ICTs in English: Overview

Literacy in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is fundamental to life in our modern technological society. To equip students to be literate life long learners and global citizens of the 21st century we must successfully integrate ICT into both the English curriculum and English pedagogical practice.

ICT is a valuable tool to enhance teaching and learning. For teachers ICT is a professional resource, a mode of classroom delivery, and a source of valid and valuable text types. For students, ICT provides opportunities to communicate more effectively and to develop literacy skills including skills in critical literacy. It is a valuable tool for researching, composing and responding, and viewing and representing in English.

However, if all students are to have the opportunity to develop ICT skills and achieve English syllabus outcomes, issues of equity and access to technology must be addressed.

The ETA acknowledges the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to the English curriculum. The purpose of this paper is:

• To advocate an increasingly authentic use of ICTs in teaching and assessment
• To promote the study of ICT based texts as valuable text types
• To provide practical guidance to teachers based on a theoretical understanding of the purposes and advantages of using ICTs
• To heighten awareness of the issue of equity and access to ICTs in our classrooms

What are ICTs?

The Board of Studies in its cross-curriculum content requirements has embedded ICT into the English syllabus as follows:

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) content in English enables students to develop and apply skills, knowledge and understanding of ICT in their composing, responding and presenting, and as part of the imaginative and critical thinking they undertake in English. The ICT content has been incorporated into the content of this syllabus to ensure that all students have the opportunity to become competent, discriminating and creative users of ICT and are better able to demonstrate the syllabus outcomes of English through the effective use of ICT.

In their study of English, students are able to apply their existing knowledge of word processing, multimedia, ways of formatting and presenting texts, simulation software, graphics and electronic communication and further develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of these technologies. They learn about the ethics of information communication through technology. (7-10 Syllabus, p9)

At Stage 4, students are required to use specified tools and functions of word processing for composing. Skills include:

• importing images and graphics into folders and documents
• formatting documents
• desktop publishing using graphics in a multimedia presentation or webpage, evaluating appropriate layout and design principles for a specific audience.

At Stage 5, students are required to learn about forms of digital communication such as video conferencing. They are also required to develop the skills of creating, importing and manipulating graphics for composing (7-10 Syllabus p9)

The manner in which ICT was embedded into the English syllabus in its final stage has been controversial with many believing that if ICT is to be genuinely embedded across the curriculum then the outcomes and competencies should be generated as a natural part of the syllabus development process rather than inserted in the final stages of syllabus development. (Leet, 2005). However despite these criticisms of the process and concerns about equity and access, there can be no doubt about the importance of ICTs in English.

ICT as a mode of classroom delivery

Avoiding the ICT trap

Students encounter ICT in many areas of their lives and it is essential that we provide them with opportunities to explore the technology and encourage them to use it as a learning tool.
However it is important that teachers avoid the trap of using technology for the sake of it, or in order to check the technology box on their faculty registration sheet, or as an add-on to a lesson.

What the research tells us

Research indicates that to implement ICT successfully in their classrooms teachers must ...understand what visual literacy is and rethink what learning to read and write means in the 21st century. (Goodwyn et al 1997; Reid et al, 2002)

The research also indicates that ICT is most effective when embedded in the curriculum, and integrated into units of work (Dickinson, 1998). English teachers can maximize the impact of ICT in their classrooms by ensuring that they and their students use ICT as an integral part of lessons, present ideas dynamically, and use a range of media. (Becta, 2006). ICT should be integrated in such a way as to require purposeful application and meaningful engagement with the technology. For example:

while pupils are using a desk top publishing package to create a school newspaper they are also developing their ability to communicate more effectively. This provides both a context and a meaning for the ICT activity. Taking the IT out of context and teaching IT skills separately, not only decontextualises ICT but also places additional burdens on curriculum time. The use of ICT therefore should be a meaningful part of an activity where it is used to consolidate or extend pupils' learning. (Lewisham ICT Training for Teachers,2006)

To implement ICT successfully in their classrooms teachers also need to:

• identify how ICT can be used to meet specific objectives within the English curriculum to improve pupils attainment (Moseley et al,1999)
• understand that successful use of ICT depends on other factors such as pupils’ work in the classroom away from the computer, discussions between pupils and between pupