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“I have been teaching for 38 years and never have I felt so
excited and empowered by the skills I have learned in the last 6 months. My teaching has
been revitalised and I know my students have never been so excited about their learning.
We are engaged in activities that are purposeful and that meet the needs of to-day’s
young learners. I wake ever morning and rejoice, and the only sadness I have is that my
retirement is looming far too soon, as I feel I have just started!” (Sr Teresa
Murray, 1996)
The statement above comes from one of the best teachers I have ever seen in action - a
bubbly,Josephite nun whose whole life has been dedicated to children and teaching. What is
it that has been so different about our technology program at St.Francis Xavier Primary
School ?- a school of 520 students and 20 teachers from pre-year 1 to 7. We are involved
in a model of change to meet the needs of teaching in the future that is working for us.
We believe that the transition from the Industrial Model of schooling of the 20th century
to the Hypermedia Age model of the new millennium can only happen if our educators are
able to participate more fully in the planning of and for, the change process. So what
makes the difference and what are some of the processes involved in teacher- initiated
change that we found worked for us? Key prerequisites for the success of our Information
technology Program are as follows:-
- Teacher ownership of the program, in that teahers perceived a need for change and
acquisition of new skills. This was accomplished through immersion of staff in the
possibilities that were available for enhancing learning in the classroom and the major
advantages for teachers in working smarter, especially in recording,evaluating and
curriculum management.
- Access to technology hardware, to support their professional development program, and to
deliver their curriculum. In our case the rental of laptops by the staff involved was a
very affordable proposition.The monetory commitment is powerful in enhancing ownership and
desire to succeed with technology.
- Putting in the professional development structures and technical support needed to allow
teachers to grow through this time of change with success. A technology reference teacher
with release time was crucial to the success of our program in terms of teachers becoming
comfortable with, and using the technology.
- Maintaining the vision; a well thought out but flexible, strategic plan that is
constantly evaluated as to purposeful learning outcomes in line with key competancies,
curriculum statements and student profiles.
- Support and trust from Administration is essential, otherwise funding opportunities,
time allocations and internal arrangements with teachers are impossible to manage across
the school.
Setting the stage: Immersion and Seeking a Focus.
The Information Technology program at St.Francis Xavier began two years ago, in 1994, as I
as Deputy principal and teachers began to realise that there was a staff member who was
highly skilled, not only in the use of computers, but who was able to lead staff in
looking at curriculum outcomes using this technology . At this stage this teacher was only
employed part time. She quite happily took on the role of information technology
coordinator and used much of her own time to help a few teachers who were struggling with
basic computer skills and with the integration of software into their curriculums. Like
many schools, computers were not being utilised to their full potential and were often
breaking down and left till someone had the time to attend to them. Many of the computers
in the school had had their day, and new technology needed to be looked at. Our
Information Technology coordinator, in consultation with staff and parents began to
replace outdated machines and talk to teachers about their needs. At staff meetings she
would inform teachers of the latest developments in computers in education and teachers
began their educational journey into technology and its curriculum advantages in the
classroom. At this stage, they listened, watched and began to ask questions such as
“How are computers going to enhance the learning in my classroom.” Teachers also
began to realise that unless they began to move into the world of technology, they would
be soon left behind the rest of society. Much discussion and debate, occurred at this
time.
This immersion, in the latest computer application to learning, over a 18 month period,
proved to be invaluable when ongoing decisions had to be made about starting the school
wide program. Also very valuable at this stage, was engaging in technology orientated
groups such as ‘The Internet Focus Group’ ( a support and information gathering
group of community members interested in the benefits of accessing the internet ) which
provided information about latest developments in accessing the Information Superhighways
- a phenomenon which at the time teachers ,administrators and parents were very skeptical.
The challenge of access to such vast amounts of many different types of information had to
be addressed at every level. Many staff members could see that to make informed decisions
about the use of technology and to be able to tackle the Technology Statements and
Profiles, then they would have to engage in ongoing computer professional development in
computer usage and curriculum design.
