Teaching for effective learning - ICT

What we know

For centuries, literacy has meant learning to read and write and history shows that people with well developed literacy skills are much more likely to pass examinations, get better paid jobs and achieve success in life than those who have a poorer grasp of language. Literacy, or lack of it, undoubtedly produces unequal opportunities and outcomes for different groups of people. 

In recent years, however, we have seen a fundamental change in the meaning of literacy. Nowadays it is more than being able to read and write and covers new competencies such as cultural literacy, media literacy, information literacy, emotional literacy and digital literacy.

Of all of these new and emerging capacities, digital or computer literacy is perhaps the one that presents the most significant challenge for schools, but which creates the greatest opportunities for young people.

The force that has shaped and underpinned the development of digital literacy is the rapid growth of ICT, and in particular – the internet. The impact of the internet has reshaped our lives in the workplace, at home and at school. Not since the invention of the printing press in the 1500s has such a profound technology appeared so rapidly, with such an important impact on humanity.

The internet, however, is only one aspect of the Digital Age. The rapid and parallel emergence of other digital technologies also presents significant new challenges and opportunities. 

In addition to the internet, today’s children have access to an ever-widening range of computer-based applications and games, which has been accompanied by the parallel emergence of affordable digital cameras, video and photo editing programs, publishing and presentation software and sophisticated communication technologies. This has created a new digital environment for schools and learners. Reading and writing is no longer constrained to the printed word but embraces sound, graphic images, video, animations, semiotic languages and hypertext.

The development of low cost digital cameras has made it possible for young people to express themselves using digital video and animation software. Similar technologies enable even young children to create and maintain their own websites which provide information in the form of text and, increasingly, digital images and streaming video. ICT also facilitates self-expression in other ways such as using 3D programs for art and design work and software for creating music digitally.

Even communication technologies such as email and mobile phones have redefined the way that young people interact and use language.  The growth of digital forums and chatroom technologies such as MSN Messenger have, in some ways, redefined the way that 'conversation' takes place amongst young people in society - online chat space, instant messaging and navigating three dimensional texts on line.

New semiotic languages have emerged in the form emoticons (smileys) and avatars. The recent phenomenon of blogging - maintaining a personal web log or online journal - represents one of the fastest growing developments in publishing. Blogs, wikis and podcasting technology gives every young person the potential to become an author and publish to the world, to share ideas and develop understanding collaboratively.

Young people today represent the first generation to grow up with this new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, games consoles, MP3 players, video cams, mobile phones, and all the other tools of the digital age. Today's typical university graduate has spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games and 20,000 hours watching TV. Computer games, email, the internet, mobiles and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives. 

Many research studies contend that this new digital environment has resulted in young people thinking and processing information in a fundamentally different way from those of previous generations. There is also growing evidence to suggest that such exposure during formative years leads to different brain structures in young people. It is, therefore, possible to assert that not only have thinking patterns amongst young people changed, but that their brains are wired differently from children of previous generations.

In order to prepare young people for the Digital Age, therefore, it is important to expand our definition of literacy so that it embraces a range of new skills and competencies.

Implications for learning

Although there has been a huge increase in the availability of digital technologies within classrooms, ICT is a fast moving and rapidly changing landscape, which makes the challenge of incorporating these new digital competencies within the curriculum both significant and potentially daunting for many teachers. 

This problem exists because many teachers readily acknowledge that the pupils in front of them are already more skilled in these digital competencies and, if anything, this gap is widening. In terms of familiarity with the new and emerging digital literacies, teachers are sometimes described as digital incomers, whereas today’s young people are considered to be digital natives.

Digital natives process information rapidly. Although they often prefer information in graphical form rather than text, they are also adept at carrying out research, navigating through information structures, evaluating data and establishing new ways to organsise and classify knowledge. Digital natives like to parallel process and multi-task. They function most effectively when networked and are able to communicate simultaneously across different online communities. 

Digital literacy is much more than proficiency in operating computer programs and other forms of technology. It means developing a special kind of thinking.

The use of ICT can also be a hugely motivating factor in young people’s learning. Nowhere is this more evident that in one of the most prominent platforms used by young people - computer games.

The computer game is, perhaps, the clearest example of the technology saturation that characterises the lives of young people today, but it also a contentious and often misunderstood aspect of technology. Many adults believe that children love console games because they are easy whereas, by contrast, they dislike homework because it is hard. 

In reality, the opposite is more often true. Most console games are difficult to play, with complex information and techniques to be mastered. There are rules to be understood as well as codes, signals and structures. Many games require skills in recall, prediction, problem solving and decision making. There is a lot of learning going on and although it is often fast-paced and short lived, this form of learning is hugely motivational, compelling and powerful for young people.

Many publishers now recognise the power of presenting educational materials in game format as the boundaries between entertainment and education become blurred.

All schools recognise the vital importance of preparing our young learners for life and work in a socio-economic world where only the digitally literate will thrive. In order to integrate digital technologies into schools effectively, teachers must learn how to use these tools themselves, and with some degree of confidence, competence and creativity.

Knowledge and skills in the use of ICT can be achieved through professional development programs and training courses. Many teachers have also begun to work more collaboratively to increase their expertise, sharing resources more effectively and being more closely connected with their peers through online communities of practice. There has been a significant increase in teachers making use of interactive whiteboards, presentation software and digital video to create vibrant and motivating learning environments. When fully implemented, Glow, formerly known as the Scottish Schools Digital Network (SSDN), will also provide a suite of joined-up, nationally managed communications tools (social software) for every teacher and learner in Scottish schools.

This is at the heart of the digital literacy agenda for our schools. Schools must find new ways of thinking about how to use ICT so that it is at the heart of teaching and learning - not using computers to do the same things more efficiently, but to change the process of learning through digital media itself.