ENHANCING LEARNING AND TEACHING THROUGH THE EFFECTIVE USE OF ICT

A STRATEGY FOR EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COLLABORATION The Critical Importance of Teacher Quality Aim: ‘All young people should be learning with, through and about the use of digital and online technologies’. ******************************* We require appropriately trained teachers and a confident and competent workforce for the 21st century. Our goal is to secure a supply of good quality teachers to suit the system predicated on Raising Standards. We need to ensure that: our workforce has the pedagogical skills and expertise to instruct effectively ( and to contribute in a changing landscape); teachers have extensive subject knowledge, a good knowledge of pedagogy, the skills and competences required to guide and support learners, and an understanding of the social and cultural dimension of education; we develop new teachers to understand learning and how children learn, build capacity and take on change; and teachers become reflective practitioners who engage in self-evaluation leading to improvement. We recognise that individual classroom and subject teachers are at the heart of any efforts to raise standards and to tackle educational underachievement. It is through their professionalism and expertise that individual pupils are encouraged and supported to learn and to succeed.

Initial Teacher Education (ITE) - Pre-service How do we equip our student teachers with the appropriate ICT skills ? How do we build on their ICT competences during their Induction-as beginning teachers, and their early professional development (EPD) ? In-service-Continuous professional development (CPD) How do we improve the ICT skills and professional competences of teachers mid-career ? Leadership How do we promote more effective school management? How do we enhance leadership skills? There is the recognition that a different type of leadership is needed in our schools and raises the need for the professional development arrangements of school leaders to be reviewed. The Critical Importance of Teacher Quality Our education system depends on a continuous supply of teachers of high quality. This should not be underestimated. We need to ensure that our teachers have the necessary skills to perform effectively and to promote learning using ICT in their teaching.

For the teaching profession ICT is an important skill approved by the General Teaching Council (GTC NI) as set out in ‘Teaching: the Reflective Practitioner.’ In particular competence 11 states that teachers will have developed:

‘ a knowledge and understanding of strategies for communicating effectively with pupils, parents, colleagues and personnel from relevant child and school support agencies’ and competence 20 states that teachers: will ‘use a range of teaching strategies and resources including eLearning where appropriate, that enable learning to take place and which maintain pace within lessons and over time.’

A Workforce that is proficient in ICT We know from experience that teachers teach the way they are trained. The only way to get the teacher training colleges on board is to make ICT mandatory in initial teacher training. Our priority is the preparation, training and development of the existing education workforce - teachers and school leaders at all levels - to deliver the benefits of ICT to their pupils. Future training will upskill teachers and managers. It will aim to bring about a “culture change” within schools, in which teachers and managers see ICT provision as a natural and integral part of a school’s range of options for delivering real and sustained improvement. Inspection evidence as well as other research shows that there is a widespread need for better strategic planning and delivery of ICT professional development for leaders and teachers.

The majority of teachers from across all phases require further support in the use of learning environments.

It will be important also that leaders become more proficient in using the management information available to inform planning and decision making.

Teachers of the future

Greater emphasis will be placed on on-line learning solutions in the education and formation of future aspirants to the teaching profession.

This will involve a re-appraisal by the responsible organisations of how:

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student teachers in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) are introduced to the pedagogical use of ICT and instructed using on-line technologies as part of the course;

• the ICT skills of qualified teachers are developed and maintained through CPD and PRSD; and

beginning teachers are to be supported during induction and early professional development (EPD);

• school leaders are supported in the effective analysis and interpretation of the data available from managed services and other sources.

Implications for teacher educators. In all phases of teacher education courses there will be a balanced use made of on-line and face-to-face approaches, including the use of e-Portfolios. The aim is to produce a workforce which regards ICT provision as a natural and beneficial extension of the classroom and an important management tool to be harnessed effectively for informed decision making. Improving links between ITE and CPD There will be closer links between those who provide initial teacher education and those who support the continuing professional development of teachers. Maximising Use of Online Processes Optimal use is made of on-line processes in all phases of teacher education including the use of e-Portfolios. It will also explore the potential of ICT to open up new opportunities for teaching and learning, to promote school improvement and to enhance literacy and numeracy.

