Literacy, learning and I.C.T.

means that the resource has been added within the last month (Last update 07/01/08 )

Key and Recent additions

07/01/08

Online Picture Books - from the Lancs NGfL site

ICT in Schools : The Impact of Government Initiatives  

teaching English

The ICT and Home-School Links Project

Educational software  here

This section looks at literacy with a focus on the interaction between literacy, learning and ICT.

Children’s eye gaze: benefits of averting gaze and cues to comprehension  

This research reveals how children's gaze aversion may be helping them with their learning. The research notes that, 

"The significance of looking someone in the eye varies from one culture to another. In Britain, meeting a person’s gaze is usually considered polite and a sign of respect. Children who look away when asked a question by a teacher are therefore often reprimanded for dreaminess and lack of concentration. Research at the University of Stirling suggests that this not fair. A study of five and eight- year-olds found that children who look away at certain point in an interaction are thinking, not dreaming. The findings suggest that children’s use of gaze changes with age. Five year olds tend to hold the gaze of a teacher more, whilst older children look away when responding to more difficult questions in order to ‘switch off’ potential distractions."

More detailed information and related research can be accessed here.

Informing practice in English : A review of recent research in literacy and the teaching of English  

This October 2005 literature review was commissioned by Ofsted to provide an overview of recent national and international research in the field of literacy (including other languages than English) and English teaching.

Section headings which give a flavour of the review are:-

New international conceptualisations of literacy 
Talking, thinking and learning in English 
Underachievement in English - the question of boys 
Understanding Writers and Writing 
Cognitive perspectives on literacy 
Wider personal reading 
ICT and multimodality

Overall very worth a quiet read.

Schooling Issues Digest - Students with Learning Difficulties in Relation to Literacy and Numeracy  

For the purpose of this digest, from the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST)) students with learning difficulties are defined as students who have significant difficulties in acquiring literacy and numeracy skills but excluding students who have an intellectual, physical or sensory impairment or whose learning difficulty is due to social cultural or environmental factors. 

Key Findings include:

• Students with literacy and numeracy difficulties require appropriate programmes of intervention that begin as soon as memory, organisational and language difficulties become apparent.
• Giving teachers and parents relevant diagnostic information provides the basis for appropriate programmes of intervention.
• Students with literacy and numeracy difficulties require explicit teaching of how, when and why to use reading and numeracy strategies.
• Students’ progress is enhanced through task relevant feedback and motivating practice.
• Resource materials and instructional methods must be appropriate to the student’s age and interests.

And the digest notes that there is research consensus that:-

• Students with learning difficulties reveal problems in storing information in memory as well as retrieving it from memory.
• Learning difficulties cluster with other difficulties such as attention-deficit disorder, conduct disorders, motivation, language and social and interpersonal difficulties.
• Because of their interactive relationships, difficulties in one or more of these domains often affect the development of the others.
• Although there are as many females as males showing characteristics associated with learning difficulties, boys are three to four times more likely to be identified as being learning disabled.
• Students’ literacy and numeracy difficulties detrimentally affect all school subjects. 
• Students’ social skills and motivation to be involved in schooling are diminished.
• Students with learning difficulties have lower academic self-concepts and show less persistence when faced with difficult tasks.
• Students with learning difficulties are less efficient and effective users of learning and thinking strategies than their academically more successful peers.
• Students with learning difficulties often suffer diminished self-esteem, lack intrinsic motivation and attribute academic success or failure to luck.

Interactive Education: Teaching and Learning in the Information Age  

The overall aim of the project was to examine the ways in which new technologies can be used in educational settings to enhance teaching and learning. Specific aims are:

• to describe and theorise the links between teaching and learning in ICT-rich settings;
• to characterise young people's and teacher’s out-of-school learning with technology  in order to draw on this potential within school-based learning situations;
• to characterise productive professional development practices; to identify the conditions which give rise to effective management practices enabling the creation of innovative computer-based learning environments;
• to highlight the similarities and differences between subject cultures with respect to both pedagogic practices and students’ approaches to learning which incorporate new technologies;
• to identify the ways in which research evidence can be transformed and developed to be of value to educational practitioners.

The report has now been published but is not yet available on the ERSC site. The press release notes:-

'The findings of the four-year project at the University of Bristol confirm recent reports by Ofsted and OECD, which found the use of ICT in schools was 'sporadic' and 'disappointing' in the UK and internationally. The ESRC study reveals that many teachers fear that computers would interfere with 'genuine' or book-based learning, particularly in the humanities and creative subjects, and use ICT only for administration and routine tasks. 

