Test paper as a tool to assess Academic standards -An analysis

Test paper as a tool to assess Academic standards - An analysis Dr.V.V.SAILAJA PRINCIPAL S.P.M.H.COLLEGE OF EDUCATION MACHILIPATNAM If examinations are necessary, a thorough reform of these is still more necessary -Ra dhakrishnan Commission Evaluation is the chief concern of the teacher, greatest premium of the parents, and the first anxiety of the students. End products of all educative efforts are appraised by evaluation. Evaluation is a global process to assess all changes of physical growth and development, behavioral and academic achievements. Thus, evaluation is the process of assessing the attainment of the pre-determined objectives of the teaching-learning process. So, educational evaluation can be considered as the process of determining the following aspects. (i) The extent how educational objectives are being achieved. (ii) The effectiveness of the teaching-learning experiences provided in the classroom situation Continuous and comprehensive evaluation is an education system introduced by Central Board of Secondary Education in India, for students of sixth to tenth grades and twelfth in some schools. The main aim of CCE is to evaluate every aspect of the child during their presence at the school. This is believed to help reduce the pressure on the child during/before examinations as the student will have to sit for multiple tests throughout the year, of which no test or the syllabus covered will be repeated at the end of the year, whatsoever. The CCE method is claimed to bring enormous changes from the traditional chalk and talk method of teaching provided it is implemented accurately. In CCE, there are two different types of tests. Namely, the formative and the summative. Formative tests will comprise the student's work at class and home, the student's performance in oral tests and quizzes and the quality of the projects or assignments submitted by the child. In both formative and summative evaluations, tests are the common tools. As per RTE act 2009, after introducing CCE in A.P schools, the total education process is now geared towards the achievement of Academic standards. Assessment is also now based on Academic standards. Academic standards Academic standards provide a common set of expectations for what students will know and be able to do at the end of the teaching learning process Evaluation is defined as What students need to know and teachers use the academic standards to develop lesson plans, assignments and assessments that help their students master the knowledge and skills defined by the academic standards. Previously Objectives are taken into consideration for assessment; now in their place academic standards have come into use for forming goals and assessment of educational process. So teachers must have a clear understanding about the academic standards and concerning behaviours of the achievement of these academic standards. Teachers must take all the precautions to select proper items for assessment. Because the destiny of India gets it shape in the four walls of the class room. Education must be made a powerful instrument to achieve it. So education system should be strengthened in all aspects. In this view an analysis of present trend in paper setting with the relevance to academic standards is taken. The papers taken for the analysis are Summative evaluation papers october2014, December2014 of 8th class Biology and 6th general science of December2014. 1.Conceptual Understanding:-As per the academic standards mentioned by SCERT the first and the fore most AS is conceptual understanding. It means moving beyond rote memorization of facts. Conceptual understanding enables students to align intuitive ideas with scientific ones, making meaningful connections. Achievement of this academic standard should result in the learning outcomes like explaining, giving scientific reasons, interpreting charts and graphs, comparing and discriminating things etc. In 8th class Biology papers some questions are given like this. 1 The other name for smooth muscle 2. Robert Brown discovered 3. Cell discovered by---------- 4. Swine flu is caused by--------- Same type of questions is repeated in the December paper. 1. Cell organelles are present in which part of the cell? 2. Endemic organism of Australia is---------- 3. In India the legal age for marriage of a girl is--------- In the 6th class general science paper Water exists in nature in ------forms For sucking blood leeches have special structures called------ in their mouth. The above questions are usually known as knowledge questions which can be answered by memorization. So whether these types of questions can be used to test conceptual understanding of the students is a doubt to be clarified, because 10-15% marks are allotted to these types of questions. 2,Experimentation and field Investigation:- The learning outcomes of these academic standards are students should be able to do experiments to verify principles and theories, should be able to arrange apparatus, measure by using instruments, explain experiments by using flow charts, collect data, report data in their own way.etc. To test the achievement of these academic standards actually practical examination is more suitable or at least the test item is to be constructed in such a way to test the ability of the students to do practical work. In 6th class question paper for the above academic standards One of the items is-- Explain the process of getting distilled water. In the same way in the 8th paper Differences between tridox stem T.S and onion layer cells are asked. Information location skills and projects:-According to these academic standards students should be able to collect data, report data in the form of tables, representing data in the form of flow charts, doing follow up work of the project etc In the 8thclass October paper a table is given .Based on the table questions for which answers are very clear in the table are asked for ex One of the items is Disease in the plant causing Mo factors plant Citrus canker bacteria air citrus The question is - in which plant citrus canker is found? And in 6th class paper the question is Which of the following days is more suitable for drying washing clothes explain why a) windy day b) cloudy day? The above items show that there should be some improvement in the construction of the test items. Another important dimension is about the listing of academic standards for each class .The sanctity of combining different academic standards for ex - experimentations& fieldtrips, into one category, appreciation, values, aesthetic sense and concern to biodiversity into one category should also be given rethinking in determining the academic standards for each class by state education department of Education. To sum up I mean to express that the test paper setters must have clear understanding of what aspect of students academic standard is to be tested with each question and various aspects of development of student’s intelligence to be tested .The test paper setter must keep these concepts clearly and discretely in his mind and set the papers in such a way as to bring out all dimensions of the academic standards of a student in the examination. . REFERENCES 1. Conceptual Understanding in Mathematics | Granted, and... https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/.../conceptual-understanding-in-math... Apr 23, 2014 -  2.A Framework for Assessing Student Understanding in Science www.sagepub.in/.../31616_Chapter_1_A_F 3. Using Science Notebooks to Assess Students’ Conceptual Understanding Pamela R. Aschbacher & Alicia C. Alonzo CAPSI California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 91125 pama@caltech.edu acalonzo@cal www.capsi.caltech.edu/.../UsingScienceNotebooksAschbacher_Alonzo_0.. C.C.E continuous and comprehensive evaluation. S.C.E.R.T publication Hyderabad Digital Natives in a Knowledge Society: New Challenges for Education and for Teachers Bernard Cornu CNED, France IFIP TC3 Chairman UNESCO IITE Governing Board Chairman bernard.cornu@cned.fr Knowledge, education and learning are strongly linked with society and its evolution. One cannot teach or learn nowadays the same way as a century ago. More particularly, the quick and deep changes brought by ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) have a strong infl uence on knowledge, teaching, learning. But pupils themselves are changing and evolving decade aft er decade. And educati on must permanently adapt to the new generations of pupils. In terms of information, communication, computers, and technology, youngsters have new abilities, new approaches, new concepts. Certainly education has to take this into account, particularly at a ti me when pupils seem to be more competent than teachers in technological abilities! But the new generation of today and tomorrow cannot be described only through technology. We have to take into account other parameters. Let us remember that there were many evolutions in the past generations. Just aft er the World Wars, the ‘baby-boom’ generation was the generation of fun, consumpti on, and social achievement, in the context of reconstructi on and economical development. Everyone was intended to fi nd a place in society. Of course, all expectati ons and hopes were not met! Then came what some people call the ‘generati on X’ (1960–1989), which lived between the decline of the colonial Empires and the Fall of the Berlin Wall. This generati on was confronted to the economical crisis and the increase in unemployment. Deep moral transformati ons occurred. It is also a generati on for which individualism was developing. The balance between professional life and private life became more and more important. And of course it was the generati on of the technological revoluti on (the ‘TV generati on’). The generati on of today is oft en called the ‘generati on Y’. It is the generati on of digital nati ves. Digital acti vity is like a mother tongue for them. We 12 Plenary Session I consider it mostly as the generati on of the technological accelerati on, of the Internet and its networks. But we must have in mind that this generati on has many other features, which are important. It is the generati on of massive unemployment, the generati on marked by globalizati on. The moral transformati ons of the sixti es are now accepted and integrated by the majority. The ‘generati on Y’ did not know the World without AIDS. The issues of ecological awareness, of the future of the planet are among strong concerns for them. It is also the generati on of growing independence and a certain future insecurity. And the ephemeral has become the major concept. The ‘generati on Y’ has now reached the adult age, and they start being employed. This brings huge changes in companies: a new relati onship to hierarchy, to ti me constraints, to processes, to control; a new vision of task sharing; distance working; multi tasking, etc. And this generati on has a strong need to give a meaning to what they do. In terms of technology, the ‘generati on Y’ has a lot of new and impressive competences. Plenty of them have a kind of intuiti ve mastery of informatics and computers, of electronic devices, of mobile equipment. They don’t need to read the user manual, and they don’t ask for lessons how to use a computer (only teachers ask for such courses!). The way they play videogames and electronic games from their early childhood, the way they write ‘sms’ involve specifi c abiliti es. This generati on is the generati on of ‘Web 2.0’: interacti vity, community, communicati on, collaborati on. This gives them a new vision of ti me and space: I can communicate with any person, at any ti me, in any place, I can access lots of informati on. Permanent accessibility to people is now considered as normal. Immediacy and mobility are two keywords of this generati on. They are used to a multi plicity of communicati on modes, they are permanently connected, even over-connected, in a kind of digital hyperacti vity. Multi tasking makes it diffi cult for them to concentrate on one acti vity for a long ti me. Digital nati ves are facing three major challenges: new knowledge, networks, collecti ve intelligence. New knowledge No longer traditi onal and well-established knowledge is enough to under New knowledge No longer traditi onal and well-established knowledge is enough to understand the world and to address the major problems of our societies. Basic knowledge of the ‘generation Y’ cannot be reduced to ‘read, write, count’, knowledge cannot be reduced to the addition of traditi onal school subjects. There is a tremendous accumulation of knowledge, and knowledge is getti ng more complex. For instance, a French philosopher, Edgar Morin, in his book Seven Complex Lessons in Educati on for the Future proposed seven new forms of knowledge to be taught in order to meet the needs of our century: 1. Detecti ng error and illusion: teach the weaknesses of knowledge – what is human knowledge? 