ICT Practices Research Articles

Exploring Blended Learning for Science Teacher Professional Development in an African Context

This paper explores a case of teacher professional development in Botswana where a blended learning solution was attempted. The analysis of the implementation environment reveals deficiencies in policy, schools (workplaces), and training providers. The paper concludes with three recommendations: 1) Schools should support ongoing teacher learning in the workplace and should manage ICT resources for use by both teachers and students; 2) Government should support participatory and localised learning and institutionalise ICT access and use; and 3) Training providers should use blended methods and should model good ICT practices. The author also notes that change is needed in the culture of teaching and learning so that ongoing, situated, participatory, and collaborative approaches are accepted. Finally, collaboration between the training providers and the schools is necessary as is a change in beliefs about the use of ICTs in education.

Changing spaces: the role of the internet in shaping Deaf geographies

While there is a burgeoning literature on the role of ICT in the creation of new forms of social networks, dubbed on-line communities, much less attention has been paid to the complex set of relationships which are emerging between some off-line communities and the internet, and in particular to some of the new spatialities that are emerging as a result of community-based ICT practices. This paper develops this work by focusing on the example of ‘the Deaf community’. In reflecting on the implications of the communication possibilities offered by the internet for the production of Deaf space we begin by outlining the history of development of the off-line Deaf community in the UK and by reflecting on the concept of ‘community’. The paper then goes on to explore how Deaf people are using the internet to communicate with each other and, in doing so, to reflect upon how the internet is contributing to the re-spatialisation and scaling-up of this community while also having other unanticipated effects on Deaf people's mobilities and the space of the Deaf club.

Skills, technology and organisational innovation in Spanish firms

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to provide empirical evidence on the relationships among new technologies, innovative work practices and upskilling in the Spanish case. Design/methodology/approach – Using detailed plant‐level data from a survey of Spanish manufacturing firms, we apply estimation methods, such as tobit and ordered probit models, to test the hypothesis that the use of ICT, AMT, and innovative work practices is positively related to upskilling. Findings – As available empirical evidence shows for other countries, we have found that AMT, ICT and innovative work practices are positively related to skills, although they have different effects on workforce composition and training. We have also found several significant effects of the interactive terms of the three technologies and work practices considered on the selected variables of upskilling. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation is the lack of time series data. Cross‐sectional data do not allow the use of lagged variables and make it impossible to analyse the evolution of the adoption of new technologies and work practices by firms and their dynamic effects on skills, or to study causalities among variables. In addition, the study relates only to manufacturing industries. Further research should consider expanding the analysis to the service sector and studying possible complementarities between technology and work practices, in terms of labor cost savings. Originality/value – This paper offers empirical evidence for Spain on the relationship between new technologies, innovative work practices and upskilling considered jointly. It analyses two different technologies: ICT and AMT. The paper also focuses on different dimensions of upskilling.

Information Communication Technology Adoption and Efficiency of Student Services

The study investigated the influence of information and communication technology on the efficiency of student services of Liceo de Cagayan University. The descriptive research used 20 service providers and 100 clients as respondents. As rated by the clients, the university obtained a satisfactory rating for its ICT practices in terms of system restructuring, system selection, ICT staff’s skills and capabilities. For ICT applications, as rated by the service providers, the university got a satisfactory rating on functionality, availability, maintainability, and utilization. As to the efficiency of the different departments’ student services, as rated by the service providers, the university got a very satisfactory rating for the Registrar’s Office, Cashier’s Office, Library, and Internet Services. The predictors of the efficiency of student services were ICT implementation in terms of timely provision of information to other providers with student support roles and ICT practices in terms of ICT as a tool for competitive advantage and survival, as a tool for testing and altering school’s administrators’ know-how to get things done in the existing system, and as a tool for day-to-day operation. Key words - ICT practices and application, effeciency of student services

Using Teacher Professional Identity to Understand Classroom ICT Practices

Using Teacher Professional Identity to Understand Classroom ICT Practices

Towards a framework for the use of ICT in teacher training in Africa

There is a gulf between the rhetoric of those advocating the use of ICT in education in Africa and the reality of classroom practice. This paper explores some of the reasons for this, and outlines a possible framework for the successful implementation of teacher training programmes that make advantageous use of appropriate ICTs. It argues that six fundamental principles of good practice must be addressed for such programmes to be effective: a shift from an emphasis on ‘education for ICT’ to the use of ‘ICT for education’; an integration of ICT practice within the whole curriculum; a need for integration between pre‐service and in‐service teacher training; a need for the development of relevant and locally produced content; a need for appropriate educational partnerships; and an emphasis on the development of sustainable costing models. The paper concludes with a framework for action to deliver the very real benefits of ICT for teacher training in Africa.

Sustainable Community Technology: The symbiosis between community technology and community research

The social sustainability of any community technology activity is dependent on whether or not it forms an integral part of, and contributes to, the shared experiences that constitute community life. Drawing from this premise the paper presents a human-centred exploration of community informatics (CI) by proposing that, as a field of study and practice, a central goal should be to develop shared understandings of ways in which ICT contribute to building and sustaining active and healthy communities. The diversity of community ICT practices have the potential to contribute to a collective knowledgebase that is not only of import as a resource for academic investigation but also in terms of its broader social significance to community life. With this in mind, the authors analyse and critically evaluate the significance of the emerging symbiosis between community technology and community research. Applying a human-centred perspective of CI to a community technology research and development project the paper concludes with a story about Black Elk, a Lakota shaman, as a metaphor for the relationship between community technology and community research.

