ICT in the National Curriculum - Coursework Example

ICT’s Importance to the National Curriculum attending es throughout the UK have proven tobe less involved in citizenship than legislators would like at the same time that many are falling behind due to lack of proficiency in higher technology. Future generations will be in control of the direction this country will take in the near future and must be not only interested, but also involved in the process and knowledgeable about available options if they are to make positive choices that will continue to ensure the health and welfare of this nation. It was toward that end that the Advisory Group behind the Crick Report was originally formed in 1997: “To provide advice on effective education for citizenship in schools – to include the nature and practices of participation in democracy; the duties, responsibilities and rights of individuals as citizens; and the value to individuals and society of community activity” (Crick Report, 1998: 4). As these observations and examinations into the National Curriculum were being made, advances in technology were also having an effect on the means by which this type of instruction, as with many other topics, could be transmitted. Technology is having an electric effect upon the way in which pupils learn and the ways in which teachers instruct, reducing the time teachers spend on mundane paperwork tasks and bringing students experiences in ways that have never before been possible while also attempting to bridge, to some extent, the so-called digital divide. Whether this is ultimately more or less effective than traditional methods of instruction alone will depend to a large degree on the way in which lessons are approached and how technology is used to enhance education rather than simply providing entertainment. To understand the ways in which Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be used to enhance inclusion and citizenship instruction to students, this paper will examine current practices by examining the ways in which ICT has been used thus far and discussing whether these uses have been effective educational tools. In making their recommendations for the revision of the National Curriculum, the National Union of Teachers (2005) cited the National Foundation for Educational Research: “from the pupil’s point of view, the curriculum should be ‘fun’ and ‘interesting’ … it should be kept practical and challenging … pupils should be given responsibility for their own work and a chance to work independently … above all, pupils want greater connection of the curriculum to real life.” At the same time, NFER reported that “teachers’ contextualising the content of the curriculum to the world of work, the environment, health, citizenship and business, may provide a motivation to pupils as well as greater understanding” (cited in National Union of Teachers, 2005). The introduction of ICT into the classroom has made it possible to meet many of these requests. The acronym ICT stands for ‘information and communication technology’ and is also often referred to as ‘educational technology’. Generally applied, each of these terms typically refer to the use of digital technology in the classroom, which can take the form of hardware such as computers, digital cameras and electronic whiteboards and/or software such as the use of specially designed computer programs, websites, blogs or wikis (Freedman, 2007). Means of implementation in classrooms have taken the form of broadcast material and CD-ROM in history classes, micro-computers to help teach literacy and writing, devices to help pupils with special needs, email to support collaborative writing and sharing of resources, video-conferencing to facilitate regional or national events, internet-based research for a variety of subjects and communications technology to allow the sharing and administration of administrative and assessment data (“What is ICT?”, 2004). With these additions to the classroom, many ‘fun’ and ‘interesting’ means of communicating educational objectives to children become available and still have specific real-world applications for their future adult lives. “[ICT] has had a major influence on the way we live, work and learn. Already 60 percent of existing and 90 percent of new jobs require some ICT skills” (Clarke, 2007). Therefore, the claims are made that ICT not only delivers the more ‘fun’ and ‘interesting’ curriculum but also introduce less work for the instructor in terms of assessment and administration and becomes, of itself, a fundamental skill pupils must be familiar with in the postmodern world (Lawson & Comber, 2000). Investigating the expected effects of ICT in schools to determine whether these claims have any validity, several studies indicate there has been significant change as a result of computer and other technology use within the curriculum as a whole. Early assumptions regarding ICT in the classroom predicted a transformative effect in which technology would eventually lead to broader social constructs (Bigum & Green, 1995), easing of teacher responsibilities and processes (Muffoleuo, 1996) and an overstepping of numerous boundaries (Rust, 1991). To actually measure the effects of ICT in the classroom, a number of frameworks have been presented, but the one that shows the most promise of delivering reliable and quantifiable results is the Computer Practice Framework. This model focuses on the “quantity of computer use (as a proportion of the available learning time)”, the focus or objectives supported by the computer use and the mode or impact of computer use on the curriculum (Twining, 2002: 101). While there remain few available studies into the effectiveness of computer technology in individual class levels or specific subjects, the applicability of ICT for citizenship training can be extrapolated from available research regarding the general applicability of various practices. For example, it has been found that ICT can facilitate and improve quality discussion among students who work collaboratively in small groups (Higgins, 2003). The benefits of this exist both in and out of the citizenship classroom. “Students working in groups of three to five at one computer create a better distribution of expertise, greater capacity for idea-generating and increased opportunities for cross-gender collaboration” (Becta, 2004: 3). This concept is applicable in this context in not only provisioning