5. Supports for Teacher Laptop Use: Addressing Current Realities

Several factors emerged as supports and constraints to teacher uses of the laptops. Some of these factors were derived from the conditions of the TELA scheme, others from the context of use. The contextual factors were: school leadership and organisational support, professional development and teacher opportunities for professional learning, and school ICT infrastructure. Each factor appeared as salient for each of the uses discussed in the previous section, although it manifested in different ways for different uses and for different teachers, depending on their knowledge and expertise, and even subject area (the case study interviews indicated that teachers from different subjects might use their laptops in qualitatively different ways in the classroom for instructional purposes in a manner consistent with research by Hennessy et al. (2004) in the UK, and Bebell et al. (2004) in the USA.

5.1 THE TELA POLICY

Through the TELA scheme, teachers have gained exclusive access to a laptop, rather than a desktop computer. The portability of the laptops has afforded ‘any time and any place’ use, a feature that seems to have been particularly important for beginners who were able to explore and experiment with applications in their own time. Many teachers used their TELA laptop as their sole or main repository for administration and management forms, curriculum documents and schemes of work, unit and lesson plans, and assessment tasks, including NCEA requirements, resources and student results. One teacher described the laptop as “a portable filing cabinet,” saying:

It’s my filing cabinet. When I have my laptop I can do school work at home because everything is in it. If I am doing a lesson tomorrow, I just find it; print it off ready for photocopying it. If I am doing an animation, I can make sure of what I am doing and organise my lessons. (2006 case study comment)

An additional bonus was that these materials were well organised and easily searched. A teacher explained:

With it I’m totally organised. We have all our results on it – we’re actually working towards putting… like even running a cross country where we can actually use the computer, like all the kids run the cross-country and we can actually use the computer to input the data from a stopwatch that can input times all separately. (2006 case study comment)

The high specifications meant teachers were able to use the laptop as the sole repository of the many documents and files they used for their work. This contributed to the flexibility of use by providing access to the same documentation at home and at school. They were also able to access and/or produce a range of online and multi-modal materials. Teachers valued the ongoing upgrading of laptops. One teacher who had just produced a video of a guest speaker spoke of his new laptop’s capability:

I videoed him with a normal sort of camera and I downloaded onto my laptop and it took up a huge amount of space like 10 Gig… I’ll edit it and then compress it. That sort of thing wasn’t available to me a year ago with the old machines. (2006 case study comment)

Some aspects of the policy had been experienced by teachers as constraints on their maximising the benefits of their having a laptop.

Restriction on teachers who could access a laptop

Initially, only full time teachers could access a laptop through the TELA scheme; however, this changed in 2004 when teachers with a 0.8 full time load became eligible. The focus group and case study teachers noted that some tasks were only viable when all teachers had possession of, and used, a laptop (or computer). The use of email for school-wide communication and department-based development and sharing of teaching resources were given as examples. Teacher commentary suggested that the more teachers within a department with laptops, the more likely departmental colleagues were to collaborate using a laptop. That is, there needed to be a critical mass of teachers with laptops and those who used their laptops to establish and maximise the benefits of collaborative development and sharing of electronic resources and communication within a department. For example, in a department in one case study school there were 12 full-time and 10 part-time teachers. The teachers in the department reported that they could not move to electronic lesson and unit plans and assessment because this would exclude half of the teachers in the department. In contrast, all the teachers in the art department had laptops - these teachers reported that the synergy between them contributed to the development of ICT use. In another case study school, a technology teacher explained he had accessed a laptop, even although he was reluctant, so that he could continue to collaborate and share with members of his department.

Lease payment

Under the TELA scheme, teachers or their schools paid a portion of the lease for the laptops. Teachers were asked if they were personally paying anything towards the cost of the lease. In 2005, almost half of teachers (43%) said they were paying personally (2004-46%), and 57% said their school was paying the full cost (2004-53%). In 2003, questionnaire respondents who did not have a laptop reported that the need for lease payment was the main reason they had not accessed a laptop through the TELA scheme. This issue was raised and discussed by the case study and focus group teachers in each of the three years of the evaluation. Teachers viewed the need to pay as an equity issue for teachers and students. The argument was that students were denied learning opportunities if their teachers did not have a laptop. Teachers were acutely aware of which schools in their area were paying the lease for staff, and considered they should not have to pay for a tool that was increasingly being positioned as central to their work.

