Why Utilize Computers in the Classroom

Most schools will require a teacher to incorporate computer into the grade level
curriculum. The new teacher may need assistance deciding how to do this on a daily
basis. Some teachers are hesitant to introduce computer time into the classroom,
because they view computer time as a form of "free time" or they may not be confident
in their own computing skills. However, when governed and lead properly integrating
computer time into the classroom will have several benefits.

Here are the benefits of using computers in the classroom:

Students gain word processing skills when learning to write on the computer.

Working on computers fosters collaboration between students and between student and
teacher.

Often leaders emerge who really enjoy computers and can help others.

Computer time promotes problem solving skills.

Computer time increases responsibility and independence.

Students have a natural form of discovery and often learn by trial and error.

Computers can reinforce or even teach instruction through integrating across the
curriculum. For example, if you are teaching a science unit about penguins, then
students will have prior knowledge about them and can go to a scientific website to
learn more about rare variations of penguins.

Guidelines for How to Use Computer in the Classroom

Once you have decided to use computers in the classroom, then follow these
guidelines to integrate computer time into the curriculum:

Decide what your approach to computer time will be, will you facilitate, guide or instruct?
This may vary by computer activity. For example, you may want to have an instructional
computer session, or you may want the students to have an independent learning
experience, in which you would facilitate, but not instruct.

Know the program or web site that the students will be using well for yourself before
letting the children use it. This may sound simple, but it is so important. You will be able
to help to navigate the students through the program or site, and provide the necessary
instructional component. There is usually a teacher guide that accompanies a computer
program and may be available to use from the school's computer lab.
Plan- have a section in your lesson plan where computer can be integrated and
research the topic or subject prior to integrating. This can also be planned into your
small group instruction time for the teacher aide. In your plan be sure to include what
the students will be learning for each curricula area. Read here for more information
about Maximizing the Teacher's Aide Time and Talent in the Classroom.

Briefly instruct students on the program or web site at their desks before they are sitting
in front of the computer and then let them go immediately to the computer after
instruction. Students will be very enthusiastic to get started once they are in front of the
computer, and it will be difficult for them to hear your instructions if they are seated right
in front of the computer.

Confer with students while they are on the computer. Ask questions about their learning
and progress. Take observational notes, so you can lead the students in the next
session.

Provide consistent feedback- this may be praise or correction. For example, start by
saying to the students, "Today I noticed that ...", and give feedback about the computer
session.

Whether your school requires the students to have computer time in the classroom, or if
you are just desiring to integrate it yourself, following these guidelines are sure to help
students to become independent computer users.

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-

12/articles/5638.aspx#ixzz17V1GsOaF

Pros and Cons of Computer Technology in the Classroom

Author: Kathleen Patrice Gulley

University: California State University, Sacramento

Course: Educational Leadership and Policy Studies EDLP 225 :: Advanced Seminar: Ethical
Decision Making

Instructor: Dr. Rosemary Papalewis

Term: Spring 2003

The world is constantly changing and ways in which we function at home, work and school are
also changing. The speed at which technology has developed plays a major role in these changes.
From e-mail to on-line classes, computers are definitely influential in our lives, and can enhance
the learning process in schools in various ways. With the increasing popularity of computer
technology, it is essential for administrators to support and encourage computer technology in
our education systems.

Computers are important in education because they force us to reconsider how people learn, how
they are empowered, and what the nature of learning and useful information is. We cannot avoid
the presence of computers in our schools because they are forcing educators to re-evaluate the
very nature of what and how we teach. In 1998, the Office of Technology Assessment reported
there were approximately 5.8 million computers in schools across United State’s or
approximately one machine for every nine students (Provenzo, Brett, & McCloskey, 1999).

An advantage of having computer-assisted instruction in the classroom is that the computer can
serve as a tutor. Teachers can only aid students in the learning process so far. Computers can
assist teachers and act as a tutor for the students who are falling behind. A report entitled
Computer Advantages: Tutoring Individuals, states “with computers as tutors, no student will be
overwhelmed because he or she is missing fundamentals the computer will repeat material until
each lesson has been sufficiently mastered” (Bennett, 1999, p. 3). Teachers do not have the time
to repeat lessons over and over again. The writer believes it is important to give all students in
the classroom the opportunity to adequately learn the lessons, and with computers acting as
tutors they can.

One of the biggest problems in the world today is illiteracy. Each year thousands of students
graduate from high school reading at the elementary school level, or not reading at all. Every
student should have the opportunity to receive additional assistance when they need it. Teachers
are doing the best they can with literacy issues in the classroom, and computers can reach the
students that the teachers cannot. The article entitled “Computers as Tutors” discusses Annaben
Thomas (Bennett, 1999) who was unable to read despite her years in the New York City school
system. After leaving school, she was taught by tutors and had enrolled in library literacy
programs and adult education classes trying to overcome her handicap. After doing everything
she still had not learned to read, until she enrolled in a computer course program that taught her
to read and write. Because of success stories like this it is crucial to support the use of computer
technology in the classroom.

Although the advantages of having computer technology in classrooms outweigh the

disadvantages, the writer can respect the concerns of the people who are against computer
technology in the classroom. Many people argue the computer does all the work for the students,
not allowing them the opportunity to digest what they have learned. Boyle (1998) argues that
information technology “may actually be making us stupid.” (p. 618). He argues that the
computer takes more of the thinking process out of students.

Many people who grew up in the pre-computer age worry that the use of computers will take the
emotion and heart out of the classroom. Wehrle (1998) states “the pre-computer age generation
envisions designing computer technologies that still take into account the emotional needs of the
students” (p.5). Their main argument against computers in the classroom is that teachers need to
take into account the importance of student emotions. They do not want the quick evolution of
computer technology to interfere with the student’s need for human support that they receive
from the teacher-based instruction. The implications of having computer technology in the
schools are the belief that the computer will solve many of the problems that teachers cannot.
These include helping students raise the standardized test scores, actually teaching students the
basics such as reading and mathematics, and implying that the teachers have the skills and
abilities needed to accurately aid students with their computer usage.

Education serves as a window through which our imagination and curiosity can take flight into
the unknown and enhance our creativity, and the use of computer technology in education plays
an enormous role in helping students to achieve their full development potential. Given the role
that education plays in preparing students to go into the world, it seems clear that there should be
a connection between the world and the classroom. Unless education reflects the world in which
it exists, it has no relevance for the students.

In conclusion, the advantages discussed concerning computer technology in the classroom

outweigh the disadvantages. Computer technology is a positive supplement to bridge the gap
between education and the technological world in which we live. Computer-assisted technologies
in schools offer students greater access to information, an eager motivation to learn, a jump-start
on marketable job skills and an enhanced quality of class work.

References

Bennett, F. (1999). Computers as tutors: Solving the crisis in education.(p. 3). Sarasota, FL:
Faben Inc. Publishers.

Boyle, F. T. (1998). IBM talking head’s, and our classrooms. College English, 55 (6), pp. 618-
626.

Provenzo, E. F., Brett, A., & McCloskey, G. N. (1999). Computers, curriculum, and cultural
change. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

Wehrle, R. (1998). Computers in education: The pros and the cons. Retrieved on February 18,
2003 http://www.edweek.org/sreports/tc98/intr…

Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students

 Change in Student and Teacher Roles

 Increased Motivation and Self Esteem
 Technical Skills
 Accomplishment of More Complex Tasks
 More Collaboration with Peers
  Increased Use of Outside Resources
 Improved Design Skills/Attention to Audience

Change in Student and Teacher Roles

When students are using technology as a tool or a support for communicating with others, they
are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of information transmitted by a
teacher, textbook, or broadcast. The student is actively making choices about how to generate,
obtain, manipulate, or display information. Technology use allows many more students to be
actively thinking about information, making choices, and executing skills than is typical in
teacher-led lessons. Moreover, when technology is used as a tool to support students in
performing authentic tasks, the students are in the position of defining their goals, making design
decisions, and evaluating their progress.

The teacher's role changes as well. The teacher is no longer the center of attention as the
dispenser of information, but rather plays the role of facilitator, setting project goals and
providing guidelines and resources, moving from student to student or group to group, providing
suggestions and support for student activity. As students work on their technology-supported
products, the teacher rotates through the room, looking over shoulders, asking about the reasons
for various design choices, and suggesting resources that might be used. (See example of teacher
as coach.)

Project-based work (such as the City Building Project and the Student-Run Manufacturing
Company) and cooperative learning approaches prompt this change in roles, whether technology
is used or not. However, tool uses of technology are highly compatible with this new teacher
role, since they stimulate so much active mental work on the part of students. Moreover, when
the venue for work is technology, the teacher often finds him or herself joined by many peer
coaches--students who are technology savvy and eager to share their knowledge with others.

Increased Motivation and Self Esteem

The most common--and in fact, nearly universal--teacher-reported effect on students was an
increase in motivation. Teachers and students are sometimes surprised at the level of technology-
based accomplishment displayed by students who have shown much less initiative or facility
with more conventional academic tasks:

The kids that don't necessarily star can become the stars. [with technology]. My favorite is this
boy . . . who had major problems at home. He figured out a way to make music by getting the
computer to play certain letters by certain powers and it changed the musical tone of the note
and he actually wrote a piece. He stayed in every recess. . . . When I asked him what he was
working on, he wouldn't tell me. Then he asked if he could put his HyperCard stack on my
 computer because it was hooked up to speakers. I said "sure" and at recess. . . he put it on my
computer and played his music and literally stopped the room. And for months he had kids
begging him at recess, every recess, to teach them how to make music. And for that particular
kid it was the world because he really was not successful academically and was having lots of
problems. . . . This really changed him for that school year. -Elementary school teacher

Teachers talked about motivation from a number of different perspectives. Some mentioned
motivation with respect to working in a specific subject area, for example, a greater willingness
to write or to work on computational skills. Others spoke in terms of more general motivational
effects--student satisfaction with the immediate feedback provided by the computer and the sense
of accomplishment and power gained in working with technology:

Kids like the immediate results. It's not a result that you can get anywhere else except on the
computer. . . . For them it really is a big deal. Much more so than I ever though it was going to
be. --Elementary school teacher

Technology is the ultimate carrot for students. It's something they want to master. Learning to
use it enhances their self-esteem and makes them excited about coming to school. --Fifth grade
teacher

The computer has been an empowering tool to the students. They have a voice and it's not in
any way secondary to anybody else's voice. It's an equal voice. So that's incredibly positive.
Motivation to use technology is very high. --Elementary school teacher

In many of these classes, students choose to work on their technology-based projects during
recess or lunch periods. Teachers also frequently cite technology's motivational advantages in
providing a venue in which a wider range of students can excel. Compared to conventional
classrooms with their stress on verbal knowledge and multiple-choice test performance,
technology provides a very different set of challenges and different ways in which students can
demonstrate what they understand (e.g., by programming a simulation to demonstrate a concept
rather than trying to explain it verbally).

A related technology effect stressed by many teachers was enhancement of student self esteem.
Both the increased competence they feel after mastering technology-based tasks and their
awareness of the value placed upon technology within our culture, led to increases in students'
(and often teachers') sense of self worth.

I see more confidence in the kids here. . . . I think it's not just computers, it's a multitude of
things, but they can do things on the computers that most of their parents can't do and that's
very empowering and exciting for them. It's "I can sit down and make this machine pretty much
do what I want to," and there's something about that that gives them an extra little boost of,
"Wow, I'm a pretty special person." --Elementary school teacher

Students clearly take pride in being able to use the same computer-based tools employed by
professionals. As one teacher expressed it, "Students gain a sense of empowerment from learning
to control the computer and to use it in ways they associate with the real world." Technology is
valued within our culture. It is something that costs money and that bestows the power to add
value. By giving students technology tools, we are implicitly giving weight to their school
activities. Students are very sensitive to this message that they, and their work, are important.

Technical Skills
Students, even at the elementary school level, are able to acquire an impressive level of skill with
a broad range of computer software (see examples). Although the specific software tools in use
will likely change before these students enter the world of work, the students acquire a basic
understanding of how various classes of computer tools behave and a confidence about being
able to learn to use new tools that will support their learning of new software applications.

Accomplishment of More Complex Tasks

Teachers for the observed classes and activities at the case study sites were nearly unanimous
also in reporting that students were able to handle more complex assignments and do more with
higher-order skills (see examples) because of the supports and capabilities provided by
technology.

More Collaboration with Peers

Another effect of technology cited by a great majority of teachers is an increased inclination on
the part of students to work cooperatively and to provide peer tutoring. While many of the
classrooms we observed assigned technology-based projects to small groups of students, as
discussed above, there was also considerable tutoring going on around the use of technology
itself. Collaboration is fostered for obvious reasons when students are assigned to work in pairs
or small groups for work at a limited number of computers. But even when each student has a
computer, teachers note an increased frequency of students helping each other. Technology-
based tasks involve many subtasks (e.g., creating a button for a HyperCard stacks or making
columns with word processing software), leading to situations where students need help and find
their neighbor a convenient source of assistance. Students who have mastered specific computer
skills generally derive pride and enjoyment from helping others.

In addition, the public display and greater legibility of student work creates an invitation to
comment. Students often look over each others' shoulders, commenting on each others' work,
offering assistance, and discussing what they are doing.
 I've also seen kids helping each other a lot at the computer. The ones that pick it up faster, they
love teaching it to someone that doesn't know it yet. --Fifth-grade teacher

The ones who have used it from the beginning have become peer coaches. --Fifth-grade teacher

Students' ability to collaborate on substantive content can be further enhanced through the use of
software applications specifically designed for this purpose. Students in several classes at one of
our case study sites used a research package called CSILE (Computer Supported Intentional
Learning Environment), for building a communal database and exchanging comments about each
others' ideas.

One of our teacher informants made the point that the technology invites peer coaching and that
once established, this habit carries over into other classroom activities:

It's a much more facilitating atmosphere because the kids help each other so much on the
computer. It changes the style and the tone of the classroom a lot. --Elementary school teacher

Though the use of technology often promoted collaboration and cooperation among students at
these case study sites, there were still concerns about appropriate student conduct. Many schools
implement acceptable use policies, especially if they offer students access to the Internet. (See
examples of Sharenet's formal technology use agreement or other acceptable use policies.)

Increased Use of Outside Resources

Teachers from 10 out of 17 classrooms observed at length cited increased use of outside
resources as a benefit of using technology. This effect was most obvious in classrooms that had
incorporated telecommunications activities (see examples), but other classes used technologies
such as satellite broadcasts, telefacsimiles, and the telephone to help bring in outside resources.

