Educational Technology and Teacher Education: Barriers and Gates in South America

Historically, Educational Technology (EdTech) and Teacher Education (TE) have shared a conflicted relationship, particularly where practicing teachers have not been trained in ET in a manner so that they are able to coherently and efficiently incorporate the new educational technology into their classrooms and schools. In Latin America’s diverse scenario, our analysis is focused on a scenario consisting of Argentina and Uruguay. In this scenario, we identify the social and cultural context where teacher education and teaching practice take place, the EdTech-related programs with the greatest impact, and the “barriers” hindering access to and the application of EdTech, as well as the “bridges” or “gates” that facilitate their effective incorporation to teaching and learning both at schools and in teacher education. Lastly, we propose some courses of action to reduce these barriers and widen the gates connecting EdTech and school settings.Fil: Constantino, Gustavo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones en Antropología Filosófica y Cultural; Argentin

Pedagogical and learning strategies for promoting internet information literacy in Singapore secondary school students

Internet information literacy has the potential to open the whole world of knowledge to easy access and use. Computer literacy and Internet readiness alone do not empower the learner to capitalise on the use of the Internet to acquire useful knowledge. Without information literacy, the learner would be overwhelmed not only by the information overload but also by being confronted with the amount of unreliable information posted on the Internet. Therefore this paper looks at how the Internet age might influence the ways that students learn and how to capitalise on it to prepare those students for the digital world of today and how to be empowered for the future challenges of the increasing complexities of tomorrow. The findings indicate that the integration of discipline-specific Internet information literacy into the curriculum is essential before we can enhance student learning using the Internet for resource-based learning. It is also to equip them with relevant information management skills and the ability to learn independently. These are fundamental skills required to become emerging lifelong learners in the midst of an information explosion so as to be able to meet the challenges of the 21st century and the knowledge economy

Developing the vision: preparing teachers to deliver a digital world-class education system

In 2008 Australians were promised a \u27Digital Education Revolution\u27 by the government to dramatically change classroom education and build a \u27world-class education system\u27. Eight billion dollars have been spent providing computer equipment for upper secondary classrooms, yet there is little evidence that a revolution has occurred in Australian schools. Transformation of an education system takes more than a simplistic hardware solution. Revolutions need leaders and leaders need vision. In this paper, I argue that we must first develop educational leaders by inspiring future teachers with a vision and by designing our teacher-education courses as technology-rich learning-spaces. A multi-layered scenario is developed as the inspiration for a vision of a future-orientated teacher-education system that prepares teachers to deliver a \u27worldclass digital education\u27 for every Australian child. Although written for the Australian context this paper has broad relevance internationally for teacher education

Zeitgeist: information literacy and educational change

Information literacy is a mosaic of attitudes, understandings, capabilities and knowledge about which there are three myths. The first myth is that it is about the ability to use ICTs to access a wealth of information. The second is that students entering higher education are information literate because student centred, resource based, and ICT focused learning are now pervasive in secondary education. The third myth is that information literacy development can be addressed by library-centric generic approaches. This paper addresses those myths and emphasises the need for information literacy to be recognised as the critical whole of education and societal issue, fundamental to an information-enabled and better world. In formal education, information literacy can only be developed by infusion into curriculum design, pedagogies, and assessment

Challenging the Computational Metaphor: Implications for How We Think

This paper explores the role of the traditional computational metaphor in our thinking as computer scientists, its influence on epistemological styles, and its implications for our understanding of cognition. It proposes to replace the conventional metaphor--a sequence of steps--with the notion of a community of interacting entities, and examines the ramifications of such a shift on these various ways in which we think

Towards general capabilities through technology : assessment for learning as a field of exchange

The introduction of the Australian curriculum, the use of standardised testing (e.g. NAPLAN) and the My School website have stimulated and in some cases renewed a range of boundaries for young people in Australian Education. Standardised testing has accentuated social reproduction in education with an increase in the numbers of students disengaging from mainstream education and applying for enrolment at the Edmund Rice Education Australia Flexible Learning Centre Network (EREAFLCN). Many young people are denied access to credentials and certification as they become excluded from standardised education and testing. The creativity and skills of marginalised youth are often evidence of general capabilities and yet do not appear to be recognised in mainstream educational institutions when standardised approaches are adopted. Young people who participate at the EREAFLCN arrive with a variety of forms of cultural capital, frequently utilising general capabilities, which are not able to be valued in current education and employment fields. This is not to say that these young people‟s different forms of cultural capital have no value, but rather that such funds of knowledge, repertoires and cultural capital are not valued by the majority of powerful agents in educational and employment fields. How then can the inherent value of traditionally unorthodox - yet often intricate, ingenious, and astute-versions of cultural capital evident in the habitus of many young people be made to count, be recognised, be valuated?Can a process of educational assessment be a field of capital exchange and a space which crosses boundaries through a valuating process? This paper reports on the development of an innovative approach to assessment in an alternative education institution designed for the re engagement of „at risk‟ youth who have left formal schooling. A case study approach has been used to document the engagement of six young people, with an educational approach described as assessment for learning as a field of exchange across two sites in the EREAFLCN. In order to capture the broad range of students‟ cultural and social capital, an electronic portfolio system (EPS) is under trial. The model draws on categories from sociological models of capital and reconceptualises the eportfolio as a sociocultural zone of learning and development. Results from the trial show a general tendency towards engagement with the EPS and potential for the attainment of socially valued cultural capital in the form of school credentials. In this way restrictive boundaries can be breached and a more equitable outcome achieved for many young Australians

Thriving in the 21st century: Learning Literacies for the Digital Age (LLiDA project): Executive Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

LLiDA set out to: review the evidence of change in the contexts of learning, including the nature of work,nknowledge, social life and citizenship, communications media and other technologies review current responses to these challenges from the further and higher education sectors, in terms of: a) the kinds of capabilities valued, taught for and assessed (especially as revealed through competence frameworks); b) the ways in which capabilities are supported ('provision') c) the value placed on staff and student 'literacies of the digital' collect original data concerning current practice in literacies provision in UK FE and HE, including 15 institutional audits and over 40 examples of forward thinking practice offer conclusions and recommendations, in terms of the same issues reviewed in

A short history off-line

Emerging technologies for learning report - Article exploring the history of ICT in education and the lessons we can learn from the pas

A case study of the integration of ICT in teaching and learning in a smart school in Sabah

This research investigates teachers’ views of their use of ICT in teaching and learning (T&LICT). The objective of this research was to study in depth the thoughts, beliefs and opinions of the teachers’ attempt towards pedagogical improvement as part of the Smart School Project. Specifically this research examines and describes the teachers’ implementation of T&LICT in the classroom in terms of the instructional practice, the instructional roles and the instructional environment. A case study research methodology is employed. The case is Sekolah Menengah Bestari (a psuedonym), which is a Smart School in Sabah. Analysis of data from 52 survey questionnaires complemented the qualitative data from the 13 interviews and 3 observations, as well as document analysis. Findings indicated that hardware and software technology infrastructure were available to support the T&LICT implementation. Nevertheless, the teachers felt it was not enough to implement T&LICT effectively. It was estimated that about half of Sekolah Menengah Bestari staff, mainly Bestari and ETeMS teachers, implemented T&LICT. Findings indicated that teacher practices were little changed. IT was used mainly to support the existing teacher-directed and teacher-centered approach. The role of the teacher extended to that of facilitating without releasing control of lesson to the students