Acceptable use policies

The 2003 focus group discussions indicated schools had taken qualitatively different approaches to the requirements of the scheme. Some had developed ‘acceptable use’ policies that restricted the use of the laptops to schoolwork; others saw learning potential in any teacher use.

You know there are enough barriers to ICT as it is and especially for people who aren’t very competent and so we just didn’t want any barriers. (2003 focus group comment)

Different brands of laptop

Teachers appreciated having a choice of brand, and some were avid fans of one brand and not another, which sometimes led to compatibility issues when teachers wanted to share materials and/or access school ICT-based systems. Often school technicians were only expert in one particular system.

Exclusive use

Teachers were aware that students were not supposed to use the teacher’s laptop, although some focus group and case study teachers reported supervised student use. In both 2004 and 2005, three quarters of questionnaire respondents reported that they ‘never’ allowed students to use their laptops. Teachers making this decision were not specifically aware of a school or a TELA requirement, rather they saw the need to safeguard confidential resources held on their laptops, which acted as a sole repository of material required for their work. This concern increased over time with focus group and case study teachers as they committed more data to electronic files on their laptops.

5.2 SCHOOL-BASED FACTORS

Teacher commentary indicated that professional development, school technological infrastructure, and school organisation, in addition to school-based leadership shaped and constrained the opportunities and incentives teachers had to use their laptops. These factors influenced, in varying ways, all teacher uses of the laptops albeit they manifested in different ways for different teachers and for different uses of the laptop.

5.2.1 The value of professional development/collaborative learning

Policymakers routinely use professional development as a tool to leverage change and in the TELA scheme, schools and teachers were obliged to undertake 40 hours of professional development over the three years of the laptop lease.

Formal professional development

In 2003, teachers across the focus groups and questionnaire were largely unaware of the TELA requirement that they undertake professional development. Where they were aware of this requirement there was uncertainty as to what could count towards the 40 hours, this persisting into 2005. This said, the 2004 and 2005 questionnaire respondents reported they had had professional development on learning about the school network (2004-49%; 2005-39%) using the administration programs (2004-41%; 2005-33%) learning about specific software (2004-32%; 2005-28%), and beginner computer skills (2004-29%; 2005-24%). Only 24% had undertaken professional development in the use of the laptop with curriculum applications, and just 18-20% had received assistance with development of resources.

Focus groups and case study teachers recalled introductory sessions with the technician when they collected their laptop, slots in staff meetings in which colleagues presented ideas, and in-house workshops run before or after school or during the lunch hour. Some focus group teachers noted, and the questionnaire responses indicate, that much of the available professional development was targeted to needs of beginning users. They argued that they, too, needed opportunities to extend their knowledge and expertise. Whole-staff professional development was recommended for institutionalised activities such as reporting, absences and data entry as a means of ensuring that consistency was maintained. It was also seen as having some value for skill development. Otherwise, generic professional development was said to lack immediacy and personal relevance.

The school as a learning community

Teachers in each component of the study identified peer mentoring and collegial support as the main mechanism for enhancing their use of the laptops for teaching and learning: around two thirds (68%) of questionnaire respondents in both 2004 and 2005 had been helped by school ICT staff and a half by other teachers. Collegial help was described by those interviewed as the preferred and most prevalent form of professional development. Teachers acknowledged that certain individuals had particular expertise in ICT and emphasised the importance of opportunities to work in a sustained way with these colleagues as mentors. The professional development provided by same-subject colleagues for ICT use in teaching and learning was seen to be especially valuable because it was ‘in context’. Colleagues as mentors provided access to models of how a laptop could be used for teaching within the setting teachers found themselves. In one case study school the ICT personnel targeted expert individuals within a department for training and then encouraged these individuals to share what they had learned within their department. Teachers from two different focus group schools reported that some departmental leaders in their schools orchestrated the development and sharing of collective expertise by sending interested staff to external courses and providing opportunities for them to share what they had learned. Case study and focus group teachers intimated that in some instances departmental cultures of sharing and learning had been catalysed by, and revolved around, exploring the possibilities available through the laptops/ICT. Overall, the indication was of a generally positive environment for learning about and using laptops. A focus group teacher described the situation in his workroom thus:

You can see learning happening [in the workroom]. People ask questions. They ask for help and others listen in. There is a learning environment happening. (2005 focus group comment)

In this case it appears that informal peer mentoring around the laptop took place in the context of a professional learning community (Senge, 1994). Indeed, the general consensus across those interviewed was that without the collaborative culture that exists amongst New Zealand teachers very little progress would have been made in the use of the laptops/ICT. One caution about informal collegial professional development, expressed forcefully by teachers in small schools and those who were the sole subject specialist in their school, was that it was dependent upon teacher access to local expertise and thus could be haphazard.

Personal exploration and experimentation

Teachers in interviews, irrespective of their self-rated level of expertise, discussed the role that personal exploration and experimentation played in their learning. Teachers, who were inexperienced, albeit they were often reluctant computer users, indicated that a personal laptop provided a safe and flexible environment to learn about and become familiar with range of computer applications. They were able to take the time they needed to develop their expertise with a particular function and could seek help at home and at school from family and friends whom they trusted to help them without denigrating them. This way they were able to consolidate their learning. Those teachers who positioned themselves as more expert were enthusiastic about having access to an up-to-date machine spending time exploring its capabilities, often searching out information via the Internet.

5.2.2 The influence of school ICT infrastructure and support

Under the TELA scheme schools are required to manage the integration of the laptops into the school environment, including the provision of additional ICT infrastructure and technical support (Ministry of Education, 2003). School technological infrastructure including hardware, software and technical support was identified as a key constraint on teacher use of the laptops across the questionnaire, focus group and case study components of the study. Data on school technological infrastructure was not collected in 2003 but in 2004/2005 around half of the questionnaire respondents reported they had access to the school network and to the Internet in all the classrooms they taught, with an additional quarter reporting access in ‘some classrooms’. Improved access to the school network was identified as an important form of support needed by 26% of teachers in both years.

In 2005, less than two thirds of teachers (57%) had access to a data projector in every classroom they taught in. Around half of the questionnaire respondents selected a ‘data projector in the classroom’ as being important to their effective use of the laptop in their teaching (2004-51%; 2005-55%). Teachers in interviews made a distinction between easy and ongoing access to a data projector. Teachers were not prepared to make a commitment to the use of electronic resources unless they had reliable, and preferably ongoing, access to a data projector. The time and effort required to access and set up a data projector often exceeded any benefits that teachers anticipated, particularly since they envisaged as ‘ideal’ the flexible use of the laptop and saw it as a tool to respond to student ideas and questions. They recounted how colleagues with reliable access used the laptop-plus-data projector as a “natural thing”.

A department workspace that was set up with space for collaboration and easy access to the Internet and school server had the potential to support departmental sharing. During 2004 and 2005 the proportion of teachers reporting access to the school network and the Internet from staff work areas rose from 60% to over 85%. In the case of two case study schools the general staff work areas were refurbished and this refurbishment had included provision for individual and collaborative use of laptops. The facilities provided included internet connections, printers, scanners and more ergonomic workspaces. Three case study teachers from one technology department outlined the benefits they had accrued since the beginning of 2005 when their workroom had been cabled. Now, they could work together more efficiently, sharing and developing lesson materials. One of the teachers had accessed a laptop through the scheme so that he would not miss out on the gains being made.

