Using information and communications technology in learning and teaching: a framework for reflection, planning and evaluation in school development

Abstract

A series of centrally-funded strategies have been initiated in the United Kingdom to promote target-setting, network access and training for teachers in the use of information and communications technology (ICT). It appears that the components of a major revolution in the classroom use of ICT have been assembled. However, many teachers and those who are involved in their professional development lack a shared vision of what they should be aiming for in the pedagogical use of these powerful tools. As a consequence, development is seldom led by informed discussion of different visions of future ICT-based classrooms that could guide practice, and the implications for learning and for the role of teachers precipitated by even modest ICT use are often left unexamined. This article describes the components of a framework that was constructed during a study of the use of ICT for the promotion of learning in Scottish primary and secondary schools. The framework represents different visions of the ways in which technology does and could impinge upon schools, teachers, learning and the curriculum. Typical relationships between ICT use and key features of the school are illustrated. These include the location and structure of the school, the timetable, the curriculum, the mode of delivery of teaching material, the locus of control over learning processes and the role of the teacher. These features are discussed and illustrated by examples.