Action Enquiry for School Improvement ISM3205

SID 01652831/1

Computer Supported Collaborative Work

Environments: A critical evaluation of
student experience

ISM 3205 SID 01652831/1 2002

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Research Area:

ICTs and their impact on education.

Research Focus:

A critical analysis of Computer Supported Collaborative environments (CSC),

their use in student motivation and learning experience.

Title:

Computer Supported Collaborative Work Environments: A critical evaluation

of student experience

Rationale:

The increasing pressure from all parties to use ICT effectively in the classroom

and to ‘skill’ the flexible workforce of tomorrow is felt by all teachers. The recent

government initiatives such as the National Grid For Learning (Ngfl) and

publications such as ‘Connecting the learning society’ and ‘Transforming the way

we learn’ all point to case studies where ICT is used to great effect to enhance

learning and bring a wealth of resources into the classroom. The present and

past governments high hopes for a new education system with ICT at its heart is

expressed in these documents.

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‘We intend to lift educational standards in Britain to the level of the best in the

world. This will mean making the most of technological change. Technology has

revolutionized the way we work and now is set to transform

education….Standards, literacy, numeracy, subject knowledge – all will be

enhanced by the Grid and the support it will give to our programme for school

improvement’ (Blair 1997)

The present Labour government has put together a series of strategies to try to

integrate ICT into the education system. Leask (1998), as part of the Teachernet

UK initiative, lists many strategies, which encourage whole system change at

Local, National and School level:

Local Education Department for Internal school

Authority (Lea) Education and Science processes

(Dfes)
Policy development Circulars

OFSTED/HMI reports
Networks Legislation Planned INSET days
INSET Guidance Work with Higher

education Institutions

(HEI)

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There are issues with these, like all strategies and criticism of the standard of ICT

provision in today’s schools still exist.

“Support for schools needing to improve their provision of information and

communication technology (ICT) was found to be one of the weakest aspects of

the work of the LEAs - only 5% were judged to be good, and 67% were

unsatisfactory”. (Ofsted LEA findings, BBC,2001)

ICT has perhaps not delivered the promise that Tony Blair and the many case

studies in glossy brochures from system suppliers or ‘national guidance’

documentation seem to have promised. It may be that like the technology

adoption model itself (Davis, F.D., Bagozzi, R.P & Warshaw, P.R. 1989), the

initial phases of ICT development within our education system have to go

through some trials and tribulations before making any true impact. The

saturation level of home computer use and Internet connections may have more

to do with ‘adoption’ of this technology than anything else. The level of home

computer use has grown over the last year to 10.7 million households with

access to the internet in 2002, this is 42% of UK households which is over three

times the number in 1999 (National Statistics Office 2002) These statistics

themselves show that as saturation of computer technology increases rapidly,

The affect of this growth will be felt in educational systems and educational

culture change.

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New emphasis on developing materials, which cater for, preferred learning styles

and an awareness of successes in accelerated learning practice has caused

many schools to look at their delivery methods of course materials and the

phrase ‘life long learning’ is being used by every stakeholder in education from

government to teacher associations. Motivation as a catalyst for a learning

environment is even more relevant in a society where statistics seem to imply

that disaffected truants are increasing.

‘The audit commission says some 12,000 children a year are permanently

excluded from school and a further 150,000 are excluded temporarily…. The

commission also says that each year a million of the 8m children in our schools

will be absent without authorisation’. (Educational Guardian 2000)

Are these subjects’ just disjointed thoughts or is there a commonality

between them in today’s education system?

What happens when ICT is used to focus collaborative work with students? Can

ICT be used to effectively address some of the issues outlined above? In this

study I will aim to critically analyze the use of ICT in developing collaborative

communities at secondary school level.

Indicative Bibliography:

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Daniels, H. (2001), Vygotsky and Pedagogy, Routledge Falmer,UK.

ICT,Pedagogy and the Curriculum edited by Loveless, A. and Ellis, V. (2001)

Routledge Falmer UK

Kember, D. (2000) Action Learning and Action Research, Kogen Page, UK.

Mconnell, D. (2000) Implementing Computer Supported Cooperative Learning,

Kogen Page, UK.

Monteith,M, in IT for Learning Enhancement edited by Monteith, M. (2000),

Intellect, UK.

