Laptops for Teachers: An evaluation of the TELA scheme in schools (Years 1 to 3)

2. Trends: ICT in education/laptops for teachers

2.1. Young children learning with ICT

It is now generally accepted that young students can benefit from using ICT in their learning (Ministry of Education (2005). The use of ICT by young students in the early primary school years has its own unique potential and challenges for supporting learning (Goodison, 2002; Clements, 2002; Kilderry, Yelland, Lazaridis, & Dragicevic, 2003; Bolstad, 2004; Dwyer, 2007). ICT allows young children to communicate and represent ideas in ways that are less reliant on physical coordination, reducing the need for writing (Goodison, 2002). Dwyer (2007) proposes that the nature of ICT is that ideas are linked together in terms of associations – a reflection of the natural thought pattern, rather than linear ideas as is the case of print-based resources. Working with ICT allows a more natural approach to thinking and working with information and knowledge for a young child (Sheirdan & Pramling Samuelsson, 2003). Kilderry et al. (2003) propose that ICT allows young children to experience, work with and build on ideas that were previously inaccessible owing to their abstract and complex nature. Clements (2002) argues that ICT enables young students greater opportunities for working with ideas creatively and to engage in higher-order thinking. Erstad (2005) discusses how technology can make the learning space larger – students can reach out of the classroom, inquire and extend their knowledge of the outside world – an important focus of junior classrooms being to support children to become aware of their own lives in relation to others in the community and the world.

Students in the early years of school are often comfortable enough with their own computer skills to be able to focus on learning the content they are working with rather than the technology (Kilderry, et al., 2003). Children’s experiences in early childhood settings, coupled with increased home access and use of ICT, mean that many young students are entering schools with developed ICT skills (Rideout, Vandewater, & Wartella, 2003). A case study by O’Hara (2008) that involved observations of, and interviews with, children between 4 and 5 years of age, as well as interviews with teachers, supports claims that ICT has the potential to extend and enhance provision for younger pupils by providing new and complementary opportunities for children to be creative; to hone generic learning skills and aptitudes; and to practise their social skills. O’Hara also suggests that not all young children are enthused by the introduction of ICT and that in some cases pedagogy still has to catch up with resourcing to get the most out of the technology. There were a number of outcomes reported by Ramsey, Breen, Sturm, Lee and Carr (2006) who asked questions about the integration of ICT into everyday learning and teaching in a kindergarten sited in a multicultural and multilingual community in New Zealand. They found that:

"ICT added another (predominantly visual) mode of communication and representation for children who had not yet learned to read and write. It enabled them to ‘read’ and revisit their learning, strengthening their identities as confident and competent learners. It also enabled them to develop their story-telling abilities and dispositions by telling visual stories (often about their own or about other children’s learning) with spoken or dictated commentary. Children added ICT to their communication repertoire and it enhanced their dispositions to use other modes: to speak, write and draw. ICT provided a ‘way in’ to communicate in a range of modes, in a new place, and a motivation to participate. ICT added excitement and interest to the learning in many areas and topics. It also added ways in which children could take responsibility in the learning and teaching process, and children took up these opportunities with enthusiasm."

The use of computers in the classroom not only impacts on learning but also on social processes and relations (Clements, 2002; Bolstad, 2004; Dwyer, 2007). Wang and Carter Ching (2003) investigated group computer use by first-grade children within their classroom culture. They found that students were constantly negotiating between their individual and collective goals in the classroom and the affordances of the environment, as they created their own definition of computer use, while simultaneously conforming to the rules set by the teacher.

These ideas have been taken into consideration in this evaluation report.

2.2. Teacher use of laptops

In the last ten years, educational authorities in Australia, Britain and New Zealand, to name but a few, have moved to provide laptops to teachers (Cunningham, Kerr, McEune, Smith & Harris, 2003; Finger & Trinidad, 2002; Ministry of Education, 2002).

