3.14.1 Infrastructure
Funding was provided for research on the infrastructure of the special schools from the School of Information Systems, Victoria University, in 2005. The research project investigated issues relating to infrastructure for the adoption of ICT to enhance the learning outcomes of the virtual community- namely, students with special needs. The research involved setting up an environment using ICTs to facilitate the communication of students through videoconferencing, email and other suitable programs for students of peer group cognitive ability or function.
The significance of the infrastructure is discussed in a study by Cordella (2008). Issues regarding the adoption of ICT in this environment have been discussed earlier in the dissertation and have been accounted by Bates et al. (2007). Other studies concerning the infrastructure were reported by Moyle (2005) and Shaddock (2007). The OECD (2005) report and the study by UNESCO (2004) as well as Strydom & Thompson (2005), reported that access to computers was limited and this had an impact on the integration of ICT in the curriculum. The key areas of concern were lack of computer rooms and scarcity of facilities (reported by 81% of the participating schools in the study for South African Schools for the Intel@tech into the future) and time constraints, for example one lesson per month for integrated technology lessons, which was an issue in rural areas.
A study by Cohen (2003) reported that most the fundamental use of computers was made by the school administration. The main findings of concern were: lack of technical support (35%); lack of suitable software (48%); lack of admin support (43%); lack of Internet connection (44%); and lack of preparation time (37%). Learners responded positively to ICT integrated lessons. Most benefits from ICT integrated lessons were identified with: high motivation (94%), feedback (90%) and collaborative environment (the rest). In general, the educators summarised the main issues according to the following: the number of supply of computers (67%, scheduling issues (lessons disrupted) (62%), inadequate computing skills by learners (61%) and time tabling difficulties for sufficient access (59%).
Obviously these results identified infrastructure issues that inhibited the proper integration and adoption of ICT in South African schools. The infrastructure plays a significant part and it affects the learner‘s activities. Although policy developments aim to support ICT in schools (with evidence of positive effects) it has been reported that digital technologies are not widely used for students with disabilities in the main stream. The main reasons are inadequate infrastructure and technology, limited teacher confidence, and pedagogical approaches that should be adapted to foster teaching and learning (Shaddock 2007). Cuttance provides an argument in the IBPP28 project for the
development of an infrastructure to support students to access resources, programs and knowledge (DETYA 2001b).
The UNESCO report by Alexey Semenov (2005) describes the following main elements of infrastructure for the introduction of ICT and support: The report noted that the presence of enthusiastic teachers, together with the installation of hardware and software, add little, if support is not present. The introduction of ICT requires establishing and coordinating an entire infrastructure of support. In addition, the report highlights the fact that the infrastructure should be multifunctional and includes:
―technical and organizational support, being educational and multilayered in the school, being present in teachers‘ and students‘ homes, being present in local resource centres and teacher clubs, universities, technology providers, national clearing houses,
R&D institutions, international communities and organizations‖ (Semenov 2005, p
189).
In fact, Cuttance in ―Beyond infrastructure to the enhancement of technology and
learning‖ recommends design of school infrastructure, the structure of curriculum, time
space and technologies to support the school vision and agreed conceptualisation of the pedagogy (Cuttance 2001). The Thinking Curriculum pedagogy at Concord provides strong evidence of the relationship between infrastructure and successful ICT adoption.
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IBPP The Innovation and Best Practice Project- was one of the first large scale research and development projects that focused on innovation in schools, and one of the largest educational research projects undertaken in Australia. (Cuttance 2001)
The literature identified infrastructure, integration of ICT, leadership, administration of ICT and professional staff development, all play a key part in the successful adoption of ICT in education. These areas will be reviewed later when recommendations and the final e-learning model for LD are presented in this dissertation.
In a study by Trinidad & Newhouse (2002), a school plan was proposed for the provision of the ICT infrastructure and policy. The plan also included curriculum development and teacher professional development and support through a four stage approach. Other studies that have examined the infrastructure include a study from Thailand where the implications for school management, teaching and learning and policy were investigated (Rumpagaporn 2007).
The e-learning model that was introduced by Schunck (2001) relies on robust infrastructure. The model allows students to engage (work independently) and have a positive attitude towards ICT and themselves. It also promotes active and autonomous learning through the use of ICT. The teacher provides assistance, advice and suggestions to help students make decisions and seek the information for learning tasks or assignments. The role of the teacher is to facilitate the resources whose access is enabled and managed via the infrastructure (Moyle 2005, Adam et al. 2003, 2007).
A recent study by Meiers (2009) listed the MCEETYA (2007) assessment frameworks
comprising the following six key processes: accessing information, managing
information, evaluating ICT solutions, developing new understandings, communicating
with others, and using ICT (MCEETYA 2007).
Moreover, according to a survey of Year 10 students, 67% achieved the proficient standard and in year 6, 49% of students achieved the proficient standard. These results suggested that students used ICT in limited ways. Specifically the main point that was highlighted was that:
―within each Year level there are differences associated with socioeconomic background, Indigenous status and remote geographic
The latter point highlights the significance of infrastructure for the successful implementation of ICT in education. According to Moyle (2005) infrastructure of schools is an important element as it must support the wider school community, including administrators. It is important to analyse the human infrastructure of schools, so that we can identify fine teaching and effective leadership as these are important factors that affect student learning outcomes. In addition, we must also investigate the organisational structure to evaluate the strategic plans, the visions and directions of the learning communities, as well as the physical computing infrastructure. The physical infrastructure refers to buildings and classrooms as well as the necessary hardware and local and wide area networks that facilitate the interconnectivity of learners within schools, between schools, and schools their communities in a collaborative way. Further discussion on infrastructure is presented in the thesis in Chapter 5.