Bowring-Carr, C. & West-Burnham, J. (1997) Effective learning in schools: How

to integrate learning and leadership for a successful school, Financial Times

Pitman Publishing, UK.

Distributed Learning: Social and cultural approaches to practice edited by Lea,

M. & Nicholl, K. (2002) , Routledge Falmer, UK.

Research Questions/ Concern/Opportunities:

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Concerns:

1.Time allocation of GNVQ and Applied GCSE courses are a concern for me.

2.Motivation issues of some learners on compulsory ICT courses.

Opportunities:

Successes in the use of accelerated learning practice and recent personal

research in collaborative environments and preferred learning style have given

me opportunities to reflect on the teaching and learning in my classroom and

outlined possible opportunities for ICT use.

Research Question:

Can the use of Computer Supported Collaborative Work Environments (CSC)

enable students to work more effectively and help address some of the concerns

that I have shown above?

Professional Biography

I have been working as a teacher for sixteen years both in the UK and the

Bahamas. I have predominately worked in Sussex schools for two LEA’s and

have recently concentrated my efforts into ICT education from a broad

Technology background teaching Design & Technology, Food Technology, ICT

and Business Education. I started using computers whilst at school. As a student

in the heady computer age of 1976-83 I used old terminal keyboards and cup

modems to send 20 line basic programs to the gas board mainframe to process

overnight in their ‘slack processing time’. The immediacy of ICT use was not

really available then, having to go back to the terminal keyboard re hook the cup

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modem and download the print off of the processed program the next week. The

usual message was ‘unknown error on line 18’.

I progressed from these early idiosyncrasies to Amstrad word processors,

Apricots, Sinclair spectrums, Acorn Archimedes and Apple Macs to the job I hold

now which is to oversee ICT education for staff and students at a technology

college. This life long interest in computers has within the last 6 years taken to

higher levels with interests in collaborative working, dynamic websites and

learning through the use of ICT’s. I have started to learn more about learning in

the last 5-6 years than was ever taught to me on my PGCE course or imparted

whilst teaching with others. I like many others were one of the embarrassed

majority that raised their hand in a learn to learn campaign conference when

asked “ who did not learn about multiple intelligences, basic brain science and

accelerated learning on their teacher training course?” A new interest in these

matters and their application through the medium of ICT’s is what brings me to

this work. I also reflect on my own learning over the years and wonder what it

took to make me into the ‘life long learner’ that I am today. The immediacy of

modern ICT seems to be a far cry from the good old gas board mainframe days.

What information shall I need to day? I discuss this with myself briefly before

switching on my laptop radio networking into my home broadband connection

and logging on to check email, discussion zones and news. I turn to my Internet

browser and punch in the keyword search ‘home wine making’.

Literature Review:

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This study aims to look at the issues of computer use in specific relation to

computer supported collaborative work environments (CSC). The effect of their

use on learners and the increased flexibility they can give to increasingly

pressured curriculum time will also be a focus. The attitudes and perceptions of

the users and the designers of materials to be used via CSC are also critical to a

successful introduction to this type of paradigm shift in education systems.

I will try to outline the ‘future schooling’ ideas from various writers, which give us,

a prospective view of the context within this work is being written.

I have produced brief synopses of theories of thought which come in to play

when thinking about my concerns. These range from ‘classic’ educational

psychology and the differences in independent and collaborative learning to

motivational theory. I have tried to end this review with positive case studies of

CSC at work within a learning organization but because of the lack of British

research this is mostly within the American education system or in higher

education.

Worldview and the knowledge economy

We live in a world that has changed dramatically over the last twenty years due

to technological advancements. It has been said that our education systems

were built on a worldview, which emanates from Descartian philosophy and the

age of enlightenment to Newtonian science. (Bowring-Carr & West-Burnham

1997)

Our world is changing and our education systems, which are still based on 30-

year-old theories, are developing to match these changes, sometimes willingly

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and sometimes not. At the very heart of all this change is learning. Learning for a

post-modern society where more than one career is expected in one's lifetime

and leisure activities are seen as perhaps not just important but vital to one's

personal growth and both mental and physical health. The term 'life long learning'

was used by the UK government in a seminal paper in 1997 ‘Connecting The

Learning Society’ (DFEE 1997), as part of a New Labour government in the early

nineties and this is still a mantra that is chanted by both government and non-

government organisations (NGO) regularly. The essence of this phrase is

perhaps founded in organisational management writings such as Peter Senge's

'The Fifth Discipline (1993) and Boydell & Pedlar 'The learning company' (1997).