Improved Design Skills/Attention to Audience

Experiences in developing the kinds of rich, multimedia products that can be produced with
technology, particularly when the design is done collaboratively so that students experience their
peers' reactions to their presentations, appear to support a greater awareness of audience needs
and perspectives. Multiple media give students choices about how best to convey a given idea
(e.g., through text, video, animation). In part because they have the capability to produce more
professional-looking products and the tools to manipulate the way information is presented,
students in many technology-using classes are reportedly spending more time on design and
audience presentation issues.
 They also do more stylistic things in terms of how the paper looks, and if there is something they
want to emphasize, they'll change the font . . . they're looking at the words they're writing in a
different way. They're not just thinking about writing a sentence, they're doing that, but they are
also thinking about, "This is a really important word" or "This is something I want to stand out."
And they're thinking in another completely different way about their audience. --Elementary
school teacher

While most teachers were positive about the design consciousness that technology fosters, a
potential downside was also noted by a few teachers. It is possible for students to get so caught
up in issues such as type font or audio clips that they pay less attention to the substantive content
of their product. We observed one computer lab within which several students with a research
paper assignment spent the entire period coloring and editing the computer graphics for the
covers of their as-yet-unwritten reports, pixel by pixel. Teachers are developing strategies to
make sure that students do not get distracted by some of the more enticing but less substantive
features of technology, for example, by limiting the number of fonts and font sizes available to
their students

BENEFITS OF CLASSROOM COMPUTERS TO STUDENTS

 
There are multiple sources of evidence in educational research that computers in the
classroom, if well used, provide the following benefits to students:
 
General Computer Use:
 
                   Improved interest in school work and attendance at classes
 
                   More written work produced, and of better quality

e.g. In one study, middle years students produced twice as much written work on
computers as without. The computer-generated writing was also deemed to be
of significantly better quality than that written by hand.
 
                   Better social skills and less aggression

e.g. Brigance scores on Socialization for 16 children in one study showed social-
emotional growth rate more than doubled when they were learning in a high-
technology environment.
 
                   More sharing and collaboration
 
                   Improved fine motor skills
 
                   Longer attention spans
 e.g. one study of children with mild to moderate disabilities showed attention
spans became five times longer when they were working on computers, over
when they were engaged in normal classroom work
 
                   (In pre-school children) Better understanding of the print media and
understanding of tracking (i.e. reading and writing from left to right)
 
                   More participation by shy children and those lacking in self-confidence in
question and answer situations which were computer-generated over those
which were carried out by a teacher.
 
                   An improvement in higher learning skills, especially analysis, evaluation,
and synthesis
 
                   For special needs students, the ability to produce high quality outcomes,
thereby increasing self esteem and increasing interest in learning.
 
                   In some cases, improved grades
 
e.g. In one analysis of twelve studies on computer-guided instruction, an average
increase in examination scores was found of .35 standard deviations, or from the
50th to the 64th percentile.
 
                   In some cases, more learning in less time

e.g. The average reduction in instructional time was 34% in 17 studies of college
instruction, and 24% in 15 studies of adult education
 
 
                   A more democratic classroom. i.e. Children learn from each other or self-
direct their learning while the teacher becomes less of a leader and more of a
facilitator.
 
                   An improved attitude towards, and comfort with, use of computers in
situations outside of learning. i.e. The computer literacy developed in the
classroom is carried by the student into everyday life and the workplace.
 
 
Use of Internet in the Classroom
 
In addition to the general benefits of computer use for word processing, delivery of
instructional software, etc., there are specific benefits to the use of Internet (or intranets)
in the classroom.
 
                   The student is found to play a more active role in the networked
classroom. This is particularly noticeable with students who normally do not
 participate in vocal discussions; e.g. students with disabilities, autistic students,
those who are shy or lacking in self-confidence.
 
                   Learning becomes more visible. Teachers and other students can track
and comment on the student’s research and work.
 
                   Curriculum becomes broader and teaching/learning strategies more
varied, through the addition on on-line material and collaborative projects with
other sites.
 
                   There is a quicker dissemination of curriculum and pedagogical strategies
to teachers through on-line distribution and sharing.
 
         
APPENDIX: REFERENCES AND QUOTES
 
1. Technology innovations--computers, interactive software, touch tablets, and a wide array of
switches—can level the playing field for young children with disabilities and provide access to
activities in the general early childhood curriculum. Since the early 1980s, research results
repeatedly indicate that assistive technology applications can improve children's learning
outcomes.
 
Findings demonstrate that computers and accompanying software, when employed according to
the ECCTS model, are very efficient, compared to other classroom activities, in promoting (a)
attending, (b) cause and effect reasoning, (c) emergent literacy, and (d) engagement. Children
increase in social skills, including sharing and turn taking, communication, attention, and self
confidence. They demonstrate increased fine motor skills and visual-motor skills (tracking).
Children using a computer can stay focused and repeat an activity for relatively long periods of
time. If children learn to use the computer appropriately, are taught to take turns, and have
accessible tools like sign up books or sign up charts to assist with fair use, a considerable
decrease in aggression occurs.
 