The introduction of the e-Portfolio. It is intended that the Teacher e-Portfolio (Te-P) will be a career-long and career-wide electronic record for student teachers, beginning teachers and serving teachers, including aspirant and emerging head teachers. The contents will belong to the individual and will:

• provide the means by which they can record and reflect on what has been learned in the course of their career;

• allow them to demonstrate mastery of relevant skills and competences; and

• facilitate the identification of their own professional development needs.

• Enable them to reflect on how the teaching competences relate to their work, to demonstrate their growing competence whether as a student-teacher, a teacher or a teacher leader, and to share their professional learning with colleagues.

Teacher Education, CPD and Leadership Development The review of Teacher Education endorses the development of a pedagogy which optimises the use of technology in the classroom. The effective use of ICT is a fundamental competence for all teachers. To keep abreast of change teachers need to be able to avail of continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities. CPD activities should be aligned with the School Development Plan and individual teacher’s Performance Review and Staff Development (PRSD). 1. To ensure that teachers will belong to a skilled workforce equipped to deliver the needs of a technically sophisticated education service which benefits classroom teaching and learning.

Key Goal 1:

Success Indicators • By 2012 all teachers have the appropriate skills and knowledge to

embed ICT into their teaching on a day to day basis. • By 2010 all teachers will include ICT as an element of their PRSD.

This may include in-house peer support, modelling innovative practice and on-line self tuition as well as formal learning and accreditation.

• At least one staff development day per annum should focus on whole school ICT issues.

To secure a professional development structure which will provide a systematic programme for the continuing professional development of teachers in relation to the use of ICT, aligned to the GTCNI teaching competences.

Key Goal 2:

Success Indicators • Ensure that there is a fit for purpose CPD programme in place for ICT

which builds on initial teacher education and links induction, early professional development and continuous professional development.

• Using ICT, including online learning, should be routine from the beginning of initial teacher education and included in courses for student teachers.

To ensure that beginning teachers enter the teaching profession equipped with the appropriate skills to use ICT effectively.

Key Goal 3:

Success Indicators • By 2010, student teachers will be educated using blended learning

approaches - a combination of face to face and on-line approaches. • By 2011 all student teachers will have a minimum of 30% of their

programme provided using online learning approaches. • By 2012 all student teachers will have had the experience of using

(contributing to the development of) a VLE during their school placements and will be confident in the use of video-conferencing and on-line learning.

• Student teachers’ work in this area will form part of an e-Portfolio. • The need for training is particularly acute in the use of a virtual

learning environment (VLE) - an enabler of effective change in classroom teaching and learning. Integrating learning environments into daily classroom practice encompasses technological and professional development, and cultural change issues. Teachers will need advice and support in relation to the complexities of the implementation of learning environment strategies in a way which underpins whole school improvement.

To provide targeted professional development for school leadership teams, teachers and learning support staff to enhance their professional expertise and to support the emergence of online communities of professional practice.

Key Goal 4:

Success Indicators • By 2011, the main aim of CPD will be to enhance teachers’ ICT

competence and confidence in a range of themes including the effective use of on-line approaches.

• By 2011 50% of professional development opportunities should be undertaken online, recorded in the e-Portfolio and used for critical reflection.

To ensure that more classroom practitioners develop expertise; Key Goal 5:

schools, teachers and leaders make better use of virtual learning platforms. Success Indicators • Development programmes will be accessible to all, including online

learning, and will be included in School Development Plans.

The Future: Learning Environments Learning environments facilitate the development of teaching communities that can be used to collaborate in a variety ways, including the sharing of resources. They provide access to learning resources, streaming video and conferencing from both inside and outside the school environment, and enable

schools, libraries, local communities and other organisations to collaborate on developing and sharing joint learning programmes.

