Becta have released an extensive piece of research ‘Educational Change and ICT’ that illustrates the challenges faced by schools in taking strategy to implementation. Given that the Department in the UK(DfES) have made some clear policy directions, this reports highlights the challenges that are faced in implementing such initiatives. Challenges which I would say are not unique to the UK. The Executive Summary highlights in particular, ‘enhancing pedagogy’ as an important aim. However, the research says that such changes are complex, linked with changes in assessment and curriculum, and will take some time to be fully realised.
Another key message from the research was that the successful implementation of the DfES e-strategy ‘involves effective educational change, which is primarily about people rather than technology’ To some extent, I can agree with this, but you cannot divorce the potential of the technology to achieve a signficant change in practice from the practice itself. I think that we need reflective research (this is forward and not backward looking) in the area of the potentiality of technology and how to make this happen at the grassroots level. The work of Futurelab, another UK organisation, provides excellent examples of how technology, when used with students at the forefront of their minds achieves innovative approaches to the use of technology. Check out their showcase.
The report highlights the growing concern that the investment in technology in educational institutions is having little impact in overall outcomes. However, as the report indicates, the effects on the use of technology does depend on how it is used, and in many cases this is poorly and simply replacing what we could do in the past, rather than enhancing the learning experience. This reinforces the concern that Marc Prensky calls the generation gap (the difference between what institutions and students do with technologies). Marc warns that in the future, the ‘generation gap’ will possibly become greater, so there is little time to waste. I agree with Marc’s sense of urgency.
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I also agree with Marc’s and your sense of urgency. I have seen too many technology initiatives falter in transforming the learning experience for our students. However, I am also optimistic that in Web 2.0 is the solution for bringing the generations together…because the purpose of the technology is more readily harnessed to ‘actual’ learning - using tools that digital natives expect for digital fluency.
Web 2.0 is allowing us to move away from ‘technology as tool’ type of training, to technology as way of thinking, reflecting, communicating, collaborating, and multitasking. I have become very optimistic in the changes I have seen take place when teachers drop ‘technology tool’ to adopt ‘web 2.0 networking, collaborating, thinking and learning’. At last I have seen enthusiasm that makes a lasting difference.
Future Lab and others point the way. Web 2.0 drives the shift in thinking. Then we might begin to close that gap - finally.
I’m not as sure as most that Future Labs and others point the way. If the aim is support lifelong learning, isn’t the problem with our educational institutions that they still can’t get past the generational thing?
I’ll suggest that it’s not that it’s a generational gap (the difference between what institutions and students do with technologies) but more the difference between our institutions, which are built for teaching and delivering information, and students (citizens) of all ages who just want to learn and meet their peers.
Web 2.0 strikes me as a necessary step in the change from one way media to interactive media, the only problem is that our institutions, like Future labs or tlf, still want to deliver media, wheras the real problem is figuring out how to deal with (direct) the questions from students after they have watched or read something. And that’s primarily bcause they still measure the wrong stuff. i.e. Thay meaure the things they produce and dont, like Google, measure the demand for their objects.
I can’t disagree with your assertion that too much measurement is about being supply side driven rather than being demand driven. However, I certainly think that Web 2.0 has the potential to enable a ‘read/write’ culture and we are still in the early days of exploring same. That is why we believe that organisations like Futurelab and TLF must push the boundaries of our thinking.
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