(Hutinger, Johanson, Clark; Promising Practices: Benefits of A Comprehensive Technology
System; The Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood, College of Education and Human
services at Western Illinois University, 2000)
 
2. When teachers integrate creative and interactive software into their developmentally
appropriate curriculum, children have opportunities to extend expressiveness. Using graphics
software provides opportunities for young children to create marks and symbols, communicate,
and interact with others. Assistive technology offers young children with physical disabilities
access to the same or similar developmentally appropriate, child centered, integrated expressive
arts activities engaged in by children without disabilities.
 
(Potter, Johanson, and Hutinger; Creative Software Can Extend Children's Expressiveness; The
Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood, College of Education and Human services at
Western Illinois University, 2001)
 
3. Appropriate use of interactive software with early elementary school children was found to:
Provide rich conceptual experiences that promote growth in vocabulary and reasoning
skills
Encourage lexical development, from early referential (naming) abilities to relational and
abstract terms and finer-shaded meanings
Encourage development of listening comprehension skills and the kinds of syntactic and
prose structures that preschool children may not yet have mastered
Encourage development of children’s sense of story.
Encourage children’s sensitivity to the sounds of language.
Encourage development of children’s concepts of print
Encourage development of children’s concepts of space, including directionality
Encourage development of children’s fine motor skills
 Motivate children to read
 
(Robinson; Technology Literacy Strategies Support Reading Research Recommendations The
Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood, College of Education and Human services at
Western Illinois University, 2001)
 
 
4. Across classes, children, time, and range of disabilities, when teachers integrated appropriate
computer software and adaptations into the early childhood curriculum and set up accessible
computer centers in the classroom, children demonstrated social skills, including sharing and
turn taking; communication; attention; emergent literacy; fine motor skills; visual-motor skills
(tracking); self confidence and greater self-esteem.
 
In ten classroom activities observed, computer use was most often followed by desirable
behaviors (e.g., sharing, communicating, turn taking) and least likely to be followed by
aggression

Attention spans of one group displaying mild to moderate disabilities increased from less than
3 minutes to more than 15 minutes when using interactive commercial software.

Children with behavior problems, those diagnosed as autistic, and those who did not talk to
adults exhibited fewer negative behaviors during computer time, interacted socially more often,
and were more communicative.

Children made progress in all developmental areas, including social-emotional, fine motor,
communication, cognition, gross motor, and self help, according to their Brigance scores and
observational field notes. For example, in Year 3 Brigance scores on Socialization for 16
children who had participated in the study for 2 years, showed gains of 1.84 months per month
instead of the 0.77 month progress they had made prior to computer use. Their social-emotional
growth rate more than doubled in comparison to their pre-ECCTS years. Teacher interviews
stressed this growth of social skills associated with computer use as well as its positive impact as
a tool for teaching sharing.
When technology is used to support learning, children achieve success, increase self esteem, and
demonstrate knowledge and skills across a variety of developmental domains. Some children
become recognized as classroom 'computer experts' who can help others navigate through
software and gain in the process.

Computers and accompanying software, when employed according to the ECCTS model, are
very efficient, when compared to other classroom activities, in promoting (a) attending, (b) cause
and effect reasoning, (c) communication, (d) emergent literacy, (e) engagement, (f) sharing, and
(g) socialization. Children's behavior sometimes revealed that they possessed unsuspected skills
and abilities.
 
When two or more children used the computer together, they employed language and
demonstrated positive social skills. Some children diagnosed as Multiple Sensory Disorder
(MSD) or Pervasive Developmental Delays (PDD) began to socialize and talk in the computer
environment.
 
(Hutinger, Rippey, Johanson Findings of Research Study on Effectiveness of a Comprehensive
Technology System Demonstrate Benefits for Children and Teachers, The Center for Best
Practices in Early Childhood, College of Education and Human services at Western Illinois
University, 1999)
 
5. In order to build a student's self-efficacy in the use of computers, so they will be capable of
utilizing them successfully beyond school, we must give them the tools in school. Computers in
the classroom will provide additional benefits to students beyond immediate "learning
effectiveness": first, students will develop self-efficacy in the use of technology - critical to
future employment; second, they will be able to observe others using technology successfully
and gain a deeper understanding of its importance and usefulness; third, anxious or computer-
phobic students will have the opportunity to face
their anxiety in a safe environment, and through the instructor's verbal persuasion and emotional
support may be able to avoid worse anxiety producing situations in the workplace.
 
(Diane M. Dusick, The Learning Effectiveness of Educational Technology: What Does That
Really Mean? Educational Technology Review, Fall 1998, (10)
http://learnonline.sbccd.cc.ca.us/~ddusick/lib130/effectiveness.htm)
 
6. Several studies suggest educational benefits related to laptop use. Specific benefits
noted include increased student motivation (Gardner 1994, Rockman, 1998), a shift toward more
student-centered classroom environments (Stevenson, 1998; Rockman, 1998), and better school
attendance than students not using laptops (Stevenson, 1998). In his study of a laptop pilot
program in Beaufort, South Carolina, Stevenson (1998) also reported that students with laptops
demonstrated a "sustained level of academic achievement" during their middle school years, as
opposed to students not using laptops who tended to decline during this same period. He also
noted that these academic benefits were most significant in at-risk student populations.
 
