ICTs in Education: An Evaluation of the
Dublin Inner City Schools’ Computerization
(DISC) Project (from a Cultural Historical
Activity Theory (CHAT) perspective
Elizabeth Quinn BA, MA, MSc, MPhil, MBPsS
Trinity College Dublin, IRELAND
This Thesis completed at Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, IRELAND, 2012
4th Congress of the International Society for Cultural and
Activity Research
Inventing the Future
Sydney, Australia. 29 September to 3th October 2014
What is DISC?
2
Aims and Objectives of DISC
Aim:
• to integrate use of innovative technology in
schools
Objectives:
• To help teachers meet the ICT requirements of
the Primary School Curriculum and Secondary
School Curriculum
• provide an added dimension to the use of ICT
in secondary schools
3
Purpose of this Research
Evaluate the effectiveness of DISC
– Were objectives met?
– Should MLE be rolled out?
– Suggestions for future?
Why evaluate?
– Varied levels of commitment and use of ICT
– Was technology used innovatively?
– Curriculum implemented using ICT?
– Teacher training/skills - underdeveloped
4
Theoretical Framework
Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT)
(Source: Engeström 1987, p. 78)
(Engestrom (1987)
5
Why use Cultural Historical Activity
Theory?
• “Theoretical lens and analytical tool”(Barab, 2004, p. 30)
• “seeks to analyse development within practical
social activities”
• Activity: Central to AT
Focuses on “practice of group of users” rather
than individuals
• Encourages use of variety of research methods
(Sannino, Daniels and Gutierrez 2009, p. 1)
•
(Bodker 1989, p.173)
6
Questions for Researchers to ask
7
Activity
Evaluation of:
The use of ICT in 38 primary and secondary
schools in the Dublin Inner City Schools
Computerization project
8
Subjects
• DISC staff
• 38 schools in disadvantaged areas (primary
and secondary)
• Teaching staff
•
•
•
•
Principals
ICT coordinators
IT postholders
Teachers
Primary School pupils – aged 4-12
Secondary School pupils – aged 12-18
9
Tools
• ICT AND LNI PROJECTS
– PCs, Laptops, whiteboards
• ICT PROJECTS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lego technology
Mp3 players/recorders
Animation software
Video making/Multimedia (Photostory and Powerpoint)
Games Development (Game Maker)
Podcasting
3-D (Sketch up)
• MLE/LNI PROJECT
– LNI platform
10
Division of Labour
DISC
Students
ICT coordinators
School
Teachers
11
Rules and Regulations
12
Community
DISC
Principals/
Board
Students
Teachers
ICT coordinators
13
Methods Used:
1. Questionnaires:
– 152 Questionnaires to 38 schools – 72 returned (46.6%)
• Funder/DISC requirement
• Compare with interviews
2. Case Study approach – 6 schools (varied commitment/3xMLE)
• Different views
– Interviews (20):
• Semi-structured – same questions
– Focus groups:
• 3 school classes (age 9, 11, 15) – 2 x Primary, 1 x Secondary
• Get student views
– Classroom observations :
• 3 class groups at primary level (age 4/5, age 9, age 11)
• ICT in action
14
Questionnaires
Case Study approach
Interviews
(20)
teachers/DISC
Focus Groups
(3) - age 9, 11,
15))
Classroom
Observations
(3 class groups)
15
Findings– main issues
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Teacher motivation/beliefs
Teacher Training
Influence of Principal and School Policies
Technical support/hardware replacement
ICT coordinator role
Students’ interaction
Government policy/administration
DISC staff support/DISC objectives
MLE pilot
16
1. Teacher motivation/beliefs
‘Making a difference’ “Our mission in the school is to
equip these kids to go out and make something of their
lives”
(Principal, PP 2)
Focus on ‘pupil engagement’
Little research on ‘outcomes’ + ‘disadvantage’ (Blackmore,
Hardcastle & Bamblett, 2003)
Some teachers using ICT innovatively BUT
Whiteboard as ‘glorified blackboard’
(Karasavvidis 2009)
Teacher age/ICT experience not major factor
Traditional/constructivist approach?
Policy can influence teacher change
(Hermans et al. 2008)
(Drent & Meelissen, 2008)
17
2. Teacher Training
Key issue (Meisalo 2010)
Too focused on skills (
Lack of training -pedagogical use of ICT
Hew and Brush , 2007 in Vanderlinde and van Braak, 2010, p. 545)
53% did not receive ICT training pre-service
72% - ICT did not prepare for teaching
81% - some ICT training – post (mostly DISC)
should be subject specific (OECD - Enocchsson, 2010)
“They really want to integrate IT into teacher training to
be part of the daily life. I think continuous teacher
training – like I think in any job... You don’t qualify,
graduate, and that’s it, that’s your education cap in. Like
that day is gone” [Interview, T2, Ps 3]
18
3. Principal/School Policy influence
Teachers – Principal’s attitude crucial
“If the Principal isn’t in favour, you can forget it”(ICT
coord, PS3)
School ICT Policy/DES support
“the Department always expected us to have plans and they
didn’t have a plan” …were giving money willy nilly” (Principal, PP 1)
“fractured delivery of digital technologies” (Marshall and Anderson, 2008, p. 474)
Driving change -teacher co-operation
(Vanderlinde
et al 2009;
Vanderlinde and van Braak 2010)
“We are expecting everybody to try and engage with some kind
of project once in the year” (Principal, PP2)
“…a lot of it depends on teachers’ own personal interests” (Principal,
PS2)
19
4. Technical support/hardware
• Lack of Technical Support the major issue
– Resources don’t include it
– Other jurisdictions provide it • NI (C2K)
• Flemish schools (DOE 2002)
• Contradictory – adequate/not enough
• “Department certainly has never really supported IT”
(Principal, P1)
• Inequality between disadvantaged schools –
funding/resources access differed - PRINCIPAL
20
5. ICT co-ordinator role
• Reduced to technicians – not qualified
“I was never trained for that…we don’t know what
we are doing” (ICT coord, P4)
– Pedagogical role/teacher support more appropriate
(Vanderlinde et al 2009; Lai and Pratt 2004)
• ICT role – takes too much time
• Curriculum requirements – overwhelming
“the curriculum is so overloaded already that you
don’t want any more” (Teacher, P4)
21
6. Students’ interaction - DISC/ICT
Enjoyment of technology – social aspect?
