ELABORACIÓN DE PLANOS AS-BUILT UNIDAD: Metro (m)

Authentic change occurs when a teacher‘s or school‘s belief systems and core values concerning

teaching and learning are modified. In order for authentic change to occur, teachers need the

opportunity to learn new information, time to experiment with the new concept, and the opportunity to evaluate its effectiveness (Levy and Murnane, 2004; Richardson, 2003).

If the introduction of ICT in primary schools is to be successful, both initial and in-service teacher education (in addition to providing the necessary ICT related skills and theoretical knowledge), must focus on the teachers themselves, adapt ICT courses to teachers' professional needs, provide them with suitable experiences and paradigms, make them understand the usefulness of the new

technologies for teaching and learning, and take into account their existing attitudes and perceptions (Lawson and Comber 1999; Cox et al, 1999a, 1999b).

By adopting this point of view, we can try to elucidate these perceptions and the attitudes of teachers concerning the introduction and employment of ICT in primary education and aim to contribute to the better planning and implementation of the Government's ICT training initiative as well as to provide insights for any other further training attempt.

Pre-service primary teachers learn technology integration strategies by working with and observing primary school teachers and students in the classroom. Abbott and Faris (2000) and Goldberg and Sherwood (1983) analysed pre-and post-course surveys of trainee elementary teachers enrolled in undergraduate courses who were required to undertake a number of ICT-based activities reflecting their learning with computers. (Abbott and Faris, 2000, p155). The surveys indicated that pre-service teachers had a more positive attitude toward computers after the course which the authors attributed to five consecutive fifty-minute technology modules given at the beginning of the semester, and to frequent use of technology in the completion of activities and assignments throughout the course.

Their findings imply the value of the following strategies for preparing new teachers to integrate technology for student learning:

 Technology applications should be integrated into pre-service teacher assignments and activities.

 Site-based practicum in an elementary school provides pre-service elementary teachers with experience using technology with students.

 Pre-service teachers benefit from learning in small groups of 8 to 12.

 Fifty-minute modules for technology instruction in a computer lab with a video projector addresses oral, visual, and kinaesthetic learning styles and enables the instructor to quickly respond to student needs.

 Proactive instructor support with pre-service teachers reflects commitment and a collegial relationship among faculty and students.

 Elements of the course that were problematic (e-mail connectivity issues and level of English proficiency among elementary school students) prepared pre-service teachers to acknowledge that "learning with technology is messy" (Abbott and Faris, 2000 p.159).

The idea of some form of guidance is essential for successful innovation of technology according to Zhao et al (2002) whose study identified eleven factors that could be divided among 3 interactive domains (context, innovation, teacher) for understanding the dynamics of successful technology integration within classrooms. The findings demonstrated that human infrastructure is an essential component of the context that can greatly affect the likelihood of success for a technology

innovation. According to the authors,

…one aspect of the human infrastructure did stand out even in innovations that didn't

experience problems. This aspect is the presence of what we call a "translator," a person who can help the teacher understand and use technologies for his or her own classroom needs (Zhao et al., 2002 p27).

In addition to 'translators,' and a flexible, responsive technical staff, teachers need a supportive and informed administrative staff. Included in the supportive environment are institutionalized policies and procedures for staff and students related to hardware and software purchases, professional development, and access to computers and the Internet.

Observation of teachers in different school districts can be instructive. In the Tupelo Mississippi School District in the USA, teachers are encouraged to travel to other districts to gain new ideas about classroom practice. A teacher can recommend that a practice be adopted by the Tupelo District

and "the district will pay for the changes in that teacher's classroom." (Bruder, 1992, pp26-27, quoted in OTA, 1995, p81). The travel and implementation policy is explained by the Tupelo school

superintendent:

You can't tell people how to do things; they have to experience it, and it has to make sense to

them. So we provide [money] for any teacher in the district to go anywhere in America…to observe cutting edge educational practices. …We don't require that they return to the district

and change anything, but what's happening is that they are seeing other, new ways of teaching (Bruder, 1992, pp26-27, quoted in OTA, 1995, p81).

