I have been working in a private girls school for the last 4 years. Before that I taught in England for 5 years. Currently, our school is preparing to become a lap top school. We have IWBs in each classroom and two labs with 30 desktop computers each. We also have class sets of laptop computers that can be borrowed for specific lessons. Despite all of these provisions, I feel that the implementation of ICT in my school has been without appropriate pedagogical considerations being communicated to or considered by all teachers. We are provided with the hardware without necessarily understanding the best ways to use it. So, personally, I am very interested in the ways in which programs/blogs/wikis/IWBs/etc...... can be used with the maximum positive impact on learning.
Summarised below are the main thoughts I have about technology integration at my school:
My school has provided many technological resources (class sets of lap tops, labs, digital cameras, IWBs etc) in the lead up to becoming a 'lap top' school in 2009. However, this influx of new hardware has not necessarily been supported by training on how to best use technology to enhance learning. Teachers have been trained on how to use the hardware, but there has not been whole staff discussion on the 'hows' and more importantly (in my opinion) the 'whys' of this technology integration.
The result of this is that some of the technology is being used in a teacher-directed way eg. "copy this down from the IWB". There are opportunities being missed here, but this is not due to teacher indifference. It seems that it is rather due to a lack of pedagogical knowledge and skills.
Each girl at my school is able to do amazing things with a computer and many different applications (Photoshop, I-movie, Comic Life, Powerpoint, Word, Inspiration, Google Earth, Garage Band, I-stop-motion). However, often the girls' knowledge of these different skills is not shared. The possibility for experts teaching their skills to other students remains untapped.
There is little choice about how and when to use technology. It is always set by the teacher eg. "create a powerpoint presentation to explain..."
The use of computers is often for research purposes, rather than for the creation or sharing of information. SO MANY INTERNET SEARCHES!
There are no clear guidelines that I have located or am aware of that give teachers ideas on how to use technology to enhance learning, incorporating areas such as: collaborative learning and enquiry learning.
We are currently completing an online investigation where the girls receive information via the internet and research etc. They are highly motivated and I would love to achieve these high motivation and achievement levels throughout other learning areas and topics. How can I take the elements of on online investigation and enable the students to be excited, motivated, collaborative learners in other scenarios?
Summarised below are the main thoughts I have about technology integration at my school: