Computer-Assisted Instruction Research Paper

The rather confusing terminology is partly due to rapid technological changes. At the time when computers were introduced in education, big mainframe computers were still in use. Computers were conceived as being able to realize programmed instruction and to replace teachers. By the twenty-first century, computers have become personal and networked. The potential for education has particularly increased due to the integration of computers with communication systems including audio and video technology. The term computer technology is now replaced by in-formation technology (IT) in North America, or by information and communication technology (ICT) in Europe. The latter term—ICT—will be used through-out this contribution.

2. Views On The Use Of ICT In Education

It is generally accepted that the increasing impact of ICT on our society is also influencing teaching and learning. Some expect that ICT can reduce several problems in present day education, such as the need for individualized instruction and the poor transfer of school knowledge to real life (Sandholtz et al. 1997). Also, new demands from society require education to focus on information management and communication skills. ICT can be a valuable essential tool in learning these skills. Further, in constructivist approaches to teaching and learning, students are held responsible for their own learning. Information technology is considered to offer promising environments and tools to support this process.

The high aspiration level of ICT in education is well reflected in Dede’s (2000) list of ICT capabilities for enhancing learning: centering the curriculum around authentic problems parallel to those in real world settings; involving students in virtual communities of practice, using advanced tools similar to those in today’s high-tech workplaces; facilitating guided, reflective inquiry through extended projects that inculcate sophisticated concepts and skills and generate complex products; utilizing modeling and visualization as powerful means of bridging between experience and abstraction; enhancing students’ collaborative construction of meaning via different perspectives on shared experiences; including pupils as partners in developing learning experiences and generating knowledge; and fostering success for all students through special measures to aid the disabled and the disenfranchised.

Itzkan (1994) made an effort to interpret developments in ICT in terms of educational innovations. He postulated that the potential of technology directs the way education will develop. In his view, three stages can be distinguished. The ‘substitution’ stage marks the ICT applications that are able to automate parts of the instructional process. In this stage, ICT is solely being used as a replacement for tasks of the teacher, with the specific aim to make education more effective, or to provide more possibilities for individualizing education. In the stage of ‘transition,’ ICT is not only used for replacing existing tasks, but it also requires that instructional practices and content are changed. In this stage, ICT applications not only structure the learning process, but students themselves need to increasingly structure their own learning process. In the ‘transformation’ stage, not only must instructional practices and content be altered, but also the under-lying rationale of education should change. An example of the latter is the development in network technology that may result in virtual learning com-munities where students, teachers, and scientists are involved. Such a situation affords greater opportunities for learning to take place in interaction with practicing professionals than might otherwise be possible with a few field trips per year.

3. Applications Of ICT In Education

Early software packages for education were mainly text based and used only simple graphics. In the twenty-first century software is much more sophisticated. Different combinations of modalities— pictures, moving images, sound and text—are integrated into electronic environments. An important development is the increasing possibility to distribute ICT applications not only via stand-alone computers, but also in a networked environment or via the World Wide Web ( WWW ). The teachers involved are able to guide their students from remote locations, creating new possibilities for distance education.

The following types of applications are designed for education.

3.1 Drill And Practice, Tutorials

Software programs in this category serve as an assistant for teachers by taking over some of their tasks. The software often has facilities to provide feedback to the learners and to keep track of their performance. With these applications it is possible to individualize instruction. Drill and practice software is used to automate practicing basic knowledge and skills. Tutorials can be used for learning new educational content. The programs differ greatly in their complexity. However, drill and practice programs are usually quite simple, while tutorials can be very complex ( Watson 1994).

3.2 Simulations And Modeling Systems

Simulations are representations of a part of reality. By manipulating variables in these representations and studying the effects, students can gain an understanding of the reality. Through simulations it may be possible to study parts of reality which cannot other-wise be studied for reasons of safety, cost, required apparatus, or scale. Simulations can be an aid in visualizing abstract concepts. They serve as a bridge between reality and the student’s mental model of reality. Simulations in the twenty-first century are not developed for education only, but also many have been made for entertainment purposes, used at homes outside the school context. With modeling systems students can build their own (mathematical) model of a part of reality. In doing so they may gain under-standing of complex relations. Modeling systems generally do not have built-in teacher control, while simulations offer a certain kind of teacher control through the model, the display, and the framework of interactions (Cox 1994).

3.3 Multimedia Cases

Multimedia cases offer the possibility to study parts of reality by presenting illustrations of real world practice that can be discussed and studied from several perspectives. Multimedia cases usually combine video segments, audio, and textual commentary together with random access facilities and hyperlinks, and so create an open-ended student-centered learning environment. Though used in many fields of study, they are increasingly used in teacher education for studying the complexity of the classroom from various points of view.

3.4 Microcomputer-Based Laboratories

These provide an environment for science education. The computer is used as a support tool for students’ laboratory work. Real-time data collection is possible. It becomes much easier to repeat experiments, to measure different variables at the same time, to use a very short or a very long time range, to analyze data, and to represent data graphically. Instead of spending instructional time on data collection, it can be used for analyzing and interpreting data ( Voogt 1996).

In addition to applications that are specifically designed for education, many generic software tools are available that can be used to support the learning process. Lacking a particular instructional content renders such tools multi-functional. They are increasingly applied as a substantial part of the students’ learning environment, going beyond the function of paper and pencil or a calculator.

