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The talk ranged over the progression from Computer Studies in the seventies to online schools using the internet in the nineties.

Summary of my talk:

How Technology Improves Learning

SOLOTEC Conference July '97

Richard Millwood

ULTRALAB, Anglia Polytechnic University

Learning

The model of learning which I have found to help me in understanding a range of learning contexts, is that where there are two main activities for the learner: expression and evaluation. Expression is 'what learners do', ie the mental response they make whilst listening or watching, the speaking, playing, acting and doing activities when young and old, and the writing, drawing and mathematical activities including those related to Information and communications technologies when they become a little more mature. Evaluation is the reflection on their activity which helps them decide they are on the right track. This reflection may be personal based on their own knowledge and experience, communal or social based on others' understanding of their expressions or possibly springing from the behaviour of a mechanism that they have controlled such as a computer. In all cases it is necessary for the evaluation to be timely, although not necessarily immediate and for the evaluation to be of sufficient quality to help move them forwards. Iteration of these two acts is of course essential and may be time-consuming where the learning is challenging.

Programmed Learning (1960-)

In the early sixties, programmed learning became fashionable, in which the learner was exposed to short questions or tasks, answered them and then marked their own performance based on an exemplary answer. The technique was self-paced and suitable for factual or arithmetical style questions. Arguably the scope for variety of expression was poor, leaving many learning tasks out and the evaluation was based on simple comparison by the learner. A particular failure of this kind of learning was that the learner's partially correct answers could not be encouraged and supported as a human teacher might. Finding these devices now is particularly rare, but nevertheless the concepts exist in much software.

The Bingley Tutor is an example of this kind of learning. You can read a question on a paper roll through a plastic window , answer it on the answer roll, wind both forward exposing the correct answer and 'protecting' your answer under a clear plastic cover. A hole in the cover permits marking of your answer before moving on to the next question.

Mark Sense Cards (1977)

In the mid seventies the teaching of programming (without a computer in the school) was attempted by asking pupils to mark with a pencil on mark sense cards. BASIC statements were carefully constructed and the 'pack' sent to the City of London Polytechnic by courier. The following week the pupils would receive a print-out with the message 'Syntax error at line 10', seek the fault, correct it and resubmit. Clearly progress was extraordinarily slow, nevertheless the pupils were excited by the process.

RM 380Z Low Res Graphics (1979)

In 1978, microcomputers came on the scene and I soon found myself writing simulations. My first was of a snooker table with one ball. Pupils had to estimate bearings and make the ball hit the pocket. I was surprised by the motivating effect and the way in which they rushed to the cupboard to get protractors to help them learn the angles. The 'evaluation' of their estimates came quickly as the ball bounced around the table and motivation to continue in a learning cycle was high.

Applications (1984-)

In the mid-eighties, with the advent of mature office software, information technology replaced computer studies and simulations and the applications approach was advocated. This empowered many to be more productive and reflective with writing, data-handling and charting & modelling with spreadsheets. The 'paper-full' office has resulted from so many people's increase in productivity in a range of endeavours. As an expressive tool, the computer has become almost a necessity but the evaluation of work done is by the self and others. This approach was seductive, vocationally oriented and safe, but led to the question: is that all the computer is there for?

Modelling (1987-)

The rise of modelling is interesting because it came from a realisation that making simulations (modelling) is a more demanding but fruitful activity than simply using simulations (other people's models). In this case the computer can help in both expression and evaluation and the activity need not be mathematical in nature. Making Choices is software developed at ULTRALAB to help learners model decisions, think about empathetic viewpoints and consider the consequences of their model. Modelling is one of the few topics in the National Curriculum not to be based in school practice and thus marks a radical educational departure which sadly and all too often is considered to be about learning spreadsheets.

Multimedia & Hypertext (1989-)

In the late eighties, the multimedia computer became possible and available. There has been a flush of good, bad and 'multimediocre' CD-ROM titles, with some resources being excellent and others poor. When learners start to make multimedia some interesting opportunities arise including the development of new literacies. The opportunity found in the multimedia computer to sequence-edit televisual material with the same concepts and skills as the wordprocessor may change understanding of television and film.