Professor Rosamund Sutherland, who led the research, says that teachers could be helped to make more effective use of computers in a wide range of subject areas. The project centred on partnerships between researchers, research students and teachers from ten institutions, which explored ways in which ICT could be used in English, history, geography, modern languages, science, music and mathematics. 

'Seventy per cent of the teachers who took part in the study were able to incorporate computers into their classroom,' says Professor Sutherland. 'After working with researchers they generally had a more positive view of technology and said that it enhanced their role as a teacher and had a beneficial impact on the learning environment.'

Teaching and learning with ICT: new technology, new pedagogy?  

This paper, by Peter D. John, Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol, focuses on four issues that have arisen around the pedagogies of new technology: the tension between teaching about or teaching through ICT; the persistence of pedagogical style; the centrality of confidence and competence; and the curriculum contradictions that arise when ICT is incorporated into established subject cultures.

Young People and Reading 

This survey was conducted by the National Literacy Trust for
the Reading Champions initiative and published August 2005. The aim was to establish what the boys in the pilot schools actually thought about reading. Some useful data here to help in the search for ways of motivating boys to read more.

Could they do even better  

Ofsted say that this 2005 report, 

"identifies the need for teachers to be aware of the specific linguistic needs of advanced bilingual learners. Evidence from many of the schools visited found that fewer pupils from minority ethnic groups achieve the higher levels in writing. Detailed case studies illustrate the difference that effective intervention, addressing specific linguistic features, can make to the development of the writing skills of advanced bilingual learners. It confirms that there is a continuing need for specialist knowledge and focused support for bilingual learners as they move through the key stages."

There is much good material here. Well worth a careful read.

A Review of Technology-Based Approaches for Reading Instruction: Tools for Researchers and Vendors

From the U.S. National Centre for Technology Innovation, this October 2004 review identified six categories of technological purposes that have been used to support students with reading disabilities. 

• Building Skills and Comprehension 
• Converting Text to Speech 
• Providing Text in Alternate Formats 
• Providing Electronic Resources 
• Organizing Ideas 
• Integrating Literacy Supports 

The  paper discusses the purpose, instructional strategies, educational contexts, and related research in each category. Table 1 on p.16 of the review is a useful overview matrix which is worth a considered look.

Harnessing Technology: Transforming learning and children's services  

(The link above is to the full report, a summary can be viewed here.)

On 15 March 2005, the Department for Education and Skills published the e-Strategy 'Harnessing Technology: Transforming learning and children's services'. 

The strategy sets out to achieve four overarching objectives: transforming teaching, learning and child development, enabling children and learners of all ages to meet their highest expectations; connecting with hard to reach groups in new ways; opening up education to partnerships with other organisations; and moving to a new level of efficiency and effectiveness in our delivery. There is much talk of personalisation and collaboration in learning.

The aims of this vision for the future are laudable, but governments' ICT track records are poor - as, still, are those of many schools where information to parents and others in the local community, is still only disseminated by paper screwed up in a student's pocket or bag. Ten years after the Web became a reality, and 25 years after computers were introduced into schools, this tardiness is really unacceptable. Besides vision there need to be structures which help schools make use of ICT to truly transform learning - and we need senior management teams which listen to those who use the technology at the chalkface and act on their recommendations!

The difficulty is in transforming broad visions into the kind of everyday attention to detail which ensures success.

ICT in Schools Survey 2004  

The ICT in Schools Survey 2004 was carried out in Spring 2004 to measure levels of ICT infrastructure and use in schools. The report notes (amongst much else) that ICT was generally perceived to have a positive impact on helping pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) to access the National Curriculum.

Also, the survey notes how ICT is used by some schools to help with the reintegration of students with behavioural and attendance problems back into school.

Using Technology to Enhance the Writing Processes of Students with Learning Disabilities  

This 1996 article (featured on LD Online) reviews the ways that computers can support writing by students with learning disabilities, with an emphasis on applications that go beyond word processing. Following an overview of research on word processing is a discussion of software that assists with the basic processes of transcription and sentence generation, including spelling checkers, speech synthesis, word prediction, and grammar and style checkers. Next, applications that support the cognitive processes of planning are reviewed, including prompting programs, outlining and semantic mapping software, and multimedia applications. Finally, the use of computer networks to support collaboration and communication with diverse audiences is addressed.

