2 October 2011
Case Study 3: Evaluating the impact of technology integration at St Cyprians in Cape Town
(submitted by Nina Adams)
This is a guest post written by Nina Adams who is Head of ICT at St Cyprians in Cape Town. She plans, implements and manages all things ICT, from infrastructure to staff training. She also heads up the Microsoft Innovative Schools programme which means she is responsible for researching, implementing and documenting best practice in the areas of innovation and ICT integration. St Cyprians is passionate about technology and innovation, and its impact on 21st century teaching and learning. Nina has recently evaluated their move to technology integration and has allowed us to use this post she posted on the St Cyprian’s Blog that she is responsible for maintaining - http://techblog.stcyprians.net/
In an effort to evaluate the impact of ICT integration into our school curriculum, we recently conducted an informal case study consisting of student and teacher interviews. These interviews are based on seven projects with ICT components, ranging from Grade 4 to Grade 10 students, across a range of subjects, and were conducted by a representative from SchoolNet South Africa. (All projects have been posted on our school blog.) Although our initial findings are by no means conclusive or irrefutable, the responses from students and teachers highlighted the following interesting trends:- Many students who usually achieve average to below average marks in ‘traditional’ projects such as essays or posters have shown significant improvement with the inclusion of an ICT component for e.g. Movie Maker or Glogster. They ascribed this to the fact that different types of projects engaged different learning styles, as not all students are good at writing or exam-taking. They also reported an overall increase in confidence and interest due to their higher marks and additional creative elements of the project.
- Students who usually achieve relatively high marks for ‘traditional’ assessment projects, such as essays, tests or exams, reported that they found the integration of ICT quite challenging. They felt this was due to the fact that these projects often included a high degree of collaboration with students of mixed level abilities. That meant that they had to learn patience and team work, both important 21st century skills.
- Teachers have reported that students with special learning needs also benefit from ICT tools, for e.g. Mouse Mischief, reading software tools and others. In many cases, collaborating in groups with their peers has given students the opportunity to learn from and assist each other, with some amazing results.
- Technology should not be the driver: ICT integration often overemphasises the need for digital literacy skills whilst ignoring important basic skills, such as reading, writing and maths. We have found that successful ICT integration involves a balance; technology should enhance and support teaching and learning, rather than drive it.
- Separating ICT from other subjects: In the past, ICT has usually been viewed as a separate subject, often taught in separate IT labs. Teachers have reported increased engagement and interest in their subjects by integrating ICT as a supportive mechanism or creative addition to a project, rather than as a separate learning outcome. We have also piloted mini ‘break-away’ labs in classrooms with increasing success; teachers can then access computers during class instead of booking an IT lab which often breaks the flow of a class.
- The best project ideas are usually the simplest ideas: In the case of our award-winning Grade 4 project, students still had to complete a creative reading and writing assignment as they usually would. Then one new element was added, which in this case was the creation of a multi-media movie based on their written stories. In the case of the Grade 10 book blogs, traditional book logs simply evolved to an electronic blog version, allowing increased visibility and the ability to comment on each other’s work.
- Some of the best ICT tools are free: Find out more under the ‘Resources’ section of the school blog.
- Rapid technology changes: We often worry about rapid changes in technology and are therefore constantly looking ahead at the ‘next best thing’. In our experience, there is value in concentrating on what you already have and making the most of it before moving on to something new.
- Teacher collaboration and sharing is essential for success: This can be through teacher show ‘n tell, by sharing lessons during staff meetings or by joining online learning communities. We cannot encourage 21st century skills in students if we don't practise them ourselves and we have found teacher collaboration to be a wonderful source of ideas, lesson plans and inspiration.
- Teacher training and support is key: Professional development needs to be part of school culture. With the right training, support and encouragement, even resistant staff can be motivated to try new methods or technologies.
14 August 2011
Case Study 2: How are South African Schools faring in integrating the curriculum with technology?
(Submitted by Arthur Preston)
Every now and then we will feature a post about a school that is taking brave steps in that direction. Today’s post is a guest post written by Arthur Preston, Headmaster at Lanner House, a private co-ed school in Worcester. He is a passionate educator and school leader who is determined to see schools learn to utilise social media and technology in better ways inside and outside the classroom. Arthur writes a blog called Headthoughts. His school uses Twitter and Facebook. He is also a co-founder of EdtechConf which is an organization that assists schools in holding seminars and workshops in the use of educational technology.
