Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

Collaboration Project

Debra-Dreana Marshall-Stuart

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

in Education

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

Introduction
There has been an enduring concern in education to continuously improve teaching
and learning by the integration of technology. The advances made in ICT have increased the
challenges faced by educational decision-makers in this respect. This technology training for
the subject Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education aligns with the
Caribbean Vocational Qualifications in Communication Technology (CT) for Practitioners
and Professionals. The NVQs for CT Users are at level 3 specialists and is aimed at
professionals using the full functionality of Internet applications for complex tasks. These
standards to be met are shown below:

Role Profile:
Key relevant vocational standards:

Tertiary level instructors

CCITI10106
Level I in Data Operations

Packaging of Competency Standards for Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQ) CCITI10106 Level I in Data Operations

Unit Number

Unit Title

Mandatory

Hours

ITICOR0471A Access the Internet

/Elective
Mandatory

ITICOR0271A Send and retrieve information via the Internet

Mandatory

ITIWEB1121A Use a web authoring tool to create a simple web page

Mandatory

10

ITIWEB0162A Write content for the World Wide Web

Mandatory

10

ITIDAT0282A Locate and evaluate online information

Mandatory

10

Curriculum Design
This curriculum unit is designed to introduce learners to current research and practice
in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education and the use of
ICT tools to explore, analyze, exchange and present information and foster collaborative

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

learning so as to improve the teaching and learning experience. The target learners are a
heterogeneous group of tertiary level instructors who need to develop or enhance their current
skills for the effective integration of ICT in instruction, particularly for developing higherorder skills.
The curriculum theme will focus on identifying principles from learning theories that
can guide participants in developing criteria for creating and evaluating plans for integrating
ICT into their instruction. They will also be engaged in activities designed to develop their
sensitivity to the ethical, legal, and social implications of using ICT in instruction.
At the end of this course educational leaders will achieve the competencies needed to
facilitate critical assessment of the tools and the integration of ICT in teaching and learning
with the aim of developing and improving cognitive, literacy, numeracy, critical and creative
thinking skills, team work, problem solving, alignment of teaching and learning with the
requirements of the information economy and the promotion of lifelong learning.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course the student will be able to:
1. Harness ICT to support a curriculum based on constructivist principles as a learning
theory.
2. Assess the potential of the Internet for instruction and administration.
3. Assess the potential of Web 2.0 ICT tools to facilitate the development of higher-order
thinking skills.
4. Use ICT platforms (with emphasis on Web 2.0 tools) for communications, inquiries, and
social networking.
5. Use ICT to explore, analyse, and present information.
6. Design learning tasks that exploit ICT for collaborative learning.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

7. Apply ICT in instructional plans designed to develop higher order skills in critical
thinking, creative thinking, and problem solving.
Course Activities
Using a constructivist approach, learning will occur through experimentation,
exploration and discovery. Factors that will influence learning will call for instruction that
will occur in realistic settings and by presenting tasks that are relevant to the learners
context.

The students will discuss the development of ICT and the relevant learning

theories that can guide the use of ICT in education. They will develop skills in the use of
Web 2.0 applications, by creating and using blogs, wikis, social networks and computer
based multimedia technologies to facilitate instruction. The students will achieve the
competencies needed to facilitate critical assessment of the tools and the integration of ICT
in teaching and learning. The following curriculum unit will facilitate these activities:

ICT Web 2.0 tools - functions, attributes and educational applications

1.

Use of blogs and tweets in collaborative educational tasks

2.

Use of wikis in collaborative educational tasks

3.

Use of social networking in collaborative educational tasks

The instructional objectives attend to the learners mix domain of cognitive and
psychomotor skills. Pre-instructional activities will include motivating the learners/gaining
their attention; informing the learners of the lesson objectives or purposes informing the
learner of what they already need to know to be successful in this lesson (i.e. prerequisite
skills). Presenting the content to be learned will include providing stimulus material and
guiding the learners as they are presented with the content. Stimulus materials include: a
video tutorial; a handout/step-by-step checklist. The learner will engage in interactive
learning by following step-by-step procedures in the video tutorial and/or the handout.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

Learner participation will be gained by giving the learner opportunities for practice (i.e.
eliciting the performance) and giving the learner feedback during and after his/her practice
sessions. Follow-through activities will include memory aids for retention for example,
Video tutorials, audio clips, transcripts, Checklists, Step-by-Step Handouts, PowerPoint
presentations. As well as activities to help learners transfer their learning to other contexts.
The training will be learner-led and therefore must be as interactive as possible. The
instructional strategies chosen include small group and individual activities. Coursework will
use learner-centered strategies focused on application of authentic tasks. Tasks are inclusive
of, but not limited to:

