How Has the Use of ICT Has Enhanced the Quality of Learning - Essay Example

As the business world continues to reel from the effects brought about by technological change, the UK educational community is now experiencing the challenges associated with the transition to a more learner-personalized, ICT-enabled education. Some challenges are technical: How do I turn on the computer? Why is this pointer called a “mouse”? Some questions reflect the search for purpose behind the technology transition: Why do we need to integrate technology into the curriculum? How can technology support learners’ educational experiences? How can technology support a more productive future workforce? The UK is hardly alone in asking these questions. Other countries such as Singapore and the United States have had similar government-led initiatives for investing in hardware, software, connectivity, content, and teacher training. Singapore’s Masterplan for Information Technology (IT) in Education was launched in 1997 with the aim to “continually anticipate the future needs of society and work towards fulfilling those needs” (SeokHoon, 2003, p.283). IT-based teaching and learning was envisioned as a means to “facilitate such development, and open possibilities for designing new curricula and methods of assessment to meet educational objectives” (SeokHoon, 2003, p.283). IT was also seen as a key enabler for “more effective education administration and support for communication and collaboration among schools and the community” (SeokHoon, 2003, p.283). The first Masterplan covered four key “dimesions” in achieving these objectives: (1) curriculum and assessment; (2) learning resources; (3) teacher development; and (4) physical and technological infrastructure (SeokHoon, 2003, p.284). After a five-year investment of two billion Singapore dollars by the Singapore government from 1997 to 2002, and strategic partnering with key industry players for hardware and content development, Singapore’s Masterplan was considered a phenomenal success. A second Masterplan has thus been created with the following goals: (1) Children will use IT for active learning; (2) IT will enhance the connections among curriculum, instruction, and assessment methods; (3) Teachers will use IT effectively for professional and personal growth; (4) Schools will have greater capacity and autonomy in the use of IT for school improvement; (5) An active research program in IT in education will be developed; and (6) A dependable and flexible infrastructure will promote widespread, effective use of multimedia resources (SeokHoon, 2003, p. 286). The United States on the other hand, is gradually experiencing an education system “turnaround”. In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education published its report, titled Nation at Risk. The report detailed the inadequacies in the educational process, specifically in the following areas: content, expectations, time, and teaching. Statistics on student achievement remain a cause for concern. The National Technology Plan 2004: Toward a New Golden Age in American Education, citing a study of the NAEP, states that “over 85 percent of African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans are not proficient in reading in the 4th grade”. In mathematics, “90 percent of African American students are not proficient in mathematics in the 4th grade”. The No Child Left Behind Act is seen as initiating a reversal of these gaps in student achievement, with educational technology playing a strategic role. But while figures for US ICT infrastructure have been improving, data suggests that integration of ICT into learning practices leave more to be desired (The Digital Disconnect: The Widening Gap Between Internet-Savvy Students and Their Schools, 2002). Appropriate teacher training and orientation on ICT-enabled learning needs further attention. While the US Department of Education points out that change is underway in several schools, it is more probable that changes in the education system will more likely occur as a result of changing learner demographics (ICT-immersed learners, with at least 80% of learners aged 12-35 years old using Internet) rather than government mandate (National Technology Plan, 2004, p. 18). In the UK, ICT-enabled education and learning has been a massive government undertaking. ICT in education is expected to “promote personalisation and choice” (DfES Site, http://www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/5yearstrategy/). Despite the sustained investments in infrastructure, leadership development, teacher training, and content development, the UK ICT implementation seems to share disturbingly similar results with the US experience. The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTa), in its Corporate Plan 2004-7 reports: Evidence from inspections, research and elsewhere across all sectors indicates that, while practitioners’ confidence with ICT is growing, its use is far from embedded in their practices. In primary schools, there has been improvement in pupils’ ICT capability but many schools do not exploit the application of ICT across the curriculum. Too often, it is left to individual teachers make the links in the absence of a clear whole-school approach. Similarly, in secondary schools, the past five years have seen an improvement in pupils’ ICT capability, and the teaching, leadership and management of ICT. Resourcing has risen to unprecedented levels and entries for external examinations in ICT have also grown rapidly. However, the use of ICT across subjects has been slow to develop and is uneven across schools and subjects. Few teachers capitalize on learners’ increasing access to ICT outside lessons. In the learning and skills sector there is evidence of high-quality developments within ICT but often this is associated with individual practitioners within institutions: islands of excellence in learning and teaching with ICT have yet to become established across the sector. Few learners are using ICT at home to complement their formal learning. (Corporate Plan 2004-7, p. xx) Based on the Ofsted report ICT in School (2002), the government has officially launched its intent of broad and extensive use of ICT in teaching and learning in the learning institutions that they maintain. The critical component of this program is the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) which furnished them with a wealth of information and learning materials, and a budget for learning institutions