ENGLISH AND ICT: MOVING TOWARDS TRANSFORMATION OF THCathy Burnett, Guy Merchant and Julia Myers Faculty of Development and Society, Sheffield Hallam University 
This paper first appeared in the Handbook of Primary English in Initial Teacher Education edited by Teresa Cremin and Henrietta Dombey.   For further details of this publication go to www.nate.org.uk or www.ukla.org 
Introduction  In the contemporary world of rapid developments in technology, and in the nature of literacy practices, the relationship between English and ICT within the school curriculum lies at the heart of current educational debates. The debate brings together arguments over the nature of each of these subjects and their presentation within the curriculum, as well as discussions about the purpose, priorities and future of the education system itself. In spite of this, it is only in the last few years that practitioners, theorists and researchers have begun to pay serious attention to the challenges and opportunities that new technology presents for English teachers and English teaching (Lankshear and Knobel, 2003a; Andrews, 2004).  
This article examines issues involved in the complex and changing relationship between ICT and English and their implications for classroom teaching and Initial Teacher Education. Student teachers enter teacher education with a wide range of experiences and levels of expertise in ICT. Our aim is to enable all student teachers to be aware of these important issues and have the skills, knowledge and critical understanding to respond confidently and positively to the opportunities presented by ICT in their present and future teaching of English. The paper therefore begins with an analysis of the changing nature of literacy in the light of current developments in technology. We then explore different interpretations of the role of ICT in the teaching of English, the provision made for ICT in school and policy and classroom practice in this area of the curriculum. This leads into consideration of implications for ITE in meeting student teachers’ needs and particular issues for teacher educators.   
Implications of technological change for English and literacy  Recent years have seen a move from the predominance of the printed text to varied sites for textual production, including web-based environments, mobile phones and computer games. Screen-based texts are characterised by varied and densely interwoven multimodal communication, with an increasing emphasis on visual aspects of texts, such as layout, use of font and images, and the incorporation of sound, animation and hyperlinks. Digital technology has also made it easier to experiment with text production (for example, using multimedia authoring and digital video editing programs) and to communicate rapidly with a range of familiar and unfamiliar audiences, for example through, websites, textmessaging, emailing, instant-messaging and blogging.  
The affordances of these new texts have implications for our understandings of reading and writing as they enable different kinds of meaning-making (Snyder, 2002; Kress, 2003;
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Merchant, 2006). The process through which texts are created and accessed may also be different. Screen-based composition involves the juxtaposition of various modes whilst comprehension involves making sense of information from texts which contain multimodal elements and often offer varied reading pathways (Burbules, 2002; Kress, 2004; Merchant, 2006).  
The relationships and practices which evolve around such texts are particularly significant. For example, the ephemeral nature of digital texts has implications for our notions of authorship (authors may be multiple or obscured) and for our relationships with the information contained within texts. The reader’s relationship with websites, for example, may be more dynamic than that with print-based texts; Internet-users may return to sites regularly, or use opportunities for interaction, such as online chat, email and discussion boards, to share their perspectives or associated information with others. The ease of communication with a range of others, both known and unknown, also has implications for the way in which people interact with the world around them. Such opportunities may overcome barriers of time and space, or ‘shrink the world’ (Tapscott, 1998). As Snyder (2002) notes, such opportunities bring the outside world into the home.  
Particularly significant here are the opportunities that digital technology affords to pupils. Digital technology is heavily used by many young people in their lives outside the classroom and they demonstrate familiarity with such forms of communication as essential features of everyday life. Various studies have noted the autonomy and creativity with which young people engage in such practices; much online activity is marked by identity play and textual innovation (Marsh, 2005; Merchant, 2001; Merchant 2005a). 
This overview of ways in which literacy is changing raises significant issues for teaching and training. The activity below encourages student teachers to address these issues.  
Activity
Group discussion of the following questions:
What does it mean to be literate in today’s society?