It is, in my opinion, a realistic view of how our post-modern education system is

developing in the UK. Life long learning, independent learning or pupil Centered

learning are all phrases that any education establishment has heard for the last

two to three years, but what is actually meant by these phrases and how do we

develop our students skills to fit into these new concepts of educated individuals?

There is a challenge to accepted modern concepts of knowledge management

through primary and secondary education. The modern concept of this is that

government hierarchies produce a treatise on a common curriculum which

outlines the knowledge needed by a child leaving the education system (National

Curriculum).

There is a groundswell of thought about such a concept and a recent set of

papers on knowledge management by the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development suggests these concerns.

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‘We are moving into a ‘learning economy’ where the success of individuals,

firms, regions and countries will reflect, more than anything else, their ability to

learn’ (OECD, 2000:29). These trends, OECD point out elsewhere, raise

‘profound questions for the kinds of knowledge pupils are being equipped with

and ought to be equipped with, by schools’ (OECD, 2001:29).

The concept of the knowledge community needs to be adopted by our education

system. Does this mean that the world that we live in has far less set rules and

'knowledge needed by a child leaving the education system' is a far less obvious

collective than once was thought.

'The post modern says that knowledge is relational, is contingent upon the

people within the discourse, and is vital and changing'

(Bowring-Carr & West-Burnham 1997)

The world we live in economically is dynamically changing too. The flexibility in

job structures can give businesses the flexibility and therefore competitive edge it

needs to succeed. The technology being some of this flexibility is of course the

computer generated communication infrastructure now enveloping our world.

This means that you do not necessarily need to travel to work (tele-working) and

you could possibly even work for a company in a different country. These

concept are supported by management visionaries such as Drucker(1993),

Handy(1994) and Head(1996).

“Value is now created by ‘productivity’ and ‘innovation’, both applications of

knowledge to work. The leading groups of the knowledge society will be

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"knowledge workers" … The economic challenge … will therefore be the

productivity of knowledge work and the knowledge worker”.

(Drucker, 1993)

Businesses and economies are using this in-built flexibility to cut costs and

develop highly flexible business structures.

Schools and their curriculums must address the economic changes that are

occurring within our world, if we are to deliver an education system which is

prepared for the knowledge economy of tomorrow.

Attitude and perception

Attitude and perception to CSC is an important catalyst for the acceptance of this

type of technology into our post-modern school. We can see that if we believe in

the concepts of knowledge construction and social learning that the use of CSC

could be key to being the hub of a knowledge community. Students’ attitude and

perhaps more importantly teacher perception and willingness to change styles of

working are critical factors in the introduction to these concepts. (Gow & Kember

1993).

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Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning is a phrase that has been used to group together some of

the concepts above.

'acting together, in a coordinated way at work, or in social relationships, in the

pursuit of shared goals, the enjoyment of the joint activity, or simply furthering

the relationships' Argyle (1991)

CSC helps to provide a framework for good cooperative learning and gives

teachers with little technical expertise assistance by using readily available

templates.

CSC could be the catalyst for students taking control of their own learning and

the ground swell of research suggesting that this type of technology is a vital

empowering stage in post-modern education is convincing

Behaviourism

This basic understanding of acquisition of knowledge through conditioned

behavior seems a little simplistic but has some historical context within

educational technology use. B.F. Skinner (1953) was a key player in trying to

relate the conditioned response from animals to humans. The Skinner box was

an experiment where an animal such as a rat was subjected to various stimulus

response tasks and these founded Skinners writings on ‘operant conditioning’.

Skinner is heavily criticized today but we can see that this essentially was

perhaps one of the first uses of a technological learning tool, the Skinner box.

From the behaviorist era grew the question ‘will teachers eventually be replaced

by machines?’ It also led to ‘media centers’ being introduced into schools and

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industrial training establishments as a source of centralized technology based

development tools. Software used for Computer aided instruction (CAI) has been

used for many years but is this ‘drill and practice’ solution that we see in many of

the products on the educational market today developing the skills that we need

in modern education?