Independent and/or group activities/projects

Case studies, presentations and development of an ICT portfolio

Responding to scenarios

Discussions forum, chat, web-based seminars

By providing such methods of instruction, the individual learning styles of the learners will
be catered to.
The Learning Forum
A significant portion of the teaching and learning in this course will occur via the
learning forum where activities will include moderating the discussion forum, wiki or blog
posts. These unit activities are designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and views among
the members of the group on a specific area of the material covered in the Unit.
To ensure that we are joint partners in the students learning experience, here is the
Collaboration Framework

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

Collaboration Framework
Framework
Dimension
Purpose

Description
The purpose of the online unit discussions, blogs and/or wikis is to
facilitate the exchange of ideas and views among the members of the
group on a specific area of the material covered in the Unit. The tools
used will encourage interaction between the students and promote
critical thinking among participants. The goal for the use of these type of
collaborative tools, is to instruct and practice two-way communication
and interaction between the course content and the learner, thereby

Type

actively involving the learner in the learning process.

Discussion Forums. Blogs Posts and Wiki Submissions

Feedback and responses to students discussion posts would be

addressed within 24 hours of their post.

Feedback would be of enough detail for students to understand why

they have received the mark assigned.

Feedback would be meaningful enough to assist students to improve

their grasp of the content.

Students will be required to post their own response and comment on

at least 2 postings by individual group members

As part of the wrap up at the end of the week for each group
discussion topic posted, the student will provide a summary of the
views presented.

The e-tutor will guide students on the content of their discussions,

blog posts and wiki submissions

The e-tutor will clarify any misconceptions and provide support and
general guidance in other areas of the course as required.

Scope

Students will be required to post their initial response and comment

on at least 2 postings by individual group members.

Each unit allows for approximately 10-12 hours of study time over a
period of one week. Responses must be posted by the end of the week
during which the Unit is active.

Individual Student Work

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

o Discussion postings should be NO LESS THAN three

paragraphs and should be written in a conversational style,
much like a classroom discussion. Students will be engaged
in discussion forums as a result of the e-tutors encouraging,
motivational and relevant comments to the students posts.

Short- and long-term group projects

o The Assignments in this course will require student to post
entries to discussion forums, wikis and their personal blog. In
order for these collaborative Web 2.0 technologies to be used
to the fullest potential, students will be required to subscribe
to the discussion forums as well as their classmates blogs.
This subscription will allow students to read and comment on
each others postings without having to visit each discussion
post or blog entry individually.

Collaborators

Students with experts

o Students will be expected to participate in online groups
with an e-tutor or instructor.

Community members
o Community members will enter the blog and/or wiki and
post questions or comments to help the learning process.

Peers in a classroom
o Students will engage in groups to work as a community of
learners and assist each other in understanding.
Course assessment

This course uses Continuous Assessment (100%). There is no final examination for the
course; instead, the focus is on continuous assessment during the lifespan of the course. The
continuous assessment strategy is divided into formative assessment and summative
assessment.

Formative:

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

Formative assessment in this course will rely on the use of a reflective approach. Such an
approach will; encourage learners to (a) apply prior experiences and knowledge to the
understanding of the content, (b) articulate the concepts and theories presented in the course
material and (c) test these concepts and theories. Formative assessment will involve incourse activities which are marked by the learner using answers provided in the unit. This
type of activity allows the learner to check and assess his own progress on a continuous
basis and is generally called Self-Tests.
Summative:
Summative which are activities for grades and which are either computer marked (e.g.,
online quizzes), tutor marked (e.g., written assignments and end of semester examinations).
Students will be assessed using a selection of four assignments drawn from the following:
1.

A written assignment that explores the principles and theories underlying the use of
ICT in education

2.

A project where ICT is used for administration of an educational facility

3.

An instruction plan where ICT tools are integrated into instruction to develop
higher-order skills

4.

A Presentation showing appropriate use of a presentation tool

5.

educational institution

6.

An e-portfolio

The weighting for the assessments in this course are as follows:

Assessment Item

Weighting

Assignment 1, 2 & 3

45%

Assignment 4 (Portfolio website)

25%

Graded Discussions

30%

Total

100%

Note that marks for discussions will be awarded on the basis of relevance and appropriate
use of relevant literature. Merely recalling information is insufficient.

