Choosing &
Using Technologies in Education & Training
Classroom Teaching
Bates, A. W.
1995, Technology, Open Learning and
Distance Education, London: Routledge.
A book which provides an eminently
useable methodology for making competent and informed
decisions on choice and use of technologies in education.
Bates sets out criteria for decision-making based on an
analysis of common questions each institution must answer for
itself, to do with access, costs, teaching and learning,
interactivity and user-friendliness, organisational issues,
novelty, and speed.
Teachers and managers will find the
first chapter especially useful. In it, Bates proposes '12
golden rules for using technology in education and
training: good teaching matters; each medium has its own
aesthetic; educational technologies are flexible; there is no
super-technology; all major media types should be
available to teachers and learners; balance variety with
economy; interaction is essential; student numbers are
critical; new technologies are not necessarily better than
old ones; teachers need training to use technologies
effectively; teamwork is essential; and technology is not the
issue but how and what do we want students to learn is.
Subsequent chapters deal with the
educational, technical and cost issues involved in technology
selection and implementation of four major types of media:
print, television, audio (including telephone), and the
computer. He concludes with a thoughtful look at the future
of technology and its limitations in education and training.
Laurillard, Diana
1993, Rethinking University Teaching: a
Framework for the Effective Use of Educational Technology,
London, Routledge.
This book, written by a leading UK Open
University academic, has greatly influenced approaches to
staff development in Australian universities in recent years.
Laurillard sets out a framework to help teachers think about
the nature and processes of learning and how best to use and
combine new and established media in their teaching. Part 1
explores students' learning, and what it is that they need
from educational technology. Part 11 looks at individual
teaching methods and media, including non-interactive media
(lectures, print, audio), hypermedia (CD-Rom and the Web),
and interactive media (simulations, modelling programs). Part
111 examines design methodology, designing learning
activities, setting up the learning context, and maintaining
quality.
National Council for Educational
Technology,
1993, Direct Broadcasting by Satellite, National Council for Educational Technology, UK.
http://www.ncet.org.uk/projects/dbs/ Site accessed August
1997.
An evaluation by the Faculty of
Education, University of Leeds, of a large-scale program
called Satellites in Schools which involved direct
broadcasting by satellite to 226 secondary schools in Wales.
The report covers details of the equipment, its installation
and support, program development and scheduling, and a
formative evaluation of teaching/learning issues including
interest and motivation, providing up to date resources,
authenticity, learning effectiveness, learner independence,
etc. Several case studies follow the project in detail.
Ramsden, Paul
1992, Learning to Teach in Higher
Education, London: Routledge.
This well researched, thoughtful book
by a leading Australian academic addresses the problem of how
best to evaluate and improve the standard of teaching in a
climate of accountability and appraisal. Designed for
practitioners, it links educational theory and the practical
realities of teaching, arguing for a more professional
approach to teaching.
Ramsden outlines the experience of
learning and teaching from the student's point of view, sets
out a set of principles for effective teaching. He then
considers these principles in the light of four problems
commonly encountered by teachers - organising course content,
selecting teaching methods, assessing student learning, and
evaluating the effectiveness of teaching. Case studies of
good practice are used to link theory and practice, and the
book concludes with examination of appraisal, performance
indicators of teaching, accountability, and educational
development and training.
Robson, Joan
1996, The effectiveness of
teleconferencing in fostering interaction in distance
education, Distance Education, vol. 17, No. 2,
1996, pp. 304-334.
A detailed study of the use of
teleconferencing in teaching Year 11 and 12 mathematics
students in a cluster of rural schools in NSW. Although one
aim was to improve interaction among students, most
interactions were between individual students and the
teacher, and the study raises useful questions about lesson
structuring, power and control in the class, and the
potential advantages of using audiographics rather than
audioconferencing for the purpose.
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