Constructivism

The main constructivist hypothesis is based on the construction of knowledge by

peer interaction in cognitive development. By this we can see that constructivists

such as Piaget were concerned with the knowledge construction as being a

series of mental maps or schemas that an individual alters or adjusts as they

develop and come across new experiences. Interaction with others was also a

useful construct arena as schemas could be compared and adjusted and

therefore knowledge reconstructed (Piaget 1970)

Soviet socio-cultural theory

The soviet scientist Vygotsky postulated the ‘ zone of proximal development’

(ZPD). This suggests that the learners’ ability is enhanced when working closely

with someone who is more skilled. Their potential is increased by collaborative

work.(Vygotsky 1978) Vygotsky’s work is involved in most of the work

commented on below where ‘cultural tools’ are seen as essential to the type of

collaborative learning that takes place. These cultural tools could be signs,

language, books, diagrams, schemas, art and computers. The core of Vygotskian

theory has been developed by others and is having an effect on postmodern

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educational thought. Activity theory (Daniels 2001) is one such development

where, from initial ideas by Vygotsky and Leont'ev , a theory or set of principles

have emerged which seem to tie some of the above together. It is within these

areas of constructivism that is perhaps the key to computer environment use.

The concepts of knowledge construction in this way is one which I can relate to

actual practice. The further analysis of the role of cooperation and collaboration

is a key focus for this work.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

‘The process by which the social becomes the physiological is called

internalisation: the ‘individuals plane of consciousness’ (i.e. higher cognitive

process) is formed in structures that are transmitted to the individual by others in

speech, social interaction, and processes of co-operative activity. Thus,

individual consciousness arises from the actions and speech of others.’

(Tharpe & Gallimore 1988)

Tharpe & Gallimore (1988) describes some of Vygotskys theories on the ZPD

and extends these with a four stage schema that shows progress through the

ZPD as follows:

Stage one: Performance is assisted by more capable others

Stage two: Performance is assisted by self

Stage three: Performance is developed, automised and ‘fossilised’

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Stage four: De-automasation of performance leads to recursions back through

the ZPD

Tharpe and Gallimore’s extention of Vygotsks’s theories help me to relate this

type of theory to actual practice. I can see this model every day in my classroom

and also see others and myself taking roles within each stage. I believe that a

better way of thinking of these processes is as follows:

Performance is assisted by self

Performance is developed,
atomized and ‘fossilized’

De-atomization of performance
leads to recursions back
through the first loop

Performance is assisted by more

capable others

We can see that I have developed two learning cycles the larger cycle depicting

the normal process of cooperative/collaborative learning. The learner acquires

new knowledge and reconfirms or ‘scaffolds’ this knowledge by confirmation from

others. The process is then developed and repeated within different time frames

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until eventually the process must be repeated again outside the first circle of

learning as the subject matter changes or ‘new ways’ of learning occur.

Communities of practice and Situated cognition

Activity theory and the work of Leont'ev and Davydov (Daniels 2001) has been

developed and used by others to form understandings of socially mediated

learning. Learners are part of a knowledge community. Communities or

collectives have within them embedded knowledge or practices and learning is

the process of entering these communities. This could also be looked on as a

form of apprenticeship where the learner can take various roles within the

community. This type of paradigm of learning can be seen in the work of Lave &

Wenger (1991), Scardamalia (1994). This also is working within the ZPD.

Saloman & Perkins (1998) describe four meanings of what we could call ‘social

learning’:

1.Social mediation

Here a person or a group helps an individual to learn. A teacher might help a

student with a particular learning problem. A group might help a member deal

with their own, individual learning.

This is a key concept to the work I will carry out. The social dynamics of my

teaching groups are affected by the way that they perceive each other and their

relationships with others and myself. This can have affects on learning such as a

student not asking for help when they require it or not answering a question in a

classroom situation because they need to think it through more thoroughly.

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2. Social mediation as participatory knowledge construction

Here the focus is on participation in the social process of knowledge

construction. ‘Social mediation of learning and the individual involved are seen as

an integrated and highly situated system in which interaction serves as the

socially shared vehicles of thought. Does this mean that the individual can just

learn from his peers and does not need any facilitator such as teacher, coach or

parent? I am wary of this concept of learning in isolation. Perhaps the initial

intension for computer use in education was just this but I would envisage the

use of Computer supported collaboration as enabling this concept and more.

