Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemInformation technology : policies and practices( 1998)This paper suggests that policy is the appropriate planning structure through which schools are empowered to act when new conditions arise that impact upon education. Further, that policy on the part of the Government and Departments provides indicators for schools about prioritising those conditions. Policy in action is often triggered by events which pre-empt policy in planning, and that such is the case with Information Technology (I.T.) The paper recounts the research undertaken within a rural regional area where access through Information Technology might be seen to have added value to students and teachers. The purpose was to establish a benchmark of readiness for the impact on schools of Information Technology. The findings are grouped according to the nature of the schools, the current practices of those schools which did have policies in place, and the expectations and perceived requirements of schools which did not currently have a final policy in place. The paper examines current uses of programs delivered by satellite, and those opportunities offered by the Internet. It also examines the way in which decisions are made about obtaining basic information, seeking assistance and managing the balance between school income and school technology. It seeks information on the needs for professional development, and conditions which affect decision choices. The findings are related back to current literature, and some recommendations are highlighted which should be included in further research. A collection of considerations has been included, along with a list of relevant Internet /World Wide Web sites suitable for education. A copy of the questionnaire is also included.
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ItemEffects of teaching and learning atomic structure concepts through the use of constructivist influenced multimedia( 1997)The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of female students toward multimedia learning and the way in which they accessed information from an interactive CD-ROM. The CD was an award winning educational software aimed at improving students' understanding of the periodic table and atomic structure. Twenty year-10 (14-15 year old) female students from a girls school in Melbourne, Victoria, participated in the project. An ethnographic approach was adopted which included a pre and post questionnaire and some videotaped laboratory observations. Results indicated that female students were generally aware of the value of multimedia learning programs and showed strong interest toward multimedia learning though they did not register a special preference toward multimedia learning in comparison with traditional ways of teaching (teacher talking and using textbooks). After working with the CD-ROM, no significant change was noticed in students' interest toward multimedia learning, their confidence in ability to learn and use multimedia software packages, and personal preference of instruction mode. Direct observation of students' interaction with the CD-ROM revealed that there was a strong tendency by the students not to access unfamiliar topics/areas. They tended to choose aspects of the CD-ROM that offered little learning difficulty or presented quick responses to short term goals. They spent most (60%) of their available time on the quiz section and ignored the tutoring aspects of the CD-ROM. According to the result of an opinion poll, students stated that the quiz game aspect of the CD was the most interesting area. Overall, students were unable or unwilling to explore the contents of the CD-ROM in a judicious way when teacher instruction or guidance was absent.
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ItemLaptops and literature : a constructivist approach to teaching English through multimedia( 1999)Staff in the English faculty at Central College are part of a laptop program, but are reluctant to make use of the laptops for anything except word processing. In this thesis I propose that staff need models for using laptop computers in a Secondary English classroom. Using an Action Research (Kemmis and McTaggert 1982) approach, the author researched learning styles, multimedia and subject English to develop a model for use in a novel-based classroom. The first model was developed, created and used in class. Student reactions were collected and analysed, and a second model created in response to this data. Students' reactions were collected and the models, along with student responses were presented to staff. Conclusions and recommendations drawn from this project were two-fold: that multimedia resources for student laptops are best designed and created by classroom teachers; and that the development of these resources are time intensive, so schools should support staff in the development of these resources with time and training.
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ItemThe nature of technology and its effect on the introduction of learning technologies( 1998)The development of adequate student conceptions of the nature of technology has followed in the footsteps of the work on the nature of science. Not only the students' but teacher's, education administrators' and curriculum writer's understanding of the nature of technology is of vast importance, given the unquestioning way technology is working its way into the educational culture. The purpose of this case study was to determine the technological literacy of the senior science students and teachers of a single sex secondary school. The study was conducted over a period of 18 months using a variety of qualitative instruments. The students and staff were surveyed to determine their beliefs about technology and its relationship with science. These results were preliminary to identifying the power structure needed to introduce information collecting technology (or learning technologies) into Senior Physics. The power structure was identified using Callon (1986, 1987) Actor Network Theory (ANT) and explained using Latour's (1987) theories on ANT. The study found that both staff and students had similar beliefs about technology and thought it was associated with computers, progress and making life easier. Both groups thought that technology was applied science. Whilst these beliefs were found to help the introduction of learning technologies the main power levers identified were the neo progressive Physics coordinator and Physics technician, combined with the linkage of learning technologies to assessment tasks. The case study also found that the staff and students' naive beliefs about technology meant that the opportunity to use learning technologies as instruments to explain the relationship between science and technology, was being lost.
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ItemHow will information and learning technology influence primary classrooms in the future?( 1999)This thesis, titled 'How will information and learning technology influence primary classrooms in the future?' researches the development and the influence Information and Learning Technology will have upon primary classrooms in Victoria for the future. This research was based upon qualitative research with semi structured interviews. The respondents for this research were selected from two environments. The two environments being the Task Environment and the Internal Environment. The task environment consists of Computer Suppliers, Business, Education Department and the parents of the child attending school. In the centre of this environment is the school. The four groups in this environment apply some external pressure upon the school to implement computer technology. The school can also apply the pressure to one or all of these groups. The second environment being the Internal Environment is made up of the school, teachers for computer technology and teachers against computer technology. Similar to the Task Environment, the school is in the centre of this environment, with the three groups applying external pressure to the school. The school itself can exercise pressure to one or all of these groups. This research indicates that primary schools will be affected in the future by the information and learning technologies; classrooms will be restructured to accommodate networks, teachers will undertake professional development courses in this area and that distance education will be enhanced by the telecommunications networks.