Australia's Future Using Education Technology

This is a comprehensive  report on Australia's future using education technology. A précis of some of the recommendations / findings can be viewed here.

Online activities to support literacy  

pdf document with links to loads of great online activities. From Clare North via senco forum. Really useful.

Computers and Student Learning: Bivariate and Multivariate Evidence on the Availability and Use of Computers at Home and at School  

(November 2004). CESifo Working Paper Series No. 1321

Woessman and Fuchs conclude in this paper, using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), that "once family background and school characteristics are extensively controlled for, the mere availability of computers at home is negatively related to student performance in math and reading, and the availability of computers at school is unrelated to student performance."

But, also noted is, "Holding all other influences constant, the performance of students with internet access at home is statistically significantly better in math and reading than the performance of students without internet access at home. Additionally, student performance in both math and reading increases with the frequency of the use of email and webpages by the students."

There is thought-provoking data and interpretation here.

How to Know a Good Adolescent Literacy Program When You See One: Quality Criteria to Consider  

From the U.S.-based Alliance for Excellent Education, this brief describes the characteristics of successful literacy intervention programs for older adolescents. It notes that computer technology has proved useful in motivating students.

Technology Counts 2004 : Global Links  

This seventh edition of Education Week’s annual report on educational technology—presents an overview of technology in schools around the world, examining data, lessons, and trends in North America, Asia, Europe, South America, Africa, and the Australia/Pacific region.

Technology Run Amok: The Top Ten TechnoBlunders  

On the Reading Online site, this article "identifies ten “TechnoBlunders” — assumptions and beliefs we have about technology that get us into trouble as teachers and teacher educators — and offers ideas for avoiding them."

Or, what can go wrong will go wrong. Useful for tips on how to avoid techno-trouble.

Fteaching English  

This is the British Council / BBC site with lots of useful info for all teachers - because we're all teachers of English now - yes? 

Look in particular at the section on DARTS. And, if you want to use ICT to help with DARTs, have a look at textThing from  Marshal Anderson and Topologika.

The Alex Catalogue of Electronic Texts  

The Alex Catalogue of Electronic Texts is a collection of public domain documents from American and English literature as well as Western philosophy. If you need texts in an electronic format to manipulate as part of your lessons then this is a useful source. Perhaps use the texts with Text Thing from Topologika?

Just Think of the Possibilities: Formats for Reading Instruction in the Elementary Classroom  

This article from the U.S., by Kimberly Kimbell-Lopez, describes six basic formats that can be used to teach reading in the elementary classroom: shared reading, read-aloud, guided reading, Readers Theatre, sustained silent reading, and literature circles. Each format is discussed by describing the focus of instruction, suggestions for implementation strategies, and examples of materials that could be utilized. For each approach, a description of the focus of instruction is offered, along with suggestions for implementation, examples of instructional materials, and a list of print resources.

Technology Counts 2002: E-defining education   

From the U.S. Education Week this follows on from the 2001, Technology Counts 2001: The New Divides. 

This is Education Week's fifth annual 50-state report on educational technology. It focuses on how state and district e-learning initiatives—such as online teaching and testing, virtual schools, and Web-based curricula—are changing the education landscape.

Exciting reading - but can sluggish UK schools move quickly enough to match some of the initiatives noted here?

What works for Children with Literacy Difficulties? The Effectiveness of Intervention Schemes (Nov.2002) 

This research, by Greg Brookes, University of Sheffield, for the DfES, evaluates early intervention schemes which have been devised to help children with reading / writing difficulties. There is comprehensive coverage of 25 schemes, including such as THRASS, Reading Recovery and ILS.

The study notes (amongst many other findings) that, "For greatest impact with children who struggle with spelling, highly structured schemes work best."

And looking at ICT-based schemes (ILS) the study noted the need for very precise targeting in the use of such schemes.  "Thus where the technology was used with precision and backed up by teachers, gains were made." This seem to suggest that for best results the teacher needs to modify and customise the ILS rather than rely on the ILS itself to assess and remediate the student's learning strengths and weaknesses.

Reading Online  

This online journal "focuses on literacy practice and research in K-12 classrooms (students aged 5 to 18)." Contains information and ideas concerning the application of technology to enhance the teaching of literacy.

Using ICT in the Classroom  

From Terry Freedman's ICT in Education website, this section contains good, practical advice for using ICT in the classroom.