3.Social mediation by cultural scaffolding

Here the emphasis is on the use of tools (necessarily socially constructed) in

mediating learning. Tools and artifacts such as computers and books ‘embody

shared cultural understandings’.

Again this seems to point to learners constructing knowledge without facilitation

or guidance.

4. The social entity as a learning system

The focus here is on learning that occurs in groups, teams and other collectives,

e.g. the ‘learning company’. The learning that takes place in collectives concerns

the development of that collective, bringing about changes in its under-lying

values, beliefs, culture and norms.

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These theories of learning within social groups are to some extent what our

model of schooling is today. There is some criticism that learning that takes place

here is not the same as learning that takes place in other areas of our culture.

Learning in schools needs to be more realistic then, using real sources of

information and up to date tools. This ‘collaborative knowledge building’

(Scardamalia 1994) is exactly what my concern is about. Could the use of an

online collaborative environment within the everyday culture of my classes start

to give solutions to the concerns already stated? The references above all point

to the powerful need for more connected thinking between class individuals and

the teacher. It is possible that this type of social interaction cannot take place

within the current timetable restrictions of face-to-face meetings for one hour per

week. I have already in previous work realised that there is a great potential for

learners and teachers interacting and making quality ‘connections’ in a non face-

to-face environment especially when is asynchronous (Thomas 2001). Learning

to be a social learner is an important aspect of Salomon and Perkins thoughts on

social learning. Is this a key concept within my work? Can the use of CSC help to

develop social learning skills?

Motivation

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Motivational issues within my classes are also related perhaps to the lack of time

within courses. I have also found through earlier work that using online

environments can motivate students.

Motivational theory has been well documented over many years. The following is

a brief outline of basic concepts of motivational theory, which affect the learner

and factors that could possibly be altered by the use of CSC environment. We

understand motivation in its most simplistic terms but perhaps we need to look

more closely at it to discover some of the effects mentioned above. Motivation

can be divided into two categories: Intrinsic and extrinsic (Deci & Ryan 1985).

Intrinsic motivation is a natural tendency to seek out and conquer challenges as

we pursue personal interests and further our capabilities, intrinsically motivated

learners do not require incentives as the activity itself is rewarding. As a

classroom teacher I see this form of powerful motivation time and time again

within learners who have interests in a specific topic or can make connections

with a specific task. Extrinsic motivation can be seen when we do something for

reward or to avoid punishment.

Motivational theorists have predominately fallen into two main categories of

behaviorist and humanistic. The behaviorist view is once again, as we concluded

from the work of Skinner, a simplistic one. Motivation is split into rewards and

incentives. Rewards are objects or events supplied as a result of particular

behavior and incentives are events, which discourage or encourage behavior.

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From this we can see that the predominant behaviorist view is one of extrinsic

motivation. This is perhaps the most common method of motivation used within a

classroom situation. Learners are frequently asked to complete tasks with

competition and higher grades used as an extrinsic motivational tool. Detentions

or contact with parents are also used in this way.

The humanistic view of motivational theory has a more complex model as

described by Abraham Maslow (Maslow, 1970). Maslow focuses on the intrinsic

motivational model. He talks about ‘self actualisation’ or the seemingly inherent

human need to fulfill their potential. Maslow ‘s hierarchy of needs is a model,

which is well used within the educational field, and programs of self-efficacy and

personal development have been integrated into curriculums within areas such

as citizenship and Personal and Social Education (PSE). This need to develop

one’s personal skills or interests is also commented upon in ICT motivational

research.

In a recent report Facer shows that:

“In the home young people choose what they use the computer for and they are

thus very motivated to learn to use the computer for their chosen activities.”