What challenges does the use of ICT present for traditional definitions of reading and writing? 
What is the nature and relevance of young people’s everyday experiences of and skills in ICT to the English curriculum?  
Implications of developments in ICT for the English curriculum As discussed above, digital technology is marked by new relationships: between users and texts; among users; and between users and the world around them.  All of this has implications for the English curriculum. New technology offers immense potential for pupils to experiment with meaning-making using a wide variety of forms and for a range of audiences, often building on understandings and enthusiasms developed in out-of-school contexts. Indeed, as Bearne (2003) notes, young people draw from their everyday experience of multimodal texts in their work in literacy whether or not these texts are sanctioned in the classroom. Their ability to use and produce digital texts often exceeds that of their teachers. Such early development in language and literacy use has particular
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implications for the way in which young people relate to the world. Given that it is difficult, if not impossible, to limit them to a ‘safe garden of experience’ (Snyder, 2002), they may have to negotiate ‘inappropriate’ material and threats to their online and real safety.  
Of course, whilst many young people are competent and confident in using a wide range of technology in many different ways, such experience cannot be assumed given different levels of access to technology outside the classroom.  The curriculum, therefore, needs to ensure that all pupils have opportunities to become active and autonomous users of technology. This means not just being able to access texts but being able to actively participate in digital environments. Skills associated with reading and writing paper-based texts need to be supplemented by those needed to interact with and create digital texts, such as the ability to interpret and combine information presented in different ways (verbal, visual and auditory) and generic tools, such as scrolling, cutting and pasting and finding key words. Importantly, however, the incorporation of such skills may not be most effectively taught within a prescribed and teacher-driven framework. Technology is constantly evolving and so specific strategy-based teaching may quickly become outdated. Different strategies for accessing information are often developed through practice and even young children have been shown to develop sophisticated strategies for using digital technology when allowed to do so in meaningful contexts (e.g. Burnett and Wilkinson, 2005; Merchant 2005a, 2005b). Effective use of digital technologies may be fostered more appropriately within an ethos which encourages problem-solving, skill-sharing and evaluative reflection on strategies used and texts encountered. Within such contexts, as Leu et al (2004, p. 30) point out, the teacher may no longer be ‘the most literate person in the classroom’. 
For all users of digital technologies critical evaluation is essential. Critical reading has long been acknowledged as important within the English curriculum, but its significance is heightened by the use of electronic texts. This can be illustrated by considering the use of the Internet as a source of information. Critical evaluative skills are required in selecting appropriate search engines, refining searches and deciding on sites, pages and links to explore.  On finding relevant material, readers need to evaluate the reliability of the texts and consider the author's/authors' perspective.  Moreover, the digital texts and programs supporting composition position users within certain relationships, e.g. web-pages may position users as consumers. In this context, critical evaluation also relates to the particular assumptions about relationships and values evident within digital environments (Luke and Carrington, 2002). 
Models of integrating ICT and English in the curriculum As well as considering the implications of changes in technology for the English curriculum, it is also important to examine how the relationship between ICT and English is interpreted in current policy documentation. The school subject of English has a long history, reflecting political, economic, social and cultural developments over centuries.  In contrast, ICT is a relatively new addition to the formal curriculum and yet, it too carries a legacy, reflecting its introduction and development and different ideologies represented. Initially located within Design and Technology, it gained recognition as a subject in its own right but tends to lack the weight of tradition associated with more established forms of knowledge.   
