Using Technology to Enhance Pre-Service Teacher Preparation

Use of the internet to deliver a portion of the content in an introductory science, education, and technology methods course for pre-service teachers provides an opportunity for a much needed introduction to basic computer literacy. A web page was developed for use in conjunction with the math, science, and technology educational methods courses at Brooklyn College. Students are introduced to this page as a group in the computer lab, and work in small groups with more experienced students serving as mentors to other students. The Brooklyn College Science Education Webpage is designed as a simple jump page with links to various resources for science education. It serves as a starting point to expose pre-service teachers to a wide range of resources available to them on the world wide web and in the real world. Students use their internet research skills in open-ended assignments throughout the semester. The web page continues to serve as a resource for students in the next courses in the math and science education sequence. The Brooklyn College Science Education Webpage helps education graduates to begin their teaching better prepared to use technology in the classroom

Model of the methodical center of open education in computer science for the teaching of gifted students

В статті визначено та обґрунтовано переваги запровадження змішаної форми навчання інформатиці обдарованих учнів. Для реалізації змішаного навчання учнів пропонується модель методичного центру відкритої освіти з інформатики в школі. Модель методичного центру відкритої освіти пропонує об’єднати зусилля вчителів інформатики різних навчальних закладів для створення відкритих електронних освітніх ресурсів для обдарованих учнів та організації їх навчання у міжшкільних групах. Досвід запровадження змішаного навчання інформатиці обдарованих учнів в моделі методичного центру відкритої освіти розглянуто на прикладі регіонального експерименту, в якому взяли участь 6 навчальних закладів та методичний центр. У моделі методичного центру відкритої освіти з інформатики для обдарованих учнів знайшли відображення мета і основні задачі, методи і форми та діяльність вчителів і учнів у відкритому інформаційно-освітньому середовищі. Основою відкритої освіти за запропонованою моделлю є цілеспрямована, контрольована, інтенсивна самостійна робота учнів, які можуть навчитись за індивідуальним розкладом в зручному для себе місці, маючи доступ до електронних освітніх ресурсів й погоджену можливість контакту з викладачем з використанням: електронною пошти, чату, вебінару, відеоконференції а також особистого контакту. Результати анкетування учнів і їх батьків ілюструють їх зацікавленість в отриманні ІТ-освіти та готовності до участі у навчанні інформатики за змішаною формою навчання. Розвиток інформаційно-освітнього середовища відкритої освіти забезпечується хмарними сервісами для збереження і виконання завдань, он-лайн консультаціями вчителів, постійним оновленням відеоуроків з html - програмування, комп’ютерної графіки та алгоритмізації. Більшість учнів вказують на важливість співпраці з вчителем, але на рівні взаємодії і консультацій а не контролю. Результати навчання учнів в методичному центрі відкритої освіти підтверджуються збільшенням кількості призерів олімпіад з інформатики та задоволеності учнів від он-лайн навчання.The article defines and substantiates the advantages of introducing a mixed form of computer science education for gifted students. For the implementation of mixed student learning, a model of a methodological center for open education in computer science at school is offered. The model of the methodical center of open education offers to combine the efforts of teachers of informatics of various educational institutions to create open electronic educational resources for gifted students and to organize their training in inter-school groups. The experience of introducing mixed learning in the field of computer science of gifted students in the model of the methodical center of open education is considered on the example of a regional experiment, which was attended by 6 educational institutions and methodological center. In the model of the methodical center of open education in computer science for gifted students, the purpose and the main tasks, methods and forms of activity of teachers and students in the open informational and educational environment were reflected. The basis of open education in the proposed model is the purposeful, controlled, intensive independent work of students who can study according to an individual schedule in a convenient place, having access to electronic educational resources and an agreed opportunity of contact with the teacher using: e-mail, chat, webinar, video conferencing as well as personal contact. The results of the survey of students and their parents illustrate their interest in obtaining IT education and readiness to participate in teaching computer science in a mixed form of study. The development of the informational and educational environment of open education is provided by cloud services for the preservation and execution of tasks, online teacher consultations, constant updating of video tutorials on html-programming, computer graphics and algorithmization. Most students point out the importance of working with a teacher, but at the level of interaction and consultation, and not control. Results of studying students in the methodical center of open education are confirmed by an increase in the number of prizewinners of computer science competitions and students' satisfaction from online learnin

