ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) Publications

This report focuses on the effectiveness of the 2005-2007 Information and Communication Technologies Professional Development (ICT PD) School Clusters programmes and supplements previous evaluations of the first five ICT PD programmes. It is part of an ongoing evaluation of the ICT PD teacher professional development initiative, which has been implemented in New Zealand since 1999.

The Early Childhood Education Information and Communication Technology Professional Learning Programme (ECE ICT PLP) is a three year pilot professional development programme established in 2006. The overarching goal of the ECE ICT PL Programme is increased teacher capability (with particular emphasis on ICT capability) that leads to transformation and the development of a community of practice; which, in turn, contributes to enhanced learning outcomes for children.

This report was commissioned by the Ministry and undertaken by the Waikato Institute of Technology in collaboration with the Industry Training Federation. The report’s main objectives were to:

• Identify how e-Learning is employed in work-based and work-placed learning both internationally and nationally.
• Describe the impact of e-Learning on building workforce capability globally and nationally.
• Assess the demand from employers, providers and learners for e-Learning in improving individual and organisational capability.
• Demonstrate how, and in what ways, e-Learning can aid particular industry sectors in building workforce capability.
• Examine reasons why e-Learning is not being used in particular industry sectors to support work-based and work-placed learning.
• Recommend further activities that could be taken to promote and embed the effective use of e-Learning in work-based and work-placed e-Learning.

This page provides evaluations of the Information and Communication Technologies Professional Development (ICTPD) teacher professional development initiative. The ICTPD School Cluster programmes in New Zealand are aimed at increasing teachers’ ICT skills and pedagogical understandings of ICTs, at increasing the use of ICTs for professional and administrative tasks in schools, and at increasing the frequency and quality of the use of ICTs in schools to support effective classroom teaching and learning.

The purpose of this evaluation was to investigate the impacts of the Laptops for Teachers Scheme: TELA (referred to from here as the TELA scheme) on teachers’ work over a period of four years (2003-2006) and to record emerging changes in laptop use.

The purpose of this evaluation was to investigate the impacts of the Laptops for Teachers Scheme: TELA (referred to from here as the TELA scheme) on teachers’ work over a period of three years (2004-2006) and to record emerging changes in laptop use.

This report was commissioned by the Ministry. It was undertaken by Otago University in collaboration with Massey University. Massey University’s contribution to the report and associated documentation was informed by collaboration with Canterbury University, Otago Polytechnic, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, and the Southern Institute of Technology.

This page provides access to the evaluation of student facing web-based services reports.

This report was commissioned by the Ministry and undertaken by the Electricity Supply Industry Training Organisation in collaboration with the Waikato Institute of Technology.

The report identified and described how:

• Information and communication technologies, software simulations and digital training packages are currently used within the industry training sector in New Zealand.
• Information and communication technologies, software simulations and digital training packages are currently used within the vocational sector globally.
• The industry training sector can be informed of, and implement efficiently, the most appropriate blend of e-Learning activities for their individual organisation.

This report reviews the early impacts of the Network Infrastructure Upgrade Project which provides small schools with either an upgrade to an outdated computer network, or installs a new network if none exists. 50 schools were selected to participate in this evaluation where either the principal or their representative were interviewed.

This report was commissioned by the Ministry and undertaken by Massey University in collaboration with the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand and Otago Polytechnic.

The report provides a framework of the diverse e-Learner profiles found throughout the tertiary sector, taking into account:

• Demographics.
• Learning orientations (learning styles).
• Readiness for e-Learning, and;
• Experience of and attitudes to e-Learning.

This research report commissioned by the Ministry and undertaken by Victoria University of Wellington and e-Learnz Inc is a follow up to the one above. It builds on the first report above by taking the ideas of process capability maturity and using them as a foundation for a form of benchmarking. This is explicitly intended to improve the quality of e-Learning for the benefit of students, staff and institutions.

This further iteration of the model is based on software process maturity models that have been found effective in supporting the transfer of good practice between projects (Herbsleb et al. 1994; Lawlis et al. 1995) and in answering the questions (SECAT 1998):

• Is the organisation successful at learning from past mistakes?
• Is it clear that the organisation is spending limited resources effectively?
• Does everyone agree which problems within the organisation are the highest priorities?
• Does the organisation have a clear picture of how it will improve its processes?

This research report was commissioned by the Ministry and undertaken by Massey University. This examined the existing international state and federal/provincial policy in the area of e-Learning, and attempted to determine the outcomes of the policy implementation. It also considered subsequent and proposed amendments and the reasons for those. It determined the nature of government-funded infrastructural arrangements for e-Learning, focusing on the specific barriers and enablers faced by small and remote communities.