Graham Nuthall (Brophy, 2006, p.529)– interaction/aimless
discourse ˃ cognitive learning experiences
Students don’t identify with DISC programme
Absenteeism NOT improved (43% teachers) –
stated DISC objective!
Fuchs & Woesmann, 2004 – mere availability of ICT a distraction from learning
Hepp et al 2004 ;Merrienboer and Brand-Gruwel, 2005 – ICT may motivate
22
7. Government Policy
Perceived lack of interest/support/planning-DES
“get the DES and NCTE to really see that IT is
hugely, massively in schools at the moment.
Like everything goes through ICT” (ICT coord, P4)
Curriculum Relevant Material?
Policy-other countries? (Ottestad, 2010)
-
heavy investment not translating into practice
23
8. DISC support
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
ICT Projects Coordinator widely praised
DISC programme – saving school money (ICT coord)
Schools concerned about DISC terminating
Timing of projects – limited by school year
Schools - admit they have not engaged enough
Schools engaged with other projects/orgs
DISC emphasis on Primary sector perceived
24
Interface
9. MLE– main issues
– difficult to navigate (DB*), Passwords issue
– Confusing terminology – DB, NewsDesk, Forum
Content
– NewsDesk – very useful + enjoyed
– Not Curriculum-relevant - stated objective
– Social and collaborative aspect – THE TRIP
– Research enjoyable – all ages
Technical difficulties – broadband/access
Teachers - lack of collaboration/motivation
25
Were objectives met?
• DISC, Teachers, students – different objectives
• Original objectives
• not readily identifiable
• DISC staff – unclear
• Curriculum implementation – no clear targets
– ICT use – for its own sake?
• Why not?
– DISC staff – lack of engagement by teachers
– Teachers - curriculum/time/resources
– Major issues outside DISC control – DES
26
Research findings - Overall
1. Lack of Co-ordination – all levels
–
–
–
–
Infrastructure
Equipment
Training
Plans
2. Lack of Vision and Planning
– Haphazard provision of equipment and money
– No plan
27
Reflection on Research Process
• Terms of Reference – extensive (influenced design)
• Business emphasis (versus academic)
– Influenced Methods used
– Writing style
•
•
•
•
Integrating Activity Theory
Timeline
Being ‘embedded’ – boundary difficulties
HP + DISC termination– deskspace
28
Reflections on Research Process (2)
• Parents’ views
• Student usability
• Policymakers/teacher training
colleges
• Teachers or student focus
• Activity Theory – more central
29
30
Recommendations for future
1. DISC staff – full-time
2. ICT Policy - all schools
3. Teacher training –small groups/subject specific
4. Technical support services
5. Reduce number of schools
6. Primary emphasis only
7. Redesign LNI format/interface
8. Facilitate school groups for support
9. Forum for ICT Co-ordinators
10. MLE for Teachers
31
Thank you for your attention
Any Questions?
Elizabeth Quinn
DIT
quinneliz@gmail.com
32
Abbreviations
AT
CHAT
CLiC
DES
DISC
DIT
DOE
HP
ICT
ISO
LNI
MLE
NI
OECD
ROI
SDT
VLE
Activity Theory
Cultural Historical Activity Theory
Computers in Learning Communities
Department of Education and Skills (Republic of Ireland)
Dublin Inner-City Schools Computerization
Dublin Institute of Technology
Department of Education (Finland)
Hewlett Packard
Information and Communication Technology
International Standards Organization
LearningNI (Learning Northern Ireland)
Managed Learning Environment
Northern Ireland
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Republic of Ireland
Special Duties Teacher
Virtual Learning Environment
AT frameworks applied to ICT research
 designing learning environments (Jonassen & Rahrer-Murphy,
1999)
 e-learning content (Mwanza & Engestrom, 2005)
 Evaluating impact of digital technologies in an Australian
Primary School (Romeo & Walker, 2002)
 Evaluating ICT in Singapore Schools (Lim&Hang, 2003)
 UK Higher Education (Issrof &Scanlon, 2002)
 ICT-based research projects (Bottino, Chiappini, Forcheri,
 & Molfino, 1999)
 use of PDA’s (Scanlon, Jones, & Waycott, 2005)
 interpretation of graphs by scientists (Roth & Lee, 2004).
Source: Stevenson, 2008
34
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Additional References
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Questions for Researchers to ask
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