Lanner House (Worcester) - from computer lab to classroom
Back in 2008 our computer lab was filled with 10-year old machines which, quite frankly, had been neglected and were no longer fit for proper ICT instruction. In 2009 our pupils raised money through a project we entitled “A Time For Change” and by collecting R5 coins managed to raise enough funding to set up an entire computer lab complete with flat screen monitors and new CPUs – no small feat for a school of 120 pupils!
We have never had a specialist ICT teacher and we recognised the need for our pupils to learn ICT skills. Classroom teachers did not feel they were properly equipped to teach ICT and so I ended up as the ICT teacher. Our pupils learnt basic HTML, keyboard skills, blogging, wiki building and so on. As the months wore on I became increasingly unsettled about the status quo. On reflection I realised there were two main reasons for this :
1) So much of what I was doing with the pupils had obvious application in various learning areas and was cross-curricular in nature. However I was operating in isolation from the class teachers.
2) By keeping the teaching of ICT to myself I was robbing our teachers of the opportunity to expand their professional skill set by embracing technology in their teaching practice.
The question was how to equip our class teachers with the skills needed to begin to use technology in their lessons. They also needed to be exposed to the myriad tools online, many of which are free and quite easy to use. I mainly used three strategies to do this :
1) I developed a Lanner House staff website through which our teachers could access their school email, online class admin and so on. On the front page of this site I placed a widget showing the latest postings from a Diigo group (social bookmarking) I had set up for our teachers. I encouraged our teachers to join and contribute to this group. This kept new tools and websites visible to the teachers. http://lannerhousestaff.yolasite.com/
2) I offered staff workshops for those who wanted to learn more. These were optional and gave me a good idea who the people were who would be the Early Adopters.
3) I made it my business to speak regularly in casual conversation with the teachers about the use of technology in the classroom. This helped to keep the idea of tech integration active.
By the end of 2010 I was certain that the time was right for us to move the computers from the lab to each classroom. Early this year we took the plunge, arranged for the necessary network cabling to be installed and moved PCs to each classroom. All but three of our classrooms now have at least three internet-connected computers which may be accessed during the day. The remaining classrooms will be equipped during the first month of the 2012 school year. Our small classes, largest class is 15, make it possible for every child to have regular time on the computers.
We sent a delegation to the inaugural EdTechConf conference in May of this year which exposed our teachers to some wonderful and exciting ideas for ICT integration in the curriculum. I have not made it compulsory to integrate technology into the curriculum this year but have encouraged the teachers to experiment with this and with classroom strategies which ensure the best use of this resource. 2012 will see the compulsory integration of ICT into various curriculum modules.
Although it is still early days I have noticed the following consequences of our decision to move the computers into the classrooms :
a) Teachers who had previously avoided ICT are now experimenting with integration of IT into their teaching, resulting in an “If she can do it, so can I!” ethos amongst the staff.
b) There are no longer timetable conflicts which result from having one venue in which computers are situated.
c) Teachers have begun to experiment with different teaching strategies in their classrooms now that they have immediate and easy access to computers.
d) Three of our teachers have now set up class websites, two have begun e-pal correspondence programs with schools (both local and overseas), one has her pupils using glogster and there is an overwhelming acceptance that we have turned a corner with our use of technology in the curriculum. This is accompanied by a general sense of excitement and wonder as teachers begin to realise that embracing technology in their teaching practice is neither scary nor difficult.
Our computer network is simple, our resources limited and yet we are moving into a reality which was unthinkable even four years ago. Our decision to move computers into classrooms has helped move our school towards becoming a true 21st century learning environment. There is of course much more in becoming a 21st century school than simply moving computers but it has moved us closer to that goal. If we had more financial resources at our disposal we may consider moving into a one-laptop-per-child scenario or beginning a project which equips each classroom with an iPad-bank. However I believe that we have made a necessary and important adjustment to our curriculum and teaching practice by abolishing the formal computer lab.
We have noticed that children who are not exposed to computers at home learn how to type and use the mouse as they participate in ICT-linked class activities. The teacher facilitates the learning and skill development. The use of spreadsheets, databases, word processors and so on becomes an outcome of the task set by the teacher in a particular learning area and those pupils who are not proficient have an incentive for skill development and their teacher assists them in learning that particular skill. With computers in the classroom, pupils needing extra assistance may work on the computers at times other than the official “Computer Lesson” time ensuring maximum exposure to IT skill development.