Negotiating the Web Science Curriculum through Shared Educational Artefacts

EXTENDED ABSTRACT The far-reaching impact of Web on society is widely recognised and acknowledged. The interdisciplinary study of this impact has crystallised in the field of study known as Web Science. However, defining an agreed, shared understanding of what constitutes Web Science requires complex negotiation and translations of understandings across component disciplines, national cultures and educational traditions. Some individual institutions have already established particular curricula, and discussions in the Web Science Curriculum Workshop series have marked the territory to some extent. This paper reports on a process being adopted across a consortium of partners to systematically create a shared understanding of what constitutes Web Science. It records and critiques the processes instantiated to agree a common curriculum, and presents a framework for future discussion and development. The need to study the Web in its complexity, development and impact led to the creation of Web Science. Web Science is inherently interdisciplinary. Its goal is to: a) understand the Web growth mechanisms; b) create approaches that allow new powerful and more beneficial mechanisms to occur. Teaching Web Science is a unique experience since the emerging discipline is a combination of two essential features. On one hand, the analysis of microscopic laws extrapolated to the macroscopic realm generates observed behaviour. On the other hand languages and algorithms on the Web are built in order to produce novel desired computer behaviour that should be put in context. Finding a suitable curriculum that is different from the study of language, algorithms, interaction patterns and business processes is thus an important and challenging task for the simple reason that we believe that the future of sociotechnical systems will be in their innovative power (inventing new ways to solve problems), rather than their capacity to optimize current practices. The Web Science Curriculum Development (WSCD) Project focuses European expertise in this interdisciplinary endeavour with the ultimate aim of designing a joint masters program for Web Science between the partner universities. The process of curriculum definition is being addressed using a negotiation process which mirrors the web science and engineering approach described by Berners-Lee (figure 1 below). The process starts on the engineering side (right). From the technical design point of view the consortium is creating an open repository of shared educational artefacts using EdShare [1] (based on EPrints) to collect or reference the whole range of educational resources being used in our various programmes. Socially, these resources will be annotated against a curriculum categorization [2] which in itself is subject to negotiation and change, currently via a wiki. This last process is represented by complexity and collaboration at the bottom of the diagram. The resources necessarily extend beyond artefacts used in the lecture and seminar room encompassing artefacts associated with the administrative and organisational processes which are necessary to assure the comparability of the educational resources and underwrite the quality standards of the associated awards. Figure 1: Web Science and Engineering Approach (e.g. See http://www.w3.org/2007/Talks/0314-soton-tbl/#%2811%29) From the social point of view the contributions will be discussed and peer reviewed by members of the consortium. Our intention is that by sharing the individual components of the teaching and educational process and quality assuring them by peer review we will provide concrete examples of our understanding of the discipline. However, as Berners-Lee observes, it is in the move from the micro to the macro that the magic (complexity) is involved. The challenge for our consortium, once our community repository is adequately populated, is to involve the wider community in the contribution, discussion and annotation that will lead to the evolution of a negotiated and agreed but evolving curriculum for Web Science. Others have worked on using community approaches to developing curriculum. For example, in the Computer Science community there is a repository of existing syllabi [3] that enables designers of new courses to understand how others have approached the problem, and the Information Science community is using a wiki [4] to enable the whole community to contribute to the dynamic development of the curriculum. What makes this project unique is that rather than taking a top down structured approach to curriculum definition it takes a bottom up approach, using the actual teaching materials as the basis on which to iteratively negotiate and refine the definition of the curriculum

Negotiating the Web Science Curriculum through Shared Educational Artefacts

EXTENDED ABSTRACT The far-reaching impact of Web on society is widely recognised and acknowledged. The interdisciplinary study of this impact has crystallised in the field of study known as Web Science. However, defining an agreed, shared understanding of what constitutes Web Science requires complex negotiation and translations of understandings across component disciplines, national cultures and educational traditions. Some individual institutions have already established particular curricula, and discussions in the Web Science Curriculum Workshop series have marked the territory to some extent. This paper reports on a process being adopted across a consortium of partners to systematically create a shared understanding of what constitutes Web Science. It records and critiques the processes instantiated to agree a common curriculum, and presents a framework for future discussion and development. The need to study the Web in its complexity, development and impact led to the creation of Web Science. Web Science is inherently interdisciplinary. Its goal is to: a) understand the Web growth mechanisms; b) create approaches that allow new powerful and more beneficial mechanisms to occur. Teaching Web Science is a unique experience since the emerging discipline is a combination of two essential features. On one hand, the analysis of microscopic laws extrapolated to the macroscopic realm generates observed behaviour. On the other hand languages and algorithms on the Web are built in order to produce novel desired computer behaviour that should be put in context. Finding a suitable curriculum that is different from the study of language, algorithms, interaction patterns and business processes is thus an important and challenging task for the simple reason that we believe that the future of sociotechnical systems will be in their innovative power (inventing new ways to solve problems), rather than their capacity to optimize current practices. The Web Science Curriculum Development (WSCD) Project focuses European expertise in this interdisciplinary endeavour with the ultimate aim of designing a joint masters program for Web Science between the partner universities. The process of curriculum definition is being addressed using a negotiation process which mirrors the web science and engineering approach described by Berners-Lee (figure 1 below). The process starts on the engineering side (right). From the technical design point of view the consortium is creating an open repository of shared educational artefacts using EdShare [1] (based on EPrints) to collect or reference the whole range of educational resources being used in our various programmes. Socially, these resources will be annotated against a curriculum categorization [2] which in itself is subject to negotiation and change, currently via a wiki. This last process is represented by complexity and collaboration at the bottom of the diagram. The resources necessarily extend beyond artefacts used in the lecture and seminar room encompassing artefacts associated with the administrative and organisational processes which are necessary to assure the comparability of the educational resources and underwrite the quality standards of the associated awards. Figure 1: Web Science and Engineering Approach (e.g. See http://www.w3.org/2007/Talks/0314-soton-tbl/#%2811%29) From the social point of view the contributions will be discussed and peer reviewed by members of the consortium. Our intention is that by sharing the individual components of the teaching and educational process and quality assuring them by peer review we will provide concrete examples of our understanding of the discipline. However, as Berners-Lee observes, it is in the move from the micro to the macro that the magic (complexity) is involved. The challenge for our consortium, once our community repository is adequately populated, is to involve the wider community in the contribution, discussion and annotation that will lead to the evolution of a negotiated and agreed but evolving curriculum for Web Science. Others have worked on using community approaches to developing curriculum. For example, in the Computer Science community there is a repository of existing syllabi [3] that enables designers of new courses to understand how others have approached the problem, and the Information Science community is using a wiki [4] to enable the whole community to contribute to the dynamic development of the curriculum. What makes this project unique is that rather than taking a top down structured approach to curriculum definition it takes a bottom up approach, using the actual teaching materials as the basis on which to iteratively negotiate and refine the definition of the curriculum

