Exploiting the Potentialities of Computer Technology for Enhancing Teaching and

【Abstract】：This paper aims to provide a coherent study of the potentialities of computer technology for enhancing teaching and learning， and how these potentialities may be realized and functioned in a learning-centered school.

【Key words】： exploit， potentialities， computer technology， enhancing teaching and learning

Introduction

Creating an improved learning environment in the learning-centered school can be approached by using powerful catalysts for changes. In current IT age， one such catalyst is computer technology—it is not a fresh topic， though. Schools have generally been slow to adopt computer technology， especially when compared with the pace at which the business world and industry have forged ahead. This has led to the justifiable criticism that schools are strongly oriented by entrance examinations and not preparing their students appropriately for theirlives and to meet the needs of businesses and employers. As Hancock （1997） argues， there is a mismatch between schools and the workplace， such that we need to design new ‘information age’schools.

A further problem beyond their slow introduction of computer into schools concerns the under –utilization and misappropriation of those computers which are already in schools. For many reasons， including a lack of skills training on the part of teachers， but more fundamentally a failure to plan a technology policy for the school which integrates technology across the curriculum， schools fail to make full use of what is a valuable resource. The value of this resource generally escapes the typical teacher and administrator. Its potential to improve the quantity and quality of learning in the school cannot be overstated. In one respect， it is a tool for improving student learning. In another. it is a valuable resource capable of improving the quality of teaching. And in a further respect， it is an invaluable tool for administrators in aiding their running of the school.

The following explanations are of field observation at Loughborough University of UK and results of research.

Key Principle for the Use of Computer in Schools

For the realization of the potentialities of computer technology in schools， four principles are paramount. These are： that technology serves teaching and learning； students and staff need ready access； technology must be embedded and integrated in the curriculum； and staff require training （Bain， 1996）.

Technology serves teaching and learning

Technology should serve the more important goals of quality teaching and learning， rather than be an end in itself. Careful thought is therefore needed first as to how the school intends to re-design its teaching and learning approaches before it can elicit how technology can inform them.

Access

While providing access is no sufficient to ensure meaningful use by students and teachers， it is clearly a necessary prerequisite. Universal access to technology for both students and staff requires a systemic approach. Ratios of one computer per ten students or per class are clearly inadequate. Likewise， concentrating computers in just one laboratory in the school is seriously restrictive on access. Universal access therefore has two dimensions： first， all students and staff， not just a limited number， should be able to ‘log on’at any time， and second， they should be able to do so in many sites around the school. In other words， design should focus on a campus-wide network which maximizes access for teachers， students and administrators.

Technology embedded and integrated in the curriculum

In schools which are maximizing the potential of technology as a tool for enhancing tearning， teachers in all subjects are integrating it in a myriad of ways into their curricula. By contrast， many schools timetable technology as a separate subject， the effect of which is antithetical to integrating it across the curriculum. Bain （1996） illustrates the point well by suggesting the following questions to test the intent of schools：

Is expertise with technology intentionally represented as a school-wide student outcome？ What should students know and be able to do at graduation？

Are these skills and competencies represented in the daily activities of students within the context of teaching and learning in all subjects？ Do students learn about spreadsheets and databases through science experiments and math simulations used regularly as part of an intentional， integrated curriculum？

Do students acquire skills in networking and information retrieval while undertaking research for authentic assessment projects that are connected to school-wide learner outcomes？

Can teachers design a curriculum unit to incorporate a HyperStudio stack created for different levels of reading ability to be used by all students in the class， or in small groups？

How does the HyperStudio stack fit with the school-wide and unit student outcomes？

Is quality software combined with informed practices to create a complete teaching-learning picture？

The aim therefore is to ensure that technology becomes a routine and meaningful part of the daily life of teachers， students and administrators.

Training

There is a pressing need among many teachers and students for training to exploit the potentialities of technology. Such training does not just concern the procedures and technical operation of the equipment， but also involves making connections between the technology， curriculum， teaching methods and materials. It relates to the uses and capabilities of the hardware， and the availability and development of suitable software for use in classrooms. To realize these perspectives， the following measures are crucial：

Creating a School Technology Plan

If technology is to be closely integrated with and support curriculum， teaching and learning， then it is important for the school to develop a clear strategy in the form of a technology plan. A school must graduate through a number of sequential stages in formulating such a plan. The following stages of the planning process are based on the experience at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire （Bain， 1996； Bain， 1999）.

