Improvements required to use computers in education
As we have seen already there has been dramatic improvements in computer facilities available to the Education sector, but if computers were to improve the education of pupils, a few mountains need to be climbed, teacher training, development of educational materials and outside influences.
Teacher Training:
Teachers must gain exposure to computing through in-service training, summer school programs and day release courses. The most important part of a good school is a capable, knowledgeable teacher, without which the subject matter could be delivered in a haphazard way reducing the amount of information that is absorbed by the pupil.
Computers play an important part of the pupils attitude to learning, but only if they are integrated into a well-planned curriculum. In order for teachers to integrate them into the lessons, teachers would first have to learn how to use them, and that is the biggest challenge, to get teachers using computers.
Courses needed to be developed to provide computing experience to those that are training to be teachers, however it is even more imperative that those already teaching in schools, which will use computer based materials were trained as a matter of urgency. Unless teachers could acquire a basic understanding of how computers work and the possibilities they can present in terms of improving their teaching skills, any attempt to use computers and computer aided learning would fail.
A useful approach taken by the French government was to train 10,000 core teachers in the use of computers and they in turn were expected to go out and train other teachers, in a cascading style. Another approach, albeit not so hands on, is to provide videotaped instructions and allow teachers to teach themselves.
Development of Educational Materials:
Publishers including, Science Research Associates, Hayden Book Company and Creative Computing magazine in 1980 were already producing both computer related and computer aided learning materials, and were soon offering educational packages for the personal computer. Other publishers were soon to join in, as teachers saw that the lack of quality courseware was the most serious obstacle to allow them, in order to use computers to the best of their ability.
Outside Influences:
During the 1980’s a more informal, outside the classroom-learning pattern gained speed, as the price of PC’s fell, more people were able to afford their own systems, on which they could play educational games and computer based learning packages. After having a computer at home, it became expected by both pupils and parents that they would have one at school as well.
Pressure mounted on schools to purchase and use computers more and more, but many of them were not prepared to do so. As we have seen they lacked the trained staff, which also meant that they lacked the information to make the right decision on which systems to buy. Therefore many schools were buying systems before they were even ready to use them effectively.
Computer clubs grew by huge numbers, due mainly to the “computer-hobbyist”. The rapidly growing network of enthusiasts were very quickly becoming more proficient in the use of computers that most teachers, and in fact the enthusiasts often went on to become the teachers of teachers.
In recent years after a study of IT and young children, which found that the younger children were introduced to IT, the higher the possibility that they could become academically competent, nursery groups have also had access to Information Technology, in an effort to start the children getting used to using computers from an early age. They learn mouse control and keyboard skills by colouring in pictures on the screen and using the computer to read them stories. This is followed on to 1st year Reception classes, where the computer is used to bring words and numbers to the Childs attention.
Becta Report – Evaluating ICT in schools
ImpaCT2 is one of a number of projects commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills and managed by Becta with the aim of evaluating the progress of the ICT in Schools Programme.
It is a major study carried out between 1999 and 2002. The ImpaCT2 study was jointly carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Nottingham, the
Open University, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Leicester, and led by Professor Colin Harrison at the University of Nottingham.
The study involved 60 schools in England and is one of the most comprehensive investigations into the impact of information and communications technology (ICT) on educational attainment so far conducted in the United Kingdom.
ImpaCT2 was designed to:
- Find out the degree to which these networked technologies affect the educational attainments of pupils at Key Stages 2, 3 and 4
- Identify the impact of networked technologies on the school and out of school environment
The survey found that at key stage 2 there was a positive association between ICT and a greater achievement in English and Maths, although Maths wasn’t perceived to be so high as English. A higher use of ICT would increase a pupil’s performance by 0.16 in English as opposed to 0.061 in Maths.
In Key stage 3 it found that there was a positive association between ICT and national tests for science and that a higher use of ICT could increase a pupil’s performance by 0.214 and in maths by 0.083. This is equivalent to a substantial acceleration in progress through these levels of 21.4% of two years' achievement in Key Stage 3 science, and 8.3% of two years' achievement in Key Stage 3 mathematics.
In Key Stage 4 it found that at a higher use of ICT at Key Stage 4 in science could help to increase a pupil’s performance by the equivalent of 0.56 of a GCSE grade, and in design and technology by the equivalent of 0.41 of a GCSE grade.
So as we can see from the findings of the ImpaCT2 report with greater emphasis on the Use of computers in education, there are greater improvements in the results of the pupils.
ICT Under-Spending in schools
The Future for Computers in Education
What does the future hold? With newer, cheaper and faster computers released every week, and the increased use of digital media, and the Internet which is expanding at an exponential rate, we are faced with unending possibilities; in my opinion pupils will soon be able to take advantage of some of the following tools in the future:
Conclusion
In my opinion from the information presented here, I believe that we have seen an amazing improvement in the use of computers in the last 20 years, their developments has mirrored our developments and vice versa. Without computers and the Internet we would still be forced to examine numbers of books from libraries, and that would be very time consuming, and inefficient. I believe that computers have impacted drastically on the way that we learn and absorb information, more pupils each year are passing their exams, some people say that exams are becoming easier, I believe that it is the tools that are used to gain the knowledge that makes the exams easier, and I’m sure that the future of computers will ensure that we continue to improve our knowledge and understanding of them.
References
Acorn Computers page 1
Apricot Computers page 6
Amstrad Computers page 6
BECTA page 9
Computer magazine 1980 pages 7 and 8
http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org/
http://www.old-computers.com
http://www.becta.org.uk