Both areas (policy and accessibility) included Australia, Canada, the UK, EU states, federal and state policy in the USA, and the more developed Asian nations. It also considered trans-national organisations as part of the context of policy formation e.g. the Commonwealth of Learning and UNESCO.

This article surveys recent work on school ICT projects. It looks at the ideas that are informing this work and surveys some of the strategies being used in the drive to turn schools into “ICT-rich learning environments”. In order to illustrate how these ideas play out in “real-world” situations, the article also profiles one New Zealand school-based ICT initiative as a case study—the Tech Angels project at Wellington Girls’ College, focussing in particular on how this school’s experiences can help other schools considering setting up similar programmes.

This report was commissioned by the Ministry and undertaken by the Universal College of Learning in collaboration with Otago Polytechnic. It examined the multiplicity of staff development (SD) being offered in the polytechnic, university and college of education sectors. It used case study research methodology. It not only examined the current status of SD for e-learning across the tertiary sector, but also other factors impacting on staff experiences with e-learning.

This report was commissioned by the Ministry and undertaken by the Waikato Institute of Technology. It investigated the factors that lead New Zealand polytechnic and institutes of technology tutors to adopt or resist the incorporation of e-learning approaches into their teaching practices. It utilised case studies, focus group interviews, and national surveys in order to establish these factors and included consideration of perspectives from both tutors and organisational management. In terms of the tutors it focused on four main groups: early adopters, later adopters, intending adopters, and resisters.

This report was commissioned by the Ministry and undertaken by the Aotearoa Tertiary Students’ Association. It tested a survey-based method for assessing learner perceptions of the effectiveness of e-Learning support systems.

The report also surveyed the beliefs of e-Learning professional staff (tutors and support personnel) about the effectiveness of those systems. The findings of the two surveys were tested for any correlation between the learners’ judgments and staff assessments.

This research report was commissioned by the Ministry and undertaken by Victoria University of Wellington and e-Learnz Inc. It outlines the key findings from a detailed e-Learning capability determination exercise with a number of New Zealand Tertiary Education Organisations. It assessed their strategic and operational capability for delivering and maintaining e-Learning in an educationally and organisationally effective manner.

This page contains the executive summary. For the full report and Versions 2.1, 2.2. and 2.3 please visit the website.

Kaupapa Ara Whakawhiti Mātauranga (KAWM) encompassed a number of school improvement initiatives and aimed to:

• improve student achievement;
• improve school performance;
• strengthen school and community relationships;
• upgrade school ICT infrastructure; and
• improve teachers' professional capability through ICT.

This page provides evaluations of the Digital Opportunities Pilot Projects (2001-2003)

A review which synthesises recent literature about ICT use in early childhood education, prepared for the Ministry of Education by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research.

Arts Professional Development Online' commenced nationally during 2001 to support the implementation of 'Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum', targeted specifically at rural and isolated schools. This report details the outcome of an evaluation of this professional development that was carried out late 2002.

This Review is based upon information retrieved from the world wide web about recently completed or on-going large-scale international research initiatives which are future-focused and specifically about teaching and learning. The Review has two parts - a report and an annotated bibliography. The report identifies, discusses and evaluates major themes and patterns to emerge from the material retrieved. It also discusses the state of the futures field in education, considers some key policy issues and suggests some areas for further research. The annotated bibliography contains 97 individual template entries organised by theme. The appendices provide a comprehensive listing of all major web-sites visited and the supplementary material reviewed. Indexes at the end organise the templates by major theme and by country or region.

Since 1999, the Ministry of Education has provided funding for clusters of schools to develop three year ICT professional development programmes for their teachers. 23 clusters were initially approved in 1999. This evaluation of the initial clusters between 1999 and 2001 focused on:

• assessing the ingredients for successful cluster models of ICT teacher professional development;
• the effects of the professional development on classroom teaching and student learning;
• wider school effects of the professional development such as planning and administration.

Te Kete Ipurangi (TKI) is a web site giving teachers and principals access to teaching, education information, and communication with colleagues. This evaluation of TKI looked at the effectiveness of the site in meeting the needs of teachers and principals in terms of its key functions of providing with: * quality teaching and learning resources, * information on educational issues and developments, * opportunities for interaction with colleges in public or private areas of the site around common interest areas.

The Ministry of Education has undertaken a census of schools to establish details and specifications of the computers used for administrative purposes.

This report reviews the literature on computer-assisted learning, particularly its effects on learning outcomes. The evidence regarding the use of computer-assisted learning in literacy and numeracy is assessed, as well as the use of integrated learning systems. The report then looks at evidence from research studies on the value of computer-assisted learning including SuccessMaker. Pre-conditions for effective computer-assisted learning are also examined.