for debate and discussion of civic topics, but enables students from multiple locations and of multiple abilities to participate thus increasing inclusion. However, the benefits are tempered by the degree of confidence of each computer user, prompting researchers to caution groups should contain at least one low ability member for the benefit of the whole (Eraut, 1995). Students of high ability are forced to explain their processes more completely, while students of low ability are able to learn from the others. In many cases, the use of ICT within the classroom is having the effect predicted in the literature – that of blurring boundaries between subjects by allowing for more cross-curricular activities as well as a broadening of social contexts among students and thus increasing inclusion efforts. The technologies available for in-class work are increasing all the time as are the approaches to accompany them. For example, in one case study (Orlando, 2007), desktop or laptop computers are available to allow students to share files and information with each other and find new information on the internet while also encouraging appropriate creative multi-media content and publishing of work. The projectors of old are now able to transmit everything from lesson notes to power point presentations for class-wide learning while DVD presentations are used to help pupils gain better understanding of how pupils of similar ages live in other parts of the world (“KS3 Citizenship”, 2007). In a study conducted in 2004, “the great majority of schools had digital projectors, printers, scanners and digital cameras/digital video cameras. Few primary or special schools had video conferencing facilities, but these were more common in secondary schools” (Prior & Hall, 2004: 4). The use of whiteboards, specialised boards that allow teachers to interact with students and computers at the same time from the front of the room, are also increasingly in use throughout UK classrooms (Becta, 2004b). Lesson plans and suggestions are available throughout the internet and in government publications for teachers in the UK and elsewhere designed to integrate citizenship training with other curricular goals and ICT use. One such lesson plan, focused primarily upon citizenship and ICT use, can be found in the Department of Education and Skills’ Practical Support Pack website (2006). In the year 7 module entitled “Examining global energy consumption and global warming,” lesson plans are provided for five weeks focusing on the differences in energy use in two different countries by partnering with a remote school in the other location to collaboratively work on ideas to reduce energy consumption. This is accomplished through the use of the Global Gateway to establish the partner class, film trailers, websites, spreadsheet applications for chart plotting, audio-recording software for pupils to produce an audio narration and concept-mapping software to enable pupils to organise information (“Examining Global Energy”, 2006). An entire database of further lesson plans, in which all of the above technologies are utilised to both establish connections around the world as well as to connect students with each other to work collaboratively on small projects through video-conferencing and other technologies through Teachernet (2007). One of the most exciting new programmes to emerge with the new capabilities of ICT is the UK Youth Parliament. The organization was established in 1999 as a means of providing the young people of the nation a means of being heard by government officials at both the local and national levels. With the use of ICT, voting for candidates is facilitated through the internet just as youth delegates are able to discuss issues and run campaigns via video-conferencing and blogging (“Enabling Positive Youth Engagement”, 2007). Despite their high levels of ICT involvement, the Youth Parliament states as one of its goals: “The Board has in fact established a working group on communications to identify key areas where improvements are required and draw up an action plan to address these which would include work to identify partners to assist in website, database and associated ICT development and management” (“UKYP Responds”, 2007). The fact that the pupils themselves are calling for increased use of ICT in their programmes indicates the effectiveness level of these tools in providing enhanced educational and civic-minded activities for students. A final means of determining whether ICT use in classrooms is having a positive effect upon citizenship instruction and inclusion in UK schools is through observation of student work. In one primary example of students in year 8 utilising ICT for citizenship assignments, students were assigned in groups to identify local concerns and identify means of improving conditions. Students were able to use the internet to determine specific facts about particular problems in the community, such as crime statistics, and to view video presentations about the area. Surveys for community members were produced using software programs and charted within the virtual environment. Finally, pupils were asked to create an eye-catching poster that illustrated their ideas for change and presented this to the class. Through scientific study and real-life examples, it has been demonstrated that ICT can be used to tremendous effect in the classroom. Not only does it make the learning ‘fun’ and ‘interesting’ as pupils have requested, but it facilitates greater integration with other curriculum requirements, as can be seen in the various lesson plans available, as well as provides students with an interactive means of bringing about real change in their world, thus reinforcing the concepts learned all while reducing the boundaries of physical ability and location in terms of inclusion. These positive results demonstrated thus far indicate that the role of the ICT environment in the classroom cannot be denied – it has fostered a sense of excitement and empowerment among student bodies with the opportunity to utilize these tools and techniques that would be difficult to duplicate using strictly traditional modes of instruction. While challenges remain to overcome the digital divide between rich and poor students and districts, enough evidence has been amassed to prove that this effort is well worth the time and investment. 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