Learning Technology Dissemination Initiative  

The Learning Technology Dissemination Initiative was a project funded by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council from August 1994 until August 1999 to promote the use of learning technology and computer based learning materials in SHEFC funded Higher Education Institutions. The emphasis was on educational issues and pedagogy, and the implementation and integration of learning technology rather than technical and programming aspects.

Although HE-focused the site contains much that is relevant to the introduction and development of learning technology in schools.

Bringing a Nation Online  

This July 2002 report, from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and Education Fund and the Benton Foundation, notes that many Americans are still on the wrong side of the technology divide. It identifies these groups and shows how schools and libraries provide valuable access for these groups. Many parallels with the UK situation.

Becta's ICT Advice

A new site offering ICT advice to a wide range of education professionals - from the British Education and Communications Technology Agency

Report on the Educational Use of Games  

This is, "An exploration by TEEM of the contribution which games can make to the education process." The report notes:-

Games provide a forum in which learning arises as a result of tasks
stimulated by the content of the games, knowledge is developed through the content of the game, and skills are developed as a result of playing the game.

It seems that the final obstacle to games use in schools is a mis-match between games content and curriculum content, and the lack of opportunity to gain recognition for skill development. This problem is present in primary schools, but significantly more acute in secondary.

Many of the skills valuable for successful game play, and recognised by both teachers and parents, are only implicitly valued within a school context. Teachers and parents both valued the conversation, discussion, and varied thinking skills demanded by some of the games employed."

The ICT and Home-School Links Project    (8/2/02) link updated 5/8/05

The ICT and Home-School Links Project was commissioned by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). Its aim was to gather information about existing use of electronic home-school links and to evaluate and exemplify good practice.

The case studies "show that pupils are making extensive use of ICT at home, for leisure purposes including Internet searching, and to a somewhat lesser extent for school work. Some pupils are making regular use of homework and revision sites, such as BBC Bitesize and Channel 4’s Homework High. At present their use of school-based resources is low because few are available. Where schools have a clear policy for developing web-based materials, these are likely to become extensive and provide an important learning resource for pupils."

Adequate resources, vision and effective leadership of innovation are all mentioned as keys to success. Once again the dangers of a developing digital divide are noted.

Connecting Schools, Networking People 2002  (13/01/2002)

From BECTa, Connecting Schools, Networking People 2002 examines the strategic planning process schools need to be considering to achieve the full benefits of ICT in schools. The section on good practice is worth a look for new and sometimes different ideas.

Learning Environments  

From the University of Colorado at Denver, School of Education, a useful set of web links to information on mainly collaborative and constructivist learning environments. Recommended.

ImpaCT2 - report of emerging findings (2001) 

This large-scale evaluation study, funded by the DfES and managed by Becta, says it is "one of the most comprehensive investigations into the impact of ICT on attainment so far conducted in the UK."

School Improvement through ICT : the case of England  

This paper was presented at the Scottish Education and Teaching Technology Show, SECC, Glasgow, 20 September 2001. In it, Peter Rudd (National Foundation for Educational Research) calls for more direct research and discussion on the issue of how ICT can contribute to processes of school improvement.

Teaching with Electronic Technology  

From Michael L. Hall and the University of Maryland's "Workstations at Maryland" Project (WAM), be prepared to be overwhelmed by this compendium of links to uses of electronic technology in teaching.

Very comprehensive. Set aside several decades to work your way through these links . . .

Child Power- Keys to the New Learning of the Digital Century by Seymour Papert 

This speech was delivered at the eleventh Colin Cherry Memorial Lecture on Communication on June 2, 1998, at Imperial College, London. As always, a very powerful and insightful appraisal of technology enhanced education at the end of the 20th century. In a critique of a Research Machines TES ad Papert believed that,

"the ad had two faces. On the one hand, by trying to sell computers and connecting services to schools, it was catering to their desire to belong to what is most modern, to belong to the digital age that everybody knows we're entering. On the other hand, the ad took pains to reassure teachers that this would not disturb the essential elements of the status quo. The ad says, 'You will not have to change how you teach; they (presumably meaning the students) will not have to change what they learn.'

The Research Machine ad sees the technology as a means to improve existing practice while changing it as little as possible. I see technology as tending to render obsolete almost all features that we would regularly associate with the structure of school."