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Currently, in the UK, as elsewhere, the role of ICT in the curriculum is interpreted in different ways. It is useful to acknowledge these different discourses and their implications for the English curriculum. Importantly, the way the relationship between ICT and English is conceived tells us much about underlying assumptions about the nature of English (Lankshear and Knobel, 2003b). The role of ICT in the teaching of English can be represented as a means to do one of the following (see Burnett et al., 2006): 
support the development of specific skills  enhance the current curriculum (e.g. DfES, 2004)  transform ways of learning and teaching (e.g. DfES, 2005) 
Within the first model, ICT is regarded as a tool to facilitate the development of skills in literacy, for example in improving pupils’ spelling or phonics, or structuring writing in various genres. This model is typified by the use of software applications designed to target particular skills and programs which enable activities to be closely matched to pupils’ current skill level.  The teacher selects the program to be used and will often customise it (e.g. inputting different spelling lists, or enabling/disabling certain prompts) but the activity itself is self-supporting.  Such materials are generally commercially produced and widely available. Their use is often regarded as particularly valuable in supporting pupils’ individual needs.  
The role of ICT in the second model is to provide the tools to facilitate pupils’ development within the existing English curriculum. In other words, the focus is the development of knowledge and skills traditionally regarded as important within this subject area, but this is reframed within a digital curriculum. Examples of this model would include the use of film excerpts or computer games to help stimulate and motivate pupils to explore the creation of setting in their own narratives, or the use of tape recorders to help pupils access a wide range of stories. Similarly, ICT may provide new ways to explore classic or ‘contemporary’ classic texts, for example through contrasting film versions of novels with the original paper versions or using web based resources to explore texts and their background. Whilst potentially enriching the curriculum, this approach may perpetuate what Cox (1989) describes as the ‘heritage’ view of English , with its emphasis on the canon of literature.  
In the first two models, ICT serves English by facilitating learning within the existing curriculum. In contrast, a transformative model adopts a more radical perspective, envisioning the entire curriculum remodelled to exploit new kinds of communication, interaction and learning offered by ICT.  Within this model, learners develop new relationships with information and create meaning in different ways. Moreover, learning moves beyond the classroom since ICT provides access to rapid, interactive communication between those who are geographically dispersed and expands the immediate classroom setting to include other learners, adults and experts. The flexibility offered by new technology questions accepted learning sequences, notions of progression and fixed point assessment. This makes individualised learning possible and offers opportunities for pupils to take a central role in the direction of their own learning, challenging traditional hierarchical relationships between teachers and learners. This model therefore acknowledges the potential to use technology to forge new communities in which pupils may take on varied roles and develop and learn through a range of relationships (Andrews, 2003). Bigum (2000) offers a vision of this role of technology as enabling schools to operate as ‘knowledge providers’, generating knowledge which can be shared
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authentically with a range of audiences. The voices enshrined in the existing curriculum are placed alongside or even replaced by more diverse voices, including the pupils’ own.  
Unlike the first two models discussed, the transformational model clearly demands a radical review of the content and delivery of the English curriculum. In this model, new forms of texts and the skills required to create, interpret and use them are integral aspects of English and currently accepted practices and relationships which characterize traditional approaches to the teaching and assessment of this subject are challenged.   
Although presented as distinct and independent from each other, classroom practice may well incorporate elements from different models within a sequence of sessions or even within a single activity. Current availability of technology, resources, expertise and experience may limit the possibility to achieve the ‘blue sky thinking’ reflected in the transformative model. However, what is interesting and significant is their co-existence. For student teachers, consideration of these models may encourage critical reflection on different interpretations of the role of ICT in the teaching of English and implications of each example for planning, teaching, learning and assessment of English. The following activity aims to explore such implications.    
Activity 
Student teachers are introduced to the three models discussed above and then provided with a grid (Figure 1) with only the headings in the first row and first column completed. In groups they discuss and complete the grid. (An alternative would be to provide elements from the grid to be inserted as the student teachers feel is appropriate.)    