13 Teacher Development Policies and Programmes Integrating ICT and ODL 2. The principles of perti nent knowledge: consider the objects of knowledge in their context, in their complexity, in their whole. 3. Teaching the human conditi on: the unity and the complexity of human nature. 4. Earth identi ty: teach the history of the planetary era, teach the solidarity between all parts of the world. 5. Confronti ng uncertainti es: teach the uncertainti es in physics, biology, history, etc. 6. Understanding each other: teach mutual understanding between human beings; and teach what misunderstanding is. 7. Ethics for the human genre: teach the ethics of humanity preparing citi - zens of the world. In additi on to this more transverse and complex approach of knowledge, the new generati on has to face the fact that school knowledge is no longer the only one, that school is not the only place to access knowledge. Social knowledge as informal knowledge is more and more important. And knowledge is linked with competences. Jacques Delors in his Learning: the Treasure Within proposed four ‘pillars’ for education Learning to know • Learning to do • Learning to live together • Learning to be One oft en speaks about the ‘Informati on society’ or the ‘digital society’. Actually, UNESCO proposes to speak about ‘knowledge societi es’, in order to take into account the human dimension of the new trends and context. And in a knowledge society, knowledge has become an economical good that one can buy, sell, store, exchange, etc. For digital nati ves, knowledge is not exactly what it was for the previous generati ons! Networks We were traditi onally used to hierarchical and pyramidal structures in our organizati ons and in our way of behaving. Societi es, companies, and insti tuti ons have hierarchical organizati onal charts; informati on can be traditi onally found through catalogues, directories, tables of content, alphabeti cal lists, etc. In such organizati ons, there is usually only one way to access a person or to access informati on. But ICT, and parti cularly the Internet, bring a totally diff erent organizati on, which leads to new ways of processing and thinking. Networks are everywhere! A network can be defi ned as a set of points (pieces of informati on, persons, web pages, etc.) linked by edges or 14 Plenary Session I segments (direct access, ‘click’ of the mouse, connecti on, etc.). In a network, we fi nd totally diff erent hierarchies. One can access a point through diff erent ways, one can access directly people one could access before only according to the traditi onal hierarchy; one can permanently enrich the network by new points and new connecti ons. ‘Network thinking’ is now common, and this is a new challenge for digital nati ves. Networks are constantly enriching (for instance, moving from the ‘Web 1.0’ to the ‘Web 2.0’, and so on). Thinking in terms of networks changes profoundly the vision of the world, the vision of human relati onships. Almost everyone is now a member of many networks. ‘Cloud computi ng’, one of the recent developments in informati cs, has clearly been made possible by networks. Collective intelligence We were mainly thinking in terms of individual competences, individual intelligence, individual memory, individual achievement, etc. Networking and collaborati on by the means of ICT now make new ways of co-operati ng possible and develop new concepts at a collecti ve level. Collecti ve intelligence is the major one. Collecti ve intelligence is not only gathering of individual intelligences in a group. It involves a kind of ‘added value’, a form of intelligence which cannot be reached at the individual level. Just as a simple example, think of what ants can do. Individually, they seem to be very limited animals. But collecti vely, they become able to achieve very complex and diffi cult tasks, such as regulati ng the temperature of their anthill, fi nding the shortest way from one point to a distant one, carrying heavy loads, etc. And they don’t do it according to a hierarchical organizati on. Each of them, through pheromone exchanges with the environment, enters a kind of communicati on which makes such complex acti viti es possible. One can imagine that networking may enable human beings to such collecti ve abiliti es, going much further than the traditi onal task sharing. The networked society needs and reinforces the collecti ve intelligence. The ‘generati on Y’, the digital nati ves, are invited to take part in this collecti ve intelligence. ICT make it possible to move towards a global network of collecti ve intelligence. This is a great challenge! Under such challenges, learning in the digital society takes new forms and opens new ways. Learning in the global network of collecti ve intelligence is not learning traditi onal knowledge by the means of traditi onal pedagogy. Since knowledge is not any longer only in schools, in textbooks, in the teacher’s hands, digital nati ves – the ‘generati on Y’ – will have to acquire both academic and social knowledge, and to be able to manage the complementarity of such knowledge. They will have to acquire not only knowledge, but also skills, abiliti es, competences, mixing the acquisiti on of formal and non-formal skills. They will have to learn all their life long, since knowledge is evolving so rapidly that no one can acquire for the rest of his/her life all necessary knowledge and competences. Lifelong 15 Teacher Development Policies and Programmes Integrating ICT and ODL learning requires a basic competence: to be able to learn! One of the main challenges at school is to learn how to learn. Learning occurs not only in schools, sitti ng in a classroom with a teacher. Many new forms of learning are now off ered: distance learning, e-Learning, blended learning, etc. Being able to learn at a distance, being able to learn through e-Learning is not so obvious, even if one can think that digital nati ves will be more ready for such learning. It is also a task for schools to prepare pupils for e-Learning. Some years ago, distance educati on was mainly intended for those who cannot att end a school for diff erent reasons. But now, distance learning is necessary for all. Everyone has to be able to work at a distance, to learn at a distance. Technology is now available for new forms of learning. But a huge eff ort must be made concerning pedagogy. The gap between technology and pedagogy is increasing. The tendency of school systems is just to add new technologies to traditi onal pedagogy, to adapt traditi onal courses to some new technological tools, avoiding renewal of the pedagogy, avoiding integrati on of ICT into educati on (Interacti ve electronic blackboards – or whiteboards – are an interesti ng example: they put new technologies in the classroom without disturbing the traditi onal pedagogy, the traditi onal relati onship between the teacher and the pupils). Research and innovati on must address and ask pedagogy: how can ICT help enriching pedagogy, changing pedagogy; how can pedagogy really take all the benefi ts from new technologies. Learning in a digital society brings new challenges to schools, and since pupils will now be digital nati ves, schools must address these challenges. But schools are not really prepared, not really ready for digital educati on! Generally speaking, schools are not connected to networks. The Internet is mostly out of schools, not inside! Nowadays, digital nati ves use computers, ICT, the Internet mostly out of school. Moreover, there is no evidence that one learns bett er through ICT. Of course, we all know lots of excellent examples of successes in teaching with computers, with ICT, we all know successful experiments. We know that innovati ve situati ons, innovati ve resources, and innovati ve tools give good results and develop the pupils’ moti vati on. But fundamentally, can we prove that pupils are studying bett er, that ICT are really improving learning? The ‘pedagogical model’ of schools does not fi t with ICT: the traditi onal school pedagogy is mainly based on transmissive learning, on non-constructi vist methods, on individual learning, individual intelligence. In opposite, ICT off er the opportunity of constructi vist approaches, collaborati ve work, collecti ve intelligence, and collecti ve achievement. Schools neglect the real practi ces of digital youngsters. Do we know exactly what they are doing, someti mes several hours per day, with their computers? Which competences, which abilities are they practicing? Which knowledge and which competences do they access daily through their computers? How schools can take this into 16 Plenary Session I account? How can schools integrate the actual practice and new competences of digital natives? This is one more challenge for schools in the digital age! Schools must adapt pedagogy to the new pupils and to the new digital tools and resources, new knowledge, new context of networks and of collective intelligence. Schools have to transform their pedagogy, to enrich pedagogy according to the new knowledge, to the networked society, to the collaborative and collective needs of pupils. New technologies are not only to be integrated in the school: they give the opportunity for a real enrichment of pedagogy. Schools have to admit and acknowledge that they are not the only learning place. They have to integrate the new forms of knowledge, the complexity of knowledge, and the new forms of competences. They have to integrate the collective dimension. They have to integrate the world of networks. For instance, when we see how quickly and widely social networks (Facebook, Twitt er, etc.) are developing, we must seriously ask the question whether schools should take this into account, integrate such social networks, experiment how one can learn through social networks. And schools have to mix presence and distance, to manage time and space for learning, to prepare pupils for lifelong e-Learning. Schools can no longer be simply the place where learned and skillful teachers deliver their knowledge to pupils. Schools have to refocus on their fundamental missions and core values: school is the main operator of the public service of education, and therefore has to carry on and put in action the values of a public service. The school is the place for equity in access to knowledge, the place for access to knowledge for all, the place for equal chances for all pupils. Even if the school is no longer the main place for knowledge acquisition, the school is the place for the mediatization of knowledge. And knowledge acquired by different means needs to be stabilized, made coherent with a wider set of knowledge, needs to be institutionalized; this is the role of schools. The school is also the place for the socialization of children, the place to prepare the integration of each pupil in society, the place to develop citizenship. In a networked society, the school should be the central place for networking. This implies that schools themselves are networked and participate in the global networks. The school should become more collective: developing collective behavior, collective abilities, collective work, and collective intelligence. The school can be the place for the construction of a collective intelligence, in which each pupil is involved. And the school is the main entry point to lifelong learning: it has to prepare pupils for learning all their life long, to be able to learn. Teachers are main actors of schools. They are not only knowledge transmitters, but also actors of changes in schools. Teachers have new roles; teaching is becoming a new profession! Digital native pupils will change schools! 17 Teacher Development Policies and Programmes Integrating ICT and ODL Digital natives bring new challenges for teachers. Let us quote eight of those new challenges for teachers: 1. Teachers have to take into account the digital native generation. They have to understand the new characteristics of the ‘generation Y’, to be aware of their new abilities, and to respect their new relationship to knowledge. 2. Teachers have to take into account the new forms of knowledge and competences, and the missions of schools. They must be aware that knowledge is not only a list of items in a curriculum: it has complex and transverse components. They must have the knowledge to address the main questions of the next century. They must be aware of the core missions of schools in the society and of the values school has to transmit. 