Education must evolve to embrace digital technology UC researcher
The full potential of digital technologies as education tools can only be realised if all aspects of education systems evolve together, according to research by Canterbury University academic Professor Niki Davis.
Professor Davis has been studying the use of digital technologies in education for more than 25 years and is internationally recognised as an expert in the area of information and communication technologies in teacher education.
She was one of about 70 invited participants at the International Summit on ICT in Education held in The Hague, the Netherlands, last month. At the summit professionals, policy-makers and researchers discussed the implications of research findings in the field of information technology published in a book Professor Davis contributed to, the International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education.
Professor Davis made a presentation to the leadership group and was also one of 12 experts interviewed on her view of the arena of change with digital technologies in education, the interview featuring on the summit website. On the final day she chaired the call for action on research.
Professor Davis said digital technologies were a way of life in the 21st century and it was important children were prepared for the future by acquiring ICT skills as part of their education.
New teaching methods and learning processes were needed to make use of new technological capabilities but Professor Davis said teachers faced a number of constraints which prevented them from making full use of technology in the classroom.
“The teacher in the classroom is not free to move or make changes independently. They’re like puppets on strings — they can’t move without approval. They are constrained by bureaucracy and bureaucratic processes, by political and commercial dimensions and by the limits of professional development programmes.
“The whole system — everything that surrounds the teacher — has to change along with evolving changes in each class and school.”
Professor Davis said the learning landscape was gradually changing with schools becoming more involved in e-learning opportunities. However, they were still constrained by such things as curriculum requirements and access to equipment and e-learning expertise.
She said obstacles to change included a fear of the work involved, financial risks and the possible impact on the educational achievement rates of students and schools that continued to be measured using 20th century benchmarks.
“We need to recognise the fundamental, dramatic changes that are under way in our ecologies in education. Therefore we also need to develop our research approach and disseminate our findings in a way that is coherent and takes in the more complex ecological view to inform what is going on.”
More information on the summit can be found at http://edusummit.nl/ and Professor Davis’ interview can be viewed online at
http://edusummit.nl/resultssummit/interviews.