Why C&IT?
Higher education, like other sectors of society, has undergone a
technological revolution. Today’s students often arrive at college with
considerable experience of computer use. As well as the university
library they want access to the resources of the Internet and World Wide
Web. They probably communicate using email, electronic chat rooms and
personal Web pages. They are expected to word process their assignments
and may well be familiar with spreadsheets, databases, desk top
publishing and presentation software, either from school or from work
experience. Rising participation in higher education, especially among
non-traditional students, has placed a new emphasis on individual needs
and learning styles at a time when classes are actually growing larger.
Increasing numbers of students do not even attend a ‘real’ campus but
study at home, with electronic access to their tutors and peers, and
with electronic materials forming an important element of their
curriculum. When they graduate, these same students join a workforce
which will require 90 per cent of them to have skills in communications
and information technology (C&IT).
For all these reasons, C&IT is becoming an important component of
teaching and learning at tertiary level. These primers have been written
to help academics understand the new technologies available and
integrate them effectively into their courses, with the emphasis on
active and student-centred learning.
How can C&IT enhance student learning?
Like other teaching tools, the computer is effective only when it is
used to meet specific learning needs and when it enhances the learning
experience for the student. Computer assisted learning (CAL) does not
mean replacing lecturers with computers. It can mean any of the
following (and much more)...
lecture notes and other resource material posted on the Web to help
students prepare for tutorials
information retrieval exercises using online reports, journals and
databases, electronic archives, hypertext and hypermedia documents
interactive courseware – developed in-house, bought off the peg, or
tailored to the requirements of a course
email noticeboards to encourage student discussion
reinforcement of important ideas with drill and practice packages
or self-assessment exercises
open access materials on a departmental server to enable students
to follow up class work in their own time
collaborative projects using email, videoconferencing, a shared Web
site or a local network
a question library giving constructive feedback during exam
preparation
an archive of student assignments for other (and future) course
members
students acquiring a range of IT skills – email, word processing,
presentations, spreadsheets, databases, and different types of CAL –
as part of their course
establishing a newsletter, noticeboard or conference page for a
course or module
simulation software to model real-world problems or run experiments
which would be impractical in the lab
introducing new concepts via a micro-environment, which allows
students to structure their own learning
simultaneous real/virtual seminars, allowing distant students to
work alongside campus-based students
It is clear that people use the term ‘CAL’ to mean very different
things. It can be helpful to distinguish between:
courseware (software designed specifically to teach content or
skills as part of a course of study) and worldware (software
and systems which may be used in the learning environment but are not
specially designed for it, such as word processors, spreadsheets and
databases)
information applications (including digital libraries,
courseware resources and other kinds of media which provide knowledge
content to students) and communications systems and
applications (which provide students with new ways of collaborating,
keeping in touch with each other and their tutors, and reaching out to
the wider world).
So why use C&IT?
The advantages of computer-assisted over other forms of teaching
remain controversial. There is a clear need for research and development
in this area so that questions can be answered more clearly. However,
case study evidence suggests a number of possible benefits:
learning at a time and place to suit the student helps overcome
traditional barriers to access
appropriate use of C&IT can release staff time for small group
teaching
interactive and multimedia delivery can enhance motivation and
reinforce learning
CAL provides a student-centred environment to suit the pace and
learning style of the individual
courseware can provide students with immediate feedback and allow
teachers to carry out continuous assessment
electronic communication aids collaboration among student groups
and helps staff and students keep in touch
access to the Internet and WWW provides vast resources for
assignments and research
familiarity with C&IT gives students useful transferable skills
for the job market
Some tips for using C&IT
It is very difficult to apply general rules to such a wide range of
technologies and techniques. The experience of the CTI has been that
different disciplines make very different uses of C&IT, and what is
appropriate to the teaching and learning of one subject will not be
appropriate to another. The best advice is to consult a subject expert
such as you will find at the relevant CTI Centre.
However, a few general hints apply to all forms of teaching with new
technologies.
Define your learning goals. New technology works – for some
learning purposes, for some learners, and for some of the time. Make
sure you know why you are using it.
Integrate the new learning environment. Technology-assisted
learning can be motivational, but only if students can clearly see its
value in relation to the rest of their course, including their final
assessment.
Adapt the CAL to your needs. If you are using courseware which
cannot be adapted, make sure it is directly relevant to the learning
goals of your course or consider asking why it has been
designed that way. Development is very costly and time consuming, so
it is important that materials are flexible enough to be used
widely.
Don’t try to do too much too soon. New technology requires at
the very least the learning of new skills. It can mean incorporating
new materials, redefining outcomes, even reconceptualising an entire
course programme. Gradual steps are more likely to win acceptance and
lead to lasting change.
Consider communications as well as information technology.
Computer mediated communication provides exciting opportunities for
collaborative learning, whether this means working in new ways with
students on campus or drawing in students from sites all over the
world.
Consider worldware as well as courseware. Many applications not
specifically developed for education have been used to enhance
learning in creative ways. Remember that the use of worldware gives
students transferable skills for the world of work.
Make sure the technology works and is properly supported. Great
teaching ideas are useless if the system crashes whenever a full class
of students is logged on. This means involving IT support staff from
the outset, and being knowledgeable about your university’s
information strategy and implementation plans.
Make sure students and staff are happy with using the
technology. Even Web browsers require basic IT skills, so be aware
that time may need to be invested here and look to your institution or
department for support.
Ensure good access to computers. Used well, C&IT allows
greater access and flexibility. Make sure that limited access to
equipment does not introduce new restrictions on learning or new
inequalities among students. This may also mean encouraging your
faculty or institution to adopt and actively pursue an information
strategy, if they have not already.
Resources
Implementing Learning Technology, a handbook from the Learning
Technology Dissemination Initiative (http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/ltdi/)
Other useful resources at the same Web site include a Beginner’s
Guide to Teaching with Technology http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/cause/
and Brite Ideas online: http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/ltdi/briteideas/
Technology in Teaching and Learning: an introductory guide by
Warren, Brunner, Maier and Barnett (1998), published by Kogan Page ISBN
0 7494 2515 6.
You can find details of this publication and a wide range of other
resources online at the Interactive Learning Centre, the University of
Southampton: http://152.78.148.18/ilc/ilc_resources.htm
Active Learning journal (see http://www.cti.ac.uk/publ/actlea/)
and the CTI Handbook (see http://www.cti.ac.uk/info/centres.html,
both available free to academic members of UK institutions of higher
education.
The Node: Learning Technologies Network (http://node.on.ca/, a Canadian
not-for-profit network, holds an extensive, searchable database of case
studies.
Original Authors
Helen Beetham
Pam Bishop
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