3. Teachers must work in networks, take part in networks, consider that their role is to develop human networks for learning. Being part of a network, being able to behave in a network, to take benefit from networking demand teachers themselves experience such networked activities. 4. Teachers must work in the framework of collective intelligence and prepare pupils for collecti ve intelligence. This means that teachers themselves must act collecti vely, take part in collecti ve missions, experience collecti ve learning, collecti ve intelligence, develop collaborati ve acti viti es. Schools now need ‘collecti vely intelligent teachers’. 5. Teachers have to be ‘e-teachers’. This means not only to be able to use digital technologies, tools and resources, but also to change the pedagogy, to integrate ICT as technologies and, more important, as tools for pedagogical enrichment. 6. Teachers have to be ‘blended teachers’, mixing digita So, one of the UNESCO major goals is to provide the global leadership on teachers, their status, professional training, management and administrati on and key policy issues. UNESCO teacher development policies and programmes including ICT applicati ons are implemented in the framework of UNESCO global leadership on teachers through the initi ati ves on the following issues: • Training and Management; • Policies and Quality Assurance; • Status and Working Conditi ons; • Gender; • HIV and AIDS; • Advocacy; • ICTl acti viti es and nondigital ones, mixing presence and distance, dealing with ti me and space and all the possibiliti es off ered by ICT in the management of ti me and space (distance and presence, synchronic and non-synchronic). 7. Teachers have to be ‘LLL-teachers’. This means that they have to prepare their pupils for lifelong learning, mainly by making them learning how to learn, making them able to learn all their life long. This implies that teachers themselves are involved in lifelong learning. Teachers have to be lifelong learners. 8. Teachers have to be actors of the changing school in a learning society. They cannot just wait for the reforms elaborated by policy makers! They must contribute to decision making, they must be aware of their politi - cal role in the educati onal policy. ICT in educati on are not only new tools bringing evoluti on and changes. They raise new fundamental paradigms, new fundamental concepts, which 18 Plenary Session I change profoundly our societi es, which change knowledge and access to knowledge. The digital nati ves will bring this new context, whatever the schools do or not. This is a new challenge for schools and for teachers. Digital nati ves are not only new pupils, a kind of new step in the humankind, they are the main actors of the new digital society, the new citi zens of the knowledge society. UNESCO Teacher Development Policies To increase the effi ciency of the initi ati ves and programmes, UNESCO works on a permanent basis with its strategic partners from public and private sectors. F second part of the agreement concerns teachers. It will promote the use of mobile technologies to support training and capacity building, as well as the management of educati onal insti tuti ons, parti cularly in gathering data on staff , pupils and school faciliti es1. Microsoft , Cisco, Intel and ISTE are the main strategic partners of UNESCO on the initi ati ve related to ICT teacher competencies “ICT-CFT” – ICT Competence Framework for Teachers2. APPLE became UNESCO’s partner in the GCDL project. UNESCO’s signifi cant tools in the area of informati on support for teachers or example, ICDE (Internati onal Council for Open and Distance Educati on – htt p://www.icde.org/) and EDEN (European Distance and E-Learning Network – htt p://www.eden-online.org/eden.php) have established relati onship with UNESCO on a broader partnership basis. A mutual partnership document was signed by UNESCO and Nokia to use mobile technologies to further implement Educati on for All goals. The second part of the agreement concerns teachers. It will promote the use of mobile technologies to support training and capacity building, as well as the management of educational institutions, particularly in gathering data on staff , pupils and school facilities1. Microsoft , Cisco, Intel and ISTE are the main strategic partners of UNESCO on the initiative related to ICT teacher competencies “ICT-CFT” – ICT Competence Framework for Teachers2. APPLE became UNESCO’s partner in the GCDL project. UNESCO’s signifi cant tools in the area of information support for teachers International Advanced Training Course/Master Programme “ICT and Teachers Professional Development” As it is planned, under the coordinati on of IITE, a consorti um of leading CIS pedagogical and IT universiti es will be established to develop and run the Internati onal Advanced Training Course/ Master Programme “ICT and HRD in Educati on” for pre-service and in-service teachers. IITE has provided a feasibility study on establishing the menti oned Internati onal Master Programme, as well as developed the concept and the project proposals. This ongoing project has been supported by a number of Member States. Now the first Programme Working Group meeting and training workshop are being prepared. “Avicenna Virtual Campus-II” project The EC/UNESCO Avicenna Virtual Campus (AVC) project was dedicated to accelerating the adoption and best use of ICT-assisted Open Distance Learning (ODL) in Member States. The project aims at establishing adequate local infrastructures and transferring best practice and professional know-how within the target universities. The objectives of the Avicenna project are: • to accelerate the adoption and setti ng-up of e-Learning centres in each partner country; 23 Teacher Development Policies and Programmes Integrating ICT and ODL • to equip the Avicenna Knowledge Centres and network them via the Internet; • to train the staff of the Centres (administrati ve, pedagogical and IT officers); • to train teachers to produce e-Learning multi media courses which shall be used in the Internet network and Intranet satellite; • to develop courses on a wide array of disciplines; • to define the norms and procedures for quality control and assurance; • to set up an Open Virtual Library of multi media e-Learning courses in English, Arabic, French and other languages; • to provide e-Learning sessions for teachers and students Issues in teacher development Opinions on the key issues regarding teacher development vary somewhat, but there is general agreement on the three presented by Professor Bob Moon in 2007. They are: • Teacher supply and retention; • Teacher education reform; • Supporting innovations in pre-service and continuing education. Among these innovations are: • Development of standards and competencies for teachers and head teachers as well as institutional standards. In many instances these standards are tied to pay scales and/or rewards; • Strengthening of open and distance learning as the need for teachers increases; • Training teachers in more active, child-centered teaching approaches; • Placing more emphasis on formative classroom assessment and providing feedback to individual students. The OECD has expressed a number of concerns about the status of teacher development. They include: Concerns about the attractiveness of teaching as a career: • Concerns about maintaining an adequate supply of good quality teachers, especially in high-demand subject areas; • Long-term trends in the composition of the teaching workforce, e.g. fewer ‘high achievers’ and fewer males; • Concerns about the image and status of teaching, and teachers oft en feel that their work is undervalued; • Teachers’ relative salaries are declining in most countries. 27 Teacher Development Policies and Programmes Integrating ICT and ODL Concerns about developing teachers’ knowledge and skills: • Almost all countries report concerns about ‘qualitative’ shortfalls: whether enough teachers have the knowledge and skills to meet school needs; • There are major concerns about the limited connections between teacher education, teachers’ professional development, and school needs; • Many countries lack systemic induction programmes for beginning teachers. Concerns about recruiting, selecting and employing teachers: • There are concerns in most countries about the inequitable distribution of teachers among schools, and whether students in disadvantaged areas have the quality teachers that they need; • Schools oft en have little direct involvement in teacher appointments; • Some countries have a large oversupply of qualified teachers, which raises other policy challenges. Concerns about retaining effective teachers in schools: • Some countries experience high rates of teacher attrition, especially among new teachers; • Teachers express concerns about the effects of heavy workloads, stress and poor working environments on job satisfaction and teaching effectiveness; • There are only limited means in most countries to recognize and reward teachers’ work; • Processes for responding to ineff ecti ve teaching are oft en cumbersome and slow. Innovative programmes The examples of innovati ve programmes include: • A programme in England, where schools are provided funding to recruit untrained teachers as long as they provide an educat on and training programme for them; • A school-based training programme using ICT and distance education for teachers being implemented in the U.S. state of California; • A classroom activity-based distance education programme for teachers in South Africa. The activities were designed to copy the concept and style of teaching to be used in the classroom. The use of mobile 28 Plenary Session I communicati ons systems such as handheld computers and mobile phones to develop teaching skills in Egypt and South Africa. Policy implications Some of the policy implicati ons of these and other experiences would include the following: • Making the diverse needs of students a component of teacher preparati on; • Simplifying and facilitati ng hiring practi ces for teachers targeti ng hard-to-staff schools; • Encouraging new teachers to parti cipate in inducti on and mentoring programmes; • Encouraging learning communiti es among teachers and students in schools; • Professional development programmes centered upon standards of teaching and better pay for improved student achievement; • Incentives to attract a more diverse teacher force in areas of teacher shortage. The European Commission has prepared recommendations on teacher ICT in teacher development In a policy paper regarding ICT and teacher development the European Trade Union Committ ee for Educati on in 2008 noted a lack of computer skills among youth and adults of the EU and emphasized the importance of ICT in educati on. With regard to policy implicati ons of ICT for teacher development, a guiding philosophy for integrati ng ICT into teaching was suggested by the former UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Educati on. It involves: Avoiding bias toward technology and realizing technology will never replace the teacher: • Interaction will remain critical for education; • Technology must be integrated with pedagogy; • Exposing hollow or loose thinking about technology; • Evidence-based policy making must be encouraged, that considers national or location based ICT applications in education. For example, ICT may not be practi cal in communiti es with no electricity. Taking a broader view of ICT that involves people and social systems: • ICT mean much more than the Internet and the Internet will not render obsolete all preceding technologies. Technology always involves people and their social systems; • Various forms of ICT (books, films, radio, television, programmed learning) should be designed and applied. Seeking a balance between better teaching and better learning: • Technology should be used to create a good learning environment for the student, not simply to enhance the skills of the teacher. “It is more effective to concentrate on improving access to learning, improving its quality and decreasing its cost”; • Students can learn many ICT skills on their own with minimal help from teachers. Learning pedagogical skills for using ICT for improving teaching is more important for teachers than concentrating on technical skills. For policy makers and institutional heads developing leadership in using technology for educational purposes is essential to support effective ICT use by teachers. Therefore a priority has to be given to teacher training and professional development in the use of ICT. 31 Teacher Development Policies and Programmes Integrati At the early stages of introducti on of ICT in education, ICT education in the sense of computer literacy is at the primary focus, rather than ICT in education (i.e. curriculum integration). This was the case for Korea in 1988–1995. Topics of computer education generally include hardware and soft ware programmes such as programming programmes, operating systems, word processors, spreadsheets, presentation programmes, etc. Table 1 A Summary of the ICT Skill Standard for Teacher (ISST) Category Area Informati on gathering Identi fy locati on, access, and read Gather and evaluate Store and Manage Information analysis and processing Produce, edit, and word-process materials Process and analyze spreadsheet materials Produce and edit multi media materials Produce and edit presentati on materials Use and manage the NEIS system Informati on transfer and exchange Present and transfer Communicati on and exchange Information ethics and security Understanding the information society Prevent distributi on of harmful materials Protect intellectual property Manage personal informati on Keep neti quett e Source: Song, Kim, Kim, Ban, & Ryu (2003). The Development and Implementati on of Measurement Tools for Evaluati ng Teachers’ ICT Use for Their Teaching. KERIS Research Report. KERIS 2003-27. 