ICT in Education

14th Nov 201110.00am – 12.00pm

MA International Education core module: Contemporary Issues in Education, Session 9Dr Palitha EdirisinghaBeyond Distance Research AllianceUniversity of Leicester105, Princess Road East, LE1 [email protected]+44 (0)116 252 3753+44 (0)7525 246 592

This is a ‘longer’ and slightly ‘modified’ version of the slides I used during the session on the 14th of November 2011. Please email me at [email protected] if you

have any questions regarding this set of

slides.

Learning outcomesGain an in-depth understanding of the developments of ICT in various national and cultural contexts

Understand the nature and implications of differential access to technology for educational and social inclusion

Develop critical awareness of young people’s new digital media skills and their implications for teaching and learning in schools

Recognise the potential uses of new technologies to support learning in schools

The Role of ICT in Education, Session 9, MA IE Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, Dr Palitha Edirisingha, 14 Nov 2011

Learning activities

Pre-session: internet research

Pre-session reading

Group activities

Discussions

Post-session reading

A presentation, an essay?


Key themes and concepts

Digital divideDigital exclusion and inclusion

Learners: digital generation, Net generation

Digital literacy

Pedagogy,

learning The Role of ICT in Education, Session 9, MA IE Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, Dr Palitha Edirisingha, 14 Nov 2011

Key concepts and terms


1). ICT? What do we mean by it?Responses from the class..[---]


2). Digital natives? Who are they?Responses from the class..[---]


3). Digital divide? What is it?Responses from the class..[---]


4). Digital literacy? What is it?Responses from the class..[---]


Internet use across the world


Internet access

(Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm, accessed 14 Nov 2011)


Internet Use across the World There are roughly the same number of Internet

users in the G8 countries as in the whole rest of the world combined

The top 20 countries in terms of Internet bandwidth are home to roughly 80% of all Internet users worldwide.

The entire African continent - home to over 50 countries - has fewer Internet users than France alone.

There are more Internet users in London than in the whole of Pakistan.

Denmark has more than twice the international Internet bandwidth that the whole of Latin American and the Caribbean combined.

There are still 30 countries with an Internet penetration of less than 1%The Role of ICT in Education, Session 9, MA IE Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, Dr Palitha

Edirisingha, 14 Nov 2011

International Picture1. Western Europe:

ICT widely available to general public in both accessibility & cost. 47% between the ages of 16 & 74 used the Internet

But gaps remain, e.g: Age; Employment status; Educational level; Rural/urban location

Contributory factors Poor infrastructure; Low ICT literacy; Lack of incentives to use ICT

Largest gaps between higher & lower educated in Portugal, Slovenia & Spain [70%, 68% & 61% respectively]

Smallest in Lithuania (11%), Sweden (24%) & Germany (25%)

(EU Study: Eurostat, 2004/5)


International picture2. Global digital divide

Unlike the traditional notion of digital divide between social classes, the "global digital divide" is essentially a geographical division.

Originally referred to disparity in Internet access between rural/urban areas of the US

Now, generally used to describe gap between developed & developing world


Global divide

Differing rates of technological progress widen economic disparity between most developed nations….. (primarily Western, Northern America, Europe, Canada, Japan)

…& the underdeveloped/developing ones… (primarily Latin America, Africa, & Southeast Asia)

….create a digital (or digitally fostered) divide


Schools: UK

100% of UK schools have internet access The majority of schools are well-equipped with

modern technology Main divide is for home access which

disadvantages students with limited access to or no ICT at home: Schools increasingly require homework to involve use of ICT

School intranets Online submission & marking eLearning portals / virtual learning environments


Schools: Developing countries Example: Namibia Namibia is a vast country with a population of

less than two million. A major portion of the country's annual budget is being spent on education, but state coffers are stretched to the limit ….Towns & villages are far apart, many do not have running water & electricity, let alone access to phone lines. There is a general lack of clinics, schools, qualified teachers, libraries & educational materials.

Namibia has 1,519 schools of which 924 presently do not have a telephone, electricity or a library.


Pre-class activity -1: Access


Activity 1: What does it mean to have access to, and devices for using internet for education? (Think about your chosen sector of education)


Access to hardware and the internet

Useful websites

http://www.nationmaster.com

http://www.nationmaster.com/cat/med-media

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_mobile_phones_in_use


Access in your country / region?

