learning - Academic Conferences Limited

John Jessel
differences in VLE use in the school and higher and further education sectors. An important factor
could be the role of the learner. For example, to what extent do new technologies allow learners to be
self-directed, to be a resource for their own learning, to learn from peer feedback and apply their
learning to real-world problems? These andragogic principles (Knowles, 1977) have hitherto been
primarily associated with adult learners but could be reviewed in the context of digital technologies. A
further issue, then, is what strategies could lead to the effective use of technology in learning by
younger learners and how can these be established in the school environment?
3. Method
Participants were recruited through professional contact in schools that work in initial teacher training
partnership with the university department coordinating the UK part of the Project. Altogether five
London inner-city secondary schools with pupils from a range of backgrounds became involved.
Three core areas of the UK National Curriculum, namely mathematics, science and English were
focused on. In addition, Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE), now a compulsory curriculum
component, was explored by one of the schools.
The teachers who participated were subject specialists in English, mathematics and science and were
either in their early or mid career. Senior management staff from the participating schools were also
interviewed. The workshops were run on site with up to four teachers in each school working with one
of the two teachers from other educational institutions who were highly conversant with VLE
technology.
A number of principles underlay the workshop design. Firstly, work was curriculum led: any innovative
methods would sub-serve existing curriculum objectives, the intention being to include the use of the
technology as part of mainstream teaching activity. For similar reasons this remit included firm links
with assessment. The decision to hold workshops in situ in terms of subject department was to
facilitate the development of the use of technology in a way that is less likely to be isolated from the
curriculum or other learning resources. Another important element of the workshop provision was to
encourage use of the VLE that promoted learning through social participation as well as cognitive
interaction. In addition to supporting any needed discrete technology skills, the idea was to allow the
teachers to draw on their own expertise as subject specialists and use the technology as creators in
the development of curriculum-specific methods and resources.
The theoretical perspectives outlined above were introduced briefly with the aid of the diagram similar
to that shown in Figure 1. This marked out the broader learning possibilities and understandings of
the development of technology systems and associated pedagogy. Identification of learning goals and
assessment opportunities were also included in the sessions as were considerations of the role of the
student, the teacher and the technology. Field trials prototyping resources and methods with a subset
of teachers and students were planned in conjunction with the workshops and intra- and interinstitutional
dissemination and methods of sustainability discussed.
Qualitative data gathered through field notes, observations, focus groups, audio recordings of
workshop sessions and recorded interviews and on-site documents were analysed in terms of the
uptake and sustained use of the technology and the quality of learning activities developed.
4. Findings
4.1 Innovation in the school setting
With regard to recruitment of participating schools and teachers, it was found that introducing
innovation in the school setting is a potentially complex process; schools have a variety of
responsibilities and demands that must be concurrently accommodated. Points of entry for innovative
practice that were voiced by senior personnel and teachers ranged from those driven by national or
local policy, by impending crises, pressing social or pastoral needs and changes of staff. In other
words a programme of development does not occur in isolation and often needs to be timed in
relation to other demands, circumstances or initiatives; it needs to be negotiated and flexible. Even
with assured financial resources needed for cover, flexibility was needed in arranging sessions in view
of unforeseen demands that were not unusual in the schools concerned.
An initial small-scale survey was conducted to get an indication in-class and out-of-class use of
different ICT facilities and the perceived needs of teachers. With regard to the VLE, from the 20
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