Exploring the changes in teaching strategies enabled by Internet and communications technology.

摘要

This study explored the changes in teaching strategies enabled by Internet and communications technology (ICT).;I interviewed eleven schoolteachers who were using network-based technologies in their classrooms. I also conducted a series of informal classroom observations. All interview and observation data were recorded and transcribed. The prevailing themes that emerged from the data illustrated the impact of ICT on the changing role of the teacher, classroom dynamics, teacher predictions of ICT in the school and the concept of the classroom.;From the findings it may be inferred that as teachers further integrated ICT into their classrooms, they adopted different teaching strategies to counter balance the attraction of ICT. The teachers interviewed agreed that ICT in the classroom fundamentally influenced the process of learning. As a result, they were required to adjust their teaching strategies in terms of the delivery of curriculum content. The teachers also said they had to accommodate for the power shift in the classroom because often students had more knowledge of ICT than their teachers.;The findings also revealed that the physical structure and dynamic of the traditional classroom was changing. ICT brought in a vast amount of external information and allowed for the increased communication and learning with other people from sources outside the direct control of the teacher. Boundaries between subject matter and physical locations where students could learn were diminishing. As a result, the domain of the classroom, where teachers were typically in control, was being directly challenged.;The teachers also identified the need to focus on teaching new skills in how to read, reply to (write) and analyse information delivered from ICT. Finally, the teachers needed time to learn about the technology and to understand how to integrate ICT into the curriculum.;Further studies in this area should continue to focus on meaningful uses of ICT in the classroom, new skills needed to effectively use ICT, as well as criteria for effective teacher training.