In this initial immersion stage, in January 1995, we had a new principal arrive. In
looking back we were fortunate that he had the foresight to support the assumptions of the
value of accessing this technology. As a staff we collaborately sought answers to the
questions and due to the knowledge and professional way staff were beginning to move
toward accessing more computer technology knowledge, he supported the process. It is here
that a critical element in planning a technology program unfolds - without the support and
trust of the principal the mechanics of adjusting funding and workloads, would be too hard
to manage and eventually the enthusiasm and interest of teachers would disappear.
A vision begins to emerge:-
Six months into the new Principal’s first year, I attended the A.C.E.A. conference in
Sydney in June 1995. Our computer coordinator, who was full time in the classroom at this
time, also went to the I.T.E.C. Conference in Sydney. On returning from these sessions ,
momentum began to gather or should I say that the creative and lateral thinking abilities
began to click in. As an administrator I came back in much distress and with real mental
torment. I was frustrated and angry which I believe now came from a feeling of
powerlessness. I had sat for three days listening to much discussion about where education
should be going and what should be happening as well as how inadequate was the use of
technology in schools. (Don’t get me wrong, the conference was excellent in that it
set up many challenges for educators.) I had a peek at another conference next door
involving the Film industry, with all the latest in technology and I thought ,here we are,
educators from all over the world talking about how to move into the 21st Century and I
began to realise that unless we stopped talking and began to take up the challenge more
creatively, we may have quite literally missed the boat!
There however was a shining light -a glimmer into how it could be done - Di Fleming
talking about how they met the challenge at Kilvington Baptist Girls School in Victoria.
It began there with the teachers having individual access to laptop computers. I went back
and had a very lengthy discussion with our computer coordinator who had returned from the
I.T.E.C conference with all the latest news on computers in education and she to felt the
same. When I told her about Kilverton she agreed with the philosophy, but the how to was
still to come. We discussed both our conferences at our next staff meeting and on the
whole our staff were very interested but were not at the stage of being able to visualise
the ‘how’. There had to be a way.
We began to work on three distinct fronts. Firstly, we set up a local Primary Technology
Support Group to gather information and ascertain needs. We needed to have as much
information as possible to ensure we were making the right decisions. Next,we spoke to
Principals and to our Director and Deputy Director in the Catholic Education Office to
gather support and to discuss our vision for education for the future. Once again support
here was imperative to the initial impetus of the program. Thirdly, I contacted our local
computer supplier and discussed the challenge of how to get the technology into the
teachers hands, quickly and cheaply!
A laptop for teachers;-
The ‘how’ began to unfold in the form of rental agreements over a three year
period with options to update the technology after 12 months - this was a very affordable
plan. We believed that for any new project to work effectively, we needed at least 51% of
staff to go with it. At that time we had 19 classroom teachers, and when we put the
proposition to the staff, 10 immediately signed up. Two more teachers signed a few weeks
later after the hardware was delivered, and we already had 4 members on staff with their
own stand alone computers at home. We had also, two other members of staff who wanted to
be involved in the professional development program that our computer coordinator was to
deliver weekly.
Admimistration and System Support.
Our principal and Catholic Education Office were supportive and we were able to procure
funding for two days’ release for 10 weeks, which was the last term of 1995. As our
principal stated in our latest evaluation document:
“This principal approved the program because of his belief that familiarity with
information technology is going to be useful for people of the 21st century as familiarity
with print has been for people of the last half of the millennium. The approach of
empowering teachers first seemed eminently sensible. Computer hardware can take up a lot
of space in classrooms and the school budget unless people are confident in its use.
Information technology is not seen as an addition to the curriculum but as a valuable new
tool in implementing the curriculum.” (Gerard Hore, principal St. Francis Xavier
School, Cairns.)
Due to a few holdups, our program and the acquiring of the laptops, did not happen till
October,1995 at the beginning of term 4, 1995.
Our Professional Development Program.
The professional development program, set up by our coordinator to support staff in the
change process, was called “Bytes and Bites” as we met once a week at 7am at a
breakfast meeting.(It should be mentioned that Professional Development went on all day as
teachers helped each other, and the staff room began to become a place of continual
learning at recesses. Each staff member had a ‘buddy’ who could be called on at
any time,day or night!) Many of the staff met every week during the Christmas holidays, to
continue with skill building.It should also be made known that we also had great support
from our parent body. All during the planning and implementing stages, we kept our parents
informed of latest trends, and we made sure they were aware of our curriculum objectives.
