Gee there is a lot of information on the internet related to ICT policy! Here are some snippets you might find of interest
Since 1983 in the US there has been numerous policies relating to education technology. At the heart of all these documents runs three key themes: Technology is a tool for addressing challenges in teaching and learning, technology is a change agent to trigger changes in teaching and the learning environment and (most recently) technology as means of increasing global competitiveness (familiar?). What is most interesting is the identification of a widening gap in the promise and the potential of the technologies and the way technologies are used in the educational setting. Researchers favour technology use in student-centred inquiry, collaboration and so forth; whilst teachers are largely using presentation software and student-based resources from the internet, with a few introducing technology-rich, student-inquiry teaching strategies into their repertoire.
The ICT test bed project in the UK Evaluation of the ICT test bed project investigated the impact of high levels of ICT in schools with low socio-economic disadvantage, mainly primary schools, some secondary schools and some further education colleges to provide information to policy makers. The key findings of the learning and teaching strand indicate high levels of improved performance at key stage 2 only, GCSE grades didn’t look too good! (but there was a small sample size at this level; let’s not forget that this is a pen-and-paper test!). Researchers did see an increase in effective use of presentation technologies and a greater interaction in the classroom. Researchers also report the effective use of ICT in personalising learning (as you know there is an emphasis on this in the UK) enabling self-directed and differentiated learning. Of interest also is the use of ICT in assessment and reporting.
Closer to home in Australia, the Journal of Australian Council for Computers in Education, published a position paper on media-rich learning communities with recommendations for policy makers. There is an overview of the learning trends of students in the framework of ‘the futures triangle’, an interesting lens through which to communicate a vision. There follows a scenario which outlines the key elements of effective media-rich communities, then recommendations for national innovation. What may be of more interest are the articles that follow: ‘Learning languages in partnership with ICT’, ‘The interactive whiteboard in an early years classroom: a case study in the impact of a new technology on pedagogy’ and ‘ICT-mediated science inquiry: the remote access microscopy project’.
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