Research indicates that teachers are taking advantage of the flexibility laptops provide in terms of time and space (Cunningham, Kerr, McEune, Smith & Harris, 2003; Windschilt & Sahl, 2002). Sockwell and Zhang (2003) noted that teachers, who had formerly shared desktop computers with other teachers or students, reported a sense of ownership of their laptop. They acknowledged the advantages of ‘having everything in one place’ and liked the continual everyday availability of laptops. The portability and wireless capability of laptops gave teachers more options than desktop computers and allowed them to perform a variety of activities with increased efficiency and productivity (Sockwell & Zhang, 2003).

It is not necessarily the case, however, that because teachers develop some expertise and gain confidence in using their portable laptop computer that there will be flow-on effects for teaching and learning. The research literature provides very little support for this supposition (Becker, 1999; Cuban, 2001). More often than not, teachers make more use of computers and ICT technology, out of the classroom, for non-instructional purposes but in support of their teaching (Bebell, Russell & O’Dwyer, 2004). Rather than the technology transforming teaching and learning, teachers use computers to maintain their existing classroom practices (Cuban, 2001). Selwyn (2002) argues that this is because computers have been ‘inserted’ into schools with very little consideration of teacher perspectives and the realities of classrooms (see also Olson, 2000).

Cunningham et al. (2004), reporting on teacher perceptions at the end of the first year of their having access to a laptop for their individual professional use, note that teachers had become more confident and competent in their ICT use since receiving their laptops. Teachers reported greater access to a range of resources and an increase in the professional quality of lesson materials. The laptop was said to provide for the streamlining of management and administrative tasks. Teachers appreciated the flexibility in time and place of work provided by the laptop. There is some evidence that laptops supported increased communication between teachers, students and parents and greater sharing of information between teachers (Rudd, 2001). Teachers felt they were gaining maximum impact from their laptops when they used them in conjunction with peripherals.

Evidence is also emerging that teachers find a laptop affords greater access to resources for lesson preparation and provides for the streamlining of management and administrative tasks. Teachers have reported increases in ICT confidence and competence with perceived positive impacts in the classroom.

From these studies a picture has begun to emerge that, just as with teacher use of computers, a multiplicity of personal and contextual factors interact to frame and shape teacher integration of laptops into their professional lives (Donovan, Hartley & Strudler, 2007; Jones, 2004; Scrimshaw, 2004; Zhao & Frank, 2003; Zhao, Pugh, Sheldon & Byers, 2002; Fink-Jensen, Johnson & Lau, 2003; Savidan, 2003). Assess to ICT on its own does not necessarily result in changes for teachers or schools. To bring about changes a number of factors must be considered that are related to school-wide opportunities and incentives for ICT use, department factors and classroom factors.

Some researchers argue that teachers who are confident and competent in using ICT not only appreciate its usefulness but can also envisage possible benefits for their students (Jones, 2004; Zhao & Frank, 2003) whilst others caution teacher response to innovation is never sequential, predictable or even able to be generalised (Windschilt & Sahl, 2002). This said, there is general agreement that teacher integration of ICT into teaching and learning takes time and involves more than the provision of resources and the development of technical skills. Professional development to enhance the use of ICT needs to cater for varying levels of knowledge and expertise and to balance teacher skill and pedagogical needs (Donovan, Hartley & Strudler, 2007; Zhao, Pugh, Sheldon & Byers, 2002). In terms of contextual factors, school leadership including a vision for change and planning for action to implement this vision are crucial (Cuban, Kilpatrick & Peck, 2001). Windschilt and Sahl (2002) and Zhao and colleagues (Zhao & Frank, 2003; Zhao et al., 2002) provide evidence that when the prevailing school culture is one of collaboration and mutual support for change, the diffusion of technology innovations is more likely. Teacher use of ICT, particularly any integrated classroom use, requires a reliable technological infrastructure that includes network systems, hardware and software (Cox, Preston & Cox, 1999). Quality on-site technical support is also important so that teachers can be confident that ICT equipment will be functional when they need it (Becker, 1998; Jones, 2004).

As this brief overview of research implies, while teacher use of a laptop is shaped by their own knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for exploring potential uses it also depends on contextual issues outside individual teacher immediate control.