Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
in the current media-centric society provides any insights as to possible differences
in the visual cognitive processing skills and preferences. Given that little has been
done in the intervening years, Kenny concluded that results were tenuous at best,
however, he did say:
No one can deny that television viewing and computer usage have increased significantly
over the past fifty years. But correlation is not causation. Further, no claims can be made
that the cognitive processing characteristics being displayed by today's students are uni-
versal, or are caused solely by increases in viewing and usage habits. It is hard to dispute,
however, that a cultural change is taking place in terms of a transition in which moving
images are playing an ever-increasing role, and a correspondingly lessening role of text in
the communicative and learning preferences and abilities of today's students (p. 56)
Kenny did report that “something interesting may be happening with regards
to a propensity for and ability to accurately grasp and identify fast-paced, multi-
processed visual information on the part of today's youth” (p. 56). He further related
these results to similar observations made in others' studies that evaluated process-
ing speeds for various types of information presented in video format (Kenny, 2002;
Papper, Holmes, & Popovich, 2004; Zillman & Brosius, 2000). In general, we do
not yet know precisely what happens to learning and the nature of interactions in
these new environments.
Focus 3: Management and Technology Issues
While the issues in this topic are not part of the design issues, it is important to con-
sider them when discussing the complexity added to an educational environment
with ICT. In investigations regarding reasons teachers do not use ICT for teach-
ing, many barriers, both intrinsic and extrinsic (Zhao & Frank, 2003) have been
identified. These include lack of time for professional development (McKenney,
2005), lack of teacher training in preservice education programs, general resistance
by teachers to utilize technology (Collier, Weinburgh, & Rivera, 2004; Staples,
Pugach, & Himes, 2005), and lack of technical support (Butler & Sellbom, 2002).
Schrum and Levin (2009) discuss the ways in which the larger culture and pro-
cess of an institution impact the use of ICT, and they suggest that the role of the
leader can either support or inhibit teachers' willingness to engage in this effort.
We know from systems theory that the communication is directly affected and
changed when ICT is introduced, but we cannot forget the other challenges that
most teachers identify as reasons for not employing ICT. These include time, access,
skills/knowledge, and support. If we consider the amount of effort and energy cre-
ating appropriate educational environments requires, then layer on the potential for
ineffective or unsuccessful implementation, it is little wonder that individuals are
reluctant.
We suggest that the context of the school in its entirety must work together for
any real ICT implementation to take hold. If either the school leader or the teacher
works in isolation, it is not likely to be meaningful over time. Both must be working
synergistically; teacher-created teaching environments and leader-created or sup-
ported environments for teachers' creativity concerning rethinking and use of ICT
