In their executive summary on the impact of ICT in education in Europe, Balanskat et al. (2006) reported that the use of ICT in education and training has been a priority in most European countries during the last decade, but progress has been uneven. A small percentage of schools in some countries have embedded ICT into the curriculum and demonstrate high levels of effective and appropriate ICT use to support and transform teaching and learning across a wide range of subject areas. Most schools in most countries, however, are in the early phase of ICT adoption, characterized by patchy uncoordinated provision and use, some enhancement of the learning process, some development of e-learning, but no profound improvements in learning and teaching (Balanskat et al. 2006). This report summarised the main findings from European case studies, international and European comparisons and evaluation of specific national interventions, evaluations of national ICT programmes or initiatives according to the following considerations: impact of ICT on subjects, attainment levels, resources, investment and infrastructure.
Although not peer-reviewed, the report further provided a thorough analysis of the impact of ICT on learners, teachers, and parents and so on. In particular, it covered a literature analysis of review studies that were conducted by various researchers in the UK and OECD: Underwood (2006), Ramboll Management (2006), Higgins (2005), Harrison (2002), Becta (2006), and OECD (2004).
4.15.1 Research on Impact of ICT to Learning Outcomes
The Becta (2006) ICT Impact Report (European Schoolnet, Balanskat et al. 2006) has provided both quantitative and qualitative studies for the impact of ICT on learning outcomes. The main findings showed a statistically significant positive association between ICT and higher achievement in national tests. In particular, PISA tests showed a link between performance in maths and use of computers and use of interactive whiteboards improved the performance of low achieving students in English (Harrison 2002, OECD 2004, Underwood 2005, Higgins 2005 and Machin 2006).
In addition, studies provided qualitative evidence that ICT can impact on learning outcomes based on opinions and perceptions of teachers, students and parents. According to Balanskat et al. (2004) pupils, teachers and parents considered that ICT had a positive impact on pupils‘ learning. Kessel (2005) argued that teachers were becoming more and more convinced that the educational achievements of pupils improved through the use of ICT, for example a study by Ramboll Management (2006) provided evidence that pupils‘ subject-related performance and basic skills (calculation, reading and writing) improved with the use of ICT in Nordic countries. The findings also supported the view that both high as well as low-achieving students benefited from ICT innovation.
It should be noted that all the studies showed that ICT has ‗secondary‘ impacts on the learners. These findings are presented below and the source is acknowledged.
A very high percentage (86%) of teachers in Europe stated that pupils were more motivated and attentive when they were exposed to computers and the Internet in class. However, in some countries there were a substantial number of teachers, who denied that there was much of a pedagogical advantage of computer use in class (Empirica 2006). This last point was also supported in a study by Law (2006), where the study focused on the challenges of ICT learning that are underpinned by its pedagogical rather than its technical nature. It was also found that ICT caters for greater differentiation (especially in primary schools), with programs tailored to individual pupils‘ needs (Ramboll Management 2006).
ICT has a strong motivational effect and positive effects on behaviour, communication and process skills and teamwork. These findings were also supported by Lopez (2006) and Kessel (2005). Furthermore, ICT offers assignments better suited to their individual needs and makes it easier to organize their own learning through the use of, for example, digital portfolios (Balanskat et al. 2004).
Multimedia and interactive content on interactive whiteboards is engaging and motivating, particularly for primary students and students pay more attention during lessons. Moreover, students assumed greater responsibility for their own learning when they used ICT, working more independently and effectively (Higgins 2005).
A view that was expressed for teachers was that they considered pupils worked more in cohesion with their own learning styles, resulting in a favourable impact on both academically strong and weak students. A worthwhile observation was that students with special needs, or behavioural difficulties, gained in different ways from the use of ICT. ICT use in schools was a factor that helped minimise the social divide by smoothing out the digital divide (Ramboll Management, 2006).
The impact of ICT was also investigated by the Scottish Executive Education Department. The he report indicated that attitudes to ICT were in the main, positive, but there were reservations about the benefits in the classroom overall. The problems and concerns, like professional development for teachers, support for ICT and inconsistencies across platforms and applications were also reported. The students‘ performance levels did not show a significant change and there were ‗skills gaps‘ amongst the students. One of the main arguments was the positioning of ICT in the curriculum- should it be a single subject/unit in its own right, or as a means to learning within other subjects and contexts (Condie et al. (2002)? It is also relevant to mention here that this question was addressed by many other researchers including those from Australia (Baskin et al. 2006). I will take up this point in my case studies to explore
how an early adopter57 (Concord School) and a late adopter (Macedon Ranges Special
School), according to Rogers (1995), introduced ICT in the curriculum (Bates 2007).