(Facer 2000)

This type of intrinsic motivation occurs in most learners when they are to some

extent ‘in control’ of their use of the computer as a cognitive tool. This perception

of how much control learners have over events in which they are involved will

affect their attitudes to ICT use (Cox 1999). Davis, Bagozzi and Warshaw (1989)

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developed the technology Acceptance Model (diagram below) that links the

perceived usefulness of the system with ease of use and attitude towards final

use. They tested this model on a sample group and concluded that perceived

usefulness was very strongly linked with attitude toward ‘intention of use’ of the

system

The Technology Acceptance Model

Perceived
Usefulness
External Attitude Behavioral System
Variables toward Use Intention to Use Use
Perceived
Ease of Use in computer system use as leading to:
Cox describes increased motivation

• A greater interest and involvement in learning

• Greater self-esteem

• Determination to achieve specific tasks

• Spending more time on the learning task

• Trying to do better than one’s peers

• Achieving more control over one own learning (Cox 1999)

Other research findings found that after use of CSC based systems:

• There was relatively consistent evidence of students

showing more interest in collaborative learning.

• The practices of learning and instruction changed

considerably.

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• Students worked in a more self-regulating way, directing

their own projects.

• The amount and quality of social interaction

between teachers and students increased.

• Students developed skills for using information technology

and basic knowledge acquisition. They learned to access extended

sources of information and motivation increased.

(Vander Meijden et al 2000)

The use of CSC then is perhaps extrinsically motivational. There

are some threads above which could be used to develop the

social learner. Schools are social hubs and as such we have a

very good opportunity to use the basic need of humans to be

social and the motivational needs of any individual to develop as

Maslow put it ‘self actualization’.

Actions:

There are a number of actions, which I intend to implement to develop strategies

that may answer some of the concerns, which I have outlined.

Time allocation of GNVQ and Applied GCSE courses:

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The development of using a curriculum delivered mainly through the use of an

CSC environment would mean an anytime anywhere approach to curriculum

materials and the possibility of enhancing learners use of time allocated to them

within the timetable to the full. Delivery of coursework material could also be

digitally handled enabling learners to post finished work for critique immediately.

In built communication systems within the environment would enable feedback to

be given regularly and within a broader time scale than would normally be

possible within the present face-to-face situation.

Motivation issues of some learners on compulsory ICT courses:

The development of the CSC environment to create ‘communities of learning’

which cross inter class and inter year group boundaries could form a motivating

factor. The increased ownership of coursework spaces and availability to

communicate to others asynchronously could form motivating factors that help

create collaborative communities and build knowledge.

Successes in the use of accelerated learning practice and recent personal

research in collaborative environments and preferred learning style:

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Thinking time increases during asynchronous tasks and this has shown to have

positive benefits on motivation and self esteem. Could increased thinking time

tasks help to ‘deepen’ the learning within project tasks? Learning by doing or a

constructivist approach is very much to do with vocational courses and

accelerated learning practices, would using a CSC based environment allow

these skills to be developed further. The use of multi-media such as graphics,

audio and Video within the capabilities of the CSC environment would cater for

preferred learning style and form powerful scaffolding structure tools.

By using a CSC environment to implement courses in ICT as a subject area I

hope to address concerns shown and form a development cycle for this type of

e-learning within my institution.

Methodology:

Data collection methods:

Data will be collected from a sample group of year 7 and 8 learners. These

students are of mixed sex and socio-economic groups. Data used will be

observation notes, which will be annotated through out the project period and

also observational logs of changes made to the CSC environment by students. A

general computer attitude questionnaire will be used to give a background

understanding of the groups’ tendency toward computer use and likes and

dislikes about schooling. Sociometric survey will be used to give an indication of

any sociometric changes possibly effected by the CSC use. This includes the use

of a survey instrument which is computer based called sociometry plus based on

the work of Mareno (1960)

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Resources:

Think.com will be the CSC environment of choice used within this study. I have

used other forms of managed learning environments (MLE) such as blackboard

and php scripted, database back ended websites. Think.com gives a purpose

built interactive environment with a good range of multimedia tools and

communication devices.

Ethical Issues:

Parental consent will be sought from the target group as a matter of courtesy

and also to enable learners to develop within the current school policy of Internet

use. The target CSC environment also has a strongly developed user policy and

guidelines for safe use of chat systems which are within a ‘walled garden’

security system.

Timescale:

The research will take place over a period of one term lasting approximately six

weeks

Data analysis:

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The group sampled produced results, which show that they were of average

attitude for their age group with regards to computer use and schoolwork.