Assignment 1

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

Prepare the content for a wiki site, using suitable headings, justification of its main features,
explanation of the incorporated safeguards, its curricular purpose, and how it relates to
learning theory. (1500 words, excluding references).
Criteria
Functionality and justification of features
Safeguards
Relevance to curriculum and learning theory
TOTAL

Excellent
5-4
5-4
5-4
15-12

Good
4-3
4-3
4-3
12-9

Poor
2-1
2-1
2-1
6-3

Assignment 2
Build a simple website using a free online service or third party. This website will display
your work from this course. It should include copies of all discussions, assignments and
research you have developed for this course. This means that you should save all work in
an organized format for ease of access to upload.
Criteria
Content

Excellent 5-4
The site has a well

Good 4-3
The site has a clearly

Poor 2-1
The site lacks a

stated clear purpose

stated purpose and

purpose and

and theme that is

theme, but may have one

theme.

carried out throughout

or two elements that do

the site.

not seem to be related to

Content

All information

it.
Almost all the

There are several

Relevance/Cr

provided on the

information provided on

inaccuracies in the

eativity

Website is accurate and

the Web site is accurate

content OR many

all the requirements of

and all requirements of

of the

the assignment have

the assignment have

requirements were

been met.
The Web site has an

been met.
The Web pages have an

not met.
The Web pages are

exceptionally attractive

attractive and usable

cluttered looking

and usable layout. It is

layout. It is easy to

or confusing. It is

easy to locate all

locate all important

often difficult to

important elements.

elements.

locate important

Layout

White space, graphic

elements and/or
alignment are used

elements.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

10

effectively to organize
Navigation

Background

material.
Links for navigation

Links take the reader

Some needed links

are clearly labeled,

where s/he expects to go.

seem to be

consistently placed and

A user rarely becomes

missing. A user

take the reader where

lost.

typically feels lost.

s/he expects to go.

Background is

Background is attractive,

Background

exceptionally

consistent across pages,

detracts from the

attractive, consistent

adds to the theme or

readability of the

across pages, adds to

purpose of the site, and

site.

the theme or purpose of

does not detract from

the site, and does not

readability.

detract from
readability.
TOTAL

25-20

20-15

10-5

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

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Graded Discussion Activities

Discussion Forums
Discussion Topic
1. The concept of convergence as it applies to ICT
2. The relevance of discovery learning to ICT mediated instruction
3. Examination of an educational wiki site, focussing on its objectives,

Points
4
4
4

user friendliness and inherent features, then post your findings.

4. ICT-based instruction to develop critical thinking.

Assessment criteria:
Criteria

Excelle

Fai

Quality of response including suitable citations/input/reference to

nt
4-3

r
2-1

readings
Interpretation and discussion with colleagues

4-3

2-1

Blackboard Collaborate discussions

Students are required to participate in 2 or more Blackboard Collaborate discussions. The
following rubric will be used to grade the completion of the BbC sessions.
Criteria
Quality of response including suitable citations/input/reference to

Excellent
2

Fair
1

readings
Interpretation and discussion with colleagues

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

12

Collaboration Tools
A significant portion of the teaching and learning in this course will occur via the
learning forum where activities will include moderating the discussion forum, wiki or blog
posts. These unit activities are designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and views among
the members of the group on a specific area of the material covered in the Unit. Many
aspects of this unit are designed around technology and how it fits into education. The fact
that we will be creating web portfolios, wikis, blogs, etc. demonstrates the importance of
technology in the distance learning.
Collaborative Writing

Blogs
Blog refers to a journal entry that is updated on a regular basis and its intention is for

public viewing. Since blogs can reach a global audience in a short time, it is very useful
within a education/learning situation. Sustained discussions are facilitated by blogs. With
the use of blogs, persons can extend their knowledge and the way they make
interpretations, they can make connections and respond to the different positions of others.
Collaboration with each other can promote students to think critically and analytically.
When responding to comments students can engage in reflection, while being encouraged
to be creative, take initiative, and think analogically.
For this unit, students will set up a blog account and make it open for subscriptions to
RSS feeds. Students must post the link to their personal blog (the URL) on the Blog Links
Discussion Board. Students will pay a visit to each blog link posted by your fellow group
members on the Blog Links Discussion Board, and subscribe to each blog's RSS feed.
Doing so will allow the e-tutor to easily stay abreast of the posts and updates made to each
blog without needing to visit each individual blog. Throughout the course, students will
post comments and discussion points to other students blogs. The blogs will be used to post
assignment homework/class activities as well as sharing class related information with
students to explore, share and log teaching and learning ideas.
Communication and Messaging

Discussion Forums (Asynchronous)

Discussion forums will allow students to communicate informally through their

personal learning space or formally through threaded discussions in the modules/units.