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4.15.2 The Impact of ICT on Teachers and Teaching
There is considerable evidence of the impact of ICT on teachers and teaching, not all positive. The sections below examine the trends and views of teachers and the impact of ICT to learning for LD students in Australia, the UK and some other parts of the world.
In the UK, studies have demonstrated that teachers gain a positive attitude towards ICT through government interventions, and training programmes. These have led to a
‗routine‘ use of embedded ICT (Ramboll Management2005 and Higgins 2005). On the
other hand, an overwhelming majority of teachers in Europe (90%) use ICT in their lesson preparation (Empirica 2006). According to Higgins and Harrison, teachers use ICT to plan lessons more efficiently and more effectively due to a more collaborative approach and the sharing of curriculum plans with colleagues and managers (Higgins
2005 and Harrison2002).
Several studies have concentrated on the effective exploitation of Information Management Systems (Lytras 2005). This leads to increased and formalised cooperative planning between teachers, which results in a positive impact on teaching practices (Underwood 2006). However, there is not a positive view or picture about the use of Learning Management Systems or Virtual Learning Environments. It was considered that there was potential to use these in a more significant way, rather than the manner in which they were used, namely, predominantly for administrative purposes (Kessel 2005, Underwood 2005 and Ramboll Management 2006). The embedded ICT approach over a longer period of time resulted in increased use of ICT by teachers and subsequently, increased their confidence to a significant extent (Ramboll-Management 2006, Underwood 2005).
Research into specific ICT uses, indicated that the supply of laptop computers to teachers generated a positive attitude towards their work. Furthermore, with structured approaches for Internet research, students develop search and research skills that are transferable across the curriculum (Becta 2006). In terms of the infrastructure, Broadband is a major factor in increasing collaboration between teachers. Given a reliable and high-capacity broadband in the classroom, there is an increase in the quality
and quantity of educational activities that can be explored (Underwood 2005). Recent technologies, like interactive whiteboards, make a difference to aspects of classroom interaction (Higgins 2005).
4.15.3 Teachers‟ Competencies and General use of ICT
The most significant results from several studies in the UK arrived at the following conclusions:
National competence development programs have had limited impact on teachers‘ pedagogical competences. School leaders estimate that the impact of ICT on teaching methods in their school is low (Ramboll Management 2006).
Teachers use ICT to support existing pedagogies and ICT is used most when it fits best with traditional practices ICT can enhance teaching by enhancing what is already practiced or introducing new and better ways of learning and teaching , as for example, e-learning (Underwood 2006). The greatest impact arises when teachers are experienced users and who from the start had already progressed with the integration of ICT in their teaching. Teachers who perceive a highly positive impact of ICT use ICT in the most project-oriented, collaborative and experimental way. It has been reported that teachers‘ basic ICT skills have increased dramatically with a significant proportion of ICT being employed in science, mathematics, computer science and vocational education (Kessel 2005), (Ramboll Management 2006) and Empirica 2006).
The role of the teacher is more dynamic and flexible as he/she tends to become more of an advisor, critical dialogue partner and leader for specific subject domains (or facilitator) when ICT is used in the classroom (ENU 2004).
The impact of ICT is highly dependent on the method that is used. The impact of a specific ICT application or device depends on the capacity of the teacher to exploit it efficiently for pedagogical purposes. In addition, factors beyond the teacher‘s control influence ICT uptake, e.g. institutional cultures, leadership, the curriculum and assessment (Ramboll Management 2006,
Ramboll Management2005).
ICT needs to be exploited further to create learning environments where students are more actively engaged in the creation of knowledge rather than just being passive consumers (Kessel 2005; Ramboll Management 2005, 2006). This is the next step as Web 2.0 technologies and social networking are introduced in teaching and learning in the future (Becta 2008, Leeson 2008).
4.15.4 Summary of Literature Findings on Impact of ICT from the UK & Europe
A summary of the key findings from the UK and European studies is shown in Table 4-3 below.
Table 4-3 : Overview of the main impact areas by study (Source: Becta 2006)