Online Learning Communities (1990-)

In the nineties the Internet has enabled the rise of the online learning community. These can be flexible and open offering new opportunities to learners but imposing new inhibitions. Learning can be supported socially where participation and debate are the key elements. Weaknesses include the lack of 'life' and the cost of equipment and connect time but as the various modalities of communication are developed and the community is 'wired' these hurdles may be reduced.

One such online learning community is Schools Online - sol2.ultralab.anglia.ac.uk

Future?

It is difficult to think about a future without online learning communities in which all have an identity and an entitlement to take part. The technologies of earlier times can be subsumed into Internet delivery and more importantly Internet discussion. Providing synchronous and asynchronous access to multisensory resources, allowing continuity to learners who do not or cannot attend school without interruption and making alternative learning styles possible are amongst the many likely benefits. Of course face-to-face teaching and learning will continue with the ICT possibilities providing support and supplement to the 'real' experiences.

Aim: To research the effectiveness of human facilitation and software design to support online communities.

Reflection: Working with Leonie Ramondt, I began to understand more clearly the challenges of establishing and maintaining an online community of practice for learning professionals.

Contribution: I was mentor to project leader, contributor to the online community design and provided technical support for the service. My part: 10% (with Stephen Heppell, Leonie Ramondt and others)

Originality, impact and importance: This project was Ultralab's first to create a community of practice for adults. It informed the design of the emerging UK University for Industry and also many successor projects at Ultralab. (Ramondt & Heppell, 1998)

The idea of a University for Industry (UfI) was a Labour Party manifesto commitment prior to the general election in May 1997, and a central plank of Government policy for promoting a skills revolution.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) had been working on the idea of the UfI for the previous two years. In December 1996 it published 'University for Industry: creating a national learning network' which set out the challenges facing a UfI. The report argued that the UfI should be a 'national learning network', bringing opportunities for learning to people where and when it is most convenient: in the workplace, in the home and in local community-based centres rather than in existing institutions. On-line technologies were clearly central to this concept.

This project was designed to explore these ideas was led by Ultralab, using the First Class computer conferencing software to connect a community of learning professionals.

Further details setting out the projects aims can be found on the initial website.

"This talk describes a simple model of learning and then discusses it in the context of some historical approaches to technology-based learning culminating in the current work at ULTRALAB developing on-line learning communities, and then finishes by proposing some ideas for the future of learning with technology."

My title was: "Teaching with Technology - the Way Forward"

The assumptions and definitions underpinning my presentation included:

and my conclusions:

• We must be responsive to continuing change
• We must organise resources & learners support
• Multimedia computers have a role
• Internet empowers collaborative development

We should provide learning opportunities which are, and continue to be, more responsive to individuals and to technological, curricular and societal change. In order to achieve this, learning resources must be organised, learner competencies identified and guidance for both teachers/tutors and learners developed, to support open and flexible learning.  Multimedia computers have a major role to play both in presenting knowledge, organising learning, communicating guidance and as tools for learners which change our definition of literacy. Participative Internet tools facilitate the natural capacity for humans to collaborate and to react rapidly to technological and societal change, which in part is promoted by Internet itself.

and finally:

• Institutions must commit resources for professional development based on vision rather than demand

Institutions will have to commit resources for the professional development of all its staff and it won't be good to wait for demand from staff who are unaware of possibilities, but better to promote IT based on sound vision (!). Our opportunity is to help learners access knowledge, teachers develop professionally and all to excel through building a learning community with information technology.

I addressed the following questions:

Is Asia growing closer to "Europe'' and if so how?

• Not without human, social or business purposes;
• example: Indian wedding by videoconference.

Is distance dying and why?

• Yes: the potential for a "presence" both synchronously though telephone, broadcast and two-way video conferences and asynchronously through email and world-wide-web internet can give the appearance of its death;
• no: the realities of separation, geographical and temporal still remain, particularly correspondents do not share more than a limited contextual experience.

Who gains and loses by this?

• Losers: technology poor, publishing establishment, disseminators;
• winners: technology rich, information engineers, communicators, democracy.

How do culture and values change as a result?

• New cultures, human desire for community;
• New dangers, common sense still applies;
• Culture and value clashes more evident to all - defensiveness from authorities and awareness promoted to citizens.