Teachers also raise the issue of resources. They believe that the mere existence of ICT in a small minority of public primary schools creates inequity problems. In addition, teachers agree that the absence of ICT from the majority of households engenders this inequality. Furthermore, literature suggests that limited resources are a great impediment to the successful utilisation of ICT for

teaching and learning. This lack of computers seriously limited what teachers and pupils could do in the classroom, which in turn resulted in lack of sufficient ICT experiences for both teachers and pupils (Rosen and Weil, 1995; Dupagne and Krendl, 1992; Hadley and Sheingold, 1993; Winnans and Brown, 1992). Case studies reflecting successful ICT exploitation for educational purposes have shown that it is more than necessary for schools to be provided with excellent facilities, technical support, and financial resources (Youngman and Harrison, 1998; Persichitte and Bauer, 1996). Therefore, the lack of sufficient computers in many primary schools seems to be wisely depicted as another vital problem, which must be dealt with before any other decision is taken.

By looking at how the individuals approached ICT diffusion, we can try to identify any patterns

between the teachers in this study‘s cohort, but in the introduction of any new initiative, the whole

field of innovation and change needs to be considered; we need to understand not just the needs of the individuals but also their organizations and their ability to change. The work of such writers as Stacey (2000), Brown and Eisenhardt (1998), Senge (1992) and Pascale, 1990 give useful insights as to how to transfer ideas of what works in industry to what could work in education.

In terms of the different aspects of the change process, Fullan‘s work, (eg, 2000 a and b; 1992b;

1991), is particularly valuable, as, in addition to a breadth of research into all aspects of educational change, it was the main body of literature which drew extensively on the ideas developed in the context of business, and considered what the implication was for education.

Many approaches have been drafted to facilitate the integration of ICT into teaching (Beyerbach et al, 2001; Gillingham and Topper, 1999; Howland and Wedman, 2004; Johnson-Gentile et al, 2000; Pierson and McNeil, 2000; Seels et al, 2003; Strudler et al, 2003; Thompson et al, 2003; Wright et al, 2002). Ellsworth (2000), draws together some of these in order to present a more coherent ―road

map‖ picture to the literature on change viewed from multiple perspectives. In his work, he uses an

overview of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) (Hord et al, 1987), which put forward detailed models of the change process from the point of view of both users and managers, set in a school focused context. In addition to this, the work of Rogers (1995) who studied the characteristics by which change is implemented was considered, as was that of Zaltman and Duncan (1977) and their work on resistance to change, the stages of the change process presented by Havelock and

Zlotoslov (1995) and the conditions which facilitate the implementation of educational technology (Ely, 1990).

Teacher change is defined as a highly personal process accomplished by the individual through

experiences, emotions, cognitions, and behaviours over a period of time which transform a teacher‘s

values and beliefs (Treacy et al, 2002; Prochaska et al, 1993). This process of change assumes the teacher recognizes a need, makes plans to improve, engages in the improvement, and allows time to evaluate the effectiveness of the new practices.

Finally, according to the research findings, the majority of the teachers realize the potential and the importance of ICT for teaching and learning, although they lack the necessary knowledge. At the same time, they do not believe that ICT will downgrade or restrain their role within schools. This is contrary to the results of earlier studies, where teachers--lacking the necessary skills--appear to have little understanding of their role within "ICT schools" as well as of the range of the uses of ICT in school (Williams et al, 2000; Stevenson, 1997a and 1997b; McKinsey and Company, 1997; Bikos, 1995; Dunn and Ridgway, 1994). Thus, taking into account their existing attitudes and perceptions (Cox et al, 1999a, 1999b), ICT training must now provide them with the suitable practical

experiences and paradigms, to make them fully understand the new role that they are called upon to play in the classroom and within the learning process, as well as the great variety of the possible uses of new technologies for teaching and learning (Lawson and Comber, 1999).

However, a recent research project concerning the ICT training that takes place in teacher training establishments showed that ICT courses still persist on the development of student-teachers' basic

technical skills, while at the same time they seem to overlook the educational aspects of the use of ICT in the classroom (Kiridis et al, 2006). It is noteworthy that only a minimal number of studies regarding teachers' ICT training needs have been carried out in UK. Thus, the initial and in-service ICT training that is offered so far to English teachers largely ignores their attitudes towards the use of ICT for educational purposes, perhaps jeopardising the whole premise for authentic change in the classroom.