Why won't they take them on? A study on student teachers' first-time engagement with wiki technology

The topic of the dissertation is the use of wikis in teacher education. The study is based on two classroom interventions involving first-time use of wiki technology. In the first, 18 students of Social studies created a Wikipedia article; in the second, 13 students of Norwegian co-edited a fiction-based, class-only wiki. The study is concerned with how the student teachers engage with, make sense of, and assess the pedagogical value of wikis. Two research questions are asked, representing two stages in the research process: 1, what are possible benefits of using wikis in teacher education? 2, why do students express reluctance to “take on” wikis in their professional practice? Data was gathered through a survey, students’ logs and response texts, individual interviews, field notes, and the wikis’ records of user activities. The data shows that the students, having little or no previous knowledge of wikis, quickly master editing and discover how wikis like Wikipedia are created and maintained. Their logs show that they begin to perceive the wikis as socio-technical systems involving both human and technological agency. However, when the students are interviewed about the experience later, they display reluctance towards “taking on” wikis in their own teaching and their accounts have become more aligned with more traditional, received notions of technology. The study adds to the research on pedagogical use of wikis and on factors affecting new teachers’ uptake of new technologies. The analysis points to uptake as not only related to more commonly identified barriers but also informed by the discursive environment. The study concludes that teacher education needs to include more explicit theorization about technology and its role and purpose in education. The versatility, complexity and transparency of wikis make them particularly suitable technologies for addressing these issues. The dissertation consists of five published articles and a summarizing text (“kappe”) of four chapters

An Evaluation of Computer Aided Learning (BRAC-CAL) in Secondary Schools in Bangladesh.

BRAC initiated Computer Aided Learning (CAL) programme, the first ever in Bangladesh, to introduce ICT based materials in teaching-learning in 2004 Along with digital contents of Science, English and mathematics of secondary level, this programme provided basic ICT and content delivery training to the teachers of programme schools. A qualitative evaluation following the Realist Evaluation framework was designed to evaluate the programme mechanism, context and outcome. Data were collected from six secondary schools selected purposively. Findings showed that both teachers and students enjoyed the CAL materials and also believed that those materials had changed classroom scenario by improving learners’ attention and participation in classroom activities. However, significant difference was not observed between CAL and non-CAL classrooms. Teachers struggled to organise collaborative learning tasks such as group and pair works. Students also had limited participation in teaching-learning process. Irregular electricity supply sometimes hampered use of CAL materials. Furthermore, students had limited access to these materials. Bearing this context the recommendations were to focus more on teachers’ pedagogic improvement and to create more scopes for students’ self use of these materials

How can I encourage multi-stakeholder narrative and reflection on the use of ICT in Teacher Professional Development programmes in Rwanda?

This is an action research enquiry into how I can improve my practice to encourage multi-stakeholder narrative and reflection on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Teacher Professional Development (TPD) programmes in Rwanda. I examine the complexity of the ICT-TPD landscape in the Africa Region. I describe two action research cycles in which I attempt to encourage reflection on ICT in professional development in Rwanda. In each cycle I explore the potential of an Activity Theory lens for probing the issues and examining the perspectives of the stakeholder community of teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers and researchers affiliated to national ICT in TPD programmes and initiatives. I integrate a “Most Significant Change” narrative technique to engage participants in telling stories of significant change in their practice with technology integration. Through the rigour of the action research living theory approach I come to a number of conclusions about my own values and how I actually live my values in practice as I engage with partners in discourse and reflection for mutual learning on the issues of ICT integration in Teacher Professional Development

ACT to improve ICT use for learning: a synthesis of studies of teacher confidence in using ICT in two Queensland schooling systems

A review of the literature about student use of ICT and the impact of ICT use on learning reveals a complexity of rationales and terminology that underwrite ICT initiatives; various dimensions and stages of integration; inherent methodological difficulties; obstacles to integration such as teacher ICT confidence, expertise and beliefs about the potential for ICT to make a difference to student learning; teacher professional development; school technological infrastructure and support; and the need for ICT leadership (Jamieson-Proctor, Burnett, Finger, & Watson, 2006). This paper investigates the overarching research question - Are ICT initiatives having the desired impact on teaching and learning in schools? It provides a synthesis of the results of recent investigations by us in Queensland State and Catholic schools involving 2652 teachers from 168 schools across the two systems. Significant statistical findings that link teachers’ confidence in using ICT with students, to the quantity and quality of students’ use of ICT for learning are highlighted. The findings support the hypothesis that current ICT initiatives are having less than the desired result in both Queensland systems. The paper concludes with a call for Australia-wide research to unpack and address the factors, such as teacher confidence, that are currently constraining the use of ICT within Australian schooling systems

What is the Potential Impact of Using Mobile Devices in Education?

Mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous in the world today. With the power of portable computing in the hands of everyone and anyone, the time has come to consider using mobile devices for education. While ICT in education has been trialled, results have been mixed. Mobile devices are also ICT devices, so why should we still consider using mobile devices in education and what is its potential impact on the stakeholders. This paper provides an overview of what is out there and explores the opportunities and issues in regards to using mobile devices in education. Next we look at how the stakeholders in the education system, namely the education providers, the teachers, the students, their parents, and the ministry of education can benefit by successfully deploying classroom curriculum via mobile devices. Many stakeholders in the education system are already struggling to deliver basic education–what is required of them and how they should be supported if we are to convince them to use mobile devices in delivering education. Mobile devices are already being used by educational institutions in many countries. What type of technology, content, and mobile devices are currently being experimented with? What are the results in terms of student learning outcomes? What do the teachers think? Are the other stakeholders in education satisfied? We look at reports and reflections from several implementations of using mobile devices in education to learn from and move forward. Regardless of many brilliant anecdotes about using mobile devices in education, mobile devices after all are ICT devices that contain fragile electronic components , need power to operate and connectivity for access. A lot has been learnt from ICT deployment in education and improved upon. However, it is to be noted that fully realized potential of any mobile device and its use in education is entirely dependent upon electrical power, network connectivity and user competency