This collaborative tool will allow learners to discuss the development of ICT and the

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

13

relevant learning theories that can guide the use of ICT in education. Discussions will
provide a student with an opportunity to interact with other students as they exchange
thoughts and points of view about the weekly topics as well as your educational
experiences in general. The use of the rubric provided when grading the discussions will
assist in determining the scope of the postings required as well as the length of this
discussion. Students will be engaged in discussion forums through comments that are
encouraging, motivational and relevant to the students posts.

Feedback and responses to

students discussion posts would be addressed within 24 hours of their post.

Blackboard Collaborate (Synchronous)

The Blackboard Collaborate discussions will be scheduled so they do not conflict with

other engagements. Students are required to participate in 2 or more collaborate sessions to

take the place of graded discussion activities (therefore they can choose either written
discussion, or live/verbal discussion, but they MUST participate in the live/verbal
discussions up to two times during the semester, to remain true to the nature of the course
and to practice using the ICT tools that are integrated).

Email
E-mailing provides synchronous communication and can be a way of giving children

their homework. Moreover, students can e-mail their homework or an assignment to the etutor as well. E-mailing can also be used to relay class news and give feedback to students
and parents on work done. Students can use e-mail to work together on group assignments.
Data Collection

Wikis
Wikis are tools for the use of many authors instead of a single author. They join together

to produce one collaboratively prepared resource. Unlike the blogs, wikis will be structured
by the content - meaning that when someone edits a wiki page, the current page is there to
be modified. Students can select the materials, verify their importance, write, revise, make
adjustments, and publish ideas and information. Students who have similar views can
collaborate and build on each other's work - therefore producing documents that contain
various points of views.
In this unit, Wikis will be used as another means that can enable students and the e-tutor
to work as a team in the learning environment. Wikis will play an instrumental role in
making the e-tutor's work easier in that every bit of information can be organized for future

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

14

reference. Students will find this interesting as they can share information, post new
comments to each other, create discussions and engage in their project.
Forming Groups

Group Work
Group work and collaborative projects takes the focus off the performance of the

individual student and places it on a team effort. The class will be grouped heterogeneously
as the goal is to create and sustain a high level of collaboration between high-achieved and
low-achieved students. In putting the groups together a primary goal will be to complete a
group based on multiple intelligences. Students will be grouped together with a mix of
ability levels, where it is most likely the high achievers (Advanced) will assist the low
achievers (Beginners) and the Intermediate group will prove the middle-group between the
two groups. As well, this type of distance learning will provide instructors with the
opportunity to incorporate online technology into the classroom and provide the students
with a tool for communicating with each other online, for example using wikis and blogs.
Teaching Collaboration
In order for such this course to be successful and the learning community to survive,
this group of adult learners must be able to expand their knowledge and skills through
collaboration. In teaching collaboration, it is necessary that I provide the means to
encourage communication and collaboration between my learners. This means also that I
must provide a learning environment that speaks to transitioning from a competitive and
individualistic one to one that is supportive, cooperative and collaborative. Information and
communication technologies will be used as additional tools in this classroom and will be
integrated into the teaching and learning process to ensure that learning becomes exciting
and enlightening for the participants.
This curriculum development component of this course places the student at the
centre of the learning process and emphasizes the integration of various technologies across
the curriculum. It will be necessary for me to take a social constructivist approach so as to
encourage collaboration and interactions among students. According to the social
constructivist theory (Bruner, 1966; Piaget, 1973), learning can be achieved through
collaboration between groups of learners. In the constructivist world, it is vital that students
create or construct their own knowledge. I believe therefore, that in order to create social

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

15

interaction to the level of creating communities online, I will have to use these teaching
strategies, not for individuals but for interchangeable groups.
Different learning strategies would be used depending upon the task at hand. It is
important for the student to learn a range of learning strategies as well as make use of their
dominant learning style. I will strive to create a learning community with my students by
providing them with opportunities to enter discussion and blog posts, access emails,
download videos and audio clippings as part of their learning process.
Forming Groups
Cooperative/Collaborative Learning may be defined as any classroom learning
situation in which students of all levels of performance work together in structured groups
towards a shared or common goal (Kagan, 1994). Collaborating as a group will definitely
provide more viewpoints and a better discussion especially if they are three mixed-ability
groups. Group size is an important consideration in the implementation of this groups
activities. The class should be grouped heterogeneously as the goal should be to create and
sustain a high level of collaboration between high-achieved and low-achieved students.
Students when grouped together with a mix of ability levels, would most likely the high
achievers (Advanced) will assist the low achievers (Beginners) and the Intermediate group
will prove the middle-ground that will foster collaboration between the two groups.
It is imperative that the group members feel a sense of community as opposed
simply having the perceived notion that they are part of a group. The positive interactions
for this group activity will prepare students for the modern work place and for society as a
whole.The research suggests that to build and maintain a learning community faculty must
incorporate community building elements into the design of their lesson plan. In addition to
this, learning experiences should be such that the learners are require to interact with each
other in a way that supports and promotes the community. Small group activities are a
critical component of the community building process. To prevent failure of the learning
community, those responsible should have come up with methods that would have
incorporated the various experiences of the diverse learners that make up the group. This
particular lesson plan seems to cater to this approach.

