Links

ICT in Schools - Estimating the level of investment — by Richard Millwood — last modified Sunday Nov 11, 2007 08:38

Peter Twining April 2002 This report provides evidence of the level of investment in ICT in primary and secondary schools in a range of countries around the world. The indicators of investment used include: the amount of money spent; the student to computer ratio; and the percentage of schools connected to the Internet. The main focus of the report is on England and the USA. For each of these countries data from a number of separate sources are compared. The report concludes that there has been a substantial level of investment in ICT in English schools over at least the last 20 years. This reflects the pattern in the USA and other ‘developed’ countries.

Bill Tagg and Hatfield’s Pioneer Initiative in School Computing — by Richard Millwood — last modified Tuesday Apr 29, 2008 21:30

Peter Excell. In 1963 the Head of the Hatfield School Mathematics Department, Mr W (Bill) Tagg, negotiated an arrangement whereby school pupils could have limited access an to Elliott 803 - the first computer installed by Hatfield College of Technology (later Hatfield Polytechnic and now the Hatfield campus of the University of Hertfordshire).

Richard Fothergill's Obituary in the Guardian — by Richard Millwood — last modified Tuesday Apr 29, 2008 21:31

John Anderson and Michael Page 2004. 'Educationist who put computers in schools'

Logo in Mainstream Schools: the struggle over the soul of an educational innovation — by Richard Millwood (NAEC web site admin) — last modified Friday Mar 21, 2008 09:01

This paper by Richard Noss et al looks into the place that Logo occupied within the institutional and organisational cultures of US and UK mainstream schools after its introduction in the early 1980s. It discusses the ways in which Logo was received in the educational arena and was implicated in the politics of educational innovation at a time of conservative restoration.

Effective Learning and Teaching in Scottish Secondary Schools: Computing Studies - Appendix: Historical Background — by Richard Millwood — last modified Tuesday Apr 29, 2008 21:55

T N Gallacher HM Senior Chief Inspector of Schools 1992. This Appendix traces the development of computing in Scottish secondary schools from 1969 to 1992. While it identifies specific national initiatives, these depended for their success on a wide variety of activities undertaken throughout this time by education authorities, schools, teacher training institutions and, particularly, by a large number of individuals whose contributions should not be underestimated.

The Voices Project, Warwick University — by Richard Millwood — last modified Thursday Apr 24, 2008 23:29

A study into the experiences of teacher educators who have engaged with developing the use of ICT in school and teacher education. The aim was to give voice to the achievements and concerns of these teacher educators during the short history of ICT in school. In so doing the project aimed to: draw attention to initiatives which have been more successful than others and highlight the factors leading to their success, highlight particular difficulties associated with developing ICT, report on the factors which have provoked and sustained engagement with the development of ICT, examine the role of ITTE and other professional groups in supporting innovation with ICT, compare and contrast the present with the past ‘landscape’ regarding the use of ICT.

Educational Technology and Practice: Types and Timescales of Change — by Richard Millwood — last modified Tuesday Apr 29, 2008 21:28

David Riley 2007. This article identifies three uses of educational technology and evaluates their potential to change curricula and pedagogic strategies. The article is in four parts, with the first outlining a temporal model of change and discussing educators’ expectations of continuities and discontinuities in practice. In order to distinguish minor modifications from culturally significant changes in practice, the second part recaps a variant of Merlin Donald’s cognitive-cultural theory of human evolution. The third part adopts this theoretical perspective and classifies uses of multimedia-hypertext systems, generic software, and computer modelling software, as instances of functional substitution, delegation and innovation. The fourth and final part of the article evaluates the change potential of these types of use, with substitution sustaining existing teaching strategies and curricula, with delegation modifying practice, and with innovation prompting culturally significant change. The article concludes by suggesting that functional substitution and delegation dominate present-day uses of technology and that functional innovation will continue to present both challenges and opportunities to future generations of educators.

New technology in higher education: understanding the innovation process — by Richard Millwood — last modified Tuesday Apr 29, 2008 21:26

Peter Goodyear 1998. This paper argues for a re-examination of our established ways of trying to understand ICT-based innovation in higher education. It suggests that a project-centered, rather than an environment-centered, approach to understanding innovative developments has obscured some key elements of what has been happening in higher education practice in recent years.

Computer Literacy in UK Education - an Evolving Strategy — by Richard Millwood — last modified Friday May 16, 2008 08:54

Gardner & McMullan 1990 – The quest for the best methods of providing computer/information technology literacy and competence for school pupils has taxed the British education system for almost three decades. This paper maps the various developments over this period and considers how the different viewpoints have contributed to the current position in which the conventional curricular subject, computer studies, is being actively discouraged as the prime vehicle for promoting information technology literacy.

Educational Computing - The View from a College, 1981 — by Richard Millwood (NAEC web site admin) — last modified Friday Jun 13, 2008 19:01

John Gray 1981 - Colleagues at Blackpool & Fylde College in the early 1980s, Terry Cowham & Pat O'Connell in particular, were early into the exploration of how the new 'microcomputers' like the Research Machines 380Z and the 'PET' could be used. These devices were around in growing numbers by 1980 and there was a recognition that something quite significant was about to happen.

Computing In Fife Schools: An Investigation into Computing Provision — by Richard Millwood (NAEC web site admin) — last modified Tuesday Jul 15, 2008 21:59

Kevin Thompson's 1989 dissertation traces the development of computing in the secondary sector and then takes an in-depth look at the current provision in one Scottish Region - Fife. All the state secondary schools in the region were asked to provide a variety of information about their computer facilities including the extent of hardware provision, the promoted post structure and cross-curricular computer use. A comparison is then made with Fife's own predictions published in 1984 and also with the 'National Plan' - a national prediction published in 1985.

Lessons to be learned from the failure of the UK e-University — by Richard Millwood — last modified Tuesday Jul 15, 2008 22:01

Paul Bacsich 2005. The UK’s attempt to develop a global e-university ended in public failure in 2004. The main focus of this paper is to exploit the failure as a case study to update the literature on ‘critical success factors’ for virtual universities and so provide lessons for e-universities worldwide. However, since much of the public comment was superficial or ill-informed, it is also inevitably in part a critique of the public view. Although several alleged reasons for failure were incorrect or specific to the era, some of the real reasons still have much relevance to the worldwide scene.

Constructing vocational education: from TVEI to GNVQ — by Richard Millwood — last modified Sunday Jul 13, 2008 11:53

David Yeomans 1996 This paper draws upon two major ESRC-funded projects, a medium term study of the impact of TVEI and a study of the construction of the GNVQ curriculum as well as several smaller research and evaluation projects concerned with TVEI and GNVQs. The paper compares TVEI and GNVQ and draws out some of the similarities and differences. It will focus upon the different policy and implementation frameworks provided by the two programmes and the implications of these differences for practice.

Evaluation of the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) Extension (in Scotland) — by Richard Millwood — last modified Sunday Jul 13, 2008 12:58

Jim Doherty with Tracey Leven 1998 - An evaluation of the TVEI Extension to take a national overview, commissioned by the Scottish Office Education and Industry Department (SOEID) in 1996.