Critical literacy as an approach to literary study in the multicultural, high-school classroom

As an approach to literary study, critical literacy is not a widespread practice in New Zealand secondary schools. This article draws on a major project on teaching literature in the multicultural classroom that take place over two years in 2008-2009. In it we report on a case study where a Year 13 English teacher designed and tested a novel English programme with a reputedly less able and culturally diverse group of final-year students entitled “13 English – Popular Culture”. In it, she guided her students through a range of reading tasks aimed at developing in her students an awareness of ways in which texts position readers to take up certain meanings and not others through the language used. Over the course of the programme, students moved from compliant readers to readers who were sensitized to the manipulative power of texts. They enjoyed being exposed to a variety of theme-related texts, especially when these empowered them by enabling them to deploy their own cultural resources in responding to and challenging the texts they encountered. Students needed careful scaffolding in respect of metalinguistic understanding in order to be able to discuss the specific ways in which language constructs meaning. Indeed, these students struggled with this aspect of a critical literacy approach. However, despite the fact that these students were engaged in high-stakes assessment at a higher level than in the previous year, all gained more NCEA credits than they had in Year 12

Transcript of keynote speech, "Don't Lecture Me"

Keynote speech given by Donald Clark at “Into something rich and strange” – making sense of the sea-change, the 2010 Association for Learning Technology Conference in Nottingham, England. In the chair, Vanessa Pittard, Bect

Developing the scales on evaluation beliefs of student teachers

The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to investigate the validity and the reliability of a newly developed questionnaire named ‘Teacher Evaluation Beliefs’ (TEB). The framework for developing items was provided by the two models. The first model focuses on Student-Centered and Teacher-Centered beliefs about evaluation while the other centers on five dimensions (what/ who/ when/ why/ how). The validity and reliability of the new instrument was investigated using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis study (n=446). Overall results indicate that the two-factor structure is more reasonable than the five-factor one. Further research needs additional items about the latent dimensions “what” ”who” ”when” ”why” “how” for each existing factor based on Student-centered and Teacher-centered approaches

Immigrant Integration: Educator Resource Guide

Recommends ways for district administrators, school administrators, and teachers to promote immigrant integration in schools in critical areas, including school enrollment, classroom instruction, student assessment, and family and community outreach

EFL teaching to school students with Asperger Syndrome: perceptions from the school community

Tesis (Profesor de Inglés para la Enseñanza Básica y Media y al grado académico de Licenciado en Educación)The present study investigated the perceptions of the school community regarding EFL teaching to Asperger (AS) Students within the mainstream classroom. This single case study was conducted in a public School in La Florida in Santiago de Chile. Three teachers and one mother from the school participated in a single oral interview. The data sources were three individual semi-structured interviews, designed for the different participants of our study. Overall, the results revealed that the school community plays an important role in AS students’ EFL learning process as each of them contribute in aspects of his or her education. Teachers feel they need to have more support from the Ministry of Education and there is lack of information about how to manage AS students in the EFL mainstream classroom. Special educational needs teachers (SEN teacher henceforth) suggest schools to have at least one SEN teacher present in a classroom when a subject is taught, which in this case would be English as a foreign language. Last but not least, parents suggest and urge teachers to take responsibility in their education and training, and prepare themselves and study specific courses that would help them to better teach and work with AS students and other SEN children. If the participants were unanimously in accord, it would be most beneficial for the AS students English learning process. In Chile, there is a Law that establishes an equality of conditions for those individuals who possess, at least, one type of disability in the physical, mental, psychic, intellectual, or sensory; whether temporary or permanent, is considered disabled.El presente estudio busca investigar la enseñanza del Inglés a niños con Asperger dentro del aula convencional. Nuestro objetivo es recolectar información acerca de las percepciones que la comunidad escolar tiene respecto a este asunto. Este estudio de caso se llevó a cabo en un colegio público de la Florida. Tres profesores y una madre pertenecientes a la comunidad escolar participaron en una entrevista oral. La recolección de datos fue por medio de tres entrevistas semi estructuradas, diseñadas de acuerdo a los diferentes participantes de nuestro estudio. En general, los resultados revelaron que la comunidad escolar desempeña un papel importante en el proceso de aprendizaje de Inglés como Idioma Extranjero (IIE) de los estudiantes con SA, ya que cada uno de ellos contribuye en aspectos de su educación.. Los maestros sienten que necesitan tener más apoyo del Ministerio de Educación y no hay información sobre cómo administrar a los estudiantes con SA en el aula convencional de IIE. Los educadores diferenciales sugieren que las escuelas tengan al menos un(a) educador(a) diferencial presente en el aula cuando se enseña una materia, que en este caso sería IIE. Por último, pero no menos importante, los apoderados sugieren e instan a los maestros a que asuman responsabilidad en su educación y capacitación, y se preparen y estudien cursos específicos que les ayuden a enseñar y trabajar de mejor forma con estudiantes con SA y otros niños con necesidades especiales. Si los participantes unánimemente están de acuerdo, sería lo más beneficioso para el proceso de aprendizaje de inglés de los estudiantes con síndrome de Asperger. En Chile, existe una Ley que establece una igualdad de condiciones para aquellos individuos que posean, al menos, un tipo de discapacidad en lo físico, mental, psíquico, intelectual, o sensorial; ya sea de carácter temporal o permanente, es considerado discapacitado