The introduction of a co-ordinated support programme 1. Learning Environments are an important aspect of education technology in our schools. This set of online tools can support effectively teaching, learning and professional development. The adoption curve for learning environments across the education workforce is commonly slow and sporadic due to the complexities involved in the associated change management process. There is an implicit challenge to teachers to adopt more active methods in their teaching and to undertake significant, ongoing professional development. 2. Raise awareness about the use and impact of learning environments across the school and teacher education service in Northern Ireland (NI). Get more teachers to adopt online tools to in order to enhance teaching and learning. Increase the uptake and use of learning environments for teaching and learning, curriculum, collaboration and professional development purposes, including initial teacher education and leadership development;

Two ICT Specialist post-primary schools joined forces for the second year running to host a ‘Virtual Day’ when 250 of their Year 11 students study online, most of them from home, using prepared study resources and completing and submitting assignments, which the teachers mark online. This year, the digital resources, including streamed video, were hosted in LNI at one school and on another learning environment at the other school. The work focused on Citizenship and Personal and Social Development in the context of GCSE Learning for Life and Work. Pupils from both schools simultaneously interviewed a Polish worker and the Human Resources Manager in Dunbia (a company in Dungannon) through a video conference as part of one assignment. Other assignments included creating a PowerPoint presentation to encourage Year 10 students to continue to study the sciences in support of the Government’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) agenda. In one of the schools, three teachers, working online, by email, through a discussion board and through text messaging on mobile phones, provided synchronous teaching support throughout the day to 105 students. The teachers reported that heightened work rates, improved engagement, enhanced quality work and greater on-task focus and perseverance were evident from many of their pupils.

3. Learning environments are used for a growing variety of purposes: The delivery of curriculum courses at 14-19 The development of collaborative approaches to learning Inter-school contact nationally and internationally as part of citizenship education Online assessment and e-portfolio based approaches to learning and teaching, and in the context of professional learning for teachers to support a professional community of collegial practice. 4. The perceived learning gains from their experiences of using learning environments. These included:

high levels of pupil motivation and engagement; pupils using a variety and choice of media to support their learning including podcasts, text, video-clips and live discussions; pupils learning with and from each other, through peer support and discussion forums; pupils linking up with other learners within and beyond NI, for example, sharing resources and experiences and hot-seating experts; pupils demonstrating a deeper knowledge and understanding of specific concepts and content resulting in higher standards of achievement; pupils working independently and managing their own learning, for example, planning work, managing time, reflecting and reviewing own learning; and teachers monitoring and tracking pupils in order to target feedback, and provide support to meet individual learning and pastoral needs.

5. Our aim has been to make teachers aware of the educational purpose and potential of a learning environment and to provide them with the necessary pedagogical and online curriculum design skills to deploy effectively the learning tools to enhance their classroom practice and to promote learning in the revised curriculum.

6. We wish to move towards a more strategic, systemic whole school approach which reflects a mature and sustainable vision for e-learning for the school-from using the VLE as a repository of resources which supports teaching, to using a wider range of advanced tools and media to extend learning.

Models of support and impacting more fully and robustly on pedagogical practices Strategic Direction 7. Move from a fragmented model of support that was ad hoc and on request to a more coherent and cohesive approach which will meet the current and future needs of schools and teachers. A. a cascade-based ‘train the trainers’ model, with training provided to officers from the Curriculum and Advisory Support Services (CASS). In this scenario, participants are ‘encouraged to engage in critical thinking in relation to the development and evaluation of e-learning’. They

appraise different learning environments, make judgements about their effectiveness and are well placed to make informed choices regarding which environment best meets their needs. The evidence indicates that the majority of teachers, who are making informed decisions, are finding other environments more fit for their purpose than LNI.

Provide essential, accredited training to education support staff and, more recently, teachers. B. Focused, contextualised support This model uses online pedagogy to provide specialist support and guidance to often isolated practitioners. LNI is used to good effect to discuss pertinent topics, share documents, planning ideas and practice, all online; this is highly valued by the participating teachers and schools. This model is indicative of the level and intensity of teacher support necessary to impact positively on classroom practice.