(Belanger; Laptop Computers in the K-12 Classroom, ERIC/IT Digest, Information Institute of
Syracuse at Syracuse University
http://ericit.org/digests/EDO-IR-2000-05.shtml)
 
7. Some of the major findings of ITEC Phase 1 (studying students age 8 and 9) related to student
metacognition were:
 
91% of the participating teachers reported observing one or more indicators of higher
level cognitive skills among their IT-using students.
The majority of the researcher-observers also reported one or more students displaying
higher level thinking behaviors during the IT-using class.
The student metacognitive skills most frequently observed by researchers were: (a)
analyzing problems, (b) evaluating one's actions, and (c) formulating appropriate
questions.
Teachers and researchers reported that the students in IT classrooms developed new
strategies for working with peers, were very motivated, and enjoyed and became more
self-confident in their work (Collis, 1993, p. 252).
 
Some of the major conclusions drawn from the (YYCI) study (involving Grade 1 and 2 students
in the US, Mexico and Japan) were as follows:
 
Computer use in primary school has a strong positive impact on attitudes toward
computers.
Educationally relevant computer activities can have a positive impact on motivation and study
habits, over the course of several years.
Gender differences with respect to attitudes toward computers do not generally exist at the
first-grade level; they probably do not emerge until after Grade 3.
Evidence indicates that creative children may choose to use computers, rather than
computer use fostering creative tendencies.
Student perceptions of computers and school are surprisingly similar for children residing in
their native cultures in Japan, Mexico, and the United States.
Japanese students whose families are temporarily (for a few years) residing in the United
States maintain dispositions very similar to their peers in Japan.
Bilingual Hispanic immigrants to the United States appear to commonly possess and
maintain learning-related dispositions more positive than either their Spanish-speaking
counterparts in Mexico or their English-speaking peers in the United States.
 
(Knezek, G. Computers in Education Worldwide: Impact on Students and Teachers. Keynote
presentation to the 13th International Symposium on Computers in Education, Toluca, Mexico,
September 22, 1997.)
 
8. The creation of a technology enriched classroom environment had a minimal but positive
impact on student acquisition of higher order thinking skills. While the difference in scores was
not significant for every level of Bloom’s Taxonomy, the scores were generally higher for
Analysis and Synthesis and were significantly higher for Evaluation. The argument can be made
that the minimal impact was less related to an ineffective treatment and more a result of the short
duration of the treatment and the inability of the study to comparison for home use of the
computer.
 
An obvious conclusion is that exposure to technology and training in its use result in a more
positive attitude relative to Computer Importance. Such a positive attitude indicates that once
students are successful using technology and recognize the associated benefits, they will choose
to continue using it as a learning tool. More positive attitudes toward Motivation and Creativity
indicate that when provided with technology, students are more likely to take comparison of their
learning, stay focused until the task is complete, and pursue more obscure and hypothetical
solutions to problems.
 
(Hopson; Effects of a Technology Enriched Learning Environment on Student Development of
Higher Order Thinking Skills; The Texas Center for Educational Technology, College of
Education, University of North Texas
http://www.tcet.unt.edu/research/index.htm)
 
9. Pupil Motivation
 Teachers and pupils report that the impact of ICT has been substantial on pupil attitudes to
learning: One teacher said "the motivation and the way the children concentrate is the biggest
value for me." The Head teacher said ICT had positively affected all the children’s learning.
Teachers said that children with special educational needs could produce high quality outcomes
using ICT, which raised the pupils’ self esteem and raised the profile of learning and
achievement.
 
The overall effect was to raise the profile of learning in the community and to provide a network
of support for pupils and parents learning together. The evidence shows that 61% of pupils
borrowing a laptop received help with their work from family or friends. 46 out of 47 pupils
borrowing laptops reported that family and friends also used the laptop. ICT has been a catalyst
for positive change in parent and pupil attitudes to school, schoolwork and to homework.
 
(Web@Classroom Project (Miranda), In collaboration with the Institute of Education,
University of London)
 
10. (A study evaluating the use of computer-aided instruction in language learning)
 
Three areas of electronic synchronous communication have been the focus of most CACD
research to date: (a) CACD has an equalizing effect on participation; (b) it increases learner
productivity in terms of overall amount of language and/or ideas produced; and (c) the language
produced in electronic synchronous discussions can be
expected to be more complex and formal than in face-to-face discussions, without losing the
interactive nature of oral language.
 
