A Comprehensive Synthesis of Research into
Information Technology in Education
Niki Davis
International Federation of Information Processing,
leader of research group for education
Iowa State University, Professor & Director, USA
Center for Technology in Learning & Teaching;
Professor of ICT in Institute of Education,
University of London, UK
http://www.ifip**
Comprehensive Synthesis of
Research into ICT in Education
Synthesis of reviews of research of institutionalized
education (school & university, worldwide, 1997-2004)
ICT as:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Necessity for economic competitiveness
Means to increase attainment
Increase access to education
Promotion of change – catalyst
Research on policy, learning, organizational change
•to extend the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to include
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
•Draft Plan of Action objectives for the connection of educational
and community institutions with ICT and “to adapt all primary and
secondary curricula to meet the challenges of the Information
Society, taking into account national circumstances’ (p 2)
•Capacity Building, of ICT literacy and use of ICT to ‘eradicate
illiteracies’ and ‘to empower local communities, especially those in
rural and underserved areas’ (p 5)
3rd World Context
4th World,
too?
ICT in Education
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Complexity now being acknowledged
Reviews & projects often unbalanced
Calls to improve research in ‘What Works’
Digital inequity growing (3rd & 4th world)
Semiotic views of ICT in education reveal power
relationships that are in flux in the Information Society
• Boundaries are blurring
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–
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Media and communications
Communication and production
Distribution and content
Formal education and leisure
1. Necessity for economic competitiveness
•
UNESCO ICT teacher education planning guide
• Complexity requires holistic view
• Not atomized standards & assessment
•
I-Curriculum for Europe (in prep.) specifics 3 dimensions that
build on one another:
1. Operational replicating local IT applications
2. Cultural: embedding IT into processes
3. Critical: critically aware re-engineering with ICT
•
Partnership for 21st Century skills in US (2003, p9)
– “More than core subjects … use knowledge and skills – by thinking
critically”
•
ICT skills better outside educational institutions?
• ‘playable tool’ at home; unsatisfying at school (Downes, 2004)
• concept mapping demonstrates children's mature understanding
(Somekh, 2004)
•
Not generally applied to university education
UNESCO ICT Teacher Education Planning Guide Framework
2. ICT to increase attainment – K12
• Today’s ‘data is not compelling’ (Wood, in prep)
– E.g. IMPACT-2, 2003 UK national study of current practice in schools showed
significant (small) gains in science etc. Also identified important alignment of
student experience at school, home and teacher expertise.
– meta-analysis studies dubious
• Gains possible from specifically designed studies of IT in education:
– CAI, ILS, simulations and other teaching higher order thinking with simulations
calculators, collaborative networked IT …
– Innovative practices difficult to spread (SITES, 2001)
• Teachers not using IT in ways recommended by researchers despite:
– Significant investment in ICT, e.g. 77% of classrooms connected to Internet in US
and 5:1 ratio of students: computers in 2001
• Requires clear learning objectives & ICT with 7 dimensions
– the learner, learning environment, professional competency,
– system capacity, community connections,
– technological capacity and accountability.
2. ICT to increase attainment – HE
ICT Assisted Teaching & Learning study (Boucher et al, 1997)
• Noteworthy for range & diversity
• More impact shown where
– Routine or mechanical skills play an important part (graphic
calculators in engineering)
– Knowledge can be precisely specified with user-base
– Well defined professional base
• Economic measures impossible to isolate in HE became
possible with new ‘virtual’ for profit HE
Key to Factors from Raymond Morel
To ICT in our complex educational
systems
2. ICT to increase access to education
Special educational needs, increasingly wide solutions for
individuals
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Input: voice, switches, touch screen etc.
Output: magnified, Braille, speech etc.
Word processing & other communication tools
Attention management
teacher annotation & integration
Access to remote learners, teachers, content
– UK Open University started trend followed by many other
universities (e.g. UNESCO IITE report, 2000)
– Virtual High Schools in USA, net-courses to follow Australia &
Scandinavia for those with study skills
3. Promotion of
change - catalyst
Constructivist approach
favored by the US research Scenarios informed by theory:
1. ICT augments centralized
community intended to
support inquiry,
control (current, likely to
collaboration or reremain)
configure relationships
2. Control relaxed to engender
continues to be used by only
teachers’ R&D role due to
tiny % of teachers in USA
(Becker, 2001)
uncertainty with ICT (likely
future & major concern)
Hindsight, insight &
3. Radical future with schools as
foresight on ICT in schools
key nodes promoting learning in
used scenarios Europenew communities (unlikely)
wide (Wood, in press):
4. ‘Melt down’ when ICT fails to
deliver (unlikely)
3. Promotion of change K-12 – catalyst contd.
Wood analysed educators’ major concerns as follows:
• Summative assessment
poorly aligned with IT (also
with new research on
learning)
• Required pedagogic
knowledge has been grossly
underestimated
• All educational professionals
implicated: teachers,
administrators, inspectors,
interagency collaboration
etc.
• Public & society remain to be
convinced on IT in education
• Changing actors in content and
services with potential
economies of scale
• Emerging ethical, legal &
validity issues
– Copyright
– Right to see
– Quality and health of networks
3. Promotion of change HE – ICT catalyst contd.
F2F
• Change is slow not
radical
• ICT widespread as a
blend
• Acceptance of lifelong
learning led to biggest
change
• Instructors doing more
without reward
Control
Back to
basics
Individualize Stretching
the mould
CMC
Global
campus
New
economy
Models of IT & Change in Universities (Europe,
Australia & USA by Collis & Wende, 2002)
3. Promotion of change – Commercial catalyst
• ICT content in ICT networked database
• Tutors localize content and assessment
• ICT potential for teachers’ community (not learners)
• Integrated into educational institutions at times
• Leadership development added value
(Selinger, 2004)
+
Caution: Research is Missing!
• 3rd & 4th world issues &
transferability of research
• Future technologies:
ubiquitous, networked,
small, affordable, robust?
• Cornu’s intelligent
communities – hype or
future?
Digital Equity – voices unheard
Anishinabe clan system illustrates
one indigenous people’s way of
seeing the world where all actions
are interconnected in a natural and
spiritual ecology that is reflected in
the tribal social structure under:
Leadership, Learning,
Sustenance, Medicine, Defence
(Resta et al, 2004)
Towards WSIS Objectives
3 Proven Applications
• Teacher education &
communities of practice
• Access for special
educational needs
• Access to content,
teachers & learners
Dammed if you do;
Dammed if you don’t
Unsure
• ICT into primary and
secondary education –
more successful in
informal/vocational
education
• Digital equity requires
change in power
structures with more
voices & values
Bibliography
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