There was evidence of different histories and levels of initial familiarity with ICT in the focus group and case study schools on entry to TELA scheme, along with indication that this had consequences for the integration of the laptops into school and teacher practices. Teacher comments intimated that the nature of a school technological infrastructure was the culmination of various antecedent decisions by school leadership under the Tomorrow’s Schools (Ministry of Education, 1989) school self-management regime. Schools where ICT had long been a strategic focus tended to have well developed ICT systems and resources including hardware, software and personnel with the expertise required to provide advice and guidance in the development of school ICT policy and facilities. Staff from these schools indicated that in-school personnel had been able to anticipate some of the demands of the laptops and had planned to address these. For example:

We made the decision, “Were we going to avail ourselves of this opportunity like getting laptops for teachers?” We started out by costing the whole thing out. What was the cost of leasing the laptops to school? And we were going to follow that approach rather than asking the staff to pay [the lease costs] themselves. What additional infrastructure was required in the school? So we costed that. What technical support was going to be required? Because teachers can’t do this on their own. What is the additional software that was going to be required? What PD was required? So we took that overview to it and costed in all those factors. (2005 comment)

At the other end of the continuum, teachers reported their school had joined the laptops scheme to ‘kick start’ ICT developments in the school. Focus group participants indicated schools and teachers were sharply aware of the variations in ICT infrastructure development among schools. Those less well provided for saw the TELA scheme as an opportunity to develop ICT within their school. Generally, teachers from such schools construed professional development needs as less pressing; the teachers’ focus was on the need for school-wide networking. For teachers from schools with a more established infrastructure the discussion was around the need to purchase of additional ICT resources and, in some cases, ICT professional development. Increased teacher access to laptops/ICT and professional development led to increased demand for suites of computers for curriculum teaching and in-class data projectors.

5.2.3 The influence of school leadership and support

A theme that emerged is that senior management leadership in the use of the laptops/ICT was crucial, irrespective of its form. A second theme was that leadership was exercised by a range of groups and individuals including the Board of Trustees, the school principal, the deputy and/or assistant principal(s), the ICT coordinator/leader, ICT committees, head(s) of department and enthusiastic classroom teachers. The interests and decisions of these groups and individuals influenced aspects of the context in which teachers sought to use their laptop.

Board of Trustee leadership

In the initial stages, a leadership decision was required for a school to take part in the TELA scheme. Moreover, under the TELA scheme, teachers or their schools paid a portion of the lease for the laptops, the decision about who paid being one that was made by the Board of Trustees with the principal. Some teachers reported their Board of Trustees saw the laptop as a personal item and were not prepared to fund the lease. Others explained that their Board and principal were actively pursuing a vision for ICT integration and were fully behind the scheme, to the extent of paying the lease costs. Teachers were aware of the financial implications of a Board paying for teacher laptops and appreciated the Board paying some, or all, of the lease. They saw this as a sign that the Board valued teachers’ use of ICT. Three of the case studies highlight the importance of Board of Trustee commitment to ICT use and the laptops scheme. In one school the Board’s understanding of the potential for teacher laptop access to influence ICT use within the school was a crucial factor in the decision to fund teacher laptops. In another school, an outside expert played an important role in changing the Board’s vision of how and why laptops, computers and ICT might be used for teaching and learning and subsequently their willingness to seek and act on advice and support teacher use of laptops. In a third school, the Board had changed its policy to fund the laptop lease as a cost-effective strategy to promote another initiative. Within a year, all teachers had accessed a laptop and those interviewed were enthusiastic about future possibilities. The Board had also purchased a data projector for each department.

School policies and practices

Subsequent to a school entering the scheme, school policies and practices determined the incentives and opportunities teachers had to use the laptops. Focus group discussions and case study interviews indicated that school leadership to develop policy and practice was exercised by different individuals in different schools. These individuals included the principal and/or a member of the senior management (deputy principal); a small group whose membership consisted of senior management and teachers with expertise in ICT, and/or enthusiastic individuals. Teacher commentary indicated that school polices about acceptable use reflected a meld of the TELA scheme requirements and the benefits and opportunities the school leaders envisioned for teacher access to a laptop for their exclusive use. Some schools restricted teacher acceptable use of the laptops to school-related tasks; others allowed laptop use for all but inappropriate and objectionable tasks. Schools with a more flexible approach considered all teacher use could contribute to teacher use for professional purposes.