40 Plenary Session I In parti cular, the Computer Assisted Instructi on (CAI) was included in teacher training at that ti me, but many limitati ons for integrati on into classroom teaching were reported, because CAI did not fi t into school teaching methods. Accordingly, several authoring tools such as New Korea Net, GREAT, and GREAT II were developed to support teachers in their development of teaching materials (Son, 2009). Regional offi ces of educati on implemented teacher training to facilitate the eff ecti ve use of these tools. The arrival of 32-bit PCs, Windows OS, and the Internet supplies in 1995 was followed by teacher training for development of multi media materials and Internet, and the number of teachers parti cipati ng in training programmes radically increased. Teacher training Beginning from 1996, teacher training was conducted within the Second Master Plan for ICT in Educati on and had a stronger focus on technology integrati on. Teacher training at this phase was divided into general courses for classroom teachers and special courses for training-of-trainers and inspectors. Teacher training was focused on the development of multi media materials and the introductory level of integrati on. The fi rst phase of ICT teacher training covered over 25% of teachers per year. At that ti me training had limitati ons for teachers’ ICT integrati on into both their pedagogy and curriculum (Son, 2009). Provision of ICT infrastructure to schools was completed in 2000, teachers got computers and Internet connecti on, each classroom was equipped with a projector, thus teachers had to use computers in teaching. Therefore, in 2001–2005, teacher training was oriented to ICT integrati on into curriculum rather than ICT literacy. Training programmes included mandatory and opti onal courses. The mandatory ICT training delivered by the regional offi ces of educati on provided offi cial training credits upon completi on. This training involved 33% of teachers per year. Opti onal ICT training programmes off ered by schools for at least 15 hours per year included various topics based on the individual schools training needs with no offi cial training credits. Table 2 Teacher Training for ICT in Educati on ICT in schools Why do we need ICT in schools? Was education not happening before computers came into existence? Why is this paradigm shift necessary? The shift is necessary because this is the age of information and technology, an age that requires that teachers facilitate the gathering of this information and not merely teach. Unfortunately, in India, ICT is largely associated with the use of computer and Internet. What one uses ICT for and how one uses it, is not addressed sufficiently. Schools and colleges acquire computers, Internet connection, LCD projectors and then send their teachers for crash courses that supposedly teach them to use technology. The trouble is this whole approach is devoid of focus. But, until teachers are made to realize the need of ICT, no amount of computerization can help. What is ICT supposed to be used for in the class?              A question I often hear teachers who are unwilling to take the ICT plunge is, ‘Can the student learn anything without the teacher explaining or intervening? And my answer to that is, ‘Students also have ideas of their own and knowledge that they gathered from daily life; this knowledge and ideas are not accepted or utilized by teachers. Using ICT this can be achieved in a big way.’ Training a teacher in using ICT is more crucial than acquiring a large number of computers. Teachers have to be trained to facilitate the learning process, make the process real, achievable, challenging, yet exciting and not intimidating. Reducing teacher talk and encouraging student discussion is extremely important. Everything need not be written on the blackboard to be considered as taught. Many teachers think the computer is used only to make the content look attractive! They need to know that in 21st century, information is not difficult access, instead organizing, sharing, and collaborating become essential skills. Hence, ICT is not merely to portray information but to interact, share, and thus learn. ICT provides meaningful, absorbing media that makes teaching-learning more productive. There are two main areas that we have to look at if a paradigm shift in the teaching process has to occur: the teacher’s role of teaching and the teacher’s role of helping the student learn.  In the first one the teacher has to enhance teaching. Here, the teacher can ask himself or herself, ‘How will ICT enhance my teaching?’ The teacher should be aware of what lacunae exist in his/her teaching. The teacher should ask ‘Do I need to be empowered? ‘What more can be done?’ ‘What is the most effective way of teaching?’ ‘How will more students benefit from my teaching?’ ‘Will ICT help me?’ The second role of the teacher:  helping the student learn. The Internet is full of information, textbooks are bursting with information. But this information can become true knowledge only when the teacher makes it meaningful. Here the teacher can use multimedia to make topics more comprehensible. Think of a teacher showing large number of different flowers while reading out a poem on flowers, or teaching about the parts of a flower. Talking about the freedom struggle is one thing and seeing a 2 minute video on the same topic is altogether different. Preaching about rain water harvesting and showing a clipping while teaching is different. Showing how bunding is done, how crude oil is refined, gives students the correct idea. Instead of boring the students with a decade old chart on the respiratory system, showing a 1.5 minute video during teaching takes the students to a different level of understanding. Listening to the voice of Rabindranath Tagore while reading his stories, poems will help the students associate with the author. The entire teaching-learning process gets a boost with the appropriate use of ICT. It should be used to fill in the inadequacies that the teacher is facing. The problem of large numbers, students not showing interest can be tackled to some extent. Can use of ICT make teaching more meaningful, get rid of rote memorizing? The teacher needs to be fully aware of the fact that students can find information, they need proper instructions, they need scope for creativity, and expectations of the teacher brings forth performance.  The present generation is a multimedia generation. It is not their fault. They are numbed by too much of information and easy access to that information. How then can we expect our students to sit and listen to lifeless sermons in class. The information that is given in the classroom is redundant and presented in boring manner. NGC, Discovery, Fox History can take one to places and time in minutes. They show so much of the present and the past far and wide that one seems to learn unknowingly. One search on Google and lo and behold! The information at your fingertips will be difficult to assimilate. How does one harness this gargantuan accessibility of information? How to make students use it appropriately and avoid brazen plagiarism? Vague expectations, lack of innovation, poor scope for creativity make learning dull. Mere use of computer or Internet doesn’t improve the learning output.  The process should be like this. Step one: What are the problems in schools, classrooms, exclusively related to teaching-learning? Identify them. Large numbers? Lack of interest? Many drop outs? Learning disability? Step two: What is being done about these problems? Can use of ICT help? Try making lectures, classes more technology laden to bring a difference. Observe the difference in the classes.  Step three: What are the requirements of the teacher to do a better job? Do the teachers feel that use of ICT to help them improve their teaching? Step four: Are the teachers and students equipped with ICT skills? Although ICT offers the opportunity to construct powerful learning experiences, it is pedagogically neutral. That is, ICT can be used in support of traditional teaching methodologies like the large group lecture, student note taking, and examinations. Teachers can use a computer and projector to show slides to illustrate a lecture, students can use laptops to take notes during the lecture, and multiple choice quizzes about the content of the lecture can be put on a website. How these new ICT tools and resources will be used is a human decision, not inherent in the technologies themselves. ICT has the potential to be used as a supportive educational tool enabling students’ learning by doing. ICT can make it possible for teachers to engage students in self-paced, self-directed problem-based or constructivist learning experiences; and also test student learning in new, interactive, and engaging ways that may better assess their understanding of the content. A second way to assess the merit of ICT use in education is to consider what its use enables students and teachers to do that they would not otherwise be able to do. To explore this question, we consider five aspects of the educational use of ICT – supporting new pedagogical methods accessing remote resources enabling collaboration extending educational programs and developing skills for the workplace Modern constructivist educational theory emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, “authentic” learning experiences, social negotiation of knowledge, and collaboration – pedagogical methods that change the role of the teacher from disseminator of information to learning facilitator, helping students as they actively engage with information and materials to construct their own understandings. That is, students learn how to learn, not just what to learn (cf. Forman & Pufall, 1988; Newman, Griffin, and Cole, 1989; Piaget, 1973; Resnick, 1989; Strauss, 1994).  (cf. Strommen & Lincoln, 1992; U.S. Department of Education, 1993).              