3.5 Word Processor, Spreadsheets, Presentation Software, Graphics Software

The software programs in this category are part of the basic application software of nearly every PC. Their use in education is growing fast ( Becker et al. 1999). They support students in their learning process, because of their capability to structure information, and to easily present information in different modes. Research related to the use of word processors in education in particular shows the potential of this tool to stimulate students to write and to support the writing process.

3.6 E-Mail, Videoconferencing, Discussion Boards

This software represents the increasing role of ICT in communication. They have shown to be particularly useful in the design of computer-supported collaborative learning environments (Koschmann 1996).

3.7 Digital Encyclopedias And Databases

This category of multimedia is used as a local information resource, to be compared with the function of the traditional school library. Closely related to these applications is the WWW as a source of information. The multimedia in this category anticipates the major role information has in our present day society. The potential scope of available information requires that students possess excellent in-formation management skills.

4. Current Patterns In ICT Use

A worldwide survey on computers in education (Pelgrum and Anderson 1999) shows a rapid decline between 1995 and 1998 in student–computer ratios in all levels of education. Despite this fact, the actual use of computers in schools is still rather limited. Recent figures from the USA (Becker et al. 1999) show that only about one third of the teachers use computers on a regular basis, although the majority has a computer in their classroom. Remarkable is that software programs used most by teachers are not the programs that are specifically designed for education. From a worldwide perspective, it is known that in all levels of education, word processing is the most popular ICT application used in schools. Only in elementary education is drill and practice software still frequently used. The use of more sophisticated software, such as simulations or microcomputer-based laboratories, are only used in very small numbers of schools in many countries. Becker (2000) found that these kinds of applications are more likely to be used by those few teachers that hold a constructivist teaching approach. However, also among this group of teachers, generic software tools are still used considerably more than applications specifically designed for education.

5. Implementation Of ICT: The Central Role Of The Teacher

There are several obstacles that hinder the integration of ICT in education. An important limitation of many educational software programs is that they are poorly attuned to the curriculum or they only cover minor parts of the curriculum ( Van den Akker et al. 1992). This makes it less attractive for teachers to invest their efforts (and budgets) in applying new media in their instruction. The international study of Pelgrum and Anderson (1999) shows the difficulties of integrating computers into classroom practices. Not only are many educational software programs quite isolated, but it also appears that teachers lack the competence of integrating computers in their instructional processes. Compared to the early 1990s, at the start of the twenty-first century many teachers have received training in basic ICT skills and knowledge. However, very few have been fortunate to receive continuous education that centered on the pedagogical use of ICT in instruction. Olson (2000) argues that the use of ICT in schools often does not fit into the existing teaching culture and that it may even undermine the teacher’s sense of efficacy. The use of ICT often assumes a change in pedagogical approaches and classroom management strategies, implying that teachers have to change their routines (Sandholtz et al. 1997). One possible way to support such teacher learning is with carefully designed and validated curriculum materials that contain procedural specifications in order to guide teachers on essential, but vulnerable, aspects of ICT integration ( Voogt 1993). The impact of this kind of curriculum materials on teacher learning benefits from use and sharing in teacher networks that focus on the integration of ICT in education (Moonen and Voogt 1998).

6. Attainments For Students

It is widely assumed that ICT has high potential for improving education. However, research has not yet provided convincing evidence regarding the impact of ICT on student performance. Until now, most re-search has been restricted to simple drill and practice kinds of programs. In a meta-analysis Niemiec and Walberg (1987) found a moderate effect of CAI on enhancing student outcomes. Other findings focus on other possible student gains, such as an increase in the rate of learning, better retention, and a more positive attitude towards learning.

An important problem in establishing the cognitive attainments for students is that the use of ICT often aims to contribute to the mastery of complex cognitive skills. These types of skills cannot be determined by means of simple, standardized tests. The complexity of the problem is illustrated in the Computer as a Learning Partner project (Linn and Hsi 2000). Students involved in that project did not score better on multiple choice items in standardized tests that required recall, but they outperformed students on items that required interpretation. Yet, the outcomes of the project had much more impact on student learning than could be determined in standardized tests. The project could demonstrate that comparing subsequent versions of an ICT-rich curriculum for science education resulted in a 400 percent increase—over eight versions of the curriculum—in student understanding of the complex science concepts that were dealt with in the curriculum.

7. Research On ICT In Education

Much research has guided the development of new ICT tools for education. These studies are often long lasting, but relatively limited in scale. The Computer as a Learning Partner project (Linn and Hsi 2000) is an outstanding example of such a study that shows the potential of ICT for curriculum and instruction. Over a period of 15 years, an ICT-rich science curriculum focusing on understanding of complex science concepts for middle school students has been developed, extended and refined. Another promising example was the Jasper project in the mathematics domain (The Coginition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt 1997). However, the implementation of such curricula and related ICT tools in typical classrooms appeared very difficult to achieve. Also large-scale survey studies have been carried out that investigated the implementation of ICT mainly with the purpose to inform policy makers. Although these studies revealed general problems with ICT integration, they could not provide concrete and specific suggestions for improvement of the situation. More recent studies carried out by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Organization for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement focus on existing ‘best practices’ of ICT use in education with the purpose to get a deep understanding of the teaching and learning practices that contribute to effective and innovative use of ICT and the conditions that contribute or hinder its implementation. All these studies underline that the integration of ICT use in the instructional practice will remain a fascinating but difficult endeavor.

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