Rationale

Assignment 3 rationale: Hi guys this is (will be) an extract from my thesis intro which I think ties in nicely with our discussion tonite.

**EDPC5012: Assignment 3**

**Rationale:**
Public schools have now had three years to implement effective teaching and learning programs that effectively incorporate the one-to-one (1:1) laptops. Recent press releases from the New South Wales (NSW) Board of Studies (BOS) indicate that the 1:1 laptop program will continue to run for the foreseeable future (NSW BOS website, 2011). Given this information, this evaluation guide will seek to provide teachers and schools with an appropriate framework to both develop and assess teaching and learning programs that utilise 1:1 laptops. //Specifically, the guide will focus on effective implementation of web 2.0 tools with a view to long-term sustainability of the program.//

There are two key recent events in Australian education: i) ACARA’s release of draft syllabus' for phase one subjects and ii) the commencement of the DER in 2009 ( Australian Curriculum, 2010 ; DETNSW, 2010 ; NSWBoardofStudies, 2011 ). ACARA syllabus' design addresses the significant role that motivation and engagement play in meeting student’s learning outcomes, and the importance of integrating meaningful ICT into teaching programs. The DER is key to preparing students for future study and/or employment in an ever increasing technological world. Australian science teachers are amongst the highest users of ICT worldwide. As a subject science lends itself more readily to the pedagogical use of ICT and it is suggested that science has a stronger tradition of innovation than most other subjects and/or that digital resources are more relevant to the subject ( Ainley, 2010 ). Significantly qualitative and quantitative analysis indicates that student’s understanding of course content and motivation levels improved when ICT was tailored to specific learning outcomes ( Betts, 2003 ).

Despite governments around the world introducing similar 1:1 laptop programs as Australia, their success is often called into question ( Cuban, 2001 ; DETNSW, 2010 ). In large part, critics highlight a lack of improved academic results in response to ICT implementation as evidence for the programs' failure ( Cuban, 2001 ). What is evident, is that laptop ownership in itself will not improve educational outcomes. Successful school 1:1 laptop programs are those which implement ICT in a sustained and meaningful manner, focusing on a range of markers for identifying student progress. This includes, student motivation and engagement, academic results and students' ability for individual and group work ( Coll, 2007 ; Cuban, 2001 ; DETNSW, 2010 ; Gibson, 2004 ).

Research holds that ideally ICT integration into curriculum should utilise the concept of student communities, in which the teacher provides clear design, structure, and direction around a series of scaffolded tasks ( Franklin, 2007 ). Students should engage in both individual and collaborative group work, and the work itself should provide a degree of freedom in which students can progress according to their cognitive ability The program should include, and culminate in a combination of self, peer and teacher assessment that provides students with genuine feedback and a clear path to improvement. Assessment should include a range of performance measures including academic, social and ICT progress ( King, 1998 ; D. Merrill, Gilbert, C., 2008 ; van Merriënboer, 2007 ).

 Based on an extensive review of the literature, a model unit of work might include the following:
 * A pre-test performed to determine students' prior knowledge
 * Students grouped and required to complete an increasingly complex series of tasks
 * Students working on their project both synchronously and asynchronously groups not proceeding to the next task until teacher permission is given
 * <range type="comment" id="277497">ICT and web 2.0 tools used could include: glogster, edmodo, wikispaces, blogs, podcasts, wordle, animoto, youtube
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Although t<range type="comment" id="811546">ightly structured and monitored by the teacher students will be free to be as innovative and imaginative in the design of their online project
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Students will complete a series of questionnaires pre, during and post unit of work, using a five point Likert scale to determine the impact that the ICT has had on motivation and engagement levels
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Students will review the work of other groups and reflect on their contribution to their own group
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">A post-test will be performed based on the knowledge and understanding component of the unit of work to determine student’s knowledge at the completion of the project
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Analysis will be performed to compare pre and post-testing to examine student academic progress

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">The evaluation guide developed in the current paper will provide the framework on how to best assess teacher and school based programs that utilise the 1:1 laptop program. Specifically, the guide will focus on the gamut of highly interactive and contextually-relevant web 2.0 tools that allow for work to be delivered in an environment requiring students to work individually and collaboratively.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**//I have a LOT more info along these lines if required. Tried to summarise what I had.//**