Page 213 - Technology Plan ICT Review

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6. Technology plus - Not just learning about technology or adding computers to schools but learning with technology and making sure a range of technologies is fully integrated and used as powerful tools for both teaching and learning.
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In May 2003, a proposed Learning and Technology Policy Framework was released for discussion by Alberta Learning. The proposed framework indicates that “Technology can provide greater access to resources, expose students to real-world problems and authentic contexts for learning, and provide alternative methods of representing and communicating knowledge. It fosters innovation, facilitates dialogue and offers potential for developing new practices among the education and research communities.
Specifically, technology offers the potential to:
• Increase access to learning opportunities
• Adapt teaching to different learning styles, preferences and paces
• Customize learning materials and services
• Provide access to interactive educational resources
• Expand research and knowledge creation
• Individualize the tracking and recording of students’ progress
• Develop new learning communities for the sharing of knowledge and best practices • Improve information management and administrative processes.
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The Commission supports the overall goals and policy direction outlined in the proposed framework and encourages government to move ahead with implementation. It’s important to recognize that we are certainly not starting from scratch when it comes to the use and integration of technology. A number of important world-class initiatives currently are underway in the province.
• Through LearnAlberta.ca, work is underway to provide online digital video, animations, lab demonstrations, simulations, interactive discovery tools, and reference materials that support what is taught in Alberta classrooms.
• The Alberta Online Consortium supports online course development and involves over 100 school jurisdictions across the province.
• About 4,700 full-time and 4,000 part-time students are enrolled in online learning
through virtual schools operated in 20 school jurisdictions.
• The TELUS Learning Connection (Telus2Learn) works with teachers in the use of
technology, providing professional support, curriculum and information and communications technology (ICT) support, opportunities for collaborative project development, and interactive online learning tools.
• Through the National Geographic Science Center, Alberta Learning and the National Geographic Society have signed an agreementto digitize selected National Geographic videos, GeoKits, teacher support materials, student activities and glossaries and correlate them with Alberta’s science curriculum.
• The Galileo Educational Network provides leadership in the identification of effective strategies for ICT implementation and professional development.
• An e-textbook pilot project is underway to develop an electronic version of grade 9 science textbooks.
• Many of the projects supported under the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement relate to the integration of technology in the classroom
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In addition to these province-wide initiatives, a number of school jurisdictions have taken the lead in establishing virtual schools and providing support to their teachers and schools in the integration of technology. For example, the Calgary Board of Education’s ICT Cyberspace provides web based support for teachers to assist in integrating
technology in their classrooms. Through the Rural Advanced Community of Learners (RACOL) initiative, the Ft. Vermilion School Division, in partnership with the University of Alberta, is able to connect students and teachers who may be great distances apart using a high speed broadband network to provide real time teaching and learning. With a Virtual Presence Learning Environment in place, students and teachers have access to broadcast quality video and audio, interactive whiteboards, and expert systems to manage the environment. The Learning Live project in the Red Deer Catholic School Division involves the delivery of curriculum from the Red Deer Notre Dame High School in
Red Deer to the St. Matthew School in Rocky Mountain House. Alberta is certainly not alone in exploring and adapting technologies to expand access, provide innovative approaches, and improve students’ learning and critical thinking skills. In the US, the
CEO Forum - a five-year partnership between business and education leaders - examined the use of technology in schools. Their report concluded that, instead of teaching technology for its own sake, technology should be integrated into all areas of the curriculum to make content more challenging and engaging for the student. In their
view, we need to stop wondering if we should implement technology into schools and start wondering how to implement it to best attain educational objectives.
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This need to get on with it and do it right is a key message in our report. From the Commission’s perspective, we’ve called this section “Technology Plus” for several important reasons. First, we’re not looking at technology as a replacement for teachers. Technology is a tool that, if used appropriately, can improve teachers’ teaching and students’ learning. We also are not advocating wholesale self-directed learning where technology replaces teacher-led classroom experiences. This may be the preference for a number of students involved in virtual schools,
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