Figure 1: Models of the role of ICT in the teaching of English  Skills-based Enrichment Transformation View of English Basic skills A means of self expression and communication and engaging with the literary canon   Reflects literacy as social practice, which is changing in response to developments in ICT
Role of IT Computer as a patient and responsive helper to the teacher 
ICT as inspiration ICT as mediating new relationships
Assumptions about effective literacy teaching
Skills can be taught in decontextualised manner
Motivating, meaningful contexts need to be provided for English 
Literacy is itself evolving and practice must be flexible
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Focus of assessment
Performance in decontextualised tests 
Comprehension and composition of printbased texts
Flexibility/creativity/criticality in use of electronic media/environments 
 Pupil’s role  Develop and practise skills 
Under guidance from teacher, use ICT as means for recording and source of information & draw from experience and/or enthusiasm of media to access conventional texts  
Draw from experiences of expanding literacy practices, and new relationships with knowledge from outside school in using a range of forms of ICT for communication and learning
Teacher’s role Teacher as controller
Teacher as facilitator, selecting resources and structuring pupils’ encounters with these 
Teacher as enabler, supporting pupils’ selection and critique of appropriate mode for communication and learning
Sample hardware/ software
Integrated learning systems
Tape recorder, video used to play recorded texts Internet used to access stimuli 
Use of generic programs with a focus on communication, e.g. email & Internet 
Example of practice
Y7 pupils use a word-processor to redraft a text adding appropriate punctuation
Y8 focus on novel, using laptops to access support materials and produce newspaper account of incident  
Y10 pupils in partner schools view TV and internet accounts of healthy eating and then work collaboratively on a wiki  ‘You are what you eat: how we are seen’  
Key issues for teaching ICT and English  Having examined the role of ICT in the teaching of English at policy level, this section moves on to explore classroom practice. It addresses current curriculum frameworks, resources and organisation and offers a variety of activities to encourage student teachers to engage with these issues.  
Current Curriculum Frameworks At classroom level, statutory curriculum documentation and national and local curriculum guidance in the teaching of English inevitably carry far more influence than broader educational policy documentation. Teachers must work within existing curriculum frameworks which tend to remain fixed for years. The slow pace of curriculum change raises particular issues for ICT and English since documentation becomes quickly outdated in its recognition of forms of texts and communication available and approaches to teaching and learning.   
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However, other current curriculum guidance (e.g. DfES, 2003) and debates around the future of the teaching of English, such as the English 21 debate, acknowledge the changing nature of texts and the skills involved in using and producing them, and clearly envisage a future in which dependence upon such texts increases. Moreover, it does seem that visual presentation is gaining greater acknowledgement as a significant factor in text interpretation and production. More than Words (QCA, 2004), for example, provides a starting point for establishing assessment frameworks for the analysis of multimodal texts.  
The lack of explicit reference to ICT in current curriculum guidance presents challenges for student teachers when planning for teaching. Practice in interpreting documentation to include ICT can be modelled during training sessions. This then supports student teachers in developing confidence in their ability to incorporate ICT into their planning and awareness of the range of ways in technology can be integrated and the variety of roles it fulfils.    
Activity 
Student teachers are given specific teaching objectives and asked to suggest a range of relevant activities involving pupils’ use of ICT. (Examples from the Key Stage 3 National Strategy Framework for Teaching English: Years 7, 8 and 9 (DfEE, 2001) are included in Figure 2.) For each activity suggested, student teachers identify the role of ICT, e.g. whether it is used to provide: 
- support for pupils in their literacy use  - a focus for analysis  - an audience or purpose for communication - a stimulus for composition      
Figure 2: Examples of relevant activities involving pupils’ use of ICT Teaching objective  Possible activities involving ICT Year 7 Text level – Reading 11: recognise how print, sounds and still or moving images combine to create meaning  Taking and sequencing digital photos of skateboarding moves using word processing package to add written text Analysing the role of written and visual representation on a website like www.exploratorium.edu/skateboardin g/trick.html Comparing with extracts from the magazine ‘Skateboard’ Sequencing images from digital video and adding text on screen 
Year 9: Text level – Writing 2: Record, develop and evaluate ideas through writing. 