What impact does this have if so?

• Permits cost effective communication;
• supports new forms of discourse;
• lowers to insignificant the costs of global publishing;
• permits knowledge transfer to and from all, further democratising knowledge;
• widens choice for services, collaboration and markets;
• sanitises human contact;
• presents a massive challenge to develop protocols for taxonomising, evaluating and verifying authenticity of information;
• shakes up current media world;
• should change our concept of literacy.

The presentation:

Richard Millwood, ULTRALAB

for Colin Harrison

What is it?

• An online meeting place for conducting some of the administration of the University
• Senior management staff - a 'horizontal' section
• School of Education - a 'vertical' section

How does it work?

• FirstClass software
• A design of 'open' and 'closed' conference areas
• Private mail
• Exchange of files as attachments
• Internet publishing

What does it offer better than email?

• Exchange within a group - which may change over time
• 'History' of messages
• Easy access through theWorld Wide Web anywhere

Who else is using it?

• Open University
• Many European projects
• ULTRALAB, School of Education, Anglia Business School, Health and Social Work

Questions

I based my talk on the following assumptions & definitions:

My conclusions -

The National Grid for Learning must:

• permit contibution and participation by learners of all ages, through multimedia
• represent individuals as well as resources, well
• simplify access to relevant resources and individuals

My notes from several sessions made on a Newton:

Thu - Peter Avis

• Head of Planning and Monitoring BECTA
• Harder as we move from schools to teachers to pupils
• Content is the key
• Govt and agency
• Commercial Content
• Public sector LEAs libraries and broadcast
• Free - subscription - advertising - sponsorship
• Football polyhedron analogy
• "How ICT fits in to normal learning"
• Because he didn't talk about new tools and functionality to transform content, he had little to say about new learning

Thu - Keith Brumfit

• Three Colleagues at ITT
• Keith ITT
• Steven Harrison CPD
• Annie Grant Exemplars
• ICT (Support for all learning) v IT (a Subject)
• ICT in "good" teaching
• Follow up discussion suggested setting the agenda for inspection

Thu - Tim Denning

• Pupil survey of school life
• Quantitative survey with Lickert scales OMR + free text
• free text gave interesting answers
• Does computer response make a difference?
• Used Pinpoint Qmark Toolbook
• Same questions and scales and layouts
• Small difference noted - students who answered on computer were more positive about the experience of school

Thu - Barry Wake & Bob Fox

• teachers felt IT
• skills
• enhances learning
• enjoyment
• What about personal ownership?

Fri - Peter Fox

• Stoneage instructionist
• Skills V techniques

Fri - Chris Jones

• Chris.jones@sunderland.ac.uk
• Study of inspection reports in North East secondaries
• Contradictions in the reports

Fri - Jean Underwood

• Assessment through ICT in distance learning across Europe in a range of sectors and contexts
• Questionnaire on the web
• All Subjects except Fine Arts and engineering
• New tools but old pedagogies
• A lot going on across Europe but not in Germany
• Strang in Virgina
• Jean.Underwood@ntu.ac.uk

Fri - Robin Ritzema

• Shite

Fri - Moira Monteith Snook et al

• Dutch model stronger reflective practitioner
• Experimental teacher education programmes
• their 'TTA' not regulatory and formed by HE itself
• Teacher Education needs to put its own house in order

Fri - John Chatterton and Chris Willan

• Persuade students to use ICT on practice
• Used database
• Customer seeks help from hotelier with database
• Students wrote database and do role play

Fri 17/7 ITTE '98 Tony Haskins and Sue Crowley

• Survey on confidence
• "Casual encounters of the ICT kind"
• How to make problems with ICT into opportunities for staff development

Sat 18/7 ITTE '98 Libby Jared and Moira Monteith

• Not a lot about numeracy with ICT

Sat 18/7 ITTE '98 Chris Cloke

• Actually Michelle
• What is pedagogy
• Knowledge
• Aims intention objectives
• Styles
• Strategies
• Assessment and evaluation
• What is progression in ICT?

Sat 18/7 ITTE '98 Chris Yapp

• Social innovation is the key

Aim: To research & develop a toy for use by early learners to encourage learning about learning.

