Comparing Two Articles
Smeets (2002) Does ICT Contribute to Powerful learning environments in Primary Education and Robertson The Ambiguous Embrace: Twenty Years of ICT in UK Primary Schools
Smeets, at the outset of his article, establishes the criteria needed for an effective learning environment. He suggests that a successful learning environment is one that is extremely open ended and not one that consists of a teacher handing out numerous facts to passive children. He also suggests that the environment needs o be meaningful in the outside world, it needs to encourage active and independent learning, co-operative learning and the curriculum needs to be adapted to fulfil individual needs. He argues that ICT can contribute to this ideal learning environment in a number of ways.
Ict makes complex ideas or processes easier to understand
It provides access to a wealth of information
It provides opportunities for co-operative learning
It can be differentiated to support all needs within the classroom
Smeets conducted a study to find out the main features of the most successful learning environments, how ICT contributes to these and what factors influence the use of ICT.
The study found that the teachers in the highest grade of primary education set authentic tasks and gave pupils autonomy in their learning. He found however that the adaptation to individual needs to be quite lacking. Teachers in this highest grade were found to value the use ICT to support independent pupil learning and to differentiate the curriculum. ICT in practice however, was mainly found to be skill based rather than using open-ended ICT programmes to encourage pupils’ information processing skills. There was little evidence to show ICT being used to support co-operative learning or to link pupils with the ‘real world’. He concluded therefore that teachers were not taking advantage of the ways ICT can support to learning environments. What is interesting about the article is that teachers who were male and more confident in their own ICT skills tended to use more open ended applications. It was also the lack of computers which affected the use of these applications.
Robertson also touches on this issue of ICT not being used or taught effectively within schools in the United Kingdom. He gives a history of ICT’s implementation and the issues surrounding it. He suggests that ICT had the potential in schools to encourage learner autonomy because of its interactivity although this was not exploited during the early introduction of computers in schools. He sets out principles that were put in place in order to improve ICT within schools including areas such as improvements in initial teacher education, clear guidance on curricular positioning, technical support and staff development. He however suggests that despite these aims, ICT has adopted all of the principles and as a result ICT was not embedded successfully in the learning environment. Like Smeets, he suggests that lack of training and subject knowledge is partly to blame on the teachers’ parts. Also, the lack of resources has also contributed to this inability to integrate ICT fully. He suggests finally in the article that despite much research into means of making ICT more embedded in learning environments, reports at the end of the 20th century have noted that these suggestions are not being taken on board.
What these articles have highlighted is the fact that ICT’s potential within the classroom to create a more powerful learning environment is not being fully realised within classrooms. ICT within the classroom needs to go a lot further than just skills based education. In an evolving world where ICT is everywhere children are sometimes a lot more efficient in its use then we are as teachers. As ICT is such an important part of their world, it seems all the more relevant to provide opportunities within the classroom to use it. Smeets suggested in his article that a powerful learning environment is steeped in the context of children’s world and ICT is ultimately part of this. In terms of supporting individual needs, ICT is often more widely available to support pupils with SEN rather than for everyone in the class and its potential to aid autonomous learning as argued by both Smeets and Robertson needs to be available for all pupils.
An enquiry based approach to ICt can also help in allowing children to access a wealth of information which again can help in independent learning as children can find out aspects of topics that interest them. Applications that support idea organisation like mindmaps can also aid children’s independence as they are quickly able to organise their thoughts and ideas.
Perhaps the most troubling point that both articles raise is the restrictions on the use of ICT in the learning environment because of teachers’ lack of subject knowledge. This, however, may become less of an issue as much initial teacher training incorporates a wide variety of uses and ideas for ICT implementation. As these teachers begin their careers, their influence with start to be hopefully more recognizable within schools and they will also be able to support their peers.
ICT can be used to a great extent in creating a rich learning environment because it can offer autonomy, opportunities for co-operative learning, links to the ‘real world’ and can support the individual pupil. These are all aspects that most classrooms will inspire to incorporate anyway and ICT can really help to achieve this.
