1. Innovative use of ICT in schools based on findings in ELFE project (The European e-learning Forum for Education)
Ulf Fredriksson
Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning, Ispra, Italy and
Mid Sweden University, Sweden
Tjeerd Plomp
University of Twente, the Netherlands
Gunilla Jedeskog
Linköping University, Sweden
Elsebeth Sorensen
Aalborg University, Denmark
Maria Rasmusson

2. Innovative use of ICT in schools based on findings in ELFE project
The ELFE project – a short presentation
Findings from the project
Discussions and conclusions

3. The ELFE project Initiated by ETUCE 2 year project financed by the EU
allow ETUCE and the wider society to get a better understanding of the strengths and the weaknesses of using ICT in primary and secondary education

4. The ELFE project: aims
Aim 1: Analyse and share good experiences and identify good practices in using ICT
Aim 2: Study the possibilities of transferring these good practices to other schools and countries
Aim 3: Create a debate on how the European policy on eLearning and use of ICT in education should be developed

5. The ELFE project Cooperation between researchers and teacher unions
Denmark, Germany, Norway, Portugal and United Kingdom
Three schools from each country
An additional study in Sweden (three schools)

6. The ELFE-project: selection of schools
normal’ - no extra budgets and support
primary and secondary schools
pedagogical innovation
the school as a whole
national trade union representative
three school - one day per school

7. ELFE instruments interviews - questionnaires - documents
principals - innovative teachers - other teachers - ICT coordinators - students

8. Seven questions
What difference does the use of ICT make in schools where ICT is intensively used for instructional/pedagogical purposes?
To what extent are teachers’ practices and outcomes changed?
What are perceived advantages and disadvantages of the use of ICT in teaching and learning?
What factors influence the intensive use of ICT?

9. Seven questions
How are the students influenced by this different way of teaching as compared to the traditional classroom education, both individually and as a collective?
What are the possibilities to sustain and to transfer good ICT based teaching/learning practices?
To what extent did the local discussions on and experiences with use of ICT have contributed to whole school development?

10. What factors influence the intensive use of ICT? (Q 4.4)
Vision on teaching and learning
School’s involvement in other innovations
Leadership style of the principal
Integration of ICT in the school’s culture
Teachers’ professional development
Teacher collaboration
External policies and linkages relevant for ICT use and pedagogical changes

11. What difference does the use of ICT make in schools where ICT is intensively used for instructional/pedagogical purposes? (Q 4.1)
Interaction between teachers
Interaction between teachers and students
Better communication with parents
Other type of interaction with local community
Influences on teaching and learning
New physical arrangements
Increased efficiency of school administrations and effectiveness of school management

12. How are the students influenced by this different way of teaching as compared to the traditional classroom education, both individually and as a collective? (Q4.5)
What students do with ICT
How students experience working with ICT
no hard evidence of what impact the intensive use of ICT in subjects and/or in projects and independent learning tasks has on students
new competences such as being able to work independently and in projects, to search for information, to collaborate and communicate, etc

13. Students show more confidence and have better learning motivation
How are the students influenced by this different way of teaching as compared to the traditional classroom education, both individually and as a collective? (Q4.5)
Students show more confidence and have better learning motivation
Students have no ‘instrumental’ problems in working with computers and more general with ICT
In general students like working with computers

14. To what extent are teachers’ practices and outcomes changed?(Q. 4.2)
Project based teaching
Teachers - facilitators
A variety of resources
More individualised instruction
New competences
Some teachers - forerunners - enthusiasts
Some teachers - disagree with policies of change

15. What are perceived advantages and disadvantages of the use of ICT in teaching and learning? (Q4.3)
Perceived advantages - the use of , problem solving, critical thinking, improve learning processes etc.
Perceived disadvantages - not enough hands-on activities,difficult to work independently, distraction, copying from Internet etc.

16. Influences on teaching and learning Interaction with local community
To what extent did the local discussions on and experiences with use of ICT have contributed to whole school development? (Q4.7)
Influences on teaching and learning
Interaction with local community
Interaction between teachers
Interaction between teachers and students
Better communication with parents
Increased efficiency of school administrators and effectiveness of school management
New physical arrangements

17. Discussion and conclusions: The teacher as the key
The appropriate role of technology depends on the individual educational designer’s/teacher’s views and perception of the goals of education
A conscious choice
Time

18. Discussion and conclusions: “Time” is an issue (Fullan, 2001)
Three stages:
Initiation:
Being informed
Implementation (change):
Fear, risk, etc.
Pedagogical imagination
Competence
Institutionalization

19. Discussion and conclusions: A set of questions for reflection
The role of the teacher/student?
How to balance student initiatives and teachers’ need to control?
Dialogue/collaboration?
How to use ICT to foster collaboration?
Imagining appropriate assessment models?

20. Discussion and conclusions
The findings from the ELFE project are not possible to generalize.
Comparing schools that are supposed to be in the forefront may give some hints about the directions of developments in the involved countries
The differences between the schools in the project seem to reflect the differences between the countries.

21. More information about the ELFE- project

22. Merci
Danke
Thank You!
Tack
Gracias