Reports

Wednesday June 18 2008

A Guide for Integrating ICT into a Program

Roger De Ladurantaye Educational Advisor, Cégep de Rivière-du-Loup

The Issue
Practical Applications
Useful References
What's new?

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The Issue

IT integration into education requires planning. This report begins in this section with a look at the motivation for this choice for a growing number of teachers in the network. The 'In Practice' section gives concrete examples of this process and discusses a typical integration plan. At the end is the 'Useful References' section with links to documents which provide more detailed information. We hope you find this text interesting and above all thought provoking.

As a further introductory note to the English version, IT has a growing number of titles which can cause confusion. The term IT stands for Information Technology and that of ICT is short for Information and Communication Technology. The two are synonymous. In French the most commonly used term is TIC which stands for Technologie d'information et communication.

WHY INTEGRATE ICT INTO A PROGRAM OR COURSE?

Teachers often adopt ICT into a program out of a perceived obligation to follow a trend or meet the requirements of an academic environment. As information and communication technology has already become part of daily life for both teachers and students; why introduce it into the classroom?

In fact, ICT is already there! Who hasn't used overhead projectors, videos, whiteboards, and printed material? Technology has been helping educators and students in academic activities for a long time. Why then does it seem so difficult to adopt or integrate newer technologies into an education plan - whether they are related to the access and processing of information, communication, the Internet, the Web, or specialized software?

The following text will examine the issue in three steps. First we will see how, within the framework of a competency-based approach, ICT can foster knowledge-building and enable students to be active participants in the process through the implementation of active learning. Secondly, readers will be invited to review their program. Finally, we will address the question of colleges' responsibility to train students in the use of ICT, both according to the requirements of post-secondary education and from a civic perspective.

To support active learning

A competency-based approach requires educators to modify their relationship to students and knowledge acquisition. More than ever, students must take their competency-development into their own hands and be active at the cognitive level. In order to do this, they must process information through research, analysis, making connections between concepts, experimentation, organization, and communicating the results of their inquiries. Students are no longer note-takers; they are researchers who must understand in order to progress. Consequently, educators are no longer the custodians of knowledge who then transmit that knowledge to their students.

In this new context, educators accompany, support and guide students in the learning process. Information and communication technology has greatly facilitated this supportive work for several years now. Since then, ICT has been providing unparalleled support when it comes to feedback, follow-ups, peer collaboration, research and processing of information, to name but a few.

This change in model is very well suited to ICT. Here are some examples of educational practices putting it to use:

Digital feedback through the creation of MP3 or video allows you to provide students with constructive comments regarding their learning process.
Discussion forums and testing software such as Netquiz become invaluable, as do all other tools that facilitate feedback and allow students to progress and work outside the classroom.
Training environments like DecClicII provide resources to facilitate exchanges between course leaders, to file documents for consultation, and to make information available.

In brief, ICT contributes greatly to the success of active learning by encouraging exchanges between students, research and document consultation, and knowledge-building.

To meet ministerial objectives

Since 1994 the collegial network has implemented the competency-based approach, and since then programs have been developed with this in mind. Certain factors are considered during the program-development process, including the integration of ICT. However, after several years of implementation, ICT still has not been granted its proper place. This might be explained by the fact that pedagogical approaches based on cognitivism and constructivism, which better incorporate technology, were relatively late in penetrating the college network. A review of programs' "objectives and standards" to see where ICT might be integrated into the program and, ultimately, into the courses is definitely now in order.

Even if, while revising, ICT is not specifically mentioned in the list of competencies, it may be an opportune time to inquire about its use for achieving a greater mastery over these competencies. Here are some examples:

Educators in Science claim that a mastery of word-processing software results in better formatting of laboratory reports, that the use of an electronic calculator favours mathematical data processing, and that using computerized data acquisition tools allows for a more profound study of natural phenomena.

In Outdoor Recreation programs, accounting may be learned on paper; however, accounting software allows students to concentrate of the fundamental theory of accounting rather than the writing of data. What's more, using e-mail makes communication more efficient in the planning and organization of activities. Finally, using a database facilitates the management of outdoor recreational equipment.

In all programs, students are required to search for information and communicate the results of their research. More than ever, these tasks may be accomplished with the help of ICT. Simply think of the wealth of material on the Internet or the use of databases.

In several pre-university or technical programs, graduates entering the workforce or university will be required to write up reports, manage a budget, communicate information to others, and lead conferences - all tasks in which the use of ICT is becoming the norm.

In summary, far from being removed from the college training environment, ICT is part of the ministerial objectives and might even be deemed by educators as an indispensable training tool if it helps students acquire their competencies. However, this is more easily applied if educators' pedagogical practice is based on strategies inspired by cognitivism and constructivism.

To instill mastery of IT in students

But how far along are our students in their command of ICT? To learn more about this, we might refer to the NetAdos 2004 survey, which reveals the following:

90% of adolescents 16-17 and older use the Internet on a regular basis;
92% of users use the Internet more than books or magazines as a research tool;
90% of those using the Internet as a research tool claim that it helps them to a "great" or "fair" degree in their work.
97% of adolescents are comfortable using a search engine for research purposes;
92% are very comfortable using word-processing software to produce written work;
79% use e-mail as a means of communication;
72% chat, e.g. on MSN
65% claim to be able to learn new software on their own.

Most adolescents, male or female, entering into college from secondary school are at ease in a virtual environment and use the Internet for research, e-mail communication, and live chats. This assessment confirms that ICT is currently integrated into the lives of our college students. However, the study referred to above does not specifically reveal ICT users' ease and competency regarding the more advanced functions required in the regular use of electronic resources.

Our daily contact with college students corroborates the statistical data provided in this study. Our own experience confirms that adolescents regularly use ICT for entirely personal ends. In addition, we no longer need to convince students of the usefulness of ICT in daily life or on the job market.

It is crucial, however, that students also be able to conduct precise research, respect copyright laws, and question the reliability of their information sources. The use of word-processing software is indispensable, not only for producing written work, but also for respecting formatting and presentation rules and for transmitting information using modern communication support systems. The profil TIC et informationnel des élèves (ICT and informational student profile) is a guide for meeting the requirements of research, information processing and communication within the collegial network.

This profile was developed with a view to training college students in the a sophisticated use of ICT. After having analyzed several college vocational programs, and having assessed the requirements of technological training in various anglophone and francophone education systems, a college network team of ICT representatives produced an ICT and informational student profile.

As with any program exit profile, this one sets standards, in this case to train students in mastering information technology, and to use ICT for learning purposes. This will initiate students into document research using proven methods and will encourage them to process information, thus steering them away from the "copy/paste" method that often leads to plagiarism. Students will present the results of their research by using modern communication tools. Finally, the students will communicate and collaborate at a distance in order to benefit from peer support. These are the principal steps in the process.

This is not a question of adding new competencies, but rather of more precisely defining the tasks already required of students. It is a matter of building on competencies students have already acquired, in order to attain the highest standards regarding the use of electronic tools and processing information and communication.

In addition, from a civic perspective, colleges are training students who will pursue their studies at the university level or enter the workforce. By incorporating information technology into our programs, we are contributing to the development of citizens who are aware and competent in their use of ICT for processing information and communication.

A model for ICT integration into a college or program has been developed which takes the three elements discussed aboved into account. The following section discusses concrete ways to get involved in your program or college.

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