References: UNESCO's World Communication and Information Report1999 written by Prof C. Blurton from the University of Hong Kong (Building Capacity of Teachers/Facilitators in Technology-Pedagogy Integration for Improved Teaching and Learning UNESCO Implemented Project on Training and Professional Development of bstract: An exploratory case study was designed to obtain pre-service teachers’ expectations of and attitudes toward the learning and integrating of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into their teaching and learning. Given the diverse demographic backgrounds and social conditions of the teacher candidates, such as age, gender, English language proficiency, and previous education, a wide range of responses to the online survey and the semi-structured focus group interview questions was expected. Implementation of the sequential mixed method research design resulted in emerging themes related to participants’ social conditions that impact their perceptions and attitudes regarding the ICT and beliefs about the use of ICT in their future careers. Findings from this study are compared to earlier studies done in the same setting. Findings from this case study show unexpected consistency in teacher candidates’ comments despite changed circumstances. This study could be employed as a useful reference for the design of an ICT curriculum for Teacher Education programs. Résumé : Une étude de cas exploratoire a été conçue afin de connaître les attentes et les dispositions des futurs enseignants à l’égard de l’apprentissage et de l’intégration des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) dans leur pratique d’enseignement et leur apprentissage. L’obtention d’un large éventail de réponses à l’enquête en ligne et aux questions semi-structurées du groupe de discussion était prévue compte tenu de la diversité des horizons démographiques et des conditions sociales des candidats (notamment l’âge, le sexe, le niveau de connaissance de l’anglais et la formation antérieure). L’utilisation de la méthode de recherche séquentielle mixte a conduit à l’émergence de thèmes liés aux conditions sociales des participants, conditions qui influencent leurs perceptions et leurs dispositions à l’égard des TIC ainsi que leurs opinions au sujet de l’utilisation des TIC dans leur future carrière. Les résultats de cette étude sont comparés à des études antérieures effectuées dans un cadre similaire. Les résultats de cette étude de cas révèlent une cohérence inattendue des commentaires des futurs enseignants malgré des différences circonstancielles. Cette étude pourrait être utilisée en tant qu’outil de référence utile pour la conception de cours sur les TIC à l’intérieur des programmes de formation des enseignants. Introduction Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that are becoming increasingly pervasive in societies around the world are also reaching schools. With numerous global advancements in ICT it is essential that educators have a thorough working knowledge of these media and their influence on the performance and engagement of their students. There is no firm agreement on the definition of ICT, as these technologies evolve almost daily. Here we assume that ICT includes, but is not limited to, personal computers, laptops, printers, LCD projectors, palm devices, iPods, fax machines, cell phones, Internet, and Intranet. Also we employ what the National (US) Higher Education ICT Initiative (2003) describes as the ICT proficiency in the higher education context: [T]he ability to use digital technology, communication tools, and/or networks appropriately to solve information problems in order to function in an information society. This includes the ability to use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information and the possession of a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information. (p. 11) This definition encompasses three areas of ICT literacy, namely cognitive, technical, and social. It recognizes that in the technologically connected world, one does not live in isolation and therefore needs ‘soft’ as well as ‘hard’ skills to confidently, reliably, and responsibly use ICT. This paper is based on an exploratory case study designed to obtain pre-service teachers’ status of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) literacy prior to entering the Teacher Education program, as well as their expectations of and attitudes toward learning ICT and integrating ICT into their practice and future classroom teaching. The findings presented in this paper are based on data collected through multiple channels including an online survey, semi-structured focus group meetings and review of course documents. In addition, we used our own observations and reflections from conducting courses related to teaching ICT and teaching with ICT in the teacher education program. Thus, what is offered here is partly informed by these experiences and is further informed by literature on technology implementation in teacher education programs and in schools. By applying the sequential mixed method research design, we were able to identify emerging themes related to pre-service teachers’ social conditions that impact their perceptions and attitudes regarding the ICT as well as beliefs about the use of ICT in their future teaching career. The audience for this work includes designers and facilitators of the curricula related to computer applications in teacher education programs. Description of the Program and the Course The teacher education program described here is 36 weeks long with 12 weeks devoted to teaching practice, organized in four blocks. This program, at least in recent years, has had an immense diversity of students enrolled in it. In 2006/07, the year when this study was conducted, the target population for this study consisted of 135 pre-service teachers enrolled in the Intermediate/Senior (I/S) division, all of whom had a previously obtained undergraduate degree. There were 52% (N = 70) females in this group, which presents the I/S division as more gender-balanced in comparison to Primary-Junior (P/J) and Junior/Intermediate (J/I) divisions which consist predominantly of females. In addition, the age range in I/S division was from 20 to 50 and more than one-third of the group were non-native speakers of English who received their previous degrees from countries other than Canada. Students enrolled in this program are required to take one ICT literacy course besides other foundations courses and those that are in the pre-service teachers’ specific subject area(s). Some of these courses also involve use of ICT. Instructional Technology (Computer Methods) is a general methods course offered to all the students in the J/I and I/S divisions. This course is offered to I/S division during the first semester only and to J/I division as a full year course. P/J students do not have any course dedicated to ICT. The following is a brief description of the course. Objective The Instructional Technology (Computer Methods) course is designed for pre-service teachers with the aim of building an intelligent and thoughtful disposition toward the integration of ICT into teaching and learning in classroom and school contexts. The emphasis of this course is on developing ICT literacy competencies and promoting the philosophy of life-long learning rather than on computer skills training. Content This course comprises a mixture of theory and practice as it covers most influential theories related to implementation of ICT in education as well as the actual applications of ICT in schools. In the theoretical part of the course, students read and reflect on five articles on topics such as, research on ICT use in education; ICT literacy; and social issues in ICT implementation. In the practical part of the course, students acquire both hardware and software knowledge and skills. Course Delivery Methods This course utilizes a blend of online and in-class delivery methods. Activities in the course include: Face-to-face discussions on readings, designed to develop students’ critical thinking and facilitating skills, Online discussions, used mainly for formative evaluation and sharing students’ reflections during their practice teaching in schools, Tech workshops, for sharing ICT knowledge and skills the students already have or have just gained, and Final group projects, done in a digital format and relevant to ICT in education. Theoretical Background Over the last two decades, the use of ICT has been an important topic in education. On the one hand, studies have shown that ICT can enhance teaching and learning outcomes. For example, in science and mathematics education, scholars have documented that the use of ICT can improve students’ conceptual understanding, problem solving, and team working skills (Culp, Honey & Mandinach, 2005; Gerban, 1992; Tao & Gunstone, 1999; Toomey & Ketterer, 1995; Zhou, Brouwer, Nocente & Martin, 2005). As a result, most curriculum documents state the importance of ICT and encourage schoolteachers to use them. However, teachers need to be specifically trained in order to integrate ICT in their teaching (Batane, 2004; Jacobsen, Clifford & Friesen, 2002; Markauskaite, 2007; Mitchem, Wells & Wells, 2003; Yildirim, 2000). Although schools are known to be resistant to innovation and change (Kearsley, 2004), the proliferation of ICT is beginning to affect how teachers teach (Reid, 2002). One of the current issues about the use of ICT in Canadian schools is how it is integrated into the curriculum (Plante & Beattie, 2004). Since the curriculum documents provide arguments for introducing ICT in the school setting, schools expect that graduates from teacher education programs have a reasonable knowledge of how to use ICT (Montgomerie & Irvine, 2001). However, this may not be the case as is noted by Oren, Mioduser, and Nachmias (2002), who argue that Most current teachers’ pre-service preparation, and subsequent in-service courses were devised in reference to traditional educational technology and settings. … Thus, [the participants in these courses] are not familiar with the processes, interaction patterns, features and possibilities of technology-mediated educational transactions. (Implications of these studies, ¶) What compounds this issue even more is that although the students who were born in or after 1982 belong to the “Net Generation,” and are accustomed to operating in a digital environment for communication, information gathering and analysis (Oblinger, 2004), they typically lack information literacy skills, and their critical thinking skills are often weak (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005). The problem is that students “do not necessarily understand how their use of technology affects their literacy or habits of learning” (Barnes, Marateo & Ferris, 2007, Independence, Autonomy, and Learning, ¶). It seems that effective development of pre-service teachers’ ICT proficiency is not a straightforward process, but is the one that asks for a careful, multilayered approach. First, a needs assessment is important to find out what ICT skills and knowledge teachers need at schools. Second, designers of teacher education programs should know the pre-service teachers’ perceptions of ICT and their attitudes toward ICT integration into curriculum (Murphy, 2000). This is because these attitudes and perceptions are instrumental in how future teachers will use ICT in their teaching (Sasseville, 2004). Although there is a great deal of research on technology and teacher education, because of specifics of various teacher education programs, changes in population trends, and rapid technology advancements, there is a constant need for more research about the role of ICT in teacher education programs in this specific context. Third, teacher education programs need to take into account the two typical arguments in favour of the ICT appropriation in schools. One argument emphasises the importance of technological skills. Supporters of this argument urge teacher education programs to provide future teachers with as many technological skills as possible. The other argument accords a more important role to developing pre-service teachers’ perspectives of and pedagogical knowledge about technology integration. Proponents of the latter argument believe that content-related technology knowledge is the most important factor for technology integration in teaching. This knowledge is referred to as technology pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). The institutions that uphold the teacher education programs need to be aware of these two competing arguments and use the opportunity to build a balanced ICT program for pre-service teachers. In preparation for this report, the authors especially turned to the results of some recent relevant research done by the graduates in the Master’s and Doctorate in Education programs at the University of Windsor, Canada. These studies (e.g., Magliaro, 2006; Qureshi, 2004; Zogheib, 2003; Zogheib, 2006) were done, at least partially, among the pre-service teachers at the Faculty of Education. Previous Research In the empirical study on P/J and J/I pre-service teachers, Zogheib (2003) investigated the relationship between their attitudes (confidence in their own ability to use the Internet and liking of the Internet); achievement-related and value-related motivational beliefs about the Internet; and their perceived likelihood to use the Internet in instruction. The author examined the achievement-related beliefs within a motivational framework that described pre-service teachers’ actual knowledge and perceived experience about the Internet. Value-related beliefs encompassed six measures for which the Internet would be valuable: personal needs, future career goals, a partner, children, future students, and society in general. Likelihood of using the Internet in instruction focused on teaching needs, students’ learning, and differential access to resources. Overall, three out of the four independent variables were significant for future Internet use: attitudes, perceived experience, and perceived values. Value-related beliefs were the most dominant predictors of almost every item of Internet use. Perceived experience