Reflection: In the éTui project, I proposed the ideas of meta-level learning that the toy would foster based on more general ideas of identity, reflective activity and exploratory learning.

Reflection: The guided experiments I carried out in the primary classroom helped me understand the profound effect of participant research and the depth of thinking that an exploration of the unknown can promote.

Contribution: I acted as co-developer of the project's ideas about meta-level learning, mentor to the project leader and other personnel, researcher in classrooms and disseminator of the progress and outcomes. My part: 20% (with Andy Simpson, Dai Griffiths, Stephen Heppell and Kris Popat)

Originality, impact and importance: The project was unique for its design of a mysterious toy which did not represent existing creatures in order stimulate wonder, inquiry and imagination. As part of the i3 research network, it was shared widely to the European research community and generated much debate about early years learning with technology.

This project summary is taken from the original bid:

Project Summary

Objectives

The éTui will be a prototype electronic device for young learners. The learning activities which the device should stimulate are: problem solving, collaboration, creativity and meta level learning awareness. The design objectives of the device to support these are: programming through direct manipulation and iconic program representation; real-time synchronisation between one éTui and another; multi-sensory capacity ( perhaps including motion, sound and vision ) and response based artificial learning.

Results

The project will result in the following:

• A prototype electronic learning toy - the éTui.
• Information from the design stages and field trials.
• A set of specifications linked to learning outcomes.
• Software resources designed for the project including operational, visual, programming and interactive elements.
• A specification for further development based on an evaluation of the project.

Approach

The project will include: four testing stages, software development, hardware development and dissemination. The testing stages will have two distinct research populations: the four main field research sites and an online community of research reference sites. The four stages of testing will be for the conceptual visual designs, the conceptual physical designs, the conceptual software design and the final prototype. Ultralab will coordinate the project, create the research infrastructure and undertake work in conceptual software design and conceptual hardware design, the last two in conjunction with Apple. Conceptual visual and physical designs will be managed by Pompeu Fabra.

Outcomes and Impact

We expect the éTui to engender a new philosophy for creating toys for young learners, one which will make the process of fully exploring such a device intuitive and flexible. The information gathered from the field testing stages should create further debate in this area and also inform design goals for further prototypes. This information linked with the specifications and the software resource should make a firm foundation for further work in iteratively testing and designing the éTui.

Dissemination

Information about the project and project results will be communicated through a variety of channels. These channels will include the world wide web, popular television or printed media and publication. There will be a site dedicated to the project on the world wide web which will describe results and show the current stage of the project. Specific outcomes may be prepared for television broadcast and/or publication.

I led a workshop too on issues that the participants were concerned about in facing the future:

• The rôle of the LEA (lack of leadership)
• Resistance from staff
• Lack of funding
• Lack of funding and devolution of spending
• Feeling of being behind with your equipment
• Technical support
• Inequality of resources between schools
• Inequality of resources between schools and phases
• Inequality of access between kids
• Access for kids in the classroom
• Computer suites AND computers in classes
• Discrepancy with the workplace
• Discrepancy with home equipment and schools
• Inequality of access between kids and neighbourhoods
• Training for teachers and managers / heads
• Training which is focussed and in school
• Staff need time to 'play'
• Personal ownership of computers
• What is the aim?
• Resourcing extremes
• Appropriate & timely staff training
• Technical support
• Action plan over what time scale
• Time
• Haphazard provision
• Assumptions and terminology

My presentation on our work:

Work in progress:

1990 Research by Dr Mike Turner shows NQTs' inaccurate in self-image - good teachers felt inadequate, poorer teachers complacent

1992 A paper booklet and HyperCard stack form an interactive framework for profiling

1994 Evaluation with students, Research Assistant interviews and surveys shows that students find reflection challenging

1996 Database of statements from course docs past, present and future provide sixty four competency statements (from ninety nine) categorised using a model of competence

1998 Latterly the world-wide-web provides a more available, cross platform method of dissemination.

1999 - NOW - wake up at the back!

Questions:

• how can teachers' trust an online system?
• what do we think about statement banks in the light of interactive judgements?
• what statement bank could support lifelong profiling?
• should the statement bank be huge and redundant, involving students selection of statements to reflect on?
• how can all this become an organic bottom-up development for the whole community?