Curriculum and personalizing learning - Teaching with Technologies: The Essential Guide - page 154

funded by Becta, that recorded innovative teachers' views of future schooling. A
sample of innovative practitioners (45 from nine government regions) with exper-
tise as senior leaders and as classroom teachers in primary, secondary, special edu-
cational needs and vocational and further education was selected to contribute
to the Education Futures research. The knowledge base of those involved in this
research was extensive. Many of the practitioners in the sample had more than
20 years experience in innovation in the use of technologies in education, with
their experiences and knowledge being drawn from a wide range of countries and
educational contexts.
The future - which technology tools would help?
The teachers worked in phase-specific focus groups to create a vision of technology
tools for future teachers through discussing the questions: which technology tools
would teachers have to have to help them do their job well? What would be the char-
acteristics of these new tools and how and when would they be used? The discussions
were focused around the following four dimensions of the operation of schools and
colleges:
• Curriculum-subjectteaching
• Curriculum-administration,accountabilityandmonitoring
• Communicationsbetweenpeoplewithinandoutsidetheschool/college
• Useoftimeandspace.
The ideas about technology tools for 'future teachers' from the primary, secondary
and FE focus groups were very similar. The knowledge base on which contributors to
the Education Futures research drew was both theoretical and practical: theoretical
with respect to theories of learning and pedagogy and practical with respect to con-
tributors' experience of what works in practice. (Table 0.1 in the Introduction lists the
main learning theories readers may find helpful for this chapter.)
Choosing technology tools for supporting curriculum work in subject areas
A pervading viewpoint amongst developers seems to be that teachers only use
technology tools for whole-class teaching or one-to-one interaction. Deep learning
as opposed to surface learning is more likely when the learning is relevant to the
learner and where the learner has to explain to others what they have learned (West
Burnham 2007). Group and project work are pedagogical tools to help achieve this.
Educators choosing software and software designers need to consider the changing
role of the teacher to 'facilitator rather than dictator' and choose and design tools
which support collaborative enquiry and working. An increased take-up of digital
tools and resources in subject areas can be predicted as members of the profession
not born into a digital age retire.
Well-designed resources have the potential to reinforce the learner cen-
tred pedagogical models of the future. Teachers who use technologies effectively