Viewing variety of still and moving images of settings related to class novel on electronic whiteboard and annotating relevant features
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Creating group weblogs using www.blogger.com to post own digital photographs of settings and comment on their effect 
Year 8 Text level – Writing 13: Present a case persuasively, making selective use of evidence, using appropriate rhetorical devices and objections 
After comparison and analysis of leaflets, video and websites produced by campaigning organizations, producing a leaflet/video/website Emailing council regarding a local issue Creating video to promote desired changes to school   
Resources In contrast with the general lack of recognition of the role of ICT reflected in curriculum documentation, schools have clearly seen a rapid increase in hardware and software resources over the past decade.  Access to the Internet is now available in most primary and secondary schools, making available new means of communication and sources of information and resources. Increasing numbers of classrooms are equipped with interactive whiteboards and schools own a range of digital recording equipment, as well as the more established items such as tape recorders, TV and video machines. However, it would be misleading to present a picture of universal rich resourcing of schools and classrooms in England and Wales. Clearly funding and resources vary in different areas, LAs and even within schools. At the same time, changes in funding can result in rapid and dramatic changes in facilities.  
Significant also are the kinds of resources promoted as supportive to ICT and English. A range of equipment and software is available to support English and literacy, the design of which is influenced by particular values and, in the case of educational software and hardware, assumptions about effective pedagogy and literacy teaching in particular. Content-rich software may support particular assumptions about appropriate literacy objectives and the way in which these should be taught. As Buckingham and Scanlon (2003) note, multinational publishing companies create resources in response to short-term national imperatives, which are necessarily underpinned by particular values and assumptions.  
As a result of widespread funding and training there has recently been a rapid expansion in the use of electronic whiteboards. These offer a valuable resource for the teaching of literacy, in providing access to and interaction with a range of texts and the facilities to produce such texts in a shared context. However, their popularity may also derive partly from the ease with which the board can be accommodated within current classroom practice. Significantly, this could well perpetuate the tendency for the use of ICT in English to be dominated by teachers, with limited opportunities provided for pupils (Ofsted, 2004). Use of the whiteboard can act to reinforce a traditional model of learning and hierarchical relationships between teachers and learners. It may prompt imaginative uses of ICT by the teacher, but offer limited opportunities for pupils themselves to investigate its potential.  Its use may also distract attention from the provision of other opportunities for pupils’ use of
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technology in the curriculum. Student teachers therefore need to be prompted to consider alternative ways of using the whiteboard, for example as a workstation for independent learning.  
Given the wide range of resources available in school, it is essential to enable student teachers to develop the ability and confidence to evaluate software and website resources, analyse digital texts and reflect on the role of ICT in the curriculum and in the wider world. Ways in which such critical awareness may be promoted are presented below. In each case results can be shared and discussed further via the student teacher web board or intranet.   
Activities After developing their understanding of a particular aspect of the teaching of English (e.g. spelling), student teachers are asked to identify key principles of effective teaching of this area. On the basis of these principles, they produce criteria for the evaluation of relevant resources available on the internet or as software.  Student teachers investigate internet sites related to the teaching of literacy (e.g. Basic Skills Agency, National Literacy Trust, Read On Write Away etc.) They examine the images and links provided by each organisation and identify assumptions made about the nature and role of literacy.  Student teachers consider advantages and disadvantages of the electronic whiteboard in the teaching of English. They are asked to identify opportunities it provides which cannot be replicated  by a conventional whiteboard and opportunities to involve pupils in its use.  Student teachers examine computer adventure games and consider their relevance for classroom teaching, including any issues relating to stereotyping and violence and how these could be tackled in the classroom.  Student teachers consider the assumptions and values implicit in generic software and  ready-made resources. For example, they look at PowerPoint and discuss the assumptions reflected about the nature of a presentation, the relationship between presenter and audience and the organization of content. They examine the images offered by Clip Art for a particular word e.g. ‘work’ or ‘write’ and discuss the values portrayed by this selection.  