Internet Computers Mobile phones Other digital devices


Digital divide


Digital divide

‘the gap between the technology rich and the technology poor, both within and between societies’ (Buckingham, 2008, p. 10)


Digital divide

'the gap between those who do and those who do not have access to computers and the Internet’. …access considered as 'physical access' - 'having personal computer and Internet connection.' (van Dijk, 2005, p. 1)


Digital divide

‘the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels with regard both to their opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities (OECD, 2001).


Can we close the digital divide? If so, how?


What are the limitations with this view/ approach to solving the access problem?

The ‘trickle-down’ principle


digital divide as a ‘social and political problem’ (van Dijk, 2005, p. 3), not a technical one.


physical access is only one kind of (material) access among at least four: motivational, material, skills and usage.


Does digital divide intensify the existing social inequalities (of age, gender, ethnicity, social class, disabilities)?

What are the disadvantages of being in the ‘have not’ side of the digital divide? What are the consequences of digital divide for learners, for teachers, for schools, and for education as a whole?


Digital divide – examplesIn pictures: Nairobi's digital divide

‘… with broadband internet access costing more than the average Kenyan annual wage, the digital divide appears set to remain’ (BBC, 2010)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/8259533.stm


Access


Access

Four kinds :1.Motivational access -- motivation to use

digital technology2.Material or physical access --

possession of computers and Internet connections / permission to use them and their content

3.Skills access -- possession of digital skills: operational, informational, and strategic

4.Usage access -- number and diversity of applications, usage of time

(van Dijk, 2005).The Role of ICT in Education, Session 9, MA IE Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, Dr Palitha


Approaches to closing digital divide?

Hole in the Wall - Sugta Mitra’s video on YouTube

Your reflections … any similar approaches in your context?


Innovative projects using new ICT

BBC Janala has been awarded the prestigious Microsoft Education Award at the 2010 Tech Awards in Silicon Valley, California.

The Tech Awards celebrate the power of technology to address global challenges in the environment, economic development, education, equality and health.

"BBC Janala’s genius is it uses the existing cellular network to provide people with educational content rather than waiting for what we have in the developed world.”

BBC Janala impressed judges with its use of mobile technology to reach some of the poorest people in the country, offering a simple and affordable way to learn.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/whatwedo/where/asia/bangladesh/2010/11/101020_tech_award_for_bbc_janala.shtml

BBC Janala receives Tech Award for educational innovationBangladesh


Digital / net generation


A digital generation

‘a generation defined in and through its experience of digital computer technology’ (Buckingham, 2006, p. 1).


A digital generation

Other terms

the Nintendo generation (Green and Bigum, 1993)

the Playstation generation (Blair, 2004)

the ‘net generation’ (Tapscott, 1998)

‘cyberkids’ (Holloway and Valentine, 2003)

‘thumb generation’ - in Japan (Brooke, 2002)


A generation?

‘an age cohort that comes to have social significance by by virtue of constituting itself as a cultural identity’ (Edmunds and Turner, 2002, p. 7).

‘a cohort of individuals born within a particular time frame’ (Buckingham, 2008, p. 2)

a cohort having a relationship with a particular traumatic event’ (Edmunds and Turner, 2002), for example a world war..., a defining moment in the history.


Generations

Generations (according to Tapscott, 1998)

The Boomers - born between 1946 - 1964. The TV generation. conservative, Hierarchical, inflexible, centralised (like the TV medium). incompetent technophobes.

The Bust - born between 1965 - 1976. The Role of ICT in Education, Session 9, MA IE Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, Dr Palitha


The net generation: expressive, savvy, self-reliant, analytical, creative, inquisitive, accept diversity, socially conscious. Possess intuitive, spontaneous relationship with digital technology.

‘using new technology is as natural as breathing’ (Tapscott, 1997, p. 40).

generational differences are produced by the technology.


Claims about the digital generation

‘Although specific forms of technology uptake are highly diverse, a generation is growing up in an era where digital media are part of the taken-for-granted social and cultural fabric of learning, play, and social communication’ (Ito et al, p. vii, 2008).


Claims about the digital generation

‘…those immersed in new digital tools and networks are engaged in an unprecedented exploration of language, games, social interaction, problem solving, and self-directed activity that leads to diverse forms of learning.’ (Ito et al, p. vii, 2008).


Research on digital natives Please click on the link at the bottom of this slide to download a

keynote address by Dr Chris Davies (Oxford University).

Abstract of the keynote address:

Ever since the inflated claims about how technology can transform learning during the 1980s, education professionals have been scanning the horizon for the first signs of the future to arrive, and complaining about how long the wait has been. This paper will argue that the big transformation has already happened, but in the form simply of very many small and relatively unremarkable changes that are rapidly becoming embedded in the lives and learning of young people. The paper will discuss these issues with reference to findings from a current Becta-funded research project: The Learner and their Context.