Digital Citizenship

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

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Managing relationships online and managing a students online presence are key to
using social networks, blogs, wikis etc safely. It is therefore necessary the students are
formally educated and evaluated on using the Web 2.0 tools in this course safely. The
students will be made aware of online privacy issues, primarily those relating to giving out
personal information on Web sites. We will also discern from the students how careful they
are about what they place on these sites.
The collaborative activities are structured to promote social change. The activities
will enable the students to apply their own knowledge and prior experiences and indeed
their own culturally preferred ways of knowing to a particular task thus creating a more
culturally sensitive online classroom. Gaining this qualification will provide the studentteachers with the opportunity to incorporate and integrate technology in their classroom, as
well as design it to fit the needs of the class by using their own experiences. At the end of
this course, they should also be in a position to consult with faculty on creative ways for
them to integrate technology into their teaching and learning. I would also wish for them to
be able to assist faculty in identifying technological applications that would enhance their
teaching experiences and the students learning experiences.
The work that is to be submitted by students must always represent their original
work, words, or ideas. It is important that students uphold the highest academic integrity by
ensuring that any words or ideas that are used that do not represent their original works are
cited by referencing to the relevant sources. Students should therefore ensure that the
references are clearly stated. Using Plagiarism software, such as Turn-it-In, Academic
Plagiarism, Safe Assignment and Dupli Checker, can assist the students in the identifying
and locating plagiarized content within our students work.
In designing this course of study, it becomes necessary to decide when to implement
penalties to act as a deterrent or when show tolerance or leniency in case of confusion or
inadvertent plagiarism. Encouraging students to take precautions and avoid plagiarism may
not be enough. Facilitators in this course should be prepared teach students about what fair
use, copyright and plagiarism is all about. They should also be able to them improve their
ability to paraphrase, their ability to cite appropriate material.
The work that is to be submitted by students must always represent their original
work, words, or ideas. Since it is important that students uphold the highest academic
integrity by ensuring that any words or ideas that are used that do represent their
original works, they will be required to reference the relevant sources.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

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Technology Management
Once an online community has been established, I will act in ways that help sustain
and promote best practices in digital citizenship. I will also model good netiquette (e.g.
being courteous and respectful in all communications) and communicating tactfully so that
meaning will not be misconstrued. I will moderate discussions without dominating them
and when contributing to a discussion, make comments that promote not only movement
toward an instructional objective, but also maintenance of the community. I will also
provide prompt feedback as well as a visible presence on the site. I will also exhibit
flexibility and show consideration for students having technical difficulties.
Sometimes the social interaction of students in an online environment can indeed be
limited. For instance, the use of asynchronous communication may not give the immediate
response that is required for by the student. As well the lapsed time which can occur
between question and answer can also affect social interaction. The use synchronous
communication such as WebCT and Blackboard, may enhance social interaction within the
online course. Chat-rooms and Skype are an excellent way for students to assist each other
with their study.
By using the self-paced delivery over the group delivery of instructional materials,
the student will (1) get a better opportunity to master the material (e.g. repeat self tests); (2)
be motivated through the use of learning with online technology; (3) learn in an
environment that is conducive to their schedule and access (or lack of it) using technology
for online learning. However, the instructional is instructor facilitated course, focusing on a
synchronous learning approach which sets definitive parameters for the course stipulating
that all learners engage in the same learning activities at specific time periods. This type of
environment will lend itself to more collaborative activities.
To be successful in the course, it will be strongly recommended that learners visit
the course site daily to keep abreast of developments in the course, and to be apprised of
assignments, readings, and discussion topics. An online calendar will serve as the course
delivery schedule, and the schedule of assignments. Reminders of deadlines and upcoming
activities will ne automatically sent to the learners email as well within the course on login.
Conclusion

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

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Web based learning offers huge opportunities for learning and access to a vast
amount of knowledge and information. It can be used to improve communication, increase
collaboration, and promote active learning in the educational setting.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education

References
Packaging of Competency Standards for Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQ) CCITI10106 Level I in Data Operations Retrieved from
www.tvetcouncil.com.bb/Download.ashx?file=Attachments%2...

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