Collaborative development of EFL in Vietnam through open source software

The University of Aizu, in collaboration with the University of Waikato, has been investigating the use of open source, server-based software for the enhancement of English language instruction in Vietnam. In this paper, we describe recent educational, technical, and English language reforms in Vietnam which have facilitated a new approach to the teaching and learning not only of English, but also Computer Science concepts. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the efficacy of using open source tools and highly structured instructional approaches for English language teaching in developing nations

Educational Technology Topic Guide

This guide aims to contribute to what we know about the relationship between educational technology (edtech) and educational outcomes by addressing the following overarching question: What is the evidence that the use of edtech, by teachers or students, impacts teaching and learning practices, or learning outcomes? It also offers recommendations to support advisors to strengthen the design, implementation and evaluation of programmes that use edtech. We define edtech as the use of digital or electronic technologies and materials to support teaching and learning. Recognising that technology alone does not enhance learning, evaluations must also consider how programmes are designed and implemented, how teachers are supported, how communities are developed and how outcomes are measured (see http://tel.ac.uk/about-3/, 2014). Effective edtech programmes are characterised by: a clear and specific curriculum focus the use of relevant curriculum materials a focus on teacher development and pedagogy evaluation mechanisms that go beyond outputs. These findings come from a wide range of technology use including: interactive radio instruction (IRI) classroom audio or video resources accessed via teachers’ mobile phones student tablets and eReaders computer-assisted learning (CAL) to supplement classroom teaching. However, there are also examples of large-scale investment in edtech – particularly computers for student use – that produce limited educational outcomes. We need to know more about: how to support teachers to develop appropriate, relevant practices using edtech how such practices are enacted in schools, and what factors contribute to or mitigate against successful outcomes. Recommendations: 1. Edtech programmes should focus on enabling educational change, not delivering technology. In doing so, programmes should provide adequate support for teachers and aim to capture changes in teaching practice and learning outcomes in evaluation. 2. Advisors should support proposals that further develop successful practices or that address gaps in evidence and understanding. 3. Advisors should discourage proposals that have an emphasis on technology over education, weak programmatic support or poor evaluation. 4. In design and evaluation, value-for-money metrics and cost-effectiveness analyses should be carried out

Sharing software engineering resources and open source software across entities

This paper describes a number of ‘good ideas’ designed to assist staff who are involved in the management, delivery or support of student project work. The ideas were formed from a Disciplinary Commons. The good ideas discussed include online forums, a project repository, alternative project structures, project preparation, progress reviews, instant supervision, peer support and anti-cheating mechanisms. Readers are encouraged to dip in, consider the ideas and implement those of most use for their own institutions

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

Innovating Pedagogy 2015: Open University Innovation Report 4

This series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This fourth report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. To produce it, a group of academics at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University collaborated with researchers from the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International. We proposed a long list of new educational terms, theories, and practices. We then pared these down to ten that have the potential to provoke major shifts in educational practice, particularly in post-school education. Lastly, we drew on published and unpublished writings to compile the ten sketches of new pedagogies that might transform education. These are summarised below in an approximate order of immediacy and timescale to widespread implementation