C. Customized support Training in the appropriate use of learning environments for teachers needs to be set in the context of the challenges facing them today in the classroom, for example, the implementation of the revised curriculum, the entitlement framework, critical reflective practice and leadership development. The implementation of the revised curriculum uses online learning as part of the dissemination strategy.

opportunities for online learning to support school and teacher communities of learners are included in all curricular initiatives-the revised curriculum and assessment arrangements

D. Inter-school training model focused mainly and appropriately on the use of the new technology in the classroom, and not on the functionality or ‘gimmickery’ of the technology itself. These collaborative models are successful and the inter-school dimension allows for the greater sharing of good practice, with teachers benefiting from visits to observe ICT work in other schools and institutions; this approach should be adopted by more schools.

E. The eBuddy concept, in particular, may provide a lasting effect on teacher development. eBuddies are teachers who are experienced in the use of ICT in the classroom and who are willing to share their experience with colleagues, who might not feel competent enough to cope with difficult situations. eBuddies offer a personal training focused on the trainee that is based on two important aspects: participation in each other’s lessons (trainees may get inspiration by attending the eBuddy’s lessons and eBuddies on the other hand may help trainees with their first steps in technology supported teaching) and the creation of a learning sequence together.

School Leadership Teams:

There is a clear need for an enhanced awareness amongst school leaders of the relevance and potential advantages of learning environments for their staff and learners, which can be integrated into the educational vision and school development planning process for the school.

There is scope for the successful use of e-learning for the professional development for headship to be built upon, including through the integration of an e-portfolio for professional learning, to create communities of professional practice and introduce efficiencies into all stages of teacher education.

Change management programme

The use of learning environments encompasses technological, professional development and cultural change issues. It is clear that schools need advice and support with the complexities of the implementation of learning environment strategies in a way which supports whole school improvement. There is an obvious need for more and better focused professional development for school leadership teams, teachers and learning support staff to grow deeper roots of professional competence in making best use of all of the learning technologies currently in schools. Consideration is to be given to the successful models of support for a sustained, area-based, networked, collegial professional model. This model might be best effected by providing teaching cover to release proven with ICT-mature practitioners to providing mentorship, both online and face to face, to develop expertise amongst practitioners and support the emergence of online communities of professional practice.

A primary school has undertaken collaborative work with a school in Dublin as part of the Dissolving Boundaries programme. The aim of the programme is to promote, within partner schools, a mutual understanding of each other’s environment. The Moodle VLE is being used as a platform for that understanding to take place. From their learning and teaching plans, the year 6 teachers selected shared story writing and peer editing as a context for their work. As a first stage, the children in one school used a wiki to outline the setting and characters in the story; the children in the partner school peer edited against agreed success criteria and further developed the plot. The children’s artwork was scanned and uploaded to illustrate the story. Contact between the two schools progressed to using the VLE discussion forum to post messages in relation to the ongoing work and to video conferencing which allowed the children to virtually enter each other’s classroom. The VLE was used as a tool to help consolidate learning in PDMU, literacy and to promote assessment for learning. It facilitated professional discussion between the teachers, enabled the children to engage in distance collaborative group work and provided an additional, external audience for the children’s writing.

All newly qualified teachers should be provided with access to a learning environment to support ongoing induction and early professional development, irrespective of their employment status within the teaching profession; this has implications for the development of a teacher e-portfolio.

Capacity-building within the schools has been limited and the embedding of the pedagogy of online learning remains at an early stage in most schools. Enhance the capability and the commitment of the stakeholder organisations to use online learning as a methodology for teacher training and professional support.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT: Key issues and Main Actions

1. Invest in better provision for the continuous professional development (CPD) of teachers in ICT. Afford a high priority to the ICT-related CPD of Teachers and Leaders to ensure that ICT is used more routinely in daily lessons and that it is integral to school management procedures and practices. By giving good attention to the CPD needs of the teachers, the ICT experiences of the pupils will improve.

