ICT In education

ICT IN EDUCATION:RESEARCH CONDUCTED FOR

GOVERNMENTJohn Ostrowick

All content © J M Ostrowick 2015-16. Please cite references when referencing this document. CC-BY-NC-SA.

DISCLAIMER

• This presentation does not represent the views of NECT, DBE, or the South African government. These views were garnered during research conducted by the author in his capacity as a consultant advising those bodies in late 2015. The detailed content of this research is embargoed till further notice. Please do not distribute the original research document or any affiliated document which is part of the original research produced by this author. You may distribute these slides only, provided that you adhere to the CC-BY-NC-SA license.


METHODOLOGY

• 23+ solutions providers interviewed

• 5 rural schools with ICTs visited

• International and local research reports and academic papers (approximately 50) reviewed


KEY WEAKNESSES• Inadequate attention to change management, especially around

learners’ needs and sustaining change. OECD study shows that ICTs are not necessarily correlated with improved outcomes.

• Complexity (and hence sustainability) of projects.

• Lack of skills and FETs to support at PEDs and districts.

• Failure to follow through after the project, resulting in “putting on a show” when inspected (failure to truly adopt)

• Lack of clear M&E practices, objectives, measurable outcomes.All content © J M Ostrowick 2015-16. Please cite references when referencing this document. CC-BY-NC-SA.

KEY LEARNINGS

• Element 1: Content

•Centrally curated

•Distributed to schools by appropriate, efficient and scalable means

•CAPS-aligned

•Multi-lingual


KEY LEARNINGS• Element 1: Content

•Content must be “open”:

•Able to work across multiple platforms

•Permit changes or modifications

•DRM-free

•OER/CC


KEY LEARNINGS

• Element 2: Hosting

• Centralised hosting of curated content

• Distribution to downstream caches (servers) at schools

• Requires load balancing for scalability at host ISP.All content © J M Ostrowick 2015-16. Please cite references when referencing this document. CC-BY-NC-SA.

KEY LEARNINGS• Element 3: Upstream Portals and Onsite Caches

• Not necessary that end-users can access or log in to a central portal; an app is preferable.

• Local content caches on-site (servers containing content) necessary, due to expensive and unreliable bandwidth.

• If present, servers must be small, appliance-like, and easy to maintain.


KEY LEARNINGS

• Element 4: Broadband delivery

• Local caching server can upload learners’ statistics around content engagement, or, potentially, achievements in MCQ tests.

• At least the principals and/or teachers should be supplied with 3G, e.g. to track teaching effectiveness, curriculum completion

• Broadband needed only to periodically keep caches’ content up to date.


KEY LEARNINGS

• Element 5: Last-mile connectivity and LAN

• Connectivity must be supplied at schools for devices using WiFi.

• Local caching machines are capable of this


KEY LEARNINGS

• Element 6: End-user Devices or Access

• Tablets are ideal where feasible or affordable, running Android. There are different versions of Android and some apps do not run on older versions

• Feature phones are still the majority in rural areas, e.g. PILO/MxIt/Reach.

• BYOD (bring your own device) at home; tablets at school, is one model.

• Teacher devices for content creation are recommended.

• Issues around device usage in class — change management issue.


KEY LEARNINGS• Element 7: Change management: ICT readiness

• Secure buildings

• Electrical supply

• Availability of connectivity

• Proximity to a road

• School principal leadership

• Staff willingness

• These elements should be seen as “entry criteria” into the programme.

• District and PEDs support first.All content © J M Ostrowick 2015-16. Please cite references when referencing this document. CC-BY-NC-SA.

KEY LEARNINGS• Element 8: Change management: Training & Integration into pedagogy

for teachers

• Encourage teachers to use ICTs

• “White elephants” caused by “technology drop” projects

• Phased gradual introduction of components is better

• Teachers must see the value of ICTs in pedagogy. A course will be required. Not technology-specific, rather generalise understanding and pedagogic integration.