ICT in Schools : The Impact of Government Initiatives  (421k .pdf file) 

(Clicking the link above starts the 421k .pdf download.)

This (April 2002 updated) interim Ofsted report finds that, "Improvements in teaching and learning with ICT are evident in those schools that have been connected to broadband services" and that, "There has been a positive shift in LEA support for ICT away from infrastructure towards its use in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning."

But, supporting the feeling amongst many UK teachers, "NOF training remains unsatisfactory in its overall effect. Training in around six out of every ten secondary schools and half of the primaries has so far failed to tackle adequately those issues relating to the quality of ICT use in classrooms. Training materials for specific subjects at secondary level have often failed to excite teachers. In many secondary schools, the programme has simply ground to a halt."

The role of the teacher in ICT  Steve Wheeler link updated 5/8/05

Keynote Speech delivered to the National Czech Teachers Conference
University of Western Bohemia, Czech Republic May 20, 2000

Steve Wheeler considers the long-term impact of the introduction of information and communication technologies into the classroom and what kind of skills teachers will need to acquire to be effective in an ICT based learning environment. he cites the benefits which ICT may bring to the learner and the teacher. These include sharing of resources and learning environments as well as the promotion of collaborative learning and a general move towards greater learner autonomy.

This promotion of collaborative as well as independent learning has been noted in other articles listed on this page. Browse through the synopses for examples.

The New Literacy : Using Reference CD ROMs and the Internet  

(Clicking the link above downloads a 137K .pdf file.)

From the MirandaNet archives, this article "reflects on some of the additional skills that ICT demands of the literate user, and considers how these relate to the core skills of literacy that the National Literacy Strategy outlines. One of the first issues that needs to be clearly separated out is the use of literacy with ICT."

The author, Anne Sparrowhawk, used to work for NCET. Here she suggests a possible framework for information skills - which is an interesting development of an earlier NCET framework?

UCLA Internet Project : Surveying the Digital Future   link updated 5/8/05

On June 8, 1999 UCLA launched the first comprehensive study ever conducted of the sweeping changes produced by the Internet -- an international project created to explore how computers, information technology and their users are shaping and changing society. It includes a section on children, schools and Internet use. It found that,

"Adults believe in large numbers that since their household acquired the Internet, the grades of children in their households have stayed the same (70.5 percent), while more than one-fourth (26.2 percent) say grades have improved, and 3.3 percent say grades have declined."

The Digital Divide Network : Literacy and Learning  link updated 5/8/05

This U.S. website "offers a range of information, tools and resources that help practitioners stay on top of digital divide developments. It also serves as forum where practitioners can share their experiences with colleagues around the world." It looks at "the causes and effects of the divide from four distinct angles: technology access, literacy and learning, content, and economic development."

The Power of the Internet for Learning  

This is the December 2000 report of the Web-based Education Commission to the President and Congress of the United States. It emphasizes the role that the internet can play in the emancipation of the individual learner and stresses the potential of the net to centre learning around the student instead of the classroom. It notes that,

"The regulations that govern much of education today were written for an earlier model in which the teacher is the centre of all instruction and all learners are expected to advance at the same rate, despite varying needs or abilities."

This was written for an American scenario, but also holds true in the U.K., where recent Government-imposed literacy and numeracy programmes talk much of "whole-class teaching" which pays less regard to individual aptitudes and leaning styles.

The report also believes that there is a need for a "vastly expanded, revitalized, and reconfigured educational research, development, and innovation program" which will find out "how people learn in the Internet age." In the UK, in the Woodhead-influenced Nineties, research and theory were placed very firmly on the back-burner, usually after a sound rubbishing.

Switching on Learners in the middle years - A pedagogy of engagement through learning technologies   Link updated 5/8/05

This Australian report, presented at the National Middle Years of Schooling Conference,
Redesigning the Middle Years March 28th – 29th March, 1999, noted that, 

"Young adolescence is a critical time in the lives of students. In a period of extreme physical and emotional upheaval, engagement in schooling inevitably decreases. Introducing learning technologies into the learning environment enhances interest in learning, making it more student-centred, collaborative and encouraging cooperative, creative problem solving."

Compare with the UK Becta report The Secondary School of the Future.

Overview of Reading and Literacy Initiatives  

From the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, (NICHD) this 1998 report tries to answer these questions:-

• How Do Children Learn To Read?

• Why Do Some Children (and Adults) Have Difficulties Learning to Read?

