ICT in learning and teaching
Learning and teaching in ICT-enhanced classrooms
Further education colleges
In the three FE colleges, students in the designated ICT Test Bed subject areas reported that they had good access to ICT and had developed a high level of competence and confidence in its use, and these findings were confirmed by observations and interviews.
ICT within the curriculum
In each of the ICT Test Bed colleges, three curriculum areas have been selected for special funding to provide high levels of ICT equipment. Different areas have been selected in each college so that lessons could be learnt about the impact of ICT across a wide spectrum. Curriculum areas that already had ICT equipment have updated and expanded their resources and those which traditionally did not have such resources have been equipped for the first time. Students report that the new equipment "has made a big difference". Some are able to access a computer at any time they are in college - for example, one said: "We can get a laptop out when we want and use it for the internet or whatever. This has been very helpful. There isn't any waiting for equipment." Others have some classes in ordinary classrooms and only use the computers once or twice a week.
The introduction of interactive whiteboards has been a major innovation. Lecturers commented on the difference it makes to their teaching, to the ambience of the classroom and to the motivation of the learners. Sets of laptops stored in trolleys for easy use in the classroom are popular with lecturers, but they need careful management to match the class requirements with the right functionality and software on the laptops. The presence of the ICT seems to impart a sense of greater efficiency in the delivery. Lecturers believe that they can get through more in a session when they use technology but are aware of the danger of going too fast for less able learners.
Students gave many examples of the use of ICT in subjects across the ICT Test Bed curriculum areas. The majority said they were using the technology to create their own presentations to show the results of their research or assignment work to the rest of the class. They often worked in small groups. In interviews, they told the evaluators that the high levels of ICT have improved the quality of their work and their learning. For example, they can use digital cameras and video, produce better presentation of assignments and portfolios, and tutors have more time to give them individual help. These findings are reflected in the 2005 survey. FE students reported increased confidence and competence in using the internet rather than books to locate information (67% in 2005 compared to 51% in 2003). The internet is now their favoured research tool and in 2005 this became the most daily used application in colleges. In interviews, students rated word processing and the internet as the most useful technologies. In 2005, daily use of word processing actually dropped (14% down compared to 38% in 2004) and there was a shift from word processing being used mostly in college to being used mostly at home.
Virtual learning environments (VLEs)
Virtual learning environments (VLEs) are being used with increasing effectiveness in the ICT Test Bed curriculum areas in the three FE colleges. This comparative success in the colleges probably results from expectations across the FE sector as a whole that students should be able to access online materials. All three colleges report increasing use of the VLE for making learning resources available to students, although much of the material is textual material or presentations rather than interactive or collaborative material. Generally, staff in the ICT Test Bed course areas were very positive in interviews about their use of the VLE and, as their use of the systems matures, the proportion of interactive materials and materials for formative assessment should continue to increase. Student use of the VLE in the ICT Test Bed course areas is becoming more established as electronic learning and assessment materials are developed. However, student use of the VLE remains patchy; some students use it effectively but others make little use of it. Most ICT Test Bed staff upload the materials to the VLE after the lesson because they fear that attendance would be adversely affected if students were able to get the materials before attending the class. Further information on leadership and management issues relating to the installation of VLEs is given in Section 4.
Assessment and record-keeping
ICT is being used to assist in the collection, marking and return of student work and assignments. Interactive learning activities and questioning are enhancing formative assessment. The development of online individual learning plans (ILPs) and digital portfolios is changing the nature of summative assessment. Examples of innovative practice include craft students using digital cameras to take photographs and creating a CD as evidence of their work. Work-based assessors are using personal digital assistants (PDAs) to record the achievement of competence as the student in the workplace demonstrates it.
Student attitudes
Students in ICT Test Bed curriculum areas are overwhelmingly positive about ICT - both in terms of helping them to do their course and in their attitudes to technology. They see ICT as a useful, in some cases essential, tool in helping them succeed on their courses. They described how the high levels of ICT equipment has made it easier for them to study in a number of ways. For example, they can get course notes and assignments from the college's VLE, it is easier and quicker to get information from Google than books, and information on the web is sometimes more up to date than the books in the library.
All ICT Test Bed institutions
Differential impact between sectors
There is clear evidence of a differential impact of the ICT Test Bed investment across the three sectors. Whereas the impact in primary schools has encompassed all aspects of their work, the impact in secondary schools has been considerable at the administrative level, but uneven across different subject departments. In part, this is related to the size and complexity of secondary school needs and infrastructure compared with those of primary schools. However, the impact in FE colleges has been more beneficial than might have been expected, given the size and complexity of their infrastructure and the fact that the project worked mainly in three course areas.
This suggests that differences of impact between the sectors are related to institutional structures, such as the timetable of short teaching periods and frequent movement between teachers of different subjects. For example, short periods mean less time for sustained work with ICT, and logistical problems in repeatedly distributing and collecting class sets of laptops and keeping their batteries charged. There is also evidence that teachers' motivation to allow students to use 'hands-on' ICT is reduced because national tests and examinations, with their focus on pre-specified attainment targets and handwritten answers, are not a good 'fit' with the style of learning that ICT offers. This effect is stronger in secondary schools where time pressures to 'cover' the curriculum in short time periods are considerable.
This is an important finding because it suggests that investment in ICT is not able to have the impact it should in secondary schools within the present education system.