The groundwork for producing such a plan should be based around a needs analysis survey or review， which includes：

the present levels of access to， and usage of， technology in the school；

the extent to which technology is integrated in the curriculum；

the readiness of faculty to use technology at different levels；

the point of evolution of the school with respect to technology.

This situational analysis is necessary to the next stage of forming a vision and a sit of goals with respect to four key aspects （ Bain， 1996）. These are access， integration， school evolution and faculty readiness and training Examples of Brewster’s goals for each of these areas are：

Access： to develop a fully computer literate community by providing all faculty and students with a 1：1 access to personal computers.

Integration： to ensure that technology is meaningfully integrated into all levels of the curriculum from school-wide outcomes through units and lessons.

Evolution： to create conditions whereby technology is used routinely by faculty， students and administrators in all aspects of school life.

Readiness and professional development： to introduce students and faculty to information processing， database management， and spread-sheets

Key elements of a Technology Plan

Bain （1996） distinguishes the following components comprising a school technology plan：

needs， curriculum and existing infrastructure analysis；

facilities audit： review existing and new facilities；

campus and classroom architecture and design， including remote access and connectivity， furniture， equipment， classroom layout and use of space；

library： its place in， and contribution to， school technology and teaching and learning；

professional development planning， including student and staff requirements；

school technology support： position descriptions of technical support staff；

hardware and software design；

economic analysis， costing and budget development；

implementation timeline.

The planning process itself demands careful and skilful management. A school technology task group might， with the help of a change agent guiding the school design process， oversee and orchestrate the strategy. While acknowledging the existing level of technological expertise currently found on schools， the expertise required to plan and build networks and to configure hardware and software is almost certainly beyond the scope of most. Outside consultants will therefore be needed， and it is important that schools make a judicious choice in this respect. Ideally， an expert should be someone with knowledge of curriculum and instructional design and teaching methodologies as well as up-to-date knowledge of hardware and software availability.

Finally， it is helpful for the school to be able to evaluate the levels of take-up of technology at various points in time. Using Hall and Loucks’s （1977） model of levels of use， the following stages may be recognized， from beginning to most sophisticated：

Orientation： the individual （or organization/unit） acquires information about the innovation and considers the demands and benefits.

Preparation： the individual （or organization/unit） prepares to use the innovation.

Mechanical： the user focuses most effort on the short term， day-to-day use of the innovation， with little time for reflection； the user is engaged in step-by-step implementation， which is often imperfect.

Routine： use of the innovation is stabilized and few changes are made； little effort is made to adapt or extend the innovation.

Refinement： the user varies or modifies the innovation in order to increase immediate and long-term benefits to students.

Integration： the user combines the efforts with related activities and with colleagues to achieve a collective impact on students.

Renewal： the user re-evaluates the use and impact of the innovation and seeks major modifications to produce increased benefits for students as well as the larger system.

Description of Integrated Technology Schools

A number of innovative schools around the world are enacting the vision of technology integrated with curriculum and with informed teaching and learning. This section describes a few of them. For the most part they tend to be private schools with the resources to bring their visions and plans to reality. Nonetheless， such schools serve as invaluable models and pilot schemes for future school design. As noted earlier. Hancock （1997） recognizes the mismatch in terms of knowledge and skills between schools as presently designed and the workplace. She asks， “ What should Information Age schools look like？” and on the basis of six innovative schools in North America， identifies six attributes. This section describes the six attributes identified by Hancock. It then reports on two schools， one American and the other Australian， which have used technology as an integral component of school design.

Hancock synthesizes research by Breivik and Senn（1994）， Glennan and Melmed （1996） and Cuban （1997） to point to six attributes of the information Age school， as follows：

Interactivity

Students are highly interactive， communicating with other students through formal presentations， cooperative learning activities and informal dialogue. Students and teachers talk to one another about learning tasks in large groups， in small group and one to one. Students have constant access to and know how to use print and electronic information resources to inform their learning activities. They realize the local and international communities as valuable sources of information and access all kinds of community members； business people， government officials， athletes and so on. .