Organisation Organisation of the use of ICT within schools also varies. This is particularly apparent in the distribution of computers (see Holloway and Valentine, 2002 for a commentary on this). In many schools, computer suites are used to maximise resources and provide opportunities for class teaching. Given that such facilities tend to be timetabled and physically isolated from the classroom, their use easily appears separate from classroom learning. Although many teachers using a computer suite do manage to integrate activities with other areas of the curriculum or within meaningful units, such organization can lead to a skill-based approach to the teaching of ICT. In contrast, where regular use is available within the classroom, e.g. via sets of wireless laptops which can be used flexibly alongside other resources, it can be easier to integrate their use within the curriculum. In each of these situations, pupils are often expected to work on screen in pairs or small groups. This places particular demands on teachers in terms of planning, as well as support and supervision to encourage effective collaboration.  
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Given these different forms of organisation and implications for planning and classroom practice, it is essential that student teachers explore these aspects in their placements and review their findings with others in sessions or through on-line discussion.   
Activity Student teachers investigate and evaluate the following whilst on placement: 
how pupils work together on screen, sharing equipment and ideas (through focused observation) ways of supporting effective collaboration in working on-screen planning, timetabling and organisation of ICT in the teaching of English views of teachers on related advantages and disadvantages of different ways of  organising the use of ICT in the teaching of English  
Key issues for initial teacher education Given the constraints discussed in the previous section, it is clear that evidence of the transformative model of ICT and English discussed earlier tends to be fairly limited. Nevertheless, it is essential that student teachers are confident in their understanding and use of ICT, recognise its impact on the curriculum in terms of content and pedagogy and are able to respond creatively to the opportunities available to them. In this section we examine ways in which training programmes can develop this understanding, beginning with the relevant subject knowledge required to use, create and analyse digital texts and the awareness of the changing nature of literacy. We also discuss the provision of support for student teachers in planning and learning from teaching placements.    Just as pupils’ increasing use of ICT in their lives outside school has implications for the curriculum, it is also important to acknowledge the extensive expertise in technology of increasing numbers of student teachers. Through texting, emailing, playing computer games or surfing the Internet, for example, they may use and innovate with a range of communicative technologies and be familiar with the construction and impact of a wide variety of texts. Much of this knowledge, however, may be implicit and student teachers may not recognise its significance for the classroom. It is therefore important to enable student teachers to become aware of this knowledge and see its relevance for their teaching of English.   Of course, not all student teachers will share such expertise. Some may lack confidence or experience in using ICT and be less aware of the skills and knowledge involved in new literacies.  However, all student teachers need to be equipped to support pupils in their developing use and critique of digital communication, so alongside more conventional support for ICT skills development, student teachers need opportunities to use, analyse and create a range of digital texts. Film making, analysis of music videos and exploring linguistic innovation within electronic communication are all ways in which student teachers can be encouraged to develop such experience and insight. Working in mixed age groups can, of course, be useful in encouraging the sharing of expertise. 
The development of understanding of appropriate metalanguage for analysing multimodal texts is also important. Even student teachers with expertise in interacting with or creating multimodal texts such as films or websites may lack explicit knowledge about such texts.
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Introducing relevant terminology helps equip trainees to make such knowledge explicit and provides valuable preparation for discussion of such texts in the classroom. 
Activity Student teachers are asked to identify a range of persuasive features, in terms of selection, framing and sequencing of images, use of colour, sound and language in selected TV adverts. Within a large group, each small group analyses one of these features. After discussion, mixed groups are formed, in which the findings are shared. In these mixed groups, the student teachers are then given the task of preparing a digital video to advertise their training institution for different audiences (e.g. parents, school leavers, overseas pupils etc.) The resulting videos are shared and compared.   
In addition to developing student teachers’ ability to produce and analyse digital texts, it is also useful to focus attention on the processes  involved in composing and interacting with digital technology.  