They were appreciative of the commitment of staff in financing their own equipment and of
the time commitment to professional development.
Phase 1,1995 - Developing Computer Literacy.
Phase 1, Term 4 1995, was geared to the skilling of teachers in basic computer use and
emphasised basic program needs. The success of this phase, led to strategic planning for
1996 and this was based on looking at teaching and learning outcomes in the classroom.
This year we were able to negotiate three days a week release time for our coordinator to
begin phase 2 of our professional development program. Term1 1996 saw some rapid and
significant changes in base level skills as well as in attitudes and conceptual
understanding in InformationTechnology among staff. Phase 2 began with the assumption that
creating an environment to bring about a change in teaching practice is a major challenge
for facilitators and participants. For the teacher, it requires professional commitment to
make a change in their teaching practice. For the facilitator, the focus is the needs and
understanding of the processes involved in adult learning.
Technology Embedded in Curriculum.
Before we started the ‘Bytes and Bites’ professional development project in
1995, many teachers realised that the focus of Information Technology literacy should be
to support curriculum outcomes across the subject boundaries, but they did not define how
or why to use information technology effectively in their classrooms. Our chief role as
mentors was to find ways to achieve a balance between moving forward successfully in this
endeavour and in trying to introduce staff to a level of risk with which they could cope
with support, while reinforcing their achievements. The teachers involved in the program
had moved through the novelty stage almost immediately in Phase1, term 4,1995 and into the
complexity stage of Phase 2, where individual teachers had to accept the ‘creative
possibilities’ challenge of technology, not as a means in itself but as a
‘tool’ in the learning process. At the beginning of this year, teachers were
still focussed on the productivity possibilities for their own work and were only
secondarily committed to classroom projects in technology in the immediate future. The
potential for ongoing literacy to significantly impact across the boundaries of key
learning areas and competencies was still largely untapped.
Broadening Curriculum by Student Use of email.
At the end of term1 and beginning of term 2, 1996, our teachers had begun to focus on a
goal of more expansive ‘creative’ concepts of education in a networked society,
rather than just focusing on the narrow vision of computers. Projects such as the
‘ Iditarod Race’( an online educational, internet project involving email) were
an ideal focus for both teachers and students to learn the concept of email, thus further
stimulating purposeful communication skills between different cultures. Many other on-line
projects are now being engaged in throughout the grade levels, enabling students contact
with other classes throughout Australia and the world. Via the internet ,teachers and
students are accessing current information for curriculum use. Teachers are also
exchanging valuable ideas an information from other teachers around the world - a powerful
tool for ongoing professional development.
Accountability and Ongoing Challenge of Tomorrow.
Our parents are seeing teachers, at this stage, striving to meet the challenges of an
Hypermedia Era, and they realise that we are providing, many excellent educational
opportunities on a limited budget. Our school community is beginning to be confident in
the fact that the money is well accounted for but to continue to move forward, more will
need to be forthcoming. We have reasonably cheaply, empowered our teachers with the skills
and enthusiasm to move rapidly forward into a new world of learning and we are presently
thinking very creatively as to how to get the financial means to continue moving ahead. We
are beginning to think “champagne” as we move into the world of strategic
alliances! Never before have teachers had to move at such a rate into the corporate world
of finance, but we are fast learning how, with the help of a very skilled parent
population which we are more than ever calling upon to help us move forward.
A Retrospective on Term1&2, 1996.
We have come a long way in six months, fully utilizing our existing limited resources - 8
networked computers in the library, 2 roving stand alone computers and one school laptop,
one modem, one PPP connection and 7 hours access time a week. We have a computer
coordinator released 3 days a week and 13 teachers with laptops and 5 with other home
access to computers. Together with an in-house professional development program geared to
the needs of teachers, it has been sufficient to propel our staff and students into a new
age of learning. The ‘beer budget’ is rapidly being pressured into extending to
the higher ‘champagne’ category and this is the reality of taking the risk to
move forward, a risk we feel we have to take. |