• Ongoing use (sustainability) is an issue; requires value perception.


KEY LEARNINGS

• Element 9: Change management: Integration into learning for learners

• Learners do not inherently know how to properly and effectively use ICTs to learn.

• Learners do quickly become proficient with technology, but this does not translate to learning improvements.

• Teacher training course must cover correct sourcing of Internet materials, referencing, plagiarism, fact-checking, intelligent browsing, critical thinking, how to produce documents

• OECD study shows that ICTs can make learning worse if not properly used, and that ICTs, even if present, can reinforce typical behaviours which disempower, e.g. wasting time on social tools rather than learning content.


KEY LEARNINGS

• Element 10: Monitoring and Evaluation

• Must demonstrate success through effectively monitoring the uptake and adoption of ICTs into pedagogy.

• Measurable effects in terms of improved learner performance, improved teacher performance, and content interaction.

• ROI. If equipment is deployed, it needs to correspond to a large increase in learner outcomes.


KEY LEARNINGS• Element 11: Ongoing Support and Maintenance

• An argument can be made for offsetting the costs of the e-learning initiative against, e.g. textbook costs (buy fewer textbooks, supply tablets instead), or time wasted on admin which can be automated, e.g. eliminating travel/physical delivery needs.

• Need a model for cost-effective sustainability.

• Plan for upgrades to equipment, new training courses, and replacing lost or stolen equipment, support on-site, e.g. a paid staff member or teacher who advocates and supports ICT usage in pedagogy, at each school.

• Making a solution too complex (non-standard) results in sustainability problems. Stick to a standardised reference platform.


KEY LEARNINGS

• Element 12: Community ownership and engagement

• The community must be engaged in order to gain buy-in and support of the project, so as to encourage taking care of the solutions provided, and

• SMME skills programmes, such as ICT support.All content © J M Ostrowick 2015-16. Please cite references when referencing this document. CC-BY-NC-SA.

KEY LEARNINGS• Element 13: Logistics, Project Management,

Administration and Management

• PMO or capacity to manage the project will be needed to run the project. Should ultimately be located in each district and report to PED (provincial education department).

• PMO or capacity at PEDs or districts will have to pass control to PEDs and districts once project is complete/satisfactory.


KEY LEARNINGS

• Element 14: Stakeholder Engagement

• The project cannot succeed without proper stakeholder engagement at all levels.

• Stakeholder list is available, and covers content suppliers, training suppliers, hardware suppliers, etc. as per each element of the value chain.


KEY TAKE-HOMES• What are your objectives? If engagement with

technology, then deploy devices. If improved learner outcomes (marks), then consider alternatives.

• Improving teacher skills makes a bigger difference than handing out gadgets

• Most learners have gadgets, so if you’re going BYOD, use a cross-platform content solution e.g. text, epub.


KEY TAKE-HOMES• You’re wasting your time if you don’t monitor progress or improvement

or engagement

• Local support at site is needed, but so is district and provincial engagement. Failure to engage stakeholders and get guaranteed indefinite support will result in failure.

• Don’t just dump hardware on schools.

• Learners do not have learning skills: the need to know how to identify good content, cite references properly, avoid plagiarism, avoid scams, frauds, sensationalist or conspiratorial material, etc.


MODEL

• Two deployment models

• ICT4Red and Reach Trust/PILO have successful models.

• Model 1: Reach Trust/PILO — BYOD model

• Model 2: ICT4Red — Tablets and PedagogyAll content © J M Ostrowick 2015-16. Please cite references when referencing this document. CC-BY-NC-SA.

MODEL: PEDAGOGY

• Pedagogy:

•1. Teacher researches and produces content using ICTs (cost: Teacher laptops, teacher training) and/or

•2. Teacher presents content with ICTs (cost: Projectors) and/or

•3. Learners use ICTs in class (cost: Learner tablets) and/or

•4. Learners self-learn with ICTs and teachers facilitate.


THANK YOU!

JOHN [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

Education

ICT In education