• How Can We Help Children Learn to Read? For Which Children are Which Teaching Approaches Most Beneficial at Which States of Reading Development?

It notes that, "By the end of the first grade, we begin to notice substantial decreases in the children's self-esteem, self-concept, and motivation to learn to read if they have not been able to master reading skills and keep up with their age-mates." There is much of value in the report and parallels to be drawn with the U.K. experience. Worth a quiet read.

ICT investment boosts secondary schools  

Learning and Technology Minister Michael Wills said that evidence exists of an important link between raising standards and good Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in secondary schools.

ICT and Whole Class Teaching

A Becta Seminar at BETT 2000, Saturday 15th January 2000 (This seems no longer to be available online - 5/8/05)

For a few years now the UK government has been pushing the value of two modes of teaching which can be in conflict with each other: whole class teaching and the use of ICT in the classroom. The former is usually teacher-directed, reducing the opportunities for students to use their own language, the latter is usually more pupil-centered where the pupil can exercise more control over what is happening. This Becta seminar tries to show how the two can be reconciled. Your evaluation of this seminar will depend I suspect on your educational philosophy and political point of view. The push for whole class teaching has coincided with a rise in the pupil teacher ratio here in the UK after years of improving teacher to pupils ratios. . . . My view is that this is a disappointing development which will do nothing to develop students' use of language, and will alienate those who value ICT for the control it gives them. I'm sure governmental research will "prove" me wrong. 

Mindweave: Communication, Computers and Distance Education (1989)

Edited by Robin Mason and Anthony Kaye

This on-line version of Mason and Kaye's book has disappeared (shame). It is now back in print at:-
R. Mason and A. Kaye (eds.) Mindweave: communication, computers and distance education. Oxford, Pergamon Press, Pages 242-46 ISBN 0-08-037755-6 Available from Pergamon Press plc, Headington Hill Hall, Oxford OX 3 0BW, United Kingdom.

The editors say, "If there is one central theme to this book, it is the belief that CMC will ultimately emerge as a new educational paradigm, taking its place alongside both face-to-face and distance education; at the same time, it will change the nature of 'traditional' multi-media distance education." Interesting to read a 1989 take on computers, communication and education.

Primary Teaching and Learning with IT : Access for All     

This is a module in the UK's VTC (Virtual Teachers' Centre). The module notes that, "As with all learning, in using ICT there are some major issues which need to be addressed in order that all pupils will benefit." Also, it is worth being reminded that, "Computers provide and improve access to the whole curriculum by removing some of the obstacles to learning and opening up new areas of learning. This gives all pupils the opportunity to become independent learners."

Literacy across the world

This site is Professor David Wray's homepage. The aim of the web site "is principally to help further the study and teaching of literacy and literacy learning." It has lots of useful links, ideas and resources. Look at his online articles page. Particularly useful are his writing frames - available in Word 6 for download. Also, of special relevance to this site, look at his paper on "Analyzing interactions during collaborative writing with the computer: an innovative methodology"

Noam Chomsky: A Life of Dissent. 

This MIT site explores the life and work of Noam Chomsky, investigating the political, philosophical and linguistic worlds within which we live, and about which Chomsky writes. If you're seriously into the role of language in learning then you shouldn't miss this. Also, if you're a UK teacher, it may also help you through the "threshold" . . Check the linguistics section particularly.

Of interest may also be the very comprehensive Chomsky Archive. 

Language Needs or Special Needs  

(Clicking this link will open or download the document in Word .doc format)

Tony Cline and Tatheer Shamsi, University of Luton Department of Psychology
ISBN 1 84185 201 5
January 2000

The authors' introduction notes that, "Identifying learning difficulties in literacy at an early stage is important, but there appear to be particular obstacles to effective identification in the case of children learning English as an additional language (EAL) - approximately 7.5% of the school population in English local education authorities. How can we best distinguish between literacy problems which are due to EAL and those which are due to special educational needs (SEN) such as specific learning difficulties? There is often a degree of confusion: a problem them arises solely because language difference may be treated as a more deep-seated learning difficulty; alternatively, a severe problem of learning may be ignored because it is assumed that the child will overcome it as fluency in English improves. The main aim of this report is to review key findings on approaches that have been developed for identification and assessment in this field and to examine what guidance is available to teachers on the subject.