through the Standards Fund. In addition, the National Lottery’s New Opportunities Fund (NOF) financially supported a national program of in-service training for teachers and school librarians alike. From the central funds, an annual budget is allocated for the work of RBCs. These agencies were formed in 1999 towards the development of broadband connections to schools via enhanced infrastructure. They differ in the degree to which they are involved in the provision of the content for learning materials for schools – encompassing their own materials development. Some of these agencies have also furnished in-service training, reliant on the local agreements with LEAs. Collaborative programs have launched again in 2003, under the banner program “ICT in Schools’, with continuous funding for schools to buy ICT hardware. Several crucial funding schemes have been implemented consistently. These were highlighted by the following: Laptops for Teachers. It has been projected that about two thirds of teachers will have been engaged in this and associated schemes by 2006. Strategic Leadership in ICT (SLICT). This is a program involving in-service training for senior school staff accorded to them by NCSL, Becta and DfES. An additional 10,000 teachers are pegged to benefit from this program between 2004 and 2006, after the pilot courses for 2,000 staff in 2002 to 2003. Curriculum Online. This is a program focusing on learning materials, where approved software titles are purchased, grouped and made available to teachers through one portal. This was given along with a budget for schools through the Standards Fund. Enhancing subject teaching using ICT. This initiative gave online training materials to teachers in a wide array of subjects in both primary and secondary learning institutions. Continued funding of the RBCs to provide broadband access for schools. The Testbed Project. This represents a detailed assessment in three different areas conducted by Becta, where groups of schools have been upgraded to advanced levels. There has been a notable increase in the DfES budget for ICT in schools since its establishment in April 1998. A total of £510 million has been disbursed from 2002 to 2003, in contrast with the £657 million allocated over the years since 1998. LEAs have been the recipients of the funding, which has been distributed through the Standards Fund. Moreover, the DfES has approved certain grants for different development agencies and software authors to assist in the drafting and authorship of digital resources (Ofsted, 2004). A £230 million fund has been made available from NOF across the United Kingdom from April 1999 until December 2003. (£180 million in England is tantamount to about £450 for each teacher being trained). This was intended to enhance teacher competence of all teachers in ICT usage, within the contexts of teaching and learning. The program has been implemented through distinct learning organizations, with approvals from the NOF and with quality assurances by the TTA of England. There has been direct involvement from the LEAs, with more than 75% having their own training accreditation or were recipients of direct funding for assisting providers. A straightforward funding of £20 million was given to them to support the program. Finally, in England, approximately 96% of qualified teachers enlisted in the program, and this exceed the projected percentage. As each school is unique, each institution may be expected to respond to the changes and challenges brought about by ICT in different ways. The variations in each institution’s response determines the impact of ICT in each institution. This paper seeks to document the changes, challenges, responses, and effects brought about by ICT integration to students, teachers, support staff, and administrators of Elfed High School. Method The researcher will first undertake a comprehensive review of related literature to provide a good background for the research topic. In general, the goal of the research is to have a closer look at how ICT may improve the quality of teaching and learning at Key Stage 3. Given these, the implications for Elfed shall be put forth. The following are the specific objectives of the research: To gather comprehensive Information on ICT progress in educational settings from key government agencies, including Becta, Ofsted, and DfES, among others. To study the impact of ICT usage at Key Stage 3 determining the key issues involved in ICT provision within the school. To understand the present challenges associated with ICT education and enable the enhancement of the planning and implementation of ICT in the school by highlighting the progress, strengths, issues and challenges involved in ICT provision at the High School. Method The emphasis of this research is to study the implications of ICT in teaching and learning at Key Stage 3 with Elfed Highschool. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative approaches shall be used to make the results more valid. The qualitative style of approach will lend more flexibility within the study, to take account of the perceptions of both teachers and students on the impact of ICT on the school’s curriculum and instruction, and to pedagogy in general. On the other hand, there are also some considerations in adopting a quantitative data gathering technique through the use of survey questionnaires. The choice of the research methods has been made based on the purpose of this study. This is to gain an in-depth understanding of one particular school. The researcher will proceed with the intend of gathering a representative sample from the school to yield theit real sentiments. The study may also be considered to utilize a “case” because it will be focusing on only the experience and issues of one school. The focus of the case study will be the ICT experience of the High School, whilst employing data gathering techniques such as the survey questionnaire and the interview for gathering primary data. The case study is particularly relevant when looking at an individual school. It gives, initially, an illustration of the establishment having interest, relevance and a sense of reality, although it can be interpretive and subjective (Cohen and Manion 1989). The Moreover, the case study is appropriate to the individual researcher because they can have the opportunity to study in depth one aspect of a problem while working within a time scale, (Nisbet and Watt 1984). 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