Is there place for a computer lab in a primary school? I know there will be those who disagree vehemently with me because of the particular circumstances of their school, but I believe that we need to be equipping classrooms with computers, training teachers in their use and making the integration of technology into the curriculum compulsory. The abolition of the computer lab may be a process which takes several years but I believe the computer lab as we know it today, is (and perhaps should be) an endangered species.
July 2011
Case Study 1: A School with a view – to changing the world Mconjwana High School, KwaZulu-Natal(submitted by Deb Avery)
Mconjwana High School is situated in the rural area beyond Mpophomeni Township near Howick in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. It is set high on the hills above Midmar Dam, and is surrounded by rural homesteads. Learners come to the school from the surrounding homesteads and some come from as far as Mpophomeni and Howick. With 500 learners and 30 staff, the school maintains a high academic standard.
A view of the school from the road
5 years ago, the school was given 15 computers by the Department of Education as a reward for excellent Matric results. When they became part of the SITA (State Information Technology Agency) social responsibility project, run by SchoolNet South Africa, they received an additional 10 computers. These computers are housed in a secure Computer centre and are used for the teaching of CAT. The computers are not connected to the Internet, and when web access is needed, users utilise 3G cards. However, patchy reception can be a problem in this respect.
View from the school of the surrounding area
Part of the challenge in this, and indeed in many schools, is to keep the computers up to date and in working order. While staff and learners have attended HelpDesk training, it is seldom that all of the computers are operational at the same time.
This does not deter the teachers and learners from using the computers to their fullest capacity, however. The SchoolNet project co-ordinator, Hlengiwe Mfeka, who was a teacher at the school before she worked for the SITA project, has mentored teachers and encouraged them in the integration of ICT into the curriculum. Teachers have had the opportunity to receive training in several courses offered by SchoolNet SA, including Getting Started< Help Desk, Teaching Thinking with Technology and Intel Elements. This year, two of the teachers Mbongeni Dlamini and Khulekani Dlamini entered their ICT integration projects in the South African Microsoft Innovative Educators Forum, with projects integrating a number of subjects from Agricultural Science to Business Studies and Life Orientation. Hlengiwe is no stranger to winning ICT awards. When she was a teacher at the same school, she won a Microsoft Innovative Teachers’ Award in South Africa and went on to represent the country at the Pan African finals in Mauritius.
Mbongeni Dlamini, Innovative Educator's Forum entrant, with Hlengiwe Mfeka, SchoolNet SA consultant
Of course, the learners are the ones for whom the integration of ICT is important. At Mcongjwana, the hard work done by the staff will result in two Grade 12 students going to California in August 2011 to participate in an international media collaboration project. They will work with other international teachers and students to complete a media project for the Adobe Youth Summit. The summit is being held at Santa Clara University situated in Silicon Valley, California. Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) is a global philanthropic initiative that empowers youth worldwide to comment on their world using the power of multimedia and digital tools to communicate and share their ideas, and to take action in their communities.
The students and their teacher applied for a scholarship to attend this Youth Summit using their entry in the current Adobe Youth Voices media project competition. The media project being implemented by learners Nontobeko Makhaye and Mpumelelo Ndlovu takes the form of a documentary video and is entitled, “Street children – are children’s rights a reality in South Africa?” It looks at the harshness of daily life for street children living in Howick and how society perceives them. It is intended to develop critical consciousness around street children as a social justice issue. The Grade 12 learners say they hope to achieve this by sharing their media product with parents and the school community and to invite dialogue from relevant local organizations through video viewings. They intend to distribute their DVDs to nearby schools and local libraries to be used as a curriculum learning resource.
Nontobeko Makhaye and Mpumelelo Ndlovu with the cameras they received to record their trip to the USA
At a presentation of their project to staff and peers at Mconjwana, the two learners spoke about the power of media, and how youth can use media to voice what they are passionate about. “It is time for the youth of today to speak out about what they know is right,” said Mpumelelo Ndlovu. “Through media, infinite possibilities can be reached.” “You need to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes before you judge them,“ said Nontobeko Makhaye of their interaction with the street children. “Tackling an issue like this makes you re-evaluate your own life.”
Their media project is extremely moving and prompted one of their peers to say, “This has changed my life. I pledge myself to living my life differently (after watching the movie)”
The movie can be viewed at this URL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQJuBMfYo4Q