A Reflexive Model of ICT Practices in Organizations

An international association advancing the multidisciplinary study of informing systems. Founded in 1998, the Informing Science Institute (ISI) is a global community of academics shaping the future of informing science.

Public libraries as democratic intermediaries: some examples from Sweden

Government practices concerning self‐administered, direct Internet publishing of material are burgeoning. In this situation, local public libraries can balance democratically unfavourable consequences of new ICT practices in early e‐government initiatives, an important task, especially considering that the intermediary and disseminating functions of traditional mass media are being questioned. Using Habermas’s theories on public spheres and mass media, the concept of intermediary in today’s society is discussed in the context of international information policy documents and public library manifestos. Against this background, two Swedish cases concerning work within a municipal library and regional politics are presented. In conclusion, it is suggested that public libraries have both the obligation and the possibility to counteract tendencies toward shallow representation of public administration, fragmentation of societies and documents, and dislocations of responsibilities from government agencies to libraries. If handled properly, library practices that add value might even strengthen and rejuvenate the democratic system.

Learners, learning and new technologies

In 1997 the UK Government introduced a major five‐year programme to support and evaluate the successful use of new technologies in life‐long learning. Known as the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) Strategy, this ambitious vision addresses ICT infrastructure, content and practice. Recent OECD studies suggest that the main issues addressed through the NGfL are common to those being tackled throughout the developed world (OECD 2002). This paper will look at the implications of these strategies for curriculum improvement and reform. A theorisation of the possible relationships between different features of ICT and learning will be offered. Finally the contrast between home and school based use of technologies, and the implications for learning will be considered.Apprentis, apprentissage et nouvelles technologies. En 1997, le gouvernement britannique a lancé un programme d'envergure de cinq ans pour soutenir et évaluer l'emploiréussi de nouvelles technologies dans l'éducation tout au long de la vie. Ce programme est connu sous le nom de la stratégie du National Grid for Learning (NGfL), une vision ambitieuse qui touche à l'infrastructure des TIC, leur contenu et leur pratique. Des études récentes de l'OCDE suggèrent que les buts principaux recherchés par le NGfL sont communs avec ceux recherchés dans tous les pays développés (OCDE 2002). Cet article étudie les implications de ces stratégies pour l'amélioration du curriculum et la réforme et prétend montrer que l'e-mail, les conférences par informatique et le webpeuvent potentiellement changer la nature des rapports entre apprenants, enseignants, écoles, communautés locales, nationales et internationales. L'article considère trois perspectives de TIC éducatives: comme outil, soutien pour l'enseignement et agent révolutionnaire et leurs relations avec l'évaluation. Finalement, le contrat entre la maison et l'usage des technologies basées à l'école et leurs implications pour l'enseignement seront considérés.Lerner, Lernen und neue Technikologien. 1997 führte die Regierung des Vereinigten Königreiches ein umfangreiches Fünfjahresprogramm ein, um die erfolgreiche Verwendung neuer Technologien im lebenslangen Lernen zu unterstützen und auszuwerten. Diese als 'National Grid forLearning Strategy (NGfL)' bekannte ehrgeizige Vision ist auf ICT- Infrastruktur,, Inhalt und Übung fokussiert. Neue OECDStudien legen nahe, daß sich die durch das NGfL angesprochenen Hauptfragen jenen, die ¨uberall in der entwickelten Welt gestellt werden, (OECD 2002) gleichen. Dieses Papier betrachtet die Auswirkungen dieser Strategien auf Lehrplanverbesserung und -Reform und wird belegen, dass E-Mail, E-Conferencing und die Nutzung des Web die Art der Beziehungen zwischen Lernenden, Lehrern, Schulen sowie lokalen, nationalen und internationalen Gemeinschaften potentiell verändern können. Dann werden drei Perspektiven von Bildungs-ICT im Verhältnis zur Einschätzung betrachtet: als Werkzeug, als Lernunterstützung und als 'revolutionärer Agent'. Zuletzt wird der Kontrakt zwischen Zuhause und der schulischen Verwendung von Technologien und die daraus sich ergebenden Auswirkungen auf das Lernen betrachtet.

THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: DIFFERENCES IN COMPUTER USE BETWEEN HOME AND SCHOOL IN LOW SOCIO-ECONOMIC HOUSEHOLDS

This article examinesinformation and communication technologies(ICTs) practices in the home and schoolsettings of four disadvantaged families. Itreports the findings of a year-long study thatinvestigated the nexus betweencomputer-mediated literacy practices at homeand at school and whether thisinter-connectivity could make a difference inschool success. The findings indicate thatthere was disjunction between home and schooluse. The ``digital divide'' exists for thefamilies of this study, not in terms of accessbut in the gap between ICT practices at homeand school. Schools in this study did notintegrate ICT skills learned and demonstratedin the home environment into ICT practices atschool. The study concludes that constructingpedagogical connections between home and schoolICT practices may begin to bridge the ``digitaldivide''.