The case studies carried out in four non-government
primary schools in the ACT aimed to look at the way
teachers were using computers in classrooms in order to
shed light on the factors which may determine how
teachers chose to use computers to enhance learning. The
case study method allowed the researcher to use
triangulation to provide in-depth information about the
processes involved in the delivery of a lesson using a
computer.
The findings were positive in that more than half of the
teachers were found to be using computers at a high level
of adoption, predominantly running simulation programs.
In most schools, this was in spite of either hardware or
software constraints, inadequate professional development
opportunities or administrative obstacles. Whether the
teachers taught in a laboratory or had one computer in
the classroom did not seem to retard their enthusiasm for
finding the best strategies to effectively integrate
computer use.
Cooperative learning strategies had been adopted by most
of the teachers so their transition to computer use was
made easier since their students had already been
'routinised'.The data also pointed to formal Computer Education as a
possible determinant of a high level computer user.
However, research on a wider scale would be needed to
validate the result.
Differences in the way classes were managed in a onecomputer
classroom and a laboratory were evident.
Teachers spent most time with those students working away
from the computer in the one-computer classroom and most
time with those working at the computer in the laboratory
setting. Methods of evaluation were shown to be
necessarily different depending on whether work was
carried out in a laboratory or a one-computer classroom.
Finally, the study pointed to the need for non-government
schools and system managers to begin long-term planning
for hardware and software purchase and resource
management in order to provide teachers with the tools
needed to integrate computer use effectively. Such
planning would need to include provision for professional
development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218684 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Williamson, Janet, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Janet Williamson |
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