Learners are able to contribute as much as they want at their own pace and leisure; consequently,
they tend to perceive CACD as less threatening and inhibiting than oral interactions and produce
a high amount of writing, with all students participating to a high degree and all producing
several turns/messages per session
 
Chun's descriptive approach is important in that she not only substantiates in
her analysis an increase in learner production coupled with a decrease in teacher-centered
discourse, but she also identifies concrete advantages of more democratic and equitable
participation in terms of potential learner development in discoursal, interactional, and functional
competence.
 
In their impressionistic accounts of electronic synchronous discussions involving Portuguese and
French learners, Beauvois (1992) and Kelm (1992) report increases in the participation pattern of
shy students and low-motivated, unsuccessful language learners, whereby the same students
were perceived by their instructors as less willing to participate in oral discussions led by the
teacher. Most of the cited studies also elicited information on students' impressions and
evaluations of CACD and found that students themselves identified an increase in participation
and production) as one of the benefits of engaging in electronic discussions in the target
language.
 
Processes And Outcomes In Networked Classroom Interaction: Defining The Research Agenda
For L2 Computer-Assisted Classroom Discussion Language Learning & Technology Vol. 1,
No. 1, July 1997, pp 82-93
 
 
11. Students usually learn more in classes in which they receive computer-based instruction. The
analyses produce slightly different estimates of the magnitude of the computer effect, but all the
estimates were positive. At the low end of the estimates was an average effect size17 of 0.22 in
18 studies conducted in elementary and high school science courses (Willett, Yamashita &
Anderson, 1983). At the other end of the scale, Schmidt, Weinstein, Niemiec, and Walbert
(1985) found an average effect size 0.57 in 18 studies conducted in special education classes.
The weighted average effect size in the 12 meta-analyses was 0.3518. This means the average
effect of computer-based instruction was to raise examination scores by 0.35 standard deviations,
or from the 50th to the 64th percentile.
 
Students learn their lessons in less time with computer-based instruction. The average
reduction in instructional time was 34% in 17 studies of college instruction, and 24% in 15
studies of adult education (C.-L. C. Kulik & J. A. Kulik, 1991).
 
Students also like their classes more when they receive computer help in them. The average
effect of computer-based instruction in 22 studies was to raise attitude-toward-instruction scores
by 0.28 standard deviations (C.-L. C. Kulik & J. A. Kulik, 1991).
 
As a result of a satisfyingly successful experimental first year in which 73% of the students
enrolled in the PUMP first-year agebra course passed, while 56% of students enrolled in the
regular algebra course failed, the PUMP first-year algebra course was made a required course of
study for all Langley students. In the second year of the adoption, 61 of the 73 students passing
the PUMP first-year algebra course enrolled in geometry; and of those 37 enrolled in Algebra 2
in year three. By contrast, 20 of the 24
students passing the regular algebra course during the experimental first year went on to take
geometry; and of those only three enrolled in Algebra two. Two other schools in the Pittsburgh
area recently adopted PUMP, despite the financial investment in hardware this step requires, but
have not yet made first-year algebra a required course for all students.
 
Jamie McKenzie. "A survey of research describing the impact of word processing
on student writing often turns up confounding or disappointing results. One Canadian study
(Owston, 1990) reported in this month's literature search concluded:
 
(1) the computer-written work was significantly better in overall quality and better on the
competency and mechanics subscales of the evaluation instrument; (2)
students produced significantly longer pieces of writing on the computer than off; (3) students
reported very positive attitudes toward computer-based editing and writing; (4) there were no
macrostructural differences in writing across media; and (5) only one surface feature, spelling,
was found to be significantly better in the computer-written work.
 
(The Costs and Effectiveness of Educational Technology - November 1995,
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/Plan/RAND/Costs/costs4.html)

12. Student writing products and processes were studied over a three-year period, beginning in
grade 3, at a school where students had routine, daily access to word processors, and at a nearby
comparison school that had only a few, infrequently-used computers in its classrooms. A
repeated measures MANOVA revealed that there was significantly greater improvement in
writing quality over the three years (p<.00005) at the high computer access school, as determined
by holistic measures of writing message (meaning and content quality) and medium (quality of
the form and surface features). Extensive in-class observations support the contention that the
use of word processors strongly contributed to the observed differences between sites. The
attributes of the word processor that appeared to explain the observed differences were a
combination of the unique ways text is edited, displayed, and manipulated with the computer.
 
When students at HAS wrote with the computer, there appeared to be a positive attentional and
motivational shift toward their work as compared to when they wrote by hand. Students focused
more on the creative effort and were less prone to distraction. They would dash to a computer
when given a chance to work there. They viewed it to some degree as a task "apart", a privileged
time to work with high-tech "stuff" that was going to be important to them in the future. This
phenomenon was observed in grade 3 and continued to be noted over the entire length of the
study.
 
