ICT in High Schools

The next text is showed complete on the URL : http://www.galileo.org/research/publications/hs_ict.pdf. I think that is a general idea over our proyect to start the use of Information and Communication Technologies in the classroom of our school, but is interesting know the view point of education researchers in other places. I recommend reviewing the entire text and maybe we can share some thoughts on it in future forums.

Best regards.

Attentively

Juan Suárez Sánchez

Placing technology in schools and mandating an ICT program of studies is not enough to enable teachers and students to acquire the skills and proficiencies to use them effectively (Breuleux, 2001). Current research points to knowledge-building collaborations to provide further insight into effective ICT use in high schools. It is Breuleux’s contention that ICT can, indeed, support more powerful and complete knowledge-building experiences for learners “if we integrate well-designed technologies in the context of meaningful, mindful inquiry projects, non-presentational pedagogies, access to resources and tools, and adequate support for technological maintenance and pedagogical renewal” (Breuleux, 2001, p. 3).

At present, most of the institutional structures of high schools meet the demands of an industrial age. Timetables fragment students’ days into identical blocks; students make the transition from one discrete subject to another without serious attempts to integrate subject disciplines into multidimensional studies; teaching effectiveness is strongly tied to students’ performance on standardized tests; and teachers work in isolation from one another. The result is that students do not often find that schoolwork gives them the opportunity to engage in robust, interesting, and personally meaningful inquiries. Students generally report dissatisfaction with transmissionist approaches to learning. (Baines & Stanley, 2003; Bowlby & McMullen, 2002; Cushman, 2003; Intrator, 2003). Conversely, learning that uses technology to involve students in real-life circumstances, concerns, and interests, and that respects students as true partners in formulating topics, processes, and assessment practices have been seen to be engaging and worthwhile (Baines & Stanley, 2003; Sizer, 1984, 1992, 1996).

The initiative described in this report specifically addresses issues of how technology can be used to create more engaging learning experiences for high school students, and how teachers can be supported to make changes to their teaching practice that permit the design and implementation of technology-enhanced experiences for learning. In particular, the initiative explores what happens when teachers move to more inquiry based teaching that includes the use of technology in innovative and intriguing ways.

References:

Baines, L., & Stanley, K. (2003). Disengagement and loathing in high
school. Educational Horizons, 81, (4), 165-68.

Bowlby, J., & McMullen, K. (2002). At a Crossroads: First results for the
18 to 20 year-old cohort of the youth in transition survey.
Online. Available: http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/81-591-
XIE/81-591-XIE00001.pdf

Breuleux, A. (2001). Imagining the present, interpreting the possible, cultivating the
future: Technology and the renewal of teaching and learning. Education Canada, Vol. 41 (3).

Cushman, K. (2003). Fires in the bathroom: Advice for teachers from
high school students. New York: The New Press.

Gaskell, J. (1995). Secondary schools in Canada: The national report of
the exemplary schools project. Toronto, ON: Canadian Education Association.

Hargreaves, A. (2003). Teaching in the knowledge society: Education in the age of
insecurity. New York: Teachers College Press.

Intrator, S. (2003). Tuned in and fired up: How teaching can inspire real
learning in the classroom. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Sizer, T. (1984). Horace’s compromise: The dilemma of the American
high school (1992 ed.). New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Sizer, T. (1992). Horace’s school: Redesigning the American high school.
New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Sizer, T. (1996). Horace’s hope: What works for the American high
school? New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.