Many students felt that the use of CSC environments and working online

helped them with their schoolwork and motivated them to complete

homework etc. Observed use of the CSC was exponential in growth

throughout the period of research. Students enjoyed being able to act as

peer teachers and related the opportunity to teach other students how to use

parts of the CSC environment. Work posted on the system could be easily

commented on and students sometimes enjoyed the quick individual

response from teachers but equally realised the importance of peer

interaction and even the odd comment from other students from the wider

Think.com community.

Transfer of teaching materials from home to school environment was made easy

using this system and some good parental interaction could be encouraged

because of the ‘public’ nature of the teaching materials.

Results with student motivation were encouraging with even the most dissident

student using the system initially for play and later with confidence in new skills

for work tasks.

The sociometric analysis although ‘raw’ in nature and open to many factors that

could effect results pointed to an increase in positive relationship change to

students that would not normally contact each other outside of school hours or

communicate at a classroom group level.

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The elements of bias that could enter into these finding are numerous. I make no

apology for a personal perhaps anecdotal view of answers to my concerns. I

have tried where possible to give an objective view of the results gained although

I am aware that the largest bias of all could simply be brought into the discussion

by me. I am a Technologist by heart and nature I embrace technology and

marvel at it’s power. I have used ICT for many years and consider myself to be at

the end of the technology acceptance continuum perhaps innovating rather than

adopting. This I think is a very important point borne out be the work of Gow and

Kember and others on attitudes and perception of teaching staff. Are the data

results biased because of factors of teacher perception?

I think a number of points within the observations that I have made are

significantly backed by the literature on this subject. Although as one can

see I have taken a very broad look at areas, which I felt, formed both my

interest and possible answers to my concern questions.

The strongest evidence base is probably both motivational and connected

learning, whether this is through peer interaction or the inclusion of others in the

learning whole. This idea of individuals working more efficiently and finding

increased motivation in a collective is obviously well researched and perhaps is

being backed up now by post modern educational thought on future schooling.

The school of tomorrow will have a very different structure to our traditional

model and be more attuned to the needs of both the learner as individual and the

learner as part of the collective.

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Methodology analysis

I feel that for this study the methodology I chose was a fairly simplistic one. It

could be criticized for a number of reasons. Bias once again does play a part in

this and I would think that again the overall factor for bias would be teacher

perception. I after all have made the observations and only used very small

instruments of research to provide some technical detail or background

information. The original intention for this study was to make the methodology far

more rigid and use a triangulated approach, which included other teachers. I feel

that there is still plenty of work to do within another cycle of action to achieve this.

I have predominately gained most personal knowledge from literature review

reading and the comparison of these theories with observations not only during

the period of study but over the last sixteen years of life in a classroom. If the

study were to continue or be re run I feel that there would be a number of

changes made:

1.Stricter use of research instruments such as questionnaires.

2.Involvement of other teaching staff and analysis of their belief systems and

perceptions to CSC and ICT use.

3.Longer period of research as the study seemed to only really show some

significant developments toward the end.

4.Tighter statistical data collection of parental involvement in CSC use

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Conclusions:

The main conclusions of the work so far seems to be pointing to a number of

clear concepts:

That social learning theory and its relationship with knowledge construction are

promoted by using CSC.

Motivational theory and other research has backed up the use of computers as a

motivational lever.

Accelerated learning style theory seems to be able to be easily incorporated into

using class based and individual tasks via CSC.

Preferred learning style theory seems to be able to be easily incorporated into

the media rich environments involved in CSC use.

Scaffolding

This seems to be a major part within the Vygotskian root of my use of CSC. I

intended to use the CSC interface to scaffold tasks for the learner. By this I mean

that, as teacher, I could keep a strong focused structure on each task by using

CSC tools and therefore control the learning of the users. This form of supporting

structure or scaffold seems to be key. The concept of vygotskian ZPD is also the

focus here as the students and I are part of this Zone.

What does my data show?

Some conclusions from observations of using CSC over a brief period have

confirmed opportunities for various parts of a learning community to develop

within their individual roles and perhaps for better partnerships. Some of the

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individuals below have been significantly affected by using CSC based

environments:

Individuals or groups affected by CSC based classroom use:

Student learners

Class teacher

Other teachers from not only the department community but others within the

school and possibly others from outside the school (direct contact with the

learner)

Parents through dialogue with the teacher (this could be more frequent and

specifically focused on work tasks as there is a better understanding of the task

at hand)

Parents with dialogue with student learners(this is enhanced because of the

access to work tasks and stimulus materials available through the CSC and also

work of other students and teacher comments )

Learner to learner collaboration with some reciprocal teaching not only over class

community but a wider community whole year group, whole school.