Smeets (2002) Does ICT Contribute to Powerful learning environments in Primary Education and Robertson The Ambiguous Embrace: Twenty Years of ICT in UK Primary Schools
Smeets, at the outset of his article, establishes the criteria needed for an effective learning environment. He suggests that a successful learning environment is one that is extremely open ended and not one that consists of a teacher handing out numerous facts to passive children. He also suggests that the environment needs o be meaningful in the outside world, it needs to encourage active and independent learning, co-operative learning and the curriculum needs to be adapted to fulfil individual needs. He argues that ICT can contribute to this ideal learning environment in a number of ways.
Ict makes complex ideas or processes easier to understand
It provides access to a wealth of information
It provides opportunities for co-operative learning
It can be differentiated to support all needs within the classroom
Smeets conducted a study to find out the main features of the most successful learning environments, how ICT contributes to these and what factors influence the use of ICT.
The study found that the teachers in the highest grade of primary education set authentic tasks and gave pupils autonomy in their learning. He found however that the adaptation to individual needs to be quite lacking. Teachers in this highest grade were found to value the use ICT to support independent pupil learning and to differentiate the curriculum. ICT in practice however, was mainly found to be skill based rather than using open-ended ICT programmes to encourage pupils’ information processing skills. There was little evidence to show ICT being used to support co-operative learning or to link pupils with the ‘real world’. He concluded therefore that teachers were not taking advantage of the ways ICT can support to learning environments. What is interesting about the article is that teachers who were male and more confident in their own ICT skills tended to use more open ended applications. It was also the lack of computers which affected the use of these applications.
Robertson also touches on this issue of ICT not being used or taught effectively within schools in the United Kingdom. He gives a history of ICT’s implementation and the issues surrounding it. He suggests that ICT had the potential in schools to encourage learner autonomy because of its interactivity although this was not exploited during the early introduction of computers in schools. He sets out principles that were put in place in order to improve ICT within schools including areas such as improvements in initial teacher education, clear guidance on curricular positioning, technical support and staff development. He however suggests that despite these aims, ICT has adopted all of the principles and as a result ICT was not embedded successfully in the learning environment. Like Smeets, he suggests that lack of training and subject knowledge is partly to blame on the teachers’ parts. Also, the lack of resources has also contributed to this inability to integrate ICT fully. He suggests finally in the article that despite much research into means of making ICT more embedded in learning environments, reports at the end of the 20th century have noted that these suggestions are not being taken on board.
What these articles have highlighted is the fact that ICT’s potential within the classroom to create a more powerful learning environment is not being fully realised within classrooms. ICT within the classroom needs to go a lot further than just skills based education. In an evolving world where ICT is everywhere children are sometimes a lot more efficient in its use then we are as teachers. As ICT is such an important part of their world, it seems all the more relevant to provide opportunities within the classroom to use it. Smeets suggested in his article that a powerful learning environment is steeped in the context of children’s world and ICT is ultimately part of this. In terms of supporting individual needs, ICT is often more widely available to support pupils with SEN rather than for everyone in the class and its potential to aid autonomous learning as argued by both Smeets and Robertson needs to be available for all pupils.
An enquiry based approach to ICt can also help in allowing children to access a wealth of information which again can help in independent learning as children can find out aspects of topics that interest them. Applications that support idea organisation like mindmaps can also aid children’s independence as they are quickly able to organise their thoughts and ideas.
Perhaps the most troubling point that both articles raise is the restrictions on the use of ICT in the learning environment because of teachers’ lack of subject knowledge. This, however, may become less of an issue as much initial teacher training incorporates a wide variety of uses and ideas for ICT implementation. As these teachers begin their careers, their influence with start to be hopefully more recognizable within schools and they will also be able to support their peers.
ICT can be used to a great extent in creating a rich learning environment because it can offer autonomy, opportunities for co-operative learning, links to the ‘real world’ and can support the individual pupil. These are all aspects that most classrooms will inspire to incorporate anyway and ICT can really help to achieve this.
1 comment:
A good choice of articles and a useful discussion. Thank you.
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