technology, students and learning
TRANSCRIPT
Technology, students and learningChildren-using-computersUnlike Europe, the majority of our children come from homes where technology at home is a pipe-dreamlogoWednesday, 23 September 2015New studies point to practical approaches for Sri Lanka
ICT has offered much promise in efficiencies in delivery of
quality education, but the results have been disappointing.
The latest OECD report titled Students, Computers and Learning:
Making the Connection joins a host of other systematic reviews of
ICT use in education that has emerged in the last few years. At
this juncture when the new Government is looking for policy
solutions in education including the possible introduction of
tablets in schools, a review of these studies is opportune
indeed.
sryExecution of ICTinitiatives in the developing countries is
problematic
In their review of impact of ICT in education in developing country
contexts, Tolani-Brown et al. (2009) laments the lack of evaluation
studies and notes that policymakers are driven by their intuition
not evidence. Initiatives are launched with much fanfare and then
forgotten.
The OLPC initiative launched in December of 2010 in Sri Lanka is a
case in point. World Bank aid was used to provide 1,000 green and
white Negroponte laptops to nine schools. Digital materials were
tailor-made and loaded into the distributed laptops, but the
initiative did not progress beyond project stage and an evaluation
of the project was either not carried out at all or not made
public.
Mahindodaya technology laboratories project is the latest
initiative with nearly all 1,000 schools already equipped with
computers and laboratory equipment. I recently attended an opening
of one of those laboratories with 60+computers for a school with
300 children and a lethargic IT teacher in charge. The computers
were already over one year old when the children finally got to
pose pictures. The writing was on the wall and I left the place
with a heavy heart.3Learning outcomesfrom developed countries are
disappointing
The OECD report titled Students, Computers and Learning: Making the
Connection finds that, despite the pervasiveness of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) in their daily lives, these
technologies have not yet been as widely adopted in formal
education in developed countries. And where they are used in the
classroom, their impact on student performance is mixed, at
best.
The report is based on a survey of students who sat for the Program
for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012. The study
shows that results for reading and mathematics for children who sat
the exam are not correlated with the state of technology investment
in education in their schools.
In fact, children who reported above average use of technology show
poorer results than even after correction for interfering
socio-economic factors. As the report makes clear, investments to
equip students with basic literacy and numeracy skills is all one
may need to help them prepare for participation fully in the
digitised societies of the 21st century.
Reason for lack of success
Professor Kentor Toyama of University of Michigan identifies three
factors which make digital technologies difficult to implement in
the classroom. First, digital technology requires a lot of skill
and resources to use and maintain, and the worlds poorest schools
generally cant afford the required support on an ongoing
basis.
Second, good pedagogy is difficult enough in itself, but when
combined with the additional burden of incorporating computers, it
is even more difficult. Teachers are already juggling with large
class sizes, standardised curricula, examinations and miscellaneous
administrative requirements. For them, computers in the classroom
is just another imposition from higher bureaucracies.
Third and perhaps most significant, he argues, is the fact that
digital devices tend to amplify students natural inclinations for
distraction. Students become addicted to sensory stimulation for
its own sake and bypass deep thinking and learning. Its like giving
them sweets before dinner. His conjectures make common-sense
although the scientific studies to establish them are missing.
Four types of IT use in school education
For our work at LIRNEasia we found it useful to define four types
of ICT uses in education (1) Teachers use outside of class (2)
Teachers use in the class (3) students use in the classroom and (4)
students use outside the class.
In Finland where they are reputed to have one of the best education
systems in the world, teachers use ICT outside of the class to
prepare for class, for presentations in class but they dont
encourage ICT use in the classroom, for lower grades lower than
senior secondary in particular. In fact, in the Schoolnet survey
conducted by the European Union in 2013, Finnish teachers reported
the least usage of ICT from among teachers in other countries in
Europe.
After school use of computers by students more productive?
Another phenomenon observed in Finland is the high use of computers
and mobile phones by students on their own for school work outside
the class. The EU Schoolnet survey also finds that students in
Europe in fat use ICT for education at home more than in
class.
We may find the same phenomenon among upper middle class families
in Sri Lanka, where children come home to environments steeped in
technology and use the technology for doing class projects, etc.
quite naturally. However, unlike Europe, the majority of our
children come from homes where technology at home is a
pipe-dream.
Technologically-enriched after school experience for
disadvantaged students
Sri Parakrambahu Vidyalaya on Muhandiram Mavatha in Colombo 5 is
located in a spacious and picturesque property with much greenery
and a natural pond to boot. Existing in the shadows of more popular
national schools in Colombo, this type of school is the choice for
children from neighbouring pockets of low-income housing in the
area.
As characteristics of these schools, total enrolment of students is
in the range of 300-400 and pass rates in public examinations is
dismal. For example, in 2014, 22 students sat for the GCE (O/L) and
only two succeeded with the requisite six passes that include math
and the first language.
These schools have the infrastructure to serve these students
better because they are truly neighbourhood schools. There are no
school vans parked outside because all children live close enough
for a casual stroll to the school. The ample spaces available in
most of these schools can be upgraded to provide 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
safe and nurturing places for students. Some schools already have
fully equipped but underused IT labs.
The concept of seamless schooling is already applied in schools in
the Western Province where teachers in failing schools are asked to
keep the schools open during the holidays to help their students
prepare for exams. Extending the concept, facilities in these
schools including the technology laboratories can be kept open for
use from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on school days. The schools cannot do
this alone. Providing seamless educational environment for
under-privileged children provides an excellent avenue of CSR
initiative by corporate entities in Colombo. After all, kids from
these schools is their natural labour pool.Posted byThavam