Focus group and case study teachers noted that where the integration of ICT was part of the school strategic plan and supported by senior management and/or the Board of Trustees that the introduction of the laptops had been accompanied by careful planning for the integration of the laptops into school systems. Teachers were very appreciative of this and the implicit valuing and support for their efforts in using the laptops. In some schools, a lack of ongoing leadership to bring about successful ongoing support for laptop use had led to integration problems. For instance, in one case study school the consequence of low-level initial Board of Trustees and principal leadership support for laptops/ICT had contributed to a very small teacher uptake of laptops. Continuing low-level support for actual use was considered, by those interviewed, to have contributed to a subsequent decline in the number of teachers with laptops. Where schools did not have active senior level leadership for ICT the resulting vacuum was filled, or not, at the departmental level by the head of department and/or teachers with enthusiasm for and expertise in ICT. In these schools, ICT and laptop use was inconsistent and support for use was generally thought to be poor or inadequate by those interviewed. In sum, it would seem that leadership is important for initiating and sustaining the conditions that support teacher utilisation of laptops and for helping teachers extend their use of the laptops. Without a clear vision and senior management level leadership, school-wide development may be haphazard and ad hoc, dependent upon individual capability and interest. As has been pointed out earlier, leadership and modelling from the principal and or senior management was important for tasks such as whole-school email communication.

Departmental leadership

Departmental mentoring and leadership, either from a head of department and/or ICT expert within a department, was said to be vital to encourage the development and sharing of electronic lesson materials, and the setting up of a well organised central repository for lesson materials. In one case study school, the intensified development of school and departmental intranets had played an important role in stimulating whole school communication and intra-departmental collaboration and sharing.

5.2.4 The influence of the wider educational policy context

The impact of other policy on teacher laptop use was not an explicit focus for the evaluation, but there was some evidence that, as Spillane (2004) has pointed out, the implementation of a particular policy depends not only on teacher and school interpretation of that policy but also on previous policies as they have become embedded in school policies and priorities, teaching materials and teaching practices. Differences in case study school technological infrastructures highlight this point. There was focus group speculation that school ICT infrastructures had a flow on effect from the differential value placed on ICT by different schools under Tomorrow’s Schools. The implication from teacher commentary was that not only did schools with a longer-term focus on ICT have a better technological infrastructure they also had greater access to on-site expertise, and thus were better able to anticipate and provide for teacher needs arising from access to personal access to a laptop.

Teachers across the questionnaires, focus groups and case studies were looking for information and ideas about how they might exploit the affordances of the laptop and ICT in teaching and learning. They were looking to colleagues, recent graduates and the Ministry for advice and guidance, or better still, to models of effective practice for teaching and learning using ICT in the subjects they taught.

Four focus groups raised the need for consistency across government requirements. In 2005, they described different interpretations of their obligations with respect to recording student absences, reporting, and the planning they could be asked to produce for Education Review Office. A small number of teachers, mainly those in management positions, discussed the prominence of ICT/e-learning (and their perception of a lack of prominence) in the current draft curriculum document (Ministry of Education, 2006). The findings of this study suggest a number of New Zealand secondary teachers and school leaders are looking to the education system as a whole when considering the potential and possibilities for ICT use. This focus is consistent with studies that have shown that any plan for ICT implementation needs to consider how technology will be coordinated with changes in curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, teacher professional development and school organisational accountability protocols (Fishman, et al., 2004). To sum up, this section has detailed aspects of the TELA policy and school context (teacher professional learning opportunities, school technological infrastructure and leadership) that the teachers involved in this study reported as influencing the opportunities and incentive they had to use their laptop. These factors impacted on different teachers in different ways depending on their expertise and interests and also on the task they wished to accomplish.