Research Article
Joanne Blannin
CONTEMP EDUC TECHNOL, Volume 6, Issue 3, pp. 188-205
ABSTRACT
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become ubiquitous in our society. In particular, 10-12 year old (primary school aged) children report that they increasingly rely upon ICTs for social interaction and for learning (ACMA, 2013). In spite of the large number of students reporting high ICT use, research indicates that many primary school teachers are not making effective use of online resources in the classroom. Influencing this lower level use is a lack of specifically focused research that considers the vital role of the primary school teacher in the integration of ICTs into the classroom program. To identify where research is most needed and might be most useful to support teachers to increase the use of ICTs in the classroom, this paper draws on research conducted in primary, secondary and tertiary education. It defines three core areas in which research is needed. These areas are teachers’ internal (personal) and external (socio-cultural) barriers as well as the students’ role in, and expectations of, pedagogical changes to classroom learning.
Keywords: Online learning, Self-efficacy, Teacher professional learning, Primary schooling, ICT integration, Increasing ICT use
Research Article
Ann-Louise Petersen, Leona Bunting
CONTEMP EDUC TECHNOL, Volume 3, Issue 4, pp. 249-264
ABSTRACT
This article focuses on computing in teaching. It focuses on the differences between a traditional view of teaching and a view where the teacher no longer is the knowledge broker but more of a coordinator or a coach. The empirical examples stem from a research project called “One computer one pupil”, a study of two classes in year three with children aged 9 and two classes in year five with children aged 11 in a Swedish primary school. When the project started the pupils had been using the computers for about 2,5 years. In contrast to the teacher in grade five, the classes in year three had teachers with a great interest in developing ICT. The children became very skilled in using ICT and working with the laptop was very popular. According to the theoretical model of Voogt (2008), features of a “traditional pedagogy”, like prescriptions of the activities, were mixed with elements of an “emerging pedagogy”, where the pupils in collaboration performed their tasks in a creative way. However, some of the classroom work was quite unfocused relative to the goals of the subject. Instead of using the technology to reach the goals of the subject, the technology more or less became a goal in itself. To follow up ten Brummelhuis’ and Kuiper’s (2008) terms technology push and educational pull, we have added the term “technology pull.”
Keywords: Teaching design, Computer use, Technology push, Technology pull, Primary school, One–to-one learning environment.