Teacher professional development and ICT: an investigation of teachers studying a postgraduate award in ICT in education

McGarr, Oliver; O’Brien, John F.

doi:10.1080/03323310701295872

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(13 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This result is in accordance with research conducted by Johnson et al (2005) and Kitchen et al (2007), according to which technical assistance in schools was provided either by the Ministry of Education’s ICT helpdesk or an ICT co-coordinator, or external suppliers (through equipment guarantees), or by a technician of a private company. This finding may be considered as positive since, according to several studies (Condie and Simpson, 2004; McGarr and O’Brien, 2007; Plomp et al, 2007; Bisaso et al 2008; Eteokleous, 2008), ensuring the quality and permanency of technical assistance constitutes one of the important factors for the efficient introduction and exploitation of new technologies’ capabilities. As Mahony (2005) and Carter (2005) underline, the lack of sufficient technical support considerably affects the usage of new technologies on the part of educators, since educators’ concerns over dealing with technical problems or difficulties tend to induce feelings of insecurity and cautiousness, which intensify in the absence of a technician (Demetriadis et al, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Using Information and Communication Technologies in School Administration: Researching Greek Kindergarten Schools

Prokopiadou¹

2012

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

New technologies are widely used in several domains of human activity and business, including education, because of their positive impact on information management and service delivery. Considering technology’s ability to provide for advanced and updated technological tools and applications, information and communication technologies (ICT) have been increasingly incorporated into school administration, in order to improve the organization of official data and to facilitate administrative transactions. This research aims to determine the level of technological infrastructure present in Greek kindergarten schools and also to examine the extent to which this equipment meets their administrative needs, as well as the conditions that influence the implementation of ICT in school management.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Using Information and Communication Technologies in School Administration: Researching Greek Kindergarten Schools

Prokopiadou¹

2012

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The role of informatics teachers is quite significant in this context. Being teachers of discrete informatics subjects, they are unlikely to fully support initiatives that encourage the use of ICT across the curriculum which could ultimately erode the status of their specialist knowledge and the need for their specialist subject (Galvin, 2000; Goodson, 1998; Kennewell, Parkinson & Tanner, 2000; McGarr & O'Brien, 2007). As the computer specialists within their schools, they strongly influence how ICT initiatives are realised.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The development of ICT across the curriculum in Irish schools: A historical perspective

McGarr

2009

Brit J Educational Tech

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This literature review explores the historical development of ICT in Irish postprimary/secondary schools and examines how the education system has responded to the various ICT initiatives and policy changes. The review has found that despite national policy and significant ICT initiatives, it appears that the use of computer technology has instead evolved independent of these changes. The various policy nudges throughout the past three decades have had limited impact on the nature of its use. The predominant use of the technology lies within discrete informatics subjects, which tend to focus on learning about the technology rather than learning with it. Future ICT policy needs to be cognisant of the past, particularly how national ICT initiatives are mediated within schools and the powerful influence of the prevailing ICT culture on external ICT initiatives. IntroductionThe evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has placed continuous pressure on schools to 'modernise' and benefit from their educational potential. Ottesen (2006) argues that expectations of ICT are high both at a policy and institutional level. At a policy level its importance in sustaining competitiveness in the global economy is stressed; at an institutional level it is seen as a potential catalyst for change in education. Beliefs about the influence of ICT on existing pedagogy are quite prominent. Provenzo, Brett and McCloskey (1999) argue that there are a number of questions teachers using technology should ask, they include: how does the computer change the ecology of the classroom and the school? How does it change learning? How does it change instruction? This view of ICT as a catalyst for pedagogical change fails to consider the alternative perspective, that is, rather than asking how ICT changes pedagogy we should perhaps consider how existing pedagogy changes ICT? (Loveless, DeVoogd and Bohlin, 2001).

show abstract

“…Several studies have suggested inadequate, insufficient or unsatisfactory teacher education (both pre-service and in-service) for ICT (LeBaron and Mc Donough 2009). In particular, short-term courses do not provide sufficient support for teachers in their attempts to integrate ICT within teaching and learning (McGarr and O'brien 2007). To establish the type and level of prior ICT, training teachers were asked to indicate previous computer courses attended.…”

Section: Ict Professional Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, research on ICT integration in education shows that it involves a large number of interacting factors involving the curriculum, infrastructure, teacher characteristics and training and development, organisational issues such as school leadership and school culture as well as a supporting policy framework (Buettner 2006;Carr and Chambers 2006;Judge 2007;Hamzah, Ismail, and Embi 2009;Krumsvik 2006;McGarr and O'brien 2007;OECD 2001;Shamburg 2004;UNESCO 2002). Understanding the complexity of ICT integration has been a slow process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping out the ICT integration terrain in the school context: identifying the challenges in an innovative project

Judge

2013

Irish Educational Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article discusses the research findings from the start-up phase of an innovative information and communication technology (ICT) project focused on ICT integration as a complex process involving many factors such as leadership, school readiness and organisational culture. Known locally as Hermes, the project's core objective was to provide an improved and 'trouble-free' ICT infrastructure for schools using thin client technology and a wireless broadband network, which would be managed centrally rather than locally. It was anticipated that this solution would help remove the barriers associated with ICT integration caused by technical issues. Based on an in-depth study of innovation adoption in eight schools involving a survey (n0119 teachers) and interviews (n060 teachers), the study portrays a picture of the ICT integration patterns prior to and during the Hermes intervention in terms of schools' ICT readiness, leadership and vision. This small scale study can help us understand first-and second-order barriers to ICT integration in schools. In particular, this study informs us about the ecology of schools and ICT-based innovation, innovation scalability and contributes to a critical study of educational technology via a context-rich account of how educational technology is actually being mediated, rather than an idealised account of how technology could be used.

show abstract

Teacher professional development and ICT: an investigation of teachers studying a postgraduate award in ICT in education

Cited by 14 publications

References 18 publications

Using Information and Communication Technologies in School Administration: Researching Greek Kindergarten Schools

Using Information and Communication Technologies in School Administration: Researching Greek Kindergarten Schools

The development of ICT across the curriculum in Irish schools: A historical perspective

Mapping out the ICT integration terrain in the school context: identifying the challenges in an innovative project

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About