Throughout the three years, students almost universally employed a composing technique which
may be loosely described by James Britton's term "shaping at the point of utterance" (Britton,
1982). This technique was adopted regardless of whether students were doing expository or
creative writing, the two genres in which they wrote the most often. Typically, students would
write a few sentences or words, then pause, backspace, alter text, and continue. Witness this
segment taken from our field notes midway through the study of Martin (the low competency
focal student at HAS discussed later) when he writes:
 
(Owston and Wideman: Word processors and Children's Writing in a High Computer Access
Setting, York University, Ontario, Canada http://www.edu.yorku.ca/~rowston/written.html)
 
 

13. Marchionini (1988) presents the view that hypermedia systems (such as web-based
materials) "model human associative memory and thus can serve as powerful cognitive
amplifiers". He sees the following advantages in the use of hypermedia:
 
Allow large amounts of information in various media to be stored very compactly and
accessed easily; Offer high levels of learner control which force students to apply higher order
thinking skills; Can alter the roles of teachers to more of a guide and create richer interactions
among students and teachers.
 
Hypermedia has potential in education due to its non-linear association of information (which
can encourage active, student-centered, individualized learning) and use of multiple information
formats (which can motivate learners and provide more natural, efficient, multi-channel
representations of knowledge). A study by Fitzgerald & Semrau (1997) demonstrated that
hypermedia learning environments can provide equally effective instruction for learners
regardless of prior computer knowledge or learning style (mixture of field independence /
dependence). Hypermedia systems can also promote collaboration by allowing students to work
together to create new content (Yang & Moore, 1996; Jonassen, 1996).
 
The Web can supply the opportunity to write to an authentic audience, which is critical in the
development of written communication skills. Telecommunications can positively impact
students' development of audience awareness (Gallini & Helman, 1995). According to Keiner
(1996), "the advent of the WWW as a medium for children's publication opens up a venue for
real world publication of a new order". Kneeshaw (1996) describes an activity in which students
get actively involved in instigating change by emailing someone who has an impact on the
environment.
 
The Internet can also be used to advance collaboration. Ruberg et al. (1996) found that a
computer-mediated communication (CMC) environment promoted experimentation, sharing of
early ideas, increased and more distributed participation, and collaborative thinking. An excellent
example of a collaborative CMC-based environment is the global discussions among children
available via KIDLINK: Global Networking for Youth 10-15.
 
( Benefits of Internet Use in Education
http://www.ualberta.ca/~jedavies/inteduc/benefits.htm#access)

14. Chapter 2. The K-12 networked classroom

 
These constructs serve as the organizing framework of the following observations about
the conditions and practices that are required for the effective use of online and network
technologies in the classroom.
 
First, with respect to the learner:
 
2.1.1 Observation 1: Higher levels of control by learners are called for as classrooms are getting
more online. The student is found to play a more active role in the networked
classroom.
 
2.1.2 Observation 2: Online resources boost student interest and motivation in the classroom
through a greater diversity of learning goals, projects, and outcomes. Student motivation is
increased, and this is consistently found across diverse groups of learners.
 
2.1.3 Observation 3: Learners’ thinking becomes more visible. Computer applications facilitate
the construction of knowledge representations that can be seen by the teacher and classmates.
 
Second, with respect to the content:
 
2.2.1 Observation 4: Internet and learning projects are broadening the curriculum. An increasing
number of educational services are being offered online, and these include
drill-and-practice learning activities as well as more open-ended activities such as
telecommunication exchange.
 
2.2.2 Observation 5: There is a greater range of construction of content by school learners. In the
networked classroom where the teacher has a powerful repertoire of pedagogical strategies, the
content is more diverse and there is more student input. More advanced topics are studied.
 
Third, with respect to the teacher:
 
2.3.1 Observation 6: Learning situations become more realistic and authentic as classrooms are
getting online. Both access to online resources and learners' increasing engagement in the
construction of content is conducive to better and more authentic learning situations in the
classroom.
 
2.3.2 Observation 7: The successful online classroom combines information technology with
appropriate pedagogy. The more engaged teachers have students do more collaboration and
communication, carry out more and longer work on projects and have students tackle more open-
ended problems.
 
2.3.3 Observation 8: New online practices by educators are adopted through adaptation. The
dissemination and implementation of effective uses of online technologies in classrooms take
account of local contexts of instruction.
 
Fourth, with respect to the context:
 
2.4.1 Observation 9: Cooperative and collaborative classroom processes are increased online.
Small group learning with computer technology has positive effects on group task
performance, individual achievement, and attitudes toward collaborative learning.
 
2.4.2 Observation 10: The education of educators is broadened to include just-in-time or
collaborative learning. Teachers have had the opportunity to join virtual interest groups and
learning communities for nearly a decade, but teachers are far from taking full advantage of such
opportunities.
 
2.4.3 Observation 11: The online classroom challenges the locally established curriculum.
Transmission of the curriculum by the teacher gives way to more approaches where the learner
interacts more directly with online content.
 
2.4.4 Observation 12: Educators use online learning as a key enabler of educational reform.
Evidence has been building on the mutual dependency between the use of online tools for
learning and school renewal efforts.

Laferrièrre, Bracewell, Breuleux, The Emerging Contribution of Online Resources and Tools to
K-12 Classroom Learning and Teaching: An Update, Telelearning Network, 2000)