Self-initiated learning

Students take charge of their own learning. They， rather than the teacher， ask the initial questions. They gather their own data rather than the teacher transmit or prescribe it： they analyse， interpret and synthesize the data in the context of the problem. They experience the higher order skill involved in the process of learning. For example， at Taylorsville Elementary School， Indiana， students work at their own pace and learning is individualized， Teachers use multi-age multi-year groupings and team-based project work. They facilitate rather than direct， Two days a year are devoted to technology training， and the school employs a technology coordinator and three part-time aides to assist teachers.

A changing role for teachers

The teacher’s role changes， as previously mentioned， from director to coach and facilitator. Information is obtained by the students from the computer， not from the teacher. Teachers stimulate and prompt the students to ask the right questions and set about solving them. this process creates excitement and gives a purpose to learning. At Adlai Stevenson High School， Illinois， a specialized laboratory for teachers is staffed by a full-time trainer and there is a commitment to raising all staff to a high level of technological competence within three years. Use of technology has permeated all aspects of school life： instruction， assessment， exploration and management.

Media and technology specialists as central participants

Media and technology specialists are critical in the Information Age school. They work with students to prompt the right questions and to guide in the availability and use of information resources. With teachers， they are instructional designers， developing curricula and helping to plan units. They can also organize in-service professional development for teachers. Computer skills are acquired and required by students for all subjects， not just for those lessons devoted to information technology. At Christopher Columbus Middle School in New Jersey， the school day has been divided into blocks of ninety minutes to two hours so that teacher can create a project-based， integrated curriculum approach. In addition to a central school computer lab， each of the twelve classrooms has five computers， a printer and a video machine. Students have access to multimedia production equipment， computer video editing capabilities， and Internet connectivity from all PCs. Teachers receive three days of paid technology training each year and the school has a technology coordinator.

Continuous evaluation

Teachers and schools engage in ongoing evaluation of the materials they use and those which are available. They collaborate in software development and exchange information about new products.

A changed physical and human environment： a different classroom configuration and use of apace

The classrooms in high-technology schools look and feel different from traditional classrooms. They are geared to information access and retrieval， analysis and application. Strategies such as cooperative learning， guided inquiry and thematic teaching are used. Computer are central to the ambience of the classroom， and desks and chairs are arranged around them. The student interaction all change. Students and teachers focus on the learning task and problems at hand； the traditional role divisions between teaching and learning disappear.

In her conclusion， Hancock （1997） suggests a school wanting to become an Information Age school should start by improving the connections between curriculum content and school process. Among the measures suggested are： lengthen class periods， consider multi-age grouping， experiment with integrated curricular planning， develop individualized instruction plans for all students， implement continuous and authentic assessments， provide incentives to teachers and administrators to acquire the necessary skills. pay teachers to engage in relevant professional development and hire technology support staff with teaching experience. These are good illustrations of the principles set out early in this paper.

Conclusion

Advantages of computer technology are obvious in enhancing teaching and learning. In the limited space of the paper， key principles ，creation of a school technology plan and features of integrated technology schools are analysed and discussed. Realistically speaking， there is still a long way to go for most schools in China to achieve the perspectives for the following reasons： First， due to large population， the GDP to education is low. Though there has been a concerted effort to install computers in every school， the ratio of students to computers is depressingly high. Second， classrooms are small and overcrowded， often with forty-five or more students packed in tight rows. These physical constrictions of space， as well as the number of students in classes， provide an additional hindrance to the use of computers.

Yet in another important respect， technology can be seen as instrumental in assisting schools to achieve new aims set out in recent curriculum policy pronouncements. There is little doubt， however， that the introduction of computers into classrooms would enable students to undertake project work both individually and in groups； it would therefore encourage changes to teachers’ and students’ roles along the lines advocated in student-centered learning.

In short， infusing technology into classrooms might act as a catalyst for inducing the kind of changes required in teaching and learning which might otherwise fail to materialize. Much would depend on teachers’ ， especially administrators’ adoption of the technology.

Reference

[1] 1.Bain， A. （1996） ‘The school design model at Brewster Academy： technology serving teaching and learning’， Technological Horizons in Education 23 （10）： 72-9.

[2]Berger， S. and Lester，R.K. （1997） Made by Hong Kong， Hong Kong： Oxford University Press

[3]Breivik， P. and Senn， J. （1994） Information Literacy： Educating Children for the 21stCentury， New York： Scholastic

[4]Glennan， T. and Melmed， A. （1976） ‘Fostering the use of educational technology： elements of a national strategy’， Santa Monica， CA： Rand.