Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
technologymeanthatschools/collegescannotreplaceallnon-technologychannels
of communication with technological ones.
Communication with learners
For some learners technology is a barrier, and paper-based methods work better.
This problem needs to be recognized and dealt with.
Teacher-to-teacher communication outside the school/college
Because of the isolated nature of specialists in schools and colleges, opportunities to
meet and network with colleagues with similar responsibilities are valued and are
invaluable for the sharing of practice. The costs of face-to-face meetings can be high,
particularly in rural areas. Opportunities for online CPD are under-developed. Online
discussions and blogs, while they can never fully replace face-to-face contact, do have
a role to play, and some professional associations are providing online services to
support this.
Teachers contributing to the Leask and Preston (2010) research cautioned senior
leaders against relying too much on e-communications. Effective ways of working
without technology which they wanted retained include:
• pastoralcareandCPDfromoutsidetheschool/collegeincludingsupport
from expert practitioners
• coachingtriads
• CPDthatinvolvesotherschools/colleges
• briefings(whicharebetterfacetofacethaninemail)
• pigeonholes:theseshouldbeusedforsomeformofcommunicationrather
than email. One teacher reported that in the time taken to reply with one
email, a teacher can deal with 10 pieces of information on paper
• 'coffee machine conversations': these are difficult to replicate online
(although focus group members using Twitter say this fulfils this purpose)
• 'offtherecord'chats:theseareimportant,sincemoreemotiveissuesarebest
dealt with face to face; anonymous suggestions can be collected - for exam-
ple, in a box
• 'issuesgroups':thesecancreateideasandrecommendations
• open-doorpolicies:thesearegoodforopendiscussionofissues.
Learning styles and preferences must be taken into account in choosing communica-
tion strategies using technology.
Processes for making decisions to adopt digital tools and resources
Largely because of networking capacity and licensing issues, and depending on
the tools, it is now usual for the local authority, headteacher, senior management
team or the network manager to make decisions about the adoption of digital
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