was a significant predictor only for pre-service teachers creating a homepage for students to use. An attitude (confidence and liking of the Internet) was only a significant predictor when pre-service teachers’ access was restricted to the school. Surprisingly, actual knowledge was never a main predictor of future Internet use. Zogheib concluded that the computer course “provided [pre-service teachers] with a clear and effective plan [on] how to use the Internet in the classroom” (p. 103). It appears that the course was not the problem, but the problem was in the lack of opportunities for pre-service teachers to use the Internet during teaching practice due to associate teachers’ lack of experience in that domain. Zogheib finished the report with recommendation that faculties of education should focus on ensuring that computer-related knowledge is “translated into practical applications in classroom settings” (p. 108). In the next study, Zogheib (2006) investigated computer use among pre-service teachers in view of their experience with technology, demographic factors, motivation for use, personality factors and learning styles. Data collection in this explanatory mixed-method design study was done through conducting a survey and interviews. The quantitative part of the study indicated that female pre-service teachers use computers less than their male counterparts. Also, pre-service teachers in P/J division used computers less than those in J/I and I/S divisions. Data revealed that those pre-service teachers, who do not speak English at home, use computers more than others. In the interviews pre-service teachers reflected on the “computer training” course that was then part of the teacher education program and is also the topic of the study described in this paper. Pre-service teachers stated that the course was informative but that it started from the wrong assumption that participants had some previous computer technology training. Those who were advanced computer users did not find the course too difficult, while those who were in initial stages of technology use thought they would have to re-teach themselves if they ever intended to use the programs briefly described in class. One of the suggestions was to have class assignments focus more on practical issues than on evaluating and critiquing articles. The twelve interviewees criticized the whole teacher education program for not providing enough computer experience. This experience was mainly limited to using the text editors or online searches. The participants stated that very few professors in the program encouraged the pre-service teachers to use computers. This whole issue was compounded by similar and even worse experiences in the teaching practicum: associate teachers did not use computers and appeared disinterested in integrating technology in their classes. There was a discrepancy between computer skills of associate teachers and their students who knew “a lot more” (Zogheib, 2006, p. 92). Further major findings in the Zogheib (2006) study were that the Primary/Junior teacher education program lacks computer training, that other programs need extended time for the computer course and that the course should consist of two stages. The first stage should provide the basic skills training, while the second stage should be about pedagogy related to use of these skills. Qureshi (2004) investigated correlations between university students’ demographic characteristics (gender, age, marital status, employment status, student status, and number of dependents), their prior online/computer experiences, preferred learning styles, motivation, and elements of the online course design, as independent variables, and their satisfaction with the online course components, as dependent variable. Although the pre-service teachers were not included in this study, its results may be relevant for this research. Qureshi recommended that a specific course design model should be used for the Web-based environment. The individual characteristics of students, their learning preferences and previous experience with technology and online learning should be taken into account in designing the online courses. Also, adequate technical support appeared to be relevant for students’ satisfaction with online courses. Through a concurrent mixed-model approach, Magliaro (2006) investigated whether variables such as: gender, age, ethnic origin, previous undergraduate degree, division, computer experience, use of software packages, computer training, computer ownership and socio-economic status have a statistically significant impact on the computer self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers. In addition, Magliaro used open-ended questions to explore pre-service teachers’ computer self-efficacy results by examining their past technological interaction experiences and beliefs based on the four sources of self-efficacy (performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal). Magliaro reported a significant difference among the study participants with respect to their undergraduate degree (in favour of participants with a Science degree), division (only between P/J and J/I), and previous experience with computers and software packages. However, there was no noted significant difference across genders (Magliaro & Ezeife, 2007). In addition to research done elsewhere, these four studies in particular informed the research and the methodological approach used in this study. Consequently, the authors developed a survey instrument having in mind possible triangulation of the final results. The intent was to provide a “big picture” of the findings along the common themes in all the abovementioned studies, with the aim to infer conclusions that will potentially affect the decision-making procedures in teacher education programs. Research Method The goal of this study was to determine the needs of the teacher candidates currently enrolled in the Teacher Education program based on their ICT knowledge and skills, as well as their expectations of an ICT course that could have helped them to integrate ICT into their classroom teaching. The research questions for this study were: What was the status of ICT literacy of the pre-service teachers in the Intermediate/Senior division prior to entering the Teacher Education program? What are the pre-service teachers’ expectations of and attitudes toward ICT learning and integration during and after the program? How can the ICT literacy course be designed and taught in order to better meet the needs of the diverse pre-service teacher population? Recruitment of participants for this study happened in two successive stages: in early February for the online survey; and in April, after the fourth block of practicum, for the focus group interviews. Students from the four I/S sections (N = 135) were invited to voluntarily complete the online survey and three volunteers from each section were invited for the focus group interviews (n = 12). Online Survey A questionnaire was designed to collect the baseline data on the participants’ demographic information, their needs for ICT knowledge and skills, and their expectations of the Teacher Education program in terms of learning and teaching with ICT. The online version of the survey was created using the Pronto Survey software. The online survey was hosted on a network server in the Faculty of Education and an e-mail message was sent out to all the students in the I/S division, asking them to voluntarily participate in the study. A $50 prize draw was used to encourage participation. Survey questions addressed, among others, participants’ demographic background including age, gender, English language proficiency, previous educational experiences, and life experience in Canada. This information was used in the follow-up qualitative part of the study to fine-tune interview questions. By doing so, we followed Morgan (1988), who suggested for “the later stages of a survey, when the data are in and the analysis begins, [to use focus groups] as a follow-up data collection, pursuing ‘exploratory’ aspects of the analysis” (p. 35). Focus Group Meetings Self-selected I/S pre-service teachers were organized into two focus groups. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in April, with six participants in each group. These interviews were tailored to further determine the participants’ needs of ICT knowledge and skills, as well as their attitudes toward and perceptions of ICT integration into their classroom teaching. The interviews were carried out with the assistance of a graduate assistant. Focus group meetings were recorded digitally and recordings were transcribed by the graduate assistant before the data analysis commenced. In accordance with the nature of the semi-structured focus group interview, the interviewers used the guided approach to start each interview topic and allowed the participants to express their views (Gall, Gall & Borg, 2007). To obtain in-depth responses, the interviewers asked for elaboration on emerging topics. By the time data collection started, the course grades were already submitted, so participants did not fear the consequences should any of them decline to participate in the interview or answer specific questions. Reflections from Instructors One author of this article is the instructor of the ICT course and the other uses ICT extensively in a subject area course. After the interview data were collected and analyzed, we reflected on findings based on our teaching journals. Analysis Survey Data The online survey attracted about 17% of eligible teacher candidates, which is an acceptable response rate for this type of data collection. By using the online survey, the researchers were able to contact the target population of pre-service teachers in the I/S division. Research comparing response rates among online, mail, and telephone surveys suggests that response rates are generally lower for online surveys than for mail or telephone surveys (Kraut et al., 2004); however, cost and convenience often outweigh the known disadvantages of online surveys (Reips, 2002). Although validity of data could not be claimed given such a low response rate, and selection bias might be a factor that contributes to the limitations of this study, some valuable interpretations emerged based on the survey data, especially in conjunction with the results of previous studies done on the same site. Twenty-three students (17%, N=135) completed the online survey. Table 1 shows a snapshot of the demographic information of the respondents of the online survey (gender, age range, English language proficiency, online education experiences and academic degrees obtained before entering the program). Based on Table 1, it seems that learners with previous online discussion experiences felt more comfortable participating in online activities (including filling out an online survey) and females were more apt to participate in the research study. Most of these participants had an academic background in science or engineering while only a few (n = 5) had a background in the arts. As such, this sample although voluntary, was demographically similar to the make-up of the whole I/S pre-service teachers’ population. However, since 70% of the online survey respondents were females, this sample was more gender-biased than the I/S division population, of which about 52% were females. Table 1. Online survey respondents’ demographic information. Note: Out of six participants with a Master’s degree, one had two Master’s degrees; one participant with a doctorate did not have a Master’s degree. There was a clear distinction in terms of number of participants between responses to the online survey obtained from the participants with a background in science or engineering compared to the participants with a background in arts or humanities. This phenomenon might be interpreted that pre-service teachers who had gained more experience in ICT during their previous program of studies, felt more comfortable filling out an online survey. Twelve of the survey participants accepted the invitation to take part in the focus group meetings, which were organized twice, two days in a row, with six participants each. Focus Groups’ Data A few themes emerged from the focus group interview data, including lack of agreement about what ICT are, challenges the participants experienced in the course Instructional Technology (Computer Methods), strategies they used to cope with the course assignments, expectations the participants had about the course, their attitudes toward learning and teaching of ICT, and suggestions for developers of ICT literacy courses. Definition of ICT Most participants agreed