2. Maximise in-school support relying on expertise (both from colleagues and technical support staff) within their own schools in order to organise ICT training of a self-help nature.

3. Provide consistent support across all subjects on the curriculum and influence classroom practice through subject-specific ICT training. 4. Provide suitable software and content related to the learning programmes of the pupils.

Connecting classrooms

5. Increase the use of ICT resources and online services to support the CPD of teachers and ensure that teachers have personal experiences of learning enhanced by ICT so that they better understand the pedagogy. A particularly useful initiative, known as the Dissolving Boundaries project, linked schools north and south for joint project work through video conferencing, providing teachers with opportunities for shared professional development.

6. Establish creative learning centres to encourage the use of digital technology in education, to help teachers and pupils benefit from access to a broader range of software applications. Develop, extend and apply creative skills, mainly in subjects such as art, music and moving image.

7. Move staff from software application solutions to making effective use of a range of ICT resources

8. Consistently high levels of personal competence and confidence in the use of ICT to enhance teaching and learning are achieved in those schools where there is good evidence of staff sharing practice and resources, and where the teachers are supported well by school management. There is often good use of ICT to support communication between management and staff and between and among staff themselves.

9. The key features of those schools where staff development in ICT is successful include:

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the CPD is an on-going school priority, and staff are prepared to innovate and experiment;

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a culture of openness exists and staff are facilitated to collaborate and share learning resources, expertise and good practice, often with staff from other schools; the heads of department/co-ordinators are pivotal in the identification of the learning and training needs of staff, and in the monitoring and dissemination of the outcomes of staff development programmes;

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senior managers recognise the need to implement a systematic and coherent programme of continuing professional development that is aligned closely to their school’s vision for ICT and linked appropriately to the objectives and targets in the school development plan (SDP);

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the acquisition of new technology such as electronic whiteboards is matched by good opportunities for staff development, including an experience of effective subject practice in other schools;

good use is made of appropriate external agencies; and the teachers are provided with personal experiences of learning enhanced by ICT and they understand better the pedagogy and how they can apply it for the benefit of pupils.

Schools that are committed strongly to the promotion of staff development are noteworthy because of their close collaboration with ‘ICT expert’ teachers from recognised ICT-rich schools.

Implications for Leadership

CONTEXT

Several countries in Europe have displayed foresight and a real commitment to investing financially in an ICT infrastructure with appropriate hardware and broadband capability for their schools and in exploiting the potential of ICT as a tool for lifelong learning.

There is an on-going cultural change occurring in institutional organisation as a result of the rapid technological advances within education and the increasing penetration of on-line solutions. The mainstreaming of ICT into learning, teaching, and into the administration and management of schools is gradually becoming a reality.

Technology helps transform education and can make a positive difference to effective schooling. Many schools have already begun to optimize the use of technology for the benefit of learners, teachers and managers. ICT offers a range of new possibilities. Technology can add value if used effectively and can facilitate school leaders in the management and administration of their institutions.

School managers set the tone among the teachers and foster positive attitudes to ICT. They lead by example by embracing ICT to its maximum and by setting an appropriate strategic vision for the school community.

It is important that the Head teacher is regarded as a supporter of integrating ICT into all aspects of school policies, practices and procedures. He/she can facilitate the development of ICT throughout the school and creates an environment conducive to the development of ICT.

While some subject teachers use ICT on a regular or daily basis others rarely engage with technology. As a result, the pupils have uneven experiences of ICT from teacher to teacher and school to school. It is also essential that leaders at all levels within an institution-including middle managers, subject co-ordinators and heads of department are involved in embedding ICT effectively in their area of responsibility. Keeping ICT at the forefront of innovation and change will bring about transformation.

Leaders set the agenda for schools.

School leadership has been identified as an important factor for the further penetration of ICT into the education system, for establishing effective communities of practice and for the identification of ICT champions within individual institutions and networks of schools working collaboratively.