Activity Student teachers work in small groups to complete a search on the web for information on a relevant, given topic. A member of the group acts as an observer, noting the way in which the task is tackled. After the activity is completed, the observer reports back to the group. Together the groups analyse the process of engaging with on-screen texts. They then compare this process with the use of paper texts. This may initially focus on a comparison of different skills (e.g. clicking on links rather than turning pages, using drop-down boxes rather than indexes/indices) but is followed by consideration of different kinds of meaning making (e.g. prevalence of image on screen-based texts/visual rhetoric?). The discussion also raises awareness of the different kinds of relationships between readers and writers facilitated by on-screen texts. 
Many student teachers are uncertain about the relevance of some forms of digital communication to classroom teaching of English, for example email, online chat, texting and blogging. Experience of media coverage and negative attitudes in schools lead to concerns relating to the responsibilities of teachers to uphold traditional use of grammar, spelling etc. Such attitudes can be challenged by encouraging student teachers to appreciate the opportunity to explore variety in the nature of written texts as a means to raising pupils’ awareness of the significance of audience and purpose on choice of language in any context. Opportunities to reflect on their own language use when texting or emailing can encourage them to recognize the potential for innovation offered by such media (for more on this see Werry, 1996; Merchant 2001; Crystal 2001) and to recognize the changing nature of written language (Merchant, 2006).  
For many student teachers, such an emphasis can be empowering, providing an opportunity to acknowledge their own skills in using a variety of texts. This realisation often encourages them to recognise, in turn, the skills and knowledge that their pupils bring with them to school, e.g. gained through computer-mediated role play, simulation and gaming, and to consider their relevance to the classroom setting. 
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Clearly, the changing nature of literacy creates new demands on student teachers’ subject knowledge. Alongside conventional knowledge of language features, student teachers need to develop understanding of aspects of digital texts and vocabulary required to analyse them. Given the increasing importance of such knowledge in planning, teaching and assessment of English, it is important that any auditing of subject knowledge acknowledges this.  
Activity Student teachers analyse a range of authentic texts, paper and screen-based, including websites, text messages and emails. For each example, they identify the purpose of the text and the audience involved and comment on how these are reflected in its content and composition. In their commentary they are expected to consider cohesive elements, aspects of presentation, for example use of font, colour, sound, animation and links, as appropriate, and examine the use of language at text, sentence and word level. They also comment on the relevance of these texts for the teaching of English and ways in which their use could be introduced and developed in the classroom.  
School experience The experiences student teachers encounter during placements will often present them with contrasting models of ICT in English. These models will be influenced by very real variations in technical provision, access, school policy and teacher confidence and enthusiasm for the use of ICT in the teaching of English. Student teachers need to work with the ways in which the statutory curriculum is interpreted, resourced and delivered in their placement schools but may face conflicting demands from teachers, mentors and the requirements of the HE institution and QTS Standards.    In their planning for English, student teachers need to be encouraged to consider opportunities for the use of digital texts from the initial stages and to reflect on the range of ICT and its role in assessment. In particular, they should be aware of the value of using ICT to capture and archive work in the classroom and ways in which this may offer new opportunities for pupils to review their work. Such methods of self-assessment are particularly pertinent to English, where the emphasis is on communication for a range of purposes and audiences and technology can enable pupils to review their performance. For student teachers, recording can also provide valuable opportunities for reflection on their own practice.  
Given the varied school experiences of student teachers, it is important that they have the opportunity to share and evaluate the use of ICT in different situations. Face-to face or online discussions can enable student teachers to reflect on their experience and share what they have learnt. Opportunities can be provided for peer teaching in order to disseminate successful or innovative use of ICT. 
