Charles University and Intel Support Initiative to Demonstrate and Evaluate Use Cases for ICT in the Classroom
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CASE STUDY Intel® Atom™ Processor Education Lessons for ICT in Education Charles University and Intel support initiative to demonstrate and evaluate use cases for ICT in the classroom Founded 1348, Charles University in Prague is one of the world’s oldest universities. It frequently ranks highly among global league tables, validating its reputation as a leading center of learning both within the Czech Republic and internationally. Its Faculty of Education has about 4,200 students, training as teachers and for other pedagogical roles for all types and levels of education. As information and communication technologies (ICT) become more prevalent in both the workplace and the classroom, the Faculty wanted to investigate the link between ICT and improved learning in more detail. Challenges • Equip learners for the future. Support pupils in the development of core ICT skills in preparation for a digital future • Demonstrate best practices. Put various ICT use cases to the test in a real classroom environment to identify what works best • Validate ICT use. Implement effective and simple-to-execute methodologies for evalu- ating the impact of ICT on learning Solutions • A collaborative model. Intel joined experts in hardware, software and educational con- tent to create the Education21* initiative • Include the community. Teachers, school boards and parents were all encouraged to support and participate in the project • Pilot project. Six Czech schools were chosen to run pilots of the new Education21 model during the 2009-2013 academic years ““Measuring the impact of newly- deployed technology can be Impact difficult – but it is essential to • Multiple uses. Trialing the model in different subject lessons across the schools justify often hefty investments showed the effectiveness of ICT in supporting a number of learning activities in PCs, connectivity, digital • In-depth reporting. Teachers submit regular video footage and diary reports for quali- content and other equipment. tative and quantitative analysis by Charles University pedagogical experts Our aim was to identify and • Setting an example. Regular updates to national media have shared project success and encouraged other schools to investigate using ICT in the classroom validate a selection of valuable use cases of modern IT in the classroom, particularly for grades Getting IT Right with Education The Faculty of Education set out to analyze the ways in which schools in the Czech six to nine.” Republic were using ICT to enhance the quality of education. Besides identifying best practices and common use cases, the Faculty wanted to develop and demonstrate Dr. Nataša Mazácová (PhD), Faculty of effective methodologies for measuring the positive impact of technology on learning Education, Charles University processes and outcomes. Leading university deploys and validates ICT learning model featuring Intel technology Dr Nataša Mazáčová (PhD) from interactive technologies into their lessons. the Faculty of Education explains: Finally, the school authority needed to “Many schools and higher education agree to set up the digital classes and establishments are considering the use provide teachers and students with of ICT in the classroom now, but it’s often adequate support. hard for them to know how best to use it. Measuring the impact of newly-deployed ICT in Practice technology can be difficult as well, but The pilot phase of the project saw ICT it is essential to justify often hefty being used for a variety of activities investments in PCs, connectivity, digital during the academic year 2010-2011. content and other equipment. Our aim As part of the Education21 project, the was to identify and validate a selection Charles University Faculty of Education of valuable use cases of modern IT in the plans to create an online database of the classroom, particularly for grades six to most effective use cases to encourage nine.” greater collaboration and idea-sharing among teachers across the country. These Education21: A New Model include: The project the university initiated • Task analysis to meet these objectives was called Vzdělání21 (Education21). It was launched • Multimedia learning materials in collaboration with ICT and education • Individualized learning experts including HP, Microsoft, Avmedia • Teacher control and Fraus. As part of its commitment to create economic and social opportunities • Real-time instruction, assessment and for all by improving the quality of feedback education systems, Intel also formed part Task Analysis of the team. The teacher can use his or her own PC A holistic model for educational to control what appears on students’ transformation, based on the use of high- screens and ensure they understand the quality digital content and a 1:1 computing task at hand. For example, if explaining a model, Education21 encompassed six particular element of an image or graph, primary schools. The classes involved the teacher highlights the relevant were for children aged 11 to 12, with 65 section, drawing students’ attention to teachers and 275 students participating. the key details without complicated verbal Each classroom was equipped with a directions. In mathematics or language Wi-Fi network and electronic whiteboard. classes, the teacher can highlight specific Teachers were provided with HP ProBook* groups of numbers or words to ensure 6560b notebook PCs, and students with students can follow along as they explain Intel® Atom™ processor-powered HPMini* how to arrive at the right answer to an 5103 netbooks, through which they could equation or piece of textual analysis. “All schools agree that ICT’s ability access interactive tools and documents to encourage both independent including PDF* files, photos, videos and Multimedia Learning Materials online tests. Interactive textbooks were By equipping each student with a learning and interactive group also supplied. laptop PC, schools give students the projects has helped increase opportunity to benefit from a richer Participation in the project depended learning experience, even when they are motivation, engagement and on three stakeholder groups – parents, not in the classroom. This means video teachers and the school authority. understanding among students.” and other multimedia content can be a Parents had to approve the placement useful resource for homework tasks. It of their child within a digital class and to Dr. Nataša Mazácová (PhD), Faculty of is particularly useful in teaching foreign support funding of their child’s laptop. Education, Charles University languages, where students can see The teachers had to agree to integrate 2 and hear native speakers of the target Teacher Control can view and mark their completed tests language. Physics classes have also When using ICT in the classroom for the immediately to assess their readiness to benefited significantly from the ability first time, many teachers fear children move on in the syllabus. to show students complex experiments will be distracted by their devices and Some classes have trialed applets and self- which may not be possible in the spend time surfing the Internet instead test exercises, but the Charles University classroom. of focusing on class work. To ensure team has identified opportunities for students concentrate on their assigned Individualized Learning further improvements in this area. In activities, teachers can take control of particular, it plans to create a system for Access to a wider library of engaging each child’s PC screen, turning the screen teachers to share exercises and tests to educational content and the ability to black and sending a message such as minimize the time-consuming process of interact on a one-to-one basis with the ”silence please” or “please look forward.” creating new applets for each class. teacher make it much easier for students to work at their own pace when using a Using Smart Sync* software, the teacher Tracking Performance laptop. Those who work faster or want can see what a child is working on at any to delve deeper into a topic can access time, quickly identifying those who need Regular Reporting extra help or are ready to move onto additional content, while others may Each of the six schools involved in the another task. prefer to spend more time on the core pilot nominated a teacher to act as exercises. An education experience Real-time Instruction, Assessment and Education21 project coordinator. This tailored to the needs and interests of Feedback teacher holds responsibility for liaising the individual student is more likely to with their colleagues to ensure that every Besides making learning more exciting for encourage perseverance and motivate individual participating in the project the student, ICT in the classroom can help students to do well. submits at least two hours of camcorder the teacher better monitor progress and video footage each quarter demonstrating Students can integrate digital elements provide more informed, timely guidance the use of IT in their classes. Each school into their learning to a greater or and feedback. For example, the teacher submits an average of eight hours of lesser extent, depending on their own can highlight details in a text on their own footage per quarter, covering subjects preferences, allowing those who prefer to screen, which then appears on the same including mathematics, languages, work from traditional text books to do so text on students’ devices, to help draw geography, physics and chemistry. where appropriate. attention to important information. A specialist from the Charles University The ability to allocate tasks to different Teachers can also use the Smart team also attends some classes to individuals or groups within a single class Notebook* software that comes as part observe them in real life. This specialist also means that teachers can give each of the Education21 package to create then collects the footage from all schools, student one-to-one attention without practice and self-test exercises for along with their notes taken on-site, to creating dead time for the rest of the pupils. Applets – readily-available online review and evaluate the use cases and class.