We showed this video to our workshop participants a few minutes ago. Partially in response to a comment that the computer was simply a tool... not unlike a fridge...
Friday, May 4, 2007
some of our "fantastic" notes...
Findings – gender, socio-economic, rural-urban, race, culture.
Gender – access around gender diminishing. But remains in other areas in consideration of equity.
Males on the computer longer, and report more skills – very high on confidence. Twice as many males report ‘expert’ status with ICTs.
Females using ICTs more for communication, as well as school work, reflecting an established positive relationship with school.
Differences then in use and attitudes towards ICTs – this has real social consequences.
Socio-economic status – translates into amount of use, type of use, skill development – using computers less.
Rural-urban – urban students show higher attitudes with confidence.
One participant noted that place matters – schools make a big difference in rural areas to mitigate inequalities – could be an important insight into the meaning of schools to communities. But someone also noted that it also creates greater risk if that school doesn’t have the capacity to fulfill its responsibilities.
Race/culture
Major impact access. Lower skill levels.
Teachers responses.
Teachers questioning ICTs within schools; taking energy away from traditional literacy skill development.
More computers in school classrooms isn’t necessarily the answer – return to this later. Important question…studies finding ICT isn’t necessarily translating into better learning outcomes.
Participant – what may be off is our expectations – kids see it as a tool. Dianne – it isn’t just a tool when it is connected to the internet – it is a new communications infrastructure – can access information and sources not previously possible.
One participant – over hyped initiatives don’t solve problems.
Teachers comfort level is essential to using the technology in the classroom.
Gender – access around gender diminishing. But remains in other areas in consideration of equity.
Males on the computer longer, and report more skills – very high on confidence. Twice as many males report ‘expert’ status with ICTs.
Females using ICTs more for communication, as well as school work, reflecting an established positive relationship with school.
Differences then in use and attitudes towards ICTs – this has real social consequences.
Socio-economic status – translates into amount of use, type of use, skill development – using computers less.
Rural-urban – urban students show higher attitudes with confidence.
One participant noted that place matters – schools make a big difference in rural areas to mitigate inequalities – could be an important insight into the meaning of schools to communities. But someone also noted that it also creates greater risk if that school doesn’t have the capacity to fulfill its responsibilities.
Race/culture
Major impact access. Lower skill levels.
Teachers responses.
Teachers questioning ICTs within schools; taking energy away from traditional literacy skill development.
More computers in school classrooms isn’t necessarily the answer – return to this later. Important question…studies finding ICT isn’t necessarily translating into better learning outcomes.
Participant – what may be off is our expectations – kids see it as a tool. Dianne – it isn’t just a tool when it is connected to the internet – it is a new communications infrastructure – can access information and sources not previously possible.
One participant – over hyped initiatives don’t solve problems.
Teachers comfort level is essential to using the technology in the classroom.
ICT literacy as a form of social capital...
Emerging now is ICT as a form of literacy, in that it is considered a a critical skill for success in education and employment. It has been suggested that the average student will need proficient ICT skills to escape “McJob-like status” in the workforce (Menzies 1996).
ICT literacy can be considered a form of transferrable "social captial"... someone asked Dianne to define "social capital" Social capital is your network of connections and cultural resourses at your disposal that can help you get ahead in life. If social capital is transferrable, or convertible, these cultural resourses and ties can be turned into economic capital.
There are two types of social captial, bridging and bonding. Bonding social capital is capital generated within and between people of similar cultural groups, bridging social capital is capital generated between different cultural groups.
ICT literacy can be considered a form of transferrable "social captial"... someone asked Dianne to define "social capital" Social capital is your network of connections and cultural resourses at your disposal that can help you get ahead in life. If social capital is transferrable, or convertible, these cultural resourses and ties can be turned into economic capital.
There are two types of social captial, bridging and bonding. Bonding social capital is capital generated within and between people of similar cultural groups, bridging social capital is capital generated between different cultural groups.
Equity?
Equity is a big broad concept. What does it mean?
There are two ways to think about equity; the traditional structural issues surrounding equitable access. Does everyone have equal access to information and communication technology? If not, what are barriers to access? What role does the education system play in facilitating access?
The other way that we think about equity is beyond those traditional structural issues of access and considers the way students use technology.
There are two ways to think about equity; the traditional structural issues surrounding equitable access. Does everyone have equal access to information and communication technology? If not, what are barriers to access? What role does the education system play in facilitating access?
The other way that we think about equity is beyond those traditional structural issues of access and considers the way students use technology.
Kicking off the day
Welcome to the Equity and Technology Workshop blog... we're live.
Dianne is about to present some of her key findings. We'll bullet them soon. Perhaps I'll describe a bit of the physical atmosphere today... We're going to have a laid back and relaxed workshop. This blog is very experimental, we hope you find it useful.
Dianne is about to present some of her key findings. We'll bullet them soon. Perhaps I'll describe a bit of the physical atmosphere today... We're going to have a laid back and relaxed workshop. This blog is very experimental, we hope you find it useful.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
interactivity...
The purpose of this blog is to create an online collaborative space to discuss the issues and challenges associated with the appropriate and effective integration of technology into an educational environment.
When we go "live" tomorrow, we will be posting more findings from the Equity and Technology Project, along with the thoughts and ideas of a number of educational professionals from different school boards across Nova Scotia and representatives from the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, the Department of Education, and the Faculties of Education from the three universities in Nova Scotia which offer an education degree.
The whole idea of this is to bring different points of view into the discussion; parents, teachers, students, policy officials... even though these voices are not going to be physically present in the room, we can use the power of this interactive space to open the dialogue to anyone who's interested in participating.
So pop in throughout the day... read, think about it, interact with us. Perhaps you know of effective teaching strategies that incorporate the Internet or computer games. Or maybe you would like to know about how the education system is preparing children for the so-called "knowledge society." Heck, even if you just think what we're doing with this live blogging is interesting... we want to hear from you.
When we go "live" tomorrow, we will be posting more findings from the Equity and Technology Project, along with the thoughts and ideas of a number of educational professionals from different school boards across Nova Scotia and representatives from the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, the Department of Education, and the Faculties of Education from the three universities in Nova Scotia which offer an education degree.
The whole idea of this is to bring different points of view into the discussion; parents, teachers, students, policy officials... even though these voices are not going to be physically present in the room, we can use the power of this interactive space to open the dialogue to anyone who's interested in participating.
So pop in throughout the day... read, think about it, interact with us. Perhaps you know of effective teaching strategies that incorporate the Internet or computer games. Or maybe you would like to know about how the education system is preparing children for the so-called "knowledge society." Heck, even if you just think what we're doing with this live blogging is interesting... we want to hear from you.
A few findings to think about...
The following are a few of the findings we will be discussing tomorrow during the workshop.
Gender Differences (Students)
- Males spend more time at home and school
- Males report more skills and more confidence
- Females: more communication, more school work
- Males more use of spreadsheets & programming
Socio-Economic Status (Students)
- Major impact on home access
- This translates into effects on:
Amount of use
Type of use
Skill development
Rural/Urban Differences (Students)
- Differences in access, especially to high speed Internet
- School access important for rural; more time on school computers & Internet
- Urban students report wider range of skills
- No rural-urban differences in confidence
Race/Culture (Students)
- Major impact on home access
- First Nations - African Candians - White - Asian and other
- Leads to less time using ICT at home & overall
- Lower levels of skills
- Lower levels of confidence
I'll be posting a few more findings from the teachers later in the day, along with some hints for effective use of this blog tomorrow during the workshop.
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