From this we can see that the CSC environment can be a major tool in helping

create a community of good practice, which relies heavily on collaboration

multidimentionally. The scaffolding systems within its structure help to focus and

motivate student learners and also help to develop teacher and parent learners.

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The possibilities for reciprocal teaching with student learners are extended and

the mix of learner ability and preferred learning style is strengthened by the semi

open accessibility of CSC use.

The make up of this community is extended somewhat from normal traditional

classroom based methods as follows:

Individuals or groups affected by traditional classroom:

Students learners

Class Teacher

Other teachers within the department (no direct contact with learner but more of

a focus on the teaching side of things)

Parents through dialogue with the teacher (very infrequently)

Parents with dialogue with the student learner (parents find it difficult to compare

student to student and also some times do not see the work of their children for

various physical and cultural reasons)

Strategies for Change and Improvement

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The direct outcome of observations from this study has led to the introduction of

the E Learning Portal (ELP) at Ringmer Community College and the

introduction to Think.com as a CSC environment to over 600 students. It

confirms that much of my casual observations over some years have

some sound theoretical backgrounds and could possibly not only answer

concern questions directly but also form a large step for the future of the

college and it’s learning community. The introduction of a new Applied

GCSE again in a limited time slot gives us the ideal vehicle to use CSC

and develop other forms of teaching towards a ‘coaching’ role.

I have introduced the use of CSC and e learning as there are many factors that

could contribute to success such as a 90% ownership of home PC with over 89%

with Internet connection many with broadband. Both our primary partners and we

are laying the foundations in ICT literacy and on the whole students are ready for

a major cultural change in the way that they use ICT’s

I feel that during the study the majority of students felt happier with their course

within the limited time slot allocated to them. They enjoyed the interaction outside

of school hours and this benefit of an increase in work ethos seemed to even

affect the unenthusiastic.

The use of rich multimedia such as sound and video helped to accelerate

learning and teach to some of the preferred learning styles of the students. A

better study of the effectiveness of this will be made during the coming year as

the college will use preferred learning style analysis as part of their pack of base

line assessment data given to curriculum leaders.

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The strategy that has been implemented is based on a strong desire to follow a

postmodern education program (Bowringcarr & Westburnham) and to develop

environments where ‘life long learning’ skills would grow. This development of

collaborative learning communities (Lave & Wenger, Scardamalia) encompasses

not only student learners but also adult learners such as parents and teachers.

The entry into the ZPD (Vygotsky, Tharpe & Gallimore) is encouraged by the use

of CSC and eventual development through the stages of entry as described by

Tharpe & Gallimore leads to the independence of the ‘life long learner’. If I can

truly capture the spirit of these theories then I will have a very valid strategy that

is not only practical as in it makes best use of time and facilities but it also

develops high level learning skills and problem solving techniques.

Learning Outcomes Evaluation

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The study has increased my knowledge of a number of areas, which I use as part

of my professional life. I have increased areas of understanding in social

psychology, which are vital, if I am to make an impact on the environment

within which I teach and lead. I have found a new interest in teacher led

research and concluded that professional and personal credit can be

gained from formalizing a process, which many teaching professionals do

on a daily basis. I have found the process of recording this difficult and

with time constraints in full time employment in a very busy role it is

sometimes hard to keep a focus on what you record. I have a new

perspective on the involvement of other teachers to studies like this and

my findings and I have developed roles within my college in working with a

cluster group of teachers on research projects and sharing developments

on e learning with other professionals in education from the county of

Sussex via co ordination of a local consortium schools group on increased

flexibility.

The process of change is a difficult one and there will be hard times ahead

I am sure when I develop my ELP project to include others from curriculum

areas. I suppose this report is circular in nature and I come back to my

introduction in ‘Rationale’ (p1) where I ask:

‘Are these subjects’ just disjointed thoughts or is there a commonality between

them in today’s education system?’

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I would like to believe that I have come closer to joining the thoughts and closer

to a professional use of very powerful ICT for a postmodern education system.

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