When schools closed: teacher experiences using ICTs

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Digital environments: monitoring changes to teaching

The pressures, from outside and inside universities to digitize, to computerise, and ‘to go online’ continue to increase in pace. The rhetoric surrounding such pressures are often argued from a standpoint that positions technology as a ‘neutral tool’, a tool that will help make work more efficient and effective. The central thesis of this paper is that technology is best understood as fundamentally non-neutral and that various technological applications privilege certain ways of doing things, and exclude or restrict other ways. And further, that technology not only influences but can have a transformative effect on what the technology is used for, and on the work practices of those that use it. This paper draws attention to certain practices and changes in work practices in higher education, brought about, in part, or in whole, by the use of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs). In order to draw attention to these changed practices, this paper has been organised under four broad categories, namely: new pedagogical opportunities, changed practices, technology neutrality, and unintended effects.published_or_final_versio

Investigating staff capabilities and needs for effective use of online technologies

Common to all higher education institutions is the need to reform and change the curriculum to prepare students to become citizens in a world of knowledge-based economies (Bates, 2005). Students today need skills and abilities to work in teams, to cooperate, collaborate and learn with fellow students and staff in a community of learners. Within these communities learners need to be able to solve real world problems and be self-directed active learners constructing knowledge. This shift towards more active learning demands a more student-focused approach to the process of learning and teaching in higher education (Prosser & Trigwell, 1999) and that well-designed active learning is an effective way for student learning (Biggs, 2003; Ramsden, 2003; Healey & Roberts, 2004). There is also a growing body of evidence that technology applied to learning and teaching supports extended active learning in and out of class (Paulson, 2002; Williams, 2003). But ‘technology-enhanced learning demands that both technological and methodological abilities are put into play’ (Trentin, 2006, p. 182) and that it is difficult to find all these abilities in a single person. ‘However good a teacher might be in class, he/she may fail in a distance learning situation if lacking sufficient familiarity with technology-enhanced learning methods’ (Trentin, 2006, p. 184). This research suggests that faculties and universities as a whole need to pay close attention to staff capabilities and their use of technology and to offer staff development in ways that will best afford opportunities to improve on and re-think the way they teach and their students engage in learning through technology. Research undertaken in this paper investigates one faculty’s use of an online learning environment and a support structure that builds staff capabilities in using online technology to engage students in effective collaborative and meaningful real world activities.published_or_final_versio

Study of affordances of iPads and teacher's private theories

Post-PC TouchPad mobile devices are increasingly being used in educational contexts. Growing investment isplanned by higher education institutions in Hong Kong and by the HKSAR Education Bureau in relation to educational uses ofTouchPad technology. However, current research intoeducational applications of this technology is limited. This paper reports an ongoing qualitative study that investigates how higher education teachers use iPad technology to facilitate their practice. The emergent study results provide insight intoboth the educational affordances of iPad technology and theways in which teachers’ personal or private theories mediate these affordances and transform through the process. The studyoutcomes will contribute to theoretical understanding of higher education teacher changes through adoption of technology. Furthermore, the outcomes will provide a set of recommendations for applications of TouchPad technology inhigher education and ways to support teachers to effectively adopt such technology in their practices.published_or_final_versio

Course management systems in higher education: understanding student experiences

The course management system, as an evolving tool and innovation, is increasingly used to promote the quality, efficiency and flexibility of teaching and learning in higher education. However, the ways that course management systems can support and enhance the quality of teaching and learning needs further investigation. This paper describes findings of an exploratory study into undergraduate and postgraduate students’ experiences of course management systems, and aims to provide insights into issues concerning the implementation of such systems in higher education. The exploration focuses on the following aspects: perceived usefulness of technologies for study; usage pattern of course management systems; students’ perceptions of course management systems; user support preference; and self-reported experiences. Significant differences between academic levels of students are evident. Findings of the study shed light on issues concerning technology, pedagogy, and implementation strategies of course management systems in higher education.postprin

SARS epidemic: Teachers' experiences using ICTs

In 2003, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS spread rapidly via international air travel from China to many cities across the world, resulting in over 8000 cases of infections and 774 deaths. In Hong Kong, as the virus invaded the community so did fear. The government put in place measures to help the public guard against the virus, one of which was to close all schools and universities. 1302 schools were closed. 1,000,000 children stayed at home and 50,600 teachers were faced with the challenge of using digital technology to provide an education that would reach beyond school walls into the homes and computers of Hong Kong students. Teachers had to re-think their teaching strategies and provide their students with new and different opportunities to work through curriculum requirements. SARS provided a catalyst for intense use of ICT in ways which had not been anticipated or prepared for. The plunge into ICT was a voyage of exciting discovery for some and frustration for others. Either way it had an impact on subsequent perceptions of the potential and shortcomings of ICT in education in Hong Kong. This paper focuses on teachers' perspectives of the role played by digital technology to meet the challenges faced by Hong Kong educators.link_to_OA_fulltex

Technology and teacher practice and change

Technology is seen by many as ‘a silver bullet’ that ensures innovation and change in organisations. This paper explores the conditions for sustainable and transferable change in schools