Redesigning School

Redesigning School

Introducting ICT in Education

Source material for this presentation to be found in this UNESCO study. Needs to be actualised with more recent research data.

Ict in education

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How to reach a significant portion of Faculty

Taken from the same Open Education Resource (OER) Commons as an earlier post on dealing with resisters.

1. Involve all stakeholders in the dialogue and discussion, including teachers, parents, students, board members, business partners. Focus on and stress that "the ends (curricula goals and objectives) must guide the means (technology) and not the other way around".
2. Focus on curriculum benefits rather than the technical 'bells and whistles' (even though the latter can sometimes appeal, and help generate interest).
3. Ensure sufficient teacher education (vs. training) in the integration of technology into the curriculum; i.e. spend sufficient time on awareness building and interest generation, so that they're actively asking to know more, wanting to try it out.

Other blogs about Web2.0 uses in Education

This blog contains a good few tips & tricks, including on how to use certain gadgets.

And here you can find suggestions about how to integrate several Web2.0 tools in your classrooms; (perhaps for the somewhat more advanced users ?)

Dealing with Resistant Teachers

Another great module in the Open Educational Resources (OER) Commons. And this one is right on the money, describing 5 archetypes during change: trailblazers, pioneers, settlers, resisters (I often call these the "yes-but!ers"), and saboteurs. The names may vary from theory to theory, but the basic principles remain the same. 

A major lesson comes already in the introduction: "Resisters (...) are simply satisfied with the status quo and see no reason to change their thinking or strategies for doing things. (...) the principal must provide opportunities for resisters to see the advantages of technology implementation (...). The danger of course, is to neglect resisters for fear they join the forces of the fifth group of actors, the saboteurs."

Key reasons for resistance:

1. don't have the adequate skills to use Web2.0 technology --> feeling of inadequacy; fear of being shown to be incompetent
2. not yet convinced of the value or benefits of technology --> lack of awareness of the need to change; doubt
3. concerns about technology replacing faculty --> fear of becoming redundant (loss of job, status, ...)

See also this post on causes of resistance to change, and this one on how to avoid resistance.

Learning to Teach Online

Another great module from the Open Educational Resources (OER) Commons/

Perhaps going beyond the purpose of this blog - which focuses on the integration of Web2.0 tools in (classroom) education - since this one treats how to teach in an online environment or context. But still, good practices to integrate into one's curriculum, making it web-ready.

Using Blogs for peer feedback and discussion

Another great case in the Open Education Resources (OER) Commons, describing "how a blog was used in a particular teaching context to promote peer-to-peer interaction, feedback and discussion", but which can easily be applied to any other teaching context.