Portfolio task 3 – ICT and Primary Education.

A comparison between ‘Does ICT contribute to powerful learning environments in primary education.’ (E Smeets. 2005) and ‘The ambiguous Embrace; twenty years of IT in schools.’ ( J Robertson. 2002)

SMEETS – SUMMARY

Smeets undertook a study in the Netherlands to establish whether ICT contributes to powerful learning environments on primary education. His report, Does ICT contribute to powerful learning environments in primary education, 2005, details his results and conclusion.
Smeets’ research was done through the use of a questionnaire on teachers’ views.

Smeets identifies a powerful learning environment to be where the curriculum is adapted to the needs and capabilities of the individual pupils within it. This study examines the contribution of ICT to PLE’s. Four main characteristics of a powerful learning environment are identified by Smeets:

1. Rich context and tasks that are as authentic as possible to present links to the world outside school.
2. Active and independent learning being stimulated.
3. Co-operative learning being stimulated.
4. The curriculum being adapted to the needs and capabilities of the individual pupils (differentiation.)

Smeets identified that ICT can contribute to PLE’s in a number of ways;
ICT…

1. Can make complex processes easier.
2. Provides an abundance of information at the fingertips from a multitude of perspectives (much like in the outside world.) i.e. internet
3. Can be used to foster cooperative learning and reflection.
4. Can serve as a tool to differentiate the curriculum.

His study also revealed that:

1. There are two main types of software available – skill based and open ended. Both are useful, but open ended software may help learners build their knowledge, whereas drill and practice ones will simply enhance skills.
2. Number of computers, access to, and placement of them can all have an impact on learning.
3. The teachers skills in ICT may play a role also.
4. Teaching views on pedagogy may influence type of ICT used.

Smeets concluded that most teachers in his study valued the potential contribution of ICT to PLE’s. However, the overall use of ICT in general was disappointing. The study revealed that the emphasis of its use was still predominantly skill based.

Smeets further concluded that only a minority of teachers were using open-ended applications in schools and that most of the emphasis on ICT, with respect to differentiation, was on remediation tasks.

In addition, it revealed that, most teachers did not make use of the potential of ICT to contribute to PLE’s, rather it was used as a complement to existing pedagogic practice.


ROBERTSON – SUMMARY

Robertson's article outlines the state of ICT in primary schools at the end of the twentieth century from an analysis of research studies conducted through the 1980s and 90s.
He states that inspection reports clearly identify the use of ICT in such schools as the weakest aspect of professional practice, therefore he identifies that ICT still remains a marginal force in the education of 5-12 year olds in Britain. Robertson argues, that despite research having identified the conditions that make effective transfer of ICT into primary schools, this is still not happening and teachers within the primary education sector have failed to embraced ICT within the core of their practice.

In his article, Roberston suggests reasons as to why this is. Robertson found that past research showed the effective transfer of ICT into schools had been problematic due to the adoption of rational approaches for its transfer – He stated that schools are not a rational environment, where change can be predicted, had they been, we would see ICT being used in all lessons to create a PLE. However, Robertson identifies that this is not the case and states that educational change is irrational; therefore one simply cannot just identify the conditions that make effective ICT transfer, rather that this needs to be adapted to each individual school and teacher.

There are a number of similarities and differences to these two articles that discuss ICT and the primary school.

Differences:

There are slight differences in the articles that each of these researchers has conducted. It may be worthwhile to note that Smeets article was written three years after than Robertsons; and although these are only a few years difference, a change in the technologies seen in schools may have been evident during this brief period. However, I think it is more important to note that Smeets also conducted his research in the Netherlands rather than in England and Scotland as Robertson did. The education systems are two very different ones, and I think that there may be cultural differences within the different schools that may mean the results of the studies can not be compared directly.

Similarities:

Both Robertson and Smeets agree that ICT is not being used to its full potential within the primary school. Both of the researchers also believe that interaction with ICT and ICT being taught through active learning/in a constructivist environment is a beneficial and positive move towards improving it in the classroom and curriculum.

The views and pedagogical principles of teachers appear to be a crucial element in the improvement of ICT in the primary classroom in both articles. The passive, drill and practice exercises used throughout the schools are not effective ICT tools to create PLE’s. For ICT to be effective, it needs to be used in lively, engaging, interactive way. In Smeets’ article, he found that the use of ICT generally followed this old fashioned traditional approach, and Robertsons’ research found that ICT in the twentieth century was generally in line with behaviourist learning theories.

Lastly, it is clear from both of these articles that the training of teachers in the effective use of ICT is paramount when it comes to ensuring ICT is used to its maximum potential within primary schools. Both articles give rise to the idea that without a positive outlook on ICT in school, the relevant skills and a constructivist approach, teachers are unlikely to put ICT into practice in the classroom in a way that will ensure a PLE is achieved. My experience in schools on placement has shown me, that a school can have ICT resources in abundance, but without the right teacher to use them, they are wasted. In my first school, I was amazed at the facilities that simply weren’t being used. Perhaps, the change will only occur, and ICT will only become utilised to its full potential when the next generation of teachers emerges into primary school; those that have been brought up in a world of ICT and approach it in a constructivist way. If this is the case, then perhaps the training of these new teachers should incorporate more ICT to accommodate the changes.

References
Robertson, J., (2002) The ambiguous embrace; Twenty years of IT (ICT) in schools. BJET, 33(4) 411-421.
Smeets, E., (2005) Does ICT contribute to powerful learning environments in primary education? Computers and Education, 44, 342-355