Languages, technology and learning:European developments

Roger Blamire

European Schoolnet

Udine December 2009

1: European Schoolnet is for schools

•School collaboration e.g. eTwinning

• Teaching materials e.g. The Learning Resource Exchange

•Projects and competitions e.g. Xplora

•Internet safety guidance e.g. Insafe

•ICT evidence and good practice e.g. STEPS

2: STEPS: Study of the impact of technology in primary schools

•Approach

•Results

•Impact on learners, teachers, schools

•Recommendations

Approach and Methodology : Multiple perspectives

Birmingham UK

Teacher survey: 18,000 interviews

60 research studies,22 countries

Policy survey:30 Correspondents

School survey:255 respondents

25 case studies, 13 countries

Impact on learners /1:Knowledge, skills and competences

• Skills and competences developed • Subject understanding is enhanced• Provision for individual needs improved

• Learners may lack basic computer skills • Discrepancy between home and school ICT

Romania: maths

Impact on learners /2: Motivation, confidence and engagement in learning

• Higher levels of motivation and attention, say 87% of teachers

• More active participation •Low motivation, social division

and disengagement overcome

•Collaborative learning supported•Guided, enquiry-based tasks work• Learning outside school supported• Parental engagement improved

Italy: Twinning with Bucharest

Impact on learners /3:Sophisticated and individualised assessment

• Sophisticated feedback on performance

• Value of virtual learning environments

• Achievement recorded in e-portfolios

Estonia: e-diary

Impact on teachers /1:Teachers use ICT and are ‘ICT-optimistic’

FI

DK

UK

SE

NO

NL

MT

CY

DE

IE

CZ

SIIT

SK

IS

ATES

LUFR

BE

EE

PT

LT

PL

HU

EL

LV

EU average

- - <--- Teacher's ICT skills ---> ++

<----

Impa

ct Sc

eptic

s

Im

pact

Optim

ists--

-->

• Three in four teachers use ICT• Range of pedagogies supported• Constructivist learning environments leverage ICT value

• Teachers in some countries are more ICT-optimistic than in others• There is a sceptical 21%• Low correlation between levels of

equipment, use and skills and ICT-optimism

Impact on teachers /2: ICT is pedagogically under-used

• Lack of pedagogical vision• New pedagogical approaches only if integrated into subjects

• Use for administration, organisation and planning

Finland: collaborative learning

Impact on teachers /3:Motivation and digital and pedagogical skills

Spain: on-site training

• Motivation and teaching skills improved

• Ideal = step by step, on-site training, minimal disruption

• Little ICT training for new teachers• Courses lack practical dimension• Little technical / pedagogical support

Impact on schools /1:Children’s access to technology is improving

• Almost all primary schools use computers

• Large variation in infrastructure across and within countries

• IWB provision ranges from very few to all schools

- 88+% in each country have internet access- 8 internet computers per 100 learners- 8 countries have more than 14 computers per 100 learners- 72% of the primary schools have broadband internet - In 2/3 of countries over 2/3 of schools have broadband

- Ten-fold range: 3.1 to 32 computers per 100 pupils - Smaller primary schools are disadvantaged

How does Italy compare?

Recommendations

• Increase, improve and diversify teacher education and support

• Build ICT into general educational policies

• Focus on a vision for learning

• Allow for initiativein assessment

• Ensure access to quality equipment and learning resources

• Emphasise pedagogy not ICT

• Capitalise on learners’ ICT competence and exploit the reach of technology to families

• Invest in school leaders’ training to lead change

• Develop roles and responsibilities for ICT ICT and pedagogical support

• Complement the current picture by exploiting other methods and topics

• Establish a long term and continuous monitoring system on the impact of ICT in schools

• Provide a toolkit for indicator use by schools and policy-makers

• Improve the flow of knowledge of what works between countries.

EDUCATION POLICY SCHOOLS RESEARCH EU COOPERATION

3: Language teaching with technology

•Resources used by language teachers

•Examples of practice

YouTube: Using Google maps

Teachers’ TV: Using Moodle

Blogs: Using Wordle

Yahoo groups: Sharing resources

eTwinning: i-voix

eTwinning: L’albatros

Teachers - the key to effective learning