Great investments in ICT in schools have rested on the assumption that there are great educational benefits for education. For example, in 2008/2009, 880 million pounds were spent on ICT in UK schools; combined with greater investment in families gaining access to the Internet at home means that 'much rides on the claim that digital technologies will be as important in the 21st century as the book was in the 19th'. However, much of this does rest on belief: relatively few studies have compared the educational benefits in settings without ICT intervention, and indeed 'a simple increase in ICT provision does not guarantee enhanced educational performance' (Livingstone, 'Critical Reflections on the Benefits of ICT in Education, 2012, pp.10-11).
Educators interested (vested interests?) in the benefits of ICT Integration are quick to point out that the problem lies in the nature of the testing, which itself is stuck in an older paradigm of lower-order thinking and paper-based testing of 'basics'. There may well be some truth in this. However, at a school level, students, parents and teachers are still concerned about the 'bottom line': we certainly wish for the higher aspirations of learning which might produce inquisitive, collaborative, enthusiastic learners, but we do want them to pass the test, and pass it well!
So, another way around this question is to look at what studies shows does work well in schools when it comes to the important tests (like the HSC) and see how ICTs can augment these successful approaches. This might sound like a rather pragmatic line of argument, but teachers will quickly identify with what they know intuitively is good practice, and this might well form the basis of a good synthesis at this point in time, when the HSC is not yet a measure of creativity, empathy, or collaboration. One such study is a study of quality teaching practices in top-performing HSC teachers by Ayres, Sawyer, and Dinham (1999-2000). Among a range of contributing factors to HSC success was the school background (positive and motivated school culture); subject faculty (teamwork, profile; rapport with students); teachers' personal qualities (orientation to students, subject, and work); and teachers' professional development (in-school and out-of-school PD and networking). Steve Dinham's article 'Quality Teaching in Action' (in How to Get Your School Moving and Improving) details a range of successful teaching strategies observed in the classrooms of these successful teachers, many of which were characterised by 'automaticity', with variations on techniques happening 'unthinkingly and instantaneously' (p.31). A possible test of ICT Integration, in this (admittedly rather narrow) approach to learning and teaching might then ask the question: how can the increased use of ICTs in the classroom make these proven strategies work even better?
a. Classroom Climate - enthusiasm; use of group work; interest in students' lives; cooperation and sharing; on-task behaviour
b. HSC Focus - regular practice on HSC components; HSC as common goal; teachers going 'beyond' the HSC - teaching for understanding rather than just the exam
c. Building Understanding - Looking for the connections of the subject to students' lives; using student responses; focus on interpretation rather than simply reproduction of knowledge
d. Note-making - students having 'ownership' of their own notes; students sharing notes from discussions
e. Writing essays - work on essay technique, but not 'dumbing down' the challenge; encouraging independent thinking
f. Questioning - Skilled use of open and closed questions used purposefully at different stages of the lesson
g. Whole class discussion, group work, independent work - open debate encouraged; group work used to assist in problem solving; individual activities and presentations encouraged.
h. Assessment - Formal and informal, characterised by quality feedback.
i. Other Strategies - Individual teachers 'toolbox' of ways to engage the students (see Dinham, pp.30-34).
Without attempting to answer my own question in any detail, it seems evident to me that ICT Integration can assist teachers and students in virtually all of these strategies, provided that learning remains the focus, and not the use of technology itself. For example, using OneNote on a laptop or Tablet PC - set up initially by the teacher, perhaps, with tabs and scaffolds but with plenty of space for independent thinking - would be an excellent way to augment classroom discussion and activities and provide a lasting record of thinking that would assist students' preparation for examinations. Similarly, group work can easily make use of a range of ICTs to build understanding and provide quick and efficient methods of collaborative planning and production. However, in creating an enthusiastic classroom climate where debate is valued, there will be times when students need to close the lids of their computers, get out of their seats, take part in role plays, argue their case, perform experiments, read quietly, partake in structured discussions, and so on. In other words, the classroom will be an enhanced learning environment if traditional forms of education are challenged by technology, but not replaced by it. Not yet, at least. After all, that elusive quality of 'classroom climate' is ultimately based on human relationships, and human relationships cannot be built on screentime alone.
That, at least, is my argument at this point in time, as someone who enjoys the cut and thrust of classroom debate, but believes very much in the importance of students working together and alone, to produce quality work that is not merely a reproduction of everything I have written on the board, or flashed across their screens. It is an exciting time to be in education - let's all aim to maintain intellectual rigour and individual care of each student, however we manage (or 'let go of') our learning spaces.
