Recognizing value of educational collaboration between high schools and universities facilitated by modern ICT

In this paper, we address the problem of an educational gap existing between high schools and universities: many students consider their choice of field of study as inappropriate, mostly due to insufficient information regarding the discipline and the university educational process. To solve this problem, we define an innovative, information and communication technology‐supported educational process enabling various ways of collaboration between high schools and universities. The goal of that process is to increase the knowledge of prospective students regarding the next level of their education. We propose an environment for the implementation of the educational process. The concepts have been verified in practise as part of the Ma?opolska Educational Cloud project across several disciplines. We discuss the achievements of the pilot phase of the project as well as its reception by educators and students. Based on evaluation reports and opinions from both educators and students, we claim that the proposed model for information and communication technology‐supported collaboration between high schools and universities can effectively reduce the educational gap.     

Common needs and different agendas: How trainee teachers make progress in their ability to use ICT in subject teaching. Some lessons from the UK

The paper reports on the outcomes of a British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTa) funded study which explored the views of teacher trainees and their mentors in two different school subjects on what strategies, interventions and resources had a positive impact on their ability to use ICT effectively in their subject teaching.The research aimed to explore both commonalities in trainees’ views of which strategies and interventions had a positive influence on their ability to use ICT effectively in subject teaching, and subject discipline dimensions of ICT use, i.e. the ways in which training needs might vary between trainees in different school subjects.The study focused on the views of two successive cohorts of science and history trainees (133 trainees in all), and 21 of their supervising mentors. The outcomes showed that some important determinants of progression in the ability to deploy ICT confidently and effectively in subject teaching were common to both subject groups, but that there were differing views on which ICT applications offered most potential for enhancing teaching and learning in their subject and differences in their preferred priorities for investment in ICT. The study also revealed that trainees felt that many of the experiences and resources which they had encountered in the course of their training had not been helpful.A follow up survey was undertaken of 114 trainees across six subject areas to further explore some of the findings from the initial survey. The concluding section of the paper suggests ways in which trainee teachers might be prepared more effectively for using ICT in their subject teaching.     

ICT use in education: different uptake and practice in Hebrew‐speaking and Arabic‐speaking schools in Israel

Closing educational gaps between sub‐populations in Israel, particularly between students in Hebrew‐speaking and Arabic‐speaking schools, persists to be one of the priorities of Israel's education system. In the field of information and communication technology (ICT), this goal refers to infrastructure as well as practice, i.e. teaching and learning. A secondary analysis of Second Information Technology in Education Study 2006 study findings portrays a multifaceted state of affairs on some issues, e.g. vision and goals, attitudes on ICT importance in general and as a lever for paradigmatic change in particular. This is contrary to expectations due to the inequality in allocation (mainly of infrastructure) between the two sectors. Arabic‐speaking mathematics teachers indicate greater ICT usage in their target class, while among science teachers, Hebrew‐speaking teachers report greater usage and influence on their pedagogy, indicating innovative usage . Conclusions suggest that further effort is needed to close the gaps between Hebrew‐ and Arabic‐speaking schools as well as collaboration and exchange of ideas, information and educational experience between staff members from both sectors.     

高校计算机专业双语教学改革与实践

本文以计算机专业双语教学课程为例,分析总结了双语教学当前面临的问题,提出了相应的改革措施和最终改革目标。     

‘First do no harm’: Factors influencing teachers’ ability and willingness to use ICT in their subject teaching

The paper reports on a Department of Culture, Museums and Sport (DCMS) funded project which provided modest amounts of time for teachers to be freed from their classroom teaching to explore the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in their subject teaching, and to meet up together to discuss their use of new technology. The funding was sufficient to provide a day of supply cover for two groups of secondary teachers in different curriculum subjects (history and science) to meet towards the start of the academic year to discuss their use of ICT, a day of supply cover to work on their ideas and interests, and a day to meet together again towards the end of the year to share ideas and experiences.     

Digital collaborative learning in elementary and middle schools as a function of individualistic and collectivistic culture: The role of ICT coordinators' leadership experience,students' collaboration skills,and sustainability

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of online collaborative learning experiences on students' digital collaboration skills and on the sustainability of e-collaboration in schools' culture—comparing individualistic versus collectivistic cultures. In addition, we explored how the leadership experience of schools' ICT coordinators was predicted by their sense of professionalism and cognitive, emotional and social aspects of perceived learning (PL), while leading the collaborative projects. The participants were ICT coordinators from 513 Israeli schools; 214 of whom were Hebrew-speakers, and 299 Arabic-speakers. The participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire, which included multiple-choice and open-ended questions. The results showed significant differences between a variety of the coordinator-related variables as a function of learning culture (more individualistic vs.more collectivistic). Coordinators' leadership experience was a powerful predictor of students' digital collaboration skills, but did not predict the sustainability of e-collaboration. Coordinators' emotional PL predicted the sustainability of collaboration in both schools with more individualistic and with more collectivistic learning cultures. The implications of the findings for educational theory and practise are discussed.