that “anything used to transform knowledge,” both software and hardware should be counted as ICT. One participant stated that “all is technology.” However, this omnipresence of technology is not without problems. The participants used statements like, “it exists just to be there” and “it is here but it is not there,” to express frustration with ICT not being actually used in schools in which they did practice teaching. Challenges the Participants Experienced in the Course Instructional Technology (Computer Methods) Challenges came from the level of the course and that of the program. The shared opinion between the pre-service teachers in this study was that there was not enough time to practice what was learned in class. The participants also indicated that although ICT should be integrated in all the courses of the teacher education program, since some faculty members are not skilled enough in ICT, such integration was not adequately modeled for them as future teachers. There were repeated requests to make the ICT literacy course more relevant because, as one participant declared, “in Physical Education it is difficult to incorporate technology.” Expectations the Participants had about the Course The overarching expectation expressed by the participants was that the ICT literacy course will help them bridge technological skills/experiences they gained during their own schooling with those of teachers in the present Ontario school system. For example, one participant stated that during her elementary school placement, “[it] blew [her] mind seeing small children pointing fingers at the SmartBoard.” However, at the time when this study was conducted, SmartBoards were not available at the Faculty of Education. Depending on their background, other pre-service teachers’ expectations of the course varied. For example, some of the participants thought this was a computer skills course. At the beginning of the semester, the students were told that this course was designed to develop their ICT literacy, and that it would have both theoretical and practical components. Still, the participants thought the required readings were “useless” or “not relevant.” Those with little ICT knowledge and skills found the course overwhelming while those with a stronger background in the field found they could learn little from it. Some of the participants preferred learning some “hard skills,” while others saw the class time as an opportunity for all to practice and be brought to the same level. Strategies used to Cope with the Course Assignments The participants employed various “survivalist” strategies in the course. Those who felt less knowledgeable took a less active role in the group work or required assistance from those with more expertise. In one of the course assignments, the pre-service teachers were asked to give a workshop on a topic related to the use of ICT in teaching and learning and many of them chose a topic they felt more comfortable about, even though they might have been more interested in something else. As mentioned earlier, this course included group work for students to develop their collaboration skills and different workshops were assigned with the intention to provide opportunities for students to “learn by doing” (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Some of the participants understood the value of such activities but others considered group work as a “waste of time” as they preferred to learn from the instructor rather than from their peers, whom they did not see as knowledgeable enough (e.g., “I’d like to learn from experts and not from others who do not know enough”). Attitudes Toward Learning and Teaching of ICT The participants were univocal in saying that it is important for teachers to become ICT literate, given that ICT can be utilized in all subject areas as a learning enhancer and a useful tool to assist students with special needs. They were especially enthusiastic about the World Wide Web stating that “knowing how to create [a] website is important for every teacher.” One participant, obviously irritated, uttered “ICT is good, you should use it, but we do not know how.” It appeared that the pre-service teachers coming from the science-related areas were more skills-oriented as they did not value theory-based reading materials as much as their peers with a background in arts or humanities did. Suggestions for Curriculum Developers Some suggestions for improvement were geared towards the ICT literacy course itself, while others were more related to the program in general. Regarding the course, it was suggested that the discussions on readings should be organized online instead of face-to-face as it was originally done. By doing so, more time could be allocated for other in-class activities. The participants also wished to be more exposed to hardware and software available at the school boards in order for their learning to have more practical value. At the program level, the participants wanted the Instructional Technology (Computer Methods) course to expand from one to two semesters, so that they would not have to rush through the course material, as obtaining ICT knowledge and skills takes time. Some also suggested decreasing the number of courses offered in the Teacher Education program and redesigning the program in favour of an integrated curriculum so that learning could be more systematic and effective. Having a computer lab with a 24-hour access was seen as imperative by the participants.1 Reflections from the Instructor The first author of this paper was also the instructor of the Instructional Technology (Computer Methods) course. One of the biggest challenges he faced in the course was to accommodate the needs of pre-service teachers with different academic backgrounds as they perceive theory quite differently and their expectations of the course vary. Generally, the students with a background in science or technology have more skills in ICT, but have less appreciation in class activities such as discussions on readings. Other students with a background in the arts or humanities can come to the class with very limited knowledge and skills in ICT, which mostly consist of no more than basic e-mail use and/or basic word processing. These students tend to value the course readings more and participate in critiques of the readings with more advanced critical thinking than the students with science backgrounds. Individuals or groups of up to four students did the tech workshops on topics chosen by the students. The instructor encouraged practical topics that were closely related to the students’ teaching and learning. Consequently, most tech workshops were related to software programs such as Microsoft Office Suite, MarkBook, Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and brief introductions to hardware such as laptop computers, digital still and video cameras, and PDAs. Feedback on the formative evaluation carried out on the course website indicated that some students found the tech workshops to be easy while others were overwhelmed. The latter group wished they had more time to practice and that handouts were distributed for future reference. The instructor minimized lecturing in class as this course was designed with a learner-centered approach. Besides giving a few short lectures and workshops on ICT literacy and curriculum theories, the instructor acted as a moderator for the class activities and provided guidance and assistance when needed. In order to give students some good modeling of integrating ICT in teaching and learning, the instructor employed ICT in various ways in his lectures and workshops. After each class discussion on a reading or student tech workshop presentation, the instructor would elaborate or provide feedback. Most of the time the instructor’s role was to clarify the course requirements and to correct misconceptions. Sometimes discussions on assigned readings took more time than what was allocated in class, so remaining questions would be posted on the discussion board on the course website. In such a way, the online environment served as a venue for extended discussions, even though there were only a few who participated. For the purpose of developing students’ collaborative learning skills, the students did a final project in groups of up to five members. The project was about integrating ICT in teaching and learning and had to be in a digital format such as a website, an interactive PowerPoint presentation, a movie, a computer-aided learning program, or a combination of those technologies. Through these projects, students gained more in-depth understanding of ICT applications, through enhancing their technology skills. In the final online reflections on the course, many students, especially those who had come to the course with very limited ICT knowledge and skills, expressed their excitement and appreciation as they were able to create a website or to make a movie ─ something they thought earlier to be beyond their capabilities. However, students still disliked group work as they had not yet developed collaborative ICT skills to work on projects online. For them finding enough time to meet face-to-face and taking charge of their learning continued to be challenge. Discussion Recent studies show that although there has been strong pressure (from ministries of education, parents and students) to incorporate ICT in classroom teaching and learning, there has been insufficient support for teachers in terms of professional development, release time, educational resources and model instructional methods. In order to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to apply the rapidly evolving ICT in their teaching, it is important that even in their pre-service years teachers become knowledgeable about and amenable to these technologies. In this paper, we present outcomes of the consultation process with pre-service teachers after they completed the one-semester methods course on ICT literacy. Participants in this study demonstrated varied expectations of and attitudes towards ICT learning due to their academic backgrounds and other social and cultural conditions. However, there was little discrepancy pertaining to notions of the relevancy the ICT have and their integration into the Teacher Education program and the school curricula. As expected, the participants were mostly interested in features of the course that were skills oriented. Especially to pre-service teachers with science or engineering background, the theoretical elements of the course, including readings, seem irrelevant and an additional burden in a busy program. Even towards the end of the program, the pre-service teachers seemed to prefer options that would satisfy their current needs in the field, rather than those that would show them possibilities and innovative pedagogies. Nevertheless, it is encouraging that these future teachers value integration of ICT within teacher education curriculum and support differentiated course delivery as its participants arrive to the program with varied skills and attitudes. This study obtained valuable input from participants including suggestions for improvements for the ICT literacy course and the design of the curriculum for the Teacher Education program. It was striking to see how close the opinions and suggestions emerging from this study were to those found in Zogheib’s (2006) study. About five years passed between data collection for these two studies; different instructors taught the ICT literacy course; design of this course went through several changes and still the attitudes of pre-service teachers towards the course, ICT, and the program in comparison to their needs, stayed almost the same. Similar to Magliaro’s (2006) research, this study found the pre-service teacher population to be bimodal in terms of undergraduate degree (science vs. arts or humanities) and previous experience with computer technology (experienced vs. novice) with respect to their attitudes towards technology. Since this study was undertaken, the computer lab at the Faculty of Education was modernized, its working hours were extended, lab assistants were employed, and the science and mathematics classroom were equipped with SmartBoards in addition to two mobile SmartBoards to be shared by faculty members. Given what has been learned from the pre-service teachers’ data and instructors’ reflections in this study, only minor changes occurred in the design of the course: readings were updated and required online discussions were increased from two to three. However, there were no changes in the Teacher Education program in terms of increased ICT training for all pre-service teachers (including P/J) and extension of the ICT