Senior management plays a crucial role in leading ICT effectively in schools. Research and inspection evidence indicate that there needs to be an increased focus on the development of strategic ICT leadership skills for school leaders and senior managers. The potential of technology to deliver the priorities set by and for school leaders cannot be underestimated.

A Professional Qualification for Headship must include leadership proficiency in ICT

The following factors are crucial for school leaders of a successful, ICT enabled institution.

School leaders must analyse and interpret more effectively the data available to them in order to evaluate their pupil progress, inform future planning and for the better deployment of resources.

Useful data generated by school management information systems provides a rich source of material for leaders to interrogate and analyse. Decision making based on reliable and up to date data is essential. There is now a trend towards providing more on-line examinations and computerised assessment which will provide useful databases on pupil performance at local, regional and national levels.

Schools tend to be data rich but information poor. School leaders need to develop their data awareness and proficiency for assessment, both formative and summative, using the new technologies. Annual reports and assessment outcomes will be electronically accessible to support teachers and parents. A substantial growth in online assessment and examinations, and the increased use of technology in reporting progress to students and their parents, can be expected. Teachers must be aware of the discrepancy between, in some cases, the frequent home use of ICT by their pupils and school under-use and they must plan to address such inequalities.

It is imperative that school leaders at all levels make maximum use of ICT for the efficient management of schools. Education systems and schools are beginning to use computer generated data for assessment and performance purposes.

School leaders must build the confidence and competence of their staff to use ICT and must provide opportunities for the teachers to engage in suitable and relevant continuous professional development to sharpen their expertise in ICT. The effective school leader will create a community of ICT learning within the school encouraging peer learning and the sharing of best practice in ICT among all the staff and pupils.

Technology can impact positively upon school management functioning and administration. There are specific benefits to using technology for the better management and administration of schools. The effective use of ICT can enable school leaders to monitor pupil achievement, progress and attendance with more success. Technology has been shown provide gains in terms of workforce efficiency and productivity. It is common today for ICT to support lesson planning, curriculum mapping and classroom teaching. This has enabled teachers to locate and integrate richer digital teaching and learning resources which have added value to their lessons resulting in improved outcomes for pupils. For leaders, the availability of key pupil performance data in a variety of electronic formats is an important management tool for informing future planning and decision making. School administrators have benefited from the significant shift in the use of electronic information and communication. The availability of on-line and electronic records has greatly improved efficiency. Communication with parents, pupils and teachers is much easier and the elimination of paper based records is a major advantage. Electronic registers mean that pupil attendance records are up to date and response times swifter for emergencies. School Principals can organise their schools more efficiently in a number of ways with electronic solutions. They can control truancy more effectively and can map timetables and the curriculum more efficiently. Schools can connect more easily to digital materials for learning and with other schools and communities through video conferencing materials. School managers demonstrate pedagogical leadership by promoting a suitable vision for ICT across the school and by inspiring, encouraging and enabling the teachers to integrate ICT into their planning and teaching approaches. School leaders need to develop a clear vision for learning, which encompasses clearly the contribution of ICT. This vision for using ICT will be shared throughout the school community-staff, pupils and parents. E-learning schools have been established in several European countries offering virtual learning and teaching and on-line examinations and computerised assessments.

To summarise,

good quality leadership at all levels is the critical ingredient for determining that pupils have worthwhile and challenging experiences in ICT.

Successful leadership of ICT is characterised by: • ICT development work that is supported strongly by the Principal and

other school leaders; • an ambitious but realistic vision for ICT, which is set out clearly in the

school development plan and associated departmental planning; • the roles and responsibilities of the ICT leaders are supported by the

allocation of adequate time to undertake effectively the complex management, co-ordination and evaluative functions;

• a strong emphasis on collaboration and clustering with other institutions to ensure that staff benefit from the best possible continuous professional development in order to transform their practice; and

• the implementation of robust self-evaluation processes leading to improvement in the full integration of ICT into all elements of schooling