Challenges for ITE providers The complex relationship between English and ICT does not only raise issues for teachers and student teachers but also for training institutions. The organisation of modules, staffing, accommodation and timetabling within HE institutions can present challenges for teacher educators aiming to integrate ICT within the English curriculum and respond to current developments. ICT may be taught separately from English and there may be difficulties for staff in English wishing to integrate digital technologies within their sessions, but close
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collaboration with colleagues can be an effective way to overcome this. Timetabling of specialist rooms and availability of equipment can also be problematic but wireless laptops, which can be used within general teaching rooms, allow more flexible integration of ICT within English. Isolation from classroom practice can lead to difficulties in keeping up to date with developments in technology and software for teachers, so maintaining contact with colleagues in school is also important.  
In ITE, the remit of courses is defined by the Standards established by the Training and Development Agency (TDA), which in turn enshrine adherence to other national documents, such as the English National Curriculum (DfEE / QCA, 1999) and the Key Stage 3 National Strategy Framework for Teaching English: Years 7, 8 and 9 (DfEE, 2001). Given the time taken to devise and implement such curriculum frameworks, it is perhaps unsurprising that the relationship between ICT and English evident within these curricula is underdeveloped. The current Standards for Qualified Teacher Status make little explicit reference to the role of ICT. Student teachers are expected to be able to and use a ‘range of teaching strategies and resources, including e-learning’ (Q25a) and ‘Know how to use skills in …ICT to support their teaching and wider professional activities’ (Q17) (TDA, 2007a), but there is little guidance (TDA, 2007b) regarding what this might mean in practice. The verb, ‘support’ suggests that ICT has a secondary role, perhaps enriching rather than transforming current practice. In relation to pupils’ use of technology, the Standards require student-teachers to, ‘Design opportunities for learners to develop their …ICT skills’ (Q23). The focus seems to be on equipping learners to become proficient rather than critical and creative in their uses of digital texts. An additional challenge for ITE is their validation process which ensures that courses last at least three years and therefore restricts the potential to respond rapidly to current developments in technology, communication and education.  
Clearly, contexts vary considerably in different institutions but in most situations it is possible to incorporate ICT effectively into English sessions. Some examples are presented below:  
Examples of ways in which ICT use may be incorporated into HE sessions Incorporating digital texts alongside paper texts when discussing progression and assessment in reading and writing Referring to reading and writing on screen and on paper when discussing the teaching of these areas Modelling the use of digital texts as a focus for composition and in illustrating aspects of texts and their organisation and a stimuli for writing Demonstrating an activity for pupils with student teachers e.g. text modelling and then discussing the contribution of ICT and analysing aspects of literacy involved Highlighting the availability of value of audiences beyond the classroom as providing a purpose and audience for communication Using a variety of tools for presentation in sessions and evaluating their impact with the student teachers e.g. what is the impact on the content and audience of using PowerPoint for a session?   Using the electronic whiteboard for student teachers to annotate examples of children’s work Using the electronic whiteboard to model information retrieval from a website and discuss implications for classroom teaching
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Encouraging student teachers to reflect on their own use of technology to support their learning and for communication, for example through synchronous and asynchronous discussion within an online learning environment.  
Conclusion This article has identified an exciting future in which the nature of English as a subject is radically changed, embracing new literacies as a focus and a means for learning and teaching. It has also discussed the factors that impede progress. However, this does not mean that our training of future teachers should present the role of ICT in the teaching of English as limited to that of enhancement, providing a tool to support traditional approaches to the teaching and learning of English. On the contrary, it is essential that we encourage student teachers to appreciate the powerful impact of ICT on English as a subject, the diversity of texts, uses of literacy and means to facilitate teaching and learning it provides. As Andrews (2003) points out, the impact of the teacher is clearly crucial in mediating how ICT is used within the classroom. It is therefore essential that student teachers are aware of their potential to transform learning in their classrooms. By supporting them in gaining the knowledge, confidence and critical awareness to recognize the potential of ICT, we may enable them to provide a vibrant and dynamic English curriculum and embrace further change in the future.  
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Links to other areas of the ITE English website 
English and ICT https://www.ite.org.uk/ite_topics/english_and_ICT/001.php  E CURRICULUM