From Thinking Skills to Thinking Classrooms  

(Clicking this link will open or download the document in Word .doc format. If the DfES has reorganised its site (again) then go to the research section and search for "thinking skills")

It was in October 1998 that The Department for Education and Employment commissioned a review and evaluation of research into thinking skills and related areas. The purpose of the review was to analyse what is currently understood by the term "thinking skills" and their role in the learning process; to identify approaches to developing children's thinking and to evaluate their effectiveness; to consider how teachers might be able to integrate thinking skills into their teaching both within subject areas and across the curriculum; to identify the role of ICT in promoting a positive approach to thinking skills; and to evaluate the general direction of research and how it might translate into classroom practice. Well, this isn't really new as it's largely what we did in UK education pre-National Curriculum days, but, that aside, it is worth taking a look at this, especially for its views on ICT. Compare its comments with those attached to some of the software reviews on this site.

Literacy and ICT: a discussion paper by Chris Abbot

"In education, computers have a special role, for as well as being an often mundane tool used to control many processes and deal with repetitive data, they complement and extend intellectual activity. In a real sense they enable those who master their use to become better at solving a wide variety of problems because of their ability to organise and analyse large quantities of data; this data can be numerical, literal, visual or aural. This applies with equal force across the full range of ability and disability."

This paper seems not to be available online any longer? (August 2005) A reference to the work can be viewed by clicking on the work title above.

The Children's Machine: Computers and language development

I produced this (in a hurry as usual) as a bit of theoretical and practical background to an essentially hands-on in-service session I was running for a secondary school learning support department back in 1997. It's fascinating to come across this now and note the rapid advances that have been made in software since then: it reads like a pre-historical document - which of course it is - so please make allowances. Many of the points, though, are still valid. There are some references in the text but no bibliography. However, I think you'll find most of the books in the pdf file, "Computer databases and language uses". (See lower down on this page) or via Amazon. The title, of course, was borrowed from one of Papert's books.

Literacy Hour and ICT

In this excellent piece from the MirandaNet Archives, Ray Barker notes that, "More and more technology is being installed in schools in order to enskill the children of the new millennium. It is interesting, therefore, to note that apart from a few passing references to word-processing and CD-ROMS, there is surprisingly little reference in the National Literacy Strategy Framework of Objectives to the use of ICT in the Literacy Hour." He then provides examples of some of the ways in which schools working with the National Literacy Association Projects team have incorporated technology into their group work activities in the Literacy Hour. Click here or on the title to go to his text.

Stevenson Report (Link updated 5/8/05)

OK, I know this is dated now, but for an intriguing reference, this is the full-text of the 1997 report: Information and Communication Technology in UK Schools chaired by Dennis Stevenson. The report was commissioned by Tony Blair and David Blunkett, whilst in opposition, to examine the role that ICT should be playing in primary and secondary education and to suggest on the basis of this analysis a desirable set of priorities for Government after the next election. Their analysis confirmed what many educational ICT practitioners believed, that "the state of ICT in our schools is primitive and not improving." In 2000 this is only slowly changing, despite current political hype. Click here to judge for yourself.

Information, Technology and Literacy

This is part of the National Literacy Trust's site. As they point out, "Developments in information and communication technology are making literacy even more important. Most writing is now composed on computer while the Internet is used as the key source of information." The site has lots of useful links to information about literacy and ICT.

Computer databases and language uses

This small-scale study looks at the way in which a computer database may provide the context which allows learners to use language collaboratively to help in their joint and individual construction of knowledge. Dated now, but some of the ideas and references are probably still useful. It's in Adobe .pdf format. Click on the title or here to download it and here for the appendices.

Ways forward with ICT

From a collaboration between Newcastle and Durham Universities and the Teacher Training Agency, this report, published September 1999, reviews and summarises the findings of a research and development project investigating effective pedagogy using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in literacy and numeracy in primary schools. The authors claim it also provides illustrations of effective practice "rich enough to encompass the complexity of the choices teachers have made in deciding when, when not and how to use ICT to strengthen their teaching in literacy and numeracy." Click on the title to visit the report's web site. [Be warned that the .pdf zipped download is over 2Mb]

76 Ideas for group work in English

These are ideas for groupwork to help develop students' understanding of a book / play / poem / role-play / narrative etc. They were developed by a group of teachers working together during a course on language development and passed on to me by Ewan Rowland whilst he was working at Howarth Cross Middle school in Rochdale, Lancashire. (This excellent multi-cultural school was reorganised out of existence in 1990, and demolished in 2007).

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