Incorporating ICT into K-12 Schools:

Abstract

T he introduction of computers in schools in China can be traced back to early 1980s, but the advances in information and Communication Technology (ICT) has accelerated the process to an unprecedented degree after mid-1990s. This article depicts an overview of the development of ICT in Chinese schools, including the perspectives of hardware and infrastructures, resources and services, teacher training, transformation of organizational culture and the practices of educationally using ICT. The challenges, problems are discussed and the directions for the future development are proposed. During the past decade, there has been a flood in the application of information and communication technology (ICT) in the whole society. Thus, it is not surprising to see the increasing interests and investments being put into the uses of ICT in education throughout the world. This article is dedicated to depict a picture of the integration of ICT in Chinese schools, which will be described in the broad backgrounds of the systematic reform in Chinese education. It is necessary to state that this review will be focused only on what has happened in China mainland. The development in China Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan can be referred to the works of other authors (e.g. Law et al., 1999). A BRIEF HISTORICAL REVIEW The introduction of computers in K12 education in China can be traced back to 1982, when 5 pioneer secondary schools were organized together to carry out experiments on computer education focusing on programming. From then on, the development of ICT in schools has undergone roughly three stages: 1. Early explorations during 1982-1990: influenced by the international wave of "computer literacy", computers were firstly introduced into the few experimental schools as "Tutee" for students to learn programming, esp. Basic. It is only after 1985 that Tutor and Tool model started to gain concerns. However, the Tutee model still dominated the field (earlier review see Chen, 1988). 2. Expansion during 1991-1997: On the top of introducing computer as learning content, ComputerAssisted Instruction (CAI) and Computer-Managed Instruction (CMI) started to be more frequently incorporated into the teaching and learning of different subjects. Also, computers started to enter more and more schools, instead of being confined within the few pioneer schools. Quick development after 1997: Multimedia and computer network was introduced as powerful . technologies to help create constructive, supportive and rich learning environment in schools. With the emergence of such new terms as E-Learning, Web-Based Education, and Virtual School, ICT in education has gained much greater concerns than ever, and the development of educational ICT has been accelerated to an unprecedented degree. As we can see from the historical review, the educational uses of ICT in China have walked down a similar road with other part of the world.