teaching practices, about learning styles, differentiated instruction, multiple intelligences, SMK, PCK, research on teaching & learning in our disciplines • we have a history of collaboration and working in teams--to plan for courses and to conduct research on our practice (now using ICTs)

38. Our Faculty’s ICT Journey • We worked from a university vision, created a faculty vision and action plans--implemented and evolving since 1998 • We revised ECMP classes, added an advanced class, hired a IT coordinator • We designed and implemented a series of graduate classes in Educational Technology • there is much more appropriate modeling of ICTs in regular classes • We participate in ongoing inservice, as we need it, through CAT, TLC, KNet or through our faculty workshops

39. Closing Remarks • Technology should not be used in all instances--just because it’s there. We must not be seduced by the glitzy appeal of the digital world, but rather ask critical and thoughtful questions about why, where, when, and how we should use it. • we are not learning or teaching about the computer--we are learning and teaching through it. ICT becomes a seamless part of an ELE.

40. Closing Remarks Our students expect us to use ICTS. Indeed they expect to (or will very soon expect to) be immersed in a world of distributed learning where they can choose to work any time any place or they can choose F to F; they will expect course content to be ‘delivered’ in multiple ways and they will expect choices in assignment content and submission mode. Are we ready for them?

41. Online Courses by Province(August, 2000) Source: TeleEducation NB presentation, TeleLearning NCE 2000 Conference, Toronto, Nov 4-7, 2000

42. Investing in TEL

43. Digital Divide • OECD Paris, 2000 (learning to Bridge the Digital Divide) • access to technology--money; hardware; software • education & ICT competence Quote from Donald J. Johnston (OECD Secretary-General) “people, education and learning lie at the heart of these issues (importance of ICTs in Education) and their solutions. The machines and sophisticated ICT equipment are useless without the competence to exploit them. . . . The gaps that define the ‘learning digital divide’ become as important as the more obvious gaps in access to the technology itself.” --technological disadvantage adds to the familiar factors that diminish learning opportunities --English language dominance of the Internet & software • WAYS AHEAD

44. Digital Divide • Education Week, May 2001--Technology Counts 2001--The New Divides: Looking Beneath the Numbers to Reveal Digital Inequalities • Not ONE Digital Divide (Digital Discrimination) • Money, racial disparities, not enough girls, academic record, rural connections, special needs gaps,language barriers • World Telecommunication Development Report 2002 • Similar to DD of Ed Week

45. How are you using ICTs in your classes? • Form small groups and tell each other one thing that you are ‘feeling good’ about wrt to how you are using ICTs in your teaching--to enhance the learning experience for your students • One person in each group should note these success stories. • Please give your name and institution with your story • I will post them on my website--for now at http://education.uregina.ca/maeersv (I am developing a new site, but I will keep this link open) and I will also submit them to the STLHE listserv

46. Some Useful Links Campus Saskatchewan website: http://www.campussaskatchewan.ca/index6.php3 Canadian Ministers of Education Canada website: http://www.cmec.ca/ Pan Canadian Educational Research Agency http://www.cmec.ca/stats/pcera/RSEvents02/main_en.htm See Carl Cuneo’s paper on "The integration and effectiveness of ICTs in Canadian postsecondary education”

47. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development http://www.oecd.org Find CERI (Centre for Educational Research and Innovation) at the OECD site • An OECD Canada summary http://www1.oecd.org/dsti/sti/it/prod/it-out2000profiles/canada.htm • There are many excellent links at the end of this document to such sites as CANARIE, CAP, NRC, NCE • United Nations Human Development Report—making new technologies work for human development http://www.undp.org/hdr2001/

48. Contact Information • E-Mail: maeers@uregina.ca • Phone: 306-585-4601 • Address: Faculty of Education 3737 Wascana Parkway Regina, SK S4S 0A2

49. Planning/managing/organizing the learning environment • instructional plan • students’ needs, interests, learning styles, abilities • lesson/unit goals • integrate aspects of the curriculum topic with other topics/subjects or within that subject area • appropriate (creative) use of technology • microworld of exploration--an ELE • authentic (real/meaningful) assessment • We must recognize that information technology is here to stay . . . What we have to decide is whether we play the game and turn it to our advantage or lose out completely?” (Fama Alovo--Founder of the Tanzania Media Women’s Association)

50. Planning/managing/organizing the Learning Environment Given that best practices, technology skills, and curriculum integration are part of a teacher’s repertoire how can that teacher now effectively ‘put it all together?’ • begin with a curriculum question, consider all aspects of this question and think about appropriate ways that technology can be used to enhance learning • filamentality (Dodge & March) • activity structures (Harris) • thematic web-based units (Leshin)