literacy course to two semesters. Conclusions The findings in this study present technology education in the pre-service program as slow to change and lagging behind the advancements in the field. It takes time to learn and appropriate ICT, so having only one semester ICT literacy course is not advisable. Based on the results of prior studies done in the same setting and the results of this study, it would be best to offer the ICT literacy course in two semesters and on two levels. While the introductory course would be ICT skills-based, its sequel would cover ICT pedagogical content knowledge training. Recommendations about greater use of the online facilities should be taken into consideration, and instructors also need to find ways to engage pre-service teachers in online discussions. It seems that overall the best motivational strategy for pre-service teachers’ involvement in the ICT literacy course would be to relate what is offered in the course to ICT available in schools. Still, it is of concern that pre-service teachers’ perceptions around future use of ICT material are equated with the present status of ICT in schools. As demonstrated by this study, faculties of education sometimes use less advanced technologies than those presently available in schools to prepare future teachers to bring about positive changes in the school system, including technological. One limitation of this study is in the small sample of Intermediate/Senior pre-service teachers who participated. Also, based on our findings, it is hard to see how relevant the pre-service teachers’ learning in the ICT literacy course will be once they are in the field. However, this study identifies a number of issues that point to challenges teacher education programs may have when designing ICT learning experiences to prepare teachers to teach with technology. Acknowledgements This project was kindly supported with an Internal Research Grant by the Faculty of Education, University of Windsor. References Barnes, K., Marateo, R. C., & Ferris, S. P. (2007). Teaching and learning with the net generation. Innovate, 3(4). Retrieved July 30, 2007 from http://www.innovateonline.info Batane, T. (2004). Inservice teacher training and technology: A case of Botswana. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 12(3), 387-410. Culp, K., Honey, M., & Mandinach, E. (2005). A retrospective on twenty years of education technology policy. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 32(3), 279-307. Gall, M., Gall, J., & Borg, W. (2007). Educational research: An introduction (8th ed.). Toronto, ON: Person Education, Inc. Gerban, O. (1992). Effects of computer simulations and problem solving approaches on high school students. Journal of Educational Research, 86(1), 5-10. Teacher education and ICT: some points for consideration from the UK Terry Haydn Reader in Education, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of East Anglia t.haydn@uea.ac.uk 00 44 1603 593150 For the past decade or so I have had an interest in the ways in which teachers and student teachers learn to use ICT in their teaching. Having read through the project details, the following sections are some of my thoughts on aspects of recent policy and practice in the UK which may have some relevance to the project. 1. Government commitment to the use of ICT in schools in the UK One of my sad little hobbies is collecting quotations by politicians and policymakers about the use of new technology in education. In over ten years, I have not come across any policy statement about ICT and education that is not unequivocally positive about the potential of ICT to improve educational outcomes. Moreover, this commitment has been matched by substantial financial investment in ICT in schools. The UK now has one of the lowest pupil to computers ratio in the world (estimated by BECTa recently at between one computer for every 3-4 pupils in secondary schools). However, politicians in the UK have tended to see computers as unproblematic educational miracles, and their inchoate enthusiasm for ICT has not always meshed with teachers’ ideas about the ways in which new technology might be used to improve teaching and learning in schools. Until recently, much investment focused on the provision of dedicated ICT rooms where pupils would gain ‘hands on’ experience of using Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access etc. There is evidence to suggest that teachers wanted ICT to help them to teach their subject in more powerful, effective and engaging ways, in their ‘ordinary’ classrooms, as and when the opportunity arose. More recently, there has been a shift to investment in data projectors, interactive whiteboards and internet access in ordinary classrooms. Although the government has been unequivocally committed to promoting the use of ICT in education, and have committed substantial funding to encourage teachers to use ICT, mistakes have been made; it is important to learn from some of these mistakes. There is a place in the research for allowing those directly involved in the recent experiences of trying to get student teachers to incorporate the use of ICT in their teaching to talk about which policy levers were helpful and which less so. 2. The problematic nature of getting teachers to use ICT 2 A central and high profile strand of education policy in the UK over the past decade has been the development of a technologically empowered teaching force so that ICT is ‘embedded in teaching and learning’ (Clarke, 2003: 3). This has proved to be more difficult than envisaged. Department for Education and Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) reports have generally showed a disappointingly sluggish increase in the number of teachers making regular use of computers in their teaching. The ImpaCT 2 Report (Harrison et al., 2002) suggested that roughly 60% of teachers were making little or no use of computers in their teaching and Teacher Development Agency (TDA) feedback from NQTs regularly reported that many trainees did not feel well equipped to make effective use of ICT in their teaching (TDA, 2006, 2007). In spite of political commitment and financial investment, there still appears to be a ‘rhetoric-reality gap’ between the claims made for the use of ICT in education, and what is current practice. Perhaps even more exasperatingly, some UK research suggests a degree of polarisation in ICT use, with some schools and teachers making effective and inspirational use of ICT, but others lagging behind (see, for instance, Harrison, 2003). It has proved more difficult than envisaged to disseminate good practice in the use of ICT. In particular, the belief that expertise and ideas could be simply disseminated via electronic networks has proved to be misplaced. It would be helpful if the research could be designed in a way which would develop our understanding of the factors which explain why ICT is making a big difference to teaching in some schools (and teacher training institutions) but not in others. 3. Difficulties in getting ‘honest’ responses and accurate information about the use of ICT in schools It might be helpful to keep in mind some of the mistakes which have been made in the UK in recent years in this field. The roughly biennial large scale surveys conducted by the Department for Education from 1985 onwards have been largely discredited, and it is now generally acknowledged that simply asking headteachers and heads of department how much computers are used, and what difference they make to learning outcomes is not a reliable way of assessing the impact of ICT, given teachers’ awareness of the ‘politically correct’ response. The ImpaCT 2 Report (Harrison et al., 2002), which attempted to elucidate the extent to which ICT could be proved to have improved learning outcomes was also subject to varying interpretation, and illustrated the difficulties in isolating the use of ICT as a variable in educational outcomes. The research design needs to keep in mind the importance of respondents feeling able to talk freely and honestly about their experiences of learning to use ICT. 4. Pupil and teacher use of Web 2.0 technology Recent research in the UK (BECTa, 2008) suggests that there may be some validity to the proposition that many pupils are more familiar with Web 2.0 applications than many of their teachers. Of the 2,600 learners surveyed, 74% had social networking accounts and 78% had uploaded artefacts using Web 2.0 applications. However, nearly all pupil use of Web 2.0 is currently outside school, for social purposes. Few pupils had an understanding of the ways in which Web 2.0 might be used for educational purposes, and few had well developed digital literacy and critical skills to 3 navigate Web 2.0 territory in a mature way. A small number of teachers are using Web 2.0 applications in their teaching, 59% believed that Web 2.0 applications did have the potential to improve teaching and learning outcomes, but many expressed concern about the time needed for familiarisation and development. The executive summary concluded that ‘despite the anecdotal evidence and hype surrounding the concept of Web 2.0 technologies in education, there is a lack of studies providing empirical evidence on the role of Web 2.0 technologies to support learning.’ This disjunction between the number of pupils and teachers using Web 2.0 applications and the different ways in which they use Web 2.0 could be a particularly interesting strand of the enquiry. 5. Teacher attitudes/disposition to the use of ICT There is evidence to suggest that teacher’s attitude to the use of ICT in the UK has changed over the past decade. Whereas surveys several years ago suggested that were various forms of teacher resistance to ICT, more recently, research has suggested that the majority of teachers have positive views about the potential of ICT to improve teaching and learning outcomes; one of their main concerns was finding time to fully explore this potential (See, for instance, Haydn and Barton, 2006). This is not to suggest that all teachers are equally proactive in developing the use of ICT in their teaching, and teacher disposition towards demonstrating initiative in progressing their practice with ICT remains an interesting and under researched agenda. As was pointed out at the seminar, how teachers feel about the potential of ICT, and their views about incentives and discouragements is a relevant issue. 6. ‘First do no harm’ There is some evidence to suggest that some of the policy levers which have been used to promote the use of ICT in schools have been ineffective, or even counterproductive. Mistakes in the UK include the overloading of the list of ICT competences required to gain Qualified Teacher Status (DfEE, 1998), ‘curriculum mapping’ approaches to ICT (different subjects to develop different aspects of ICT), a punitive mentality relating to teacher development in ICT, generic ‘industrial training’ models of in-service training, a ‘coverage’ (breadth rather than depth) approach to ICT competence, and an over-reliance on distance based ‘over the wires’ learning approaches (see Haydn and Barton, 2007 for further development of these points). 7. Conclusions/some things to think about • There are still different views about what it means ‘to be good at ICT’ as a teacher. Exploring teachers’ views on this (and comparing them with policy levers and curriculum specifications) might be an interesting way forward. • Given the same ‘input’ in Initial Teacher Education courses, why do some students make much more progress than others in their use of ICT? Is it about teacher dispositions towards technology or learning styles and approaches? • It is clearly not primarily a question of ‘providing more stuff’ about ICT for teachers and student teachers; there is already more ‘stuff’ than they can possibly cope with. It is more important to try and find out what strategies, 4 interventions, experiences and resources have the most impact in persuading teachers to develop their use of ICT. • It is self-evident to most teachers that their use of ICT will depend on what subject they teach. Data logging, for example, is a key facet of science education, but is of no interest to history teachers. There is a need to gain a greater understanding of which ICT applications are considered most valuable by teachers of different subjects; teachers often have to make difficult choices about which ICT agendas to pursue in order to profit from ‘investment’ in ICT. • Giving teachers more time to explore the potential use of ICT has emerged as an important issue in some recent research, ‘Barriers’ to ICT use have changed over the past decade and there is a need to understand these changes. 33