Integrating technology in classrooms: from the microcomputer to ‘the cloud’ - Teaching with Technologies: The Essential Guide - page 9

a number of simple problem-solving activities, including logic puzzles, spelling tests
and maths quizzes. Granny's Garden was later released for use at home on the ZX Spec-
trum and Amstrad CPC home computer. Another program was the BBC Domesday
Project with micro-computers, which involved schools collecting data from across the
UK (pictures, maps, video, surveys, statistics and personal testimonies), which could
be used in conjunction with the BBC Domesday material. The original BBC data was
digitally etched into two laser discs and was one of the major interactive projects of
the 1980s (Millwood 2009).
Alongside these early programmes came the development of simulations. These
modelled real-life contexts, allowing interaction between the user and the software.
For example, of those cited by practitioners, there was an archaeological simulation
called Dig ; another programme Droplet , which 'simulated the passage of rainfall
through the hydrological cycle and, like others, contained a randomising element
in it so that the user would get a different output each time the programme was run'
(Hammond et al. 2009: 51). As the quality of the graphics has become enhanced, so
the sophistication of simulations has increased, with immersive environments gain-
ing in popularity with the development of 3 and 4D ( Johnson et al. 2011).
Software development in the 1980s was marked by a significant movement away
from educationalists and teachers to commercial providers. Originally, starting with
small programs, collaboratively developed between practitioners and programmers,
software was created and trialled in educational settings. By the end of the decade
general-purpose software could be run on significantly more sophisticated machines
and these expensive programmes could only be provided by bigger commercial pro-
ducers. 'The close link between teachers and developers was being lost and this was
marked with regret by all participants' in Hammond et al.'s (2009: 59) research.
Connectivity: the rise of the networked age - 1990s
The introduction of the Internet, in the mid to late 1990s, heralded a new dawn as
schools entered the networked age. This signalled the rise of the computer suite. This
shift is not to be underestimated as, prior to this development, teachers would only
have one or two computers in a classroom. This made whole-class use problematic.
Suddenly, with teachers having access to a suite of computers, a whole class could
interact with the technology at the same time. Previously the pedagogy of the stand-
alone machine meant that teachers tended to 'bolt on' an activity, for pupils to do as
part of a rotation exercise with the other lesson activities, or as an extension piece for
the more able learners.
While this was the age of networks it was also the time of large-scale introduc-
tion of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in schools. In using interactive whiteboards
the focus shifted back to the teacher and their interaction with the whole class. This
encouraged more 'leading from the front' with lengthy presentations and 'didactic
teacher-centred pedagogy' (Somekh et al. 2007).
However, some practitioners in the Hammond et al. (2009) research felt that,
used well, the interactive whiteboard was an 'incredibly powerful, useful resource'.
The effect on teaching and learning was largely dependent on the way in which the