Click on the URL below and download the 1st and the 2nd files from the top. Named “day3_keynote_cd_present_med” AND “day3_keynote_cd_qa_med”

After downloading, you can play back these files on your iPod, mobile phone, iPad or laptop.

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=1371316d87c549bf&id=1371316D87C549BF%21211

If there is a problem accessing this keynote address and/or playing back the files, please email me and I’ll try to help..


Activity 2: Questions…

Do young people who are growing up with digital media have a different orientation to the world, a different set of dispositions or characteristics?

How do the net generation learn? what are the characteristics of their learning? based on your own experience, own educational context?


Digital native’s own claims

‘I don’t find it hard to use a computer because I got into it quickly. You learn quick because it’s a very fun thing to do.” (Amir, 15, from London).

‘My Dad hasn’t even got a clue. Can’t even work the mouse.... So I have to go on the Internet for him” (Lorna, 17, from Manchester).

(Livingstone, 2008).The Role of ICT in Education, Session 9, MA IE Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, Dr Palitha


How true are these claims?

‘While these claims contain a sizeable grain of truth, we must also recognise their rhetorical value for the speakers. Only in rare circumstances in history have children gained greater expertise than parents in skills highly values by society.’ (e.g., diasporic children’s learning of the host language before their parents, youthful expertise in music, games, play).

(Livingstone, 2008).


Growing up ‘analogue’ Vs growing up digital

Please read the extract from Heverly (2008, pp.199-200) and identify any similarities and differences between your own, your parents’ and your pupils’ generations. How far is this true as far as yourself and your pupils are concerned? Does a ‘digital generation’ exist in your context? What do they do with digital technologies? Do they use technologies for their learning? if so, how? Make notes and share with the class.


Implications for learning: digital literacy


Digital literacy

[…] is much more than a functional matter of learning how to use a computer and keyboard, or how to do online searches. […] As with print, they also need to be able to evaluate and use information critically if they are to transform it into knowledge. This means asking questions about the sources of that information, the interests of its producers, and the ways in which it represents the world.

(Buckingham, 2006, p. 267)The Role of ICT in Education, Session 9, MA IE Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, Dr Palitha


Three concerns that need our attention:

1. The participation gap. An unequal access to the opportunities, experiences, skills, and knowledge that will prepare youth for full participation in the world tomorrow.

2. The transparency problem. The difficulty that the young people face in making sense of how the new media tools that they use can shape their perceptions of the world.

3. The ethics challenge. The use of new media tools which can breakdown the traditional norms and practices as professionals, such as the fair use of content and consideration for intellectual property rights, and young people need support in understanding these issues as they are socialised in a Web 2.0 world.

Jenkins et al (2006, p. 3)The Role of ICT in Education, Session 9, MA IE Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, Dr Palitha


Digital literacy – implications for learning


Implications for learning

Pupils without internet 'disadvantaged in education' An increasing amount of homework requires use of the internet More than half of teachers believe that children with no internet access are seriously disadvantaged in their education, a survey has suggested.A fifth of the 585 teachers surveyed for the Times Educational Supplement and charity E-Learning Foundation said internet access was essential for pupil's homework.

The charity also warned it was seeing support from the government cut.It is estimated two million children live in homes without internet access.An increasing amount of schoolwork, especially at secondary school, is dependent on computer use.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11738519]The Role of ICT in Education, Session 9, MA IE Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, Dr Palitha


More questions..

How might we deploy new ICT to improve learning and studying at schools / universities / other contexts?


More questions..

How can schools / formal education system help pupils growing in a digital age?


Towards a model of educational digital inclusion


DigitalInclusion

Access to technology Policy

Reliable Up-to-dateGovernmental Institutional

Socio/economic factors

? ?

??

? ?

Activity 3

In your groups, Identify a Scribe; Facilitator &

Timekeeper Add to/build upon the existing model on

the previous slide: Identify additional factors which affect

digital inclusion: generally which are likely to relate to education

Scribe presents (2 minutes) summary of discussion


Activity 4

In your groups, ( NEW Scribe; Facilitator & Timekeeper)

‘Think about your own national/cultural context Where do you see the key barriers to inclusion? What would be required to bring about greater

inclusion: generally which are likely to relate to education

Identify possible intervention points

Scribe presents (2 minutes) summary of discussion


Finally, a question for educators: How can schools / formal education system help pupils growing in a digital age? equalising access to technology (not only physical

access, but other forms of access too..) providing both critical perspectives on technology and

creative opportunities to use it. not just teaching ‘ICT skills’.

provide opportunities to use the skills they learned outside the school in meaningful ways

online safety ethical use of information


References and further reading

Berners-Lee, T. (2000). Weaving the Web: The Past, Present and Future of the World Wide Web by its Inventor, London, Texere.

Buckingham, D., and Willett, R. (eds) (2006) Digital Generation: Children, Young People, and New Media, Mahwah (New Jersey): Lawrence Erlbaum.

DCMS (2009) Digital Britain: Final Report, URL http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/report/being-digital/getting-britain-online/. [Accessed 3 Sept 2009].

Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and Underused: Computers in the Classroom, London: Harvard University Press.

Cuban, L. (1986). Teachers and Machines: The Classroom Use of Technology Since 1920, New York: Teachers’ College, Colombia University.

Facer, K. (2011). Learning Futures: Education, technology and social change, Routledge: London.

Facer, K., Furlong, J., Furlon, R., and Sutherland, R. (2003). ScreenPlay: Children and Computing in the Home, London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Gill, T. (ed) (1996) Electronic children: How children are responding to the information revolution, London: National children's Bureau.

Heverly, R. A. (2008). Growing Up Digital: Control and the Pieces of a Digital Life, in in T. McPherson (ed.). Digital Youth, Innovation, and the Unexpected, Cambridge (Massachusetts): The MIT Press. (pp. 199 – 218)

Hawkridge, D. (1983). New Information Technology in Education, London: Croom Helm. The Role of ICT in Education, Session 9, MA IE Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, Dr Palitha


References and further reading

Hellawell, S. (2001). Beyond Access: ICT and social inclusion, London: Fabian Society.

Holloway, S. L., and Valentine, G. (2003) Cyberkids: children in the information age, London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Clinton, K., Weigel, M., & Robinson, A. (2006). Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Cambridge, MA: Comparative Media Studies Programme at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. URL http://www.projectnml.org/files/working/NMLWhitePaper.pdf [Accessed 2 Nov 2010].

Livingstone, S. (2008). Internet Literacy: Young People’s Negotiation of New Online Opportunities, in T. McPherson (ed.). Digital Youth, Innovation, and the Unexpected, Cambridge (Massachusetts): The MIT Press. (pp. 101– 122).

McPherson, T. (ed) (2008) Digital Youth, Innovation, and the Unexpected, London: The MIT Press.

Melville, D. (2009) Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World: Report of Committee of Enquiry into the Changing Learner Experience, URL http://www.clex.org.uk/CLEX_Report_v1-final.pdf. [Accessed 29 May 2009].

Sharpe, R., Beethem, H., and De Freitas, S.( eds) (2010). Rethinking Learning for a Digital Age: How learners are shaping their own experiences, London: Routledge. [see Chapter 12].

van Dijk, J.A.G.M. (2005). The Deepening Divide: Inequality in the Information Society, London: Sage.

Wilhelm, A.G. (2004) Digital Nation: Towards an Inclusive Information Society, London: The MIT Press.


Resources - UK

Organisation

URL

Futurelab http://www.futurelab.org.uk/

Becta http://www.becta.org/postnuke/index.php

BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/


Resources - Europe

European Union http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/projects/

home_en.html


Resources - International

Unesco http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/themes/icts/

Commonwealth of Learning http://www.col.org/ [then use search terms such as ‘ict learning

schools’]

The World Bank http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/

EXTINFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/0,,menuPK:282828~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:282823,00.html]


ICT for Education: look out for!!

OERs (Open Educational Resources, e.g., OpenLearn, MIT open resources, OpenCulture.

‘Folk teachers’ (e.g., Khan Academy)

Repositories of recorded lectures (e.g, TED Talks)

Learning material on iTunes U

Informal and formal learning material on YouTube and other social media


And finally … some fun!

Visualising the internet growth and use

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8552410.stm


Thank you!

hope you enjoyed the class

If you have any questions or suggestions to improve / contribute to this presentation,

please feel free to contact me at:

[email protected]

@palithaed

+44 (0)116 252 3753

+44 (0)7525 246 592

Office location: No. 105, Beyond Distance Research Alliance, University of Leicester, Princess Road

East, LE1 7LGThe Role of ICT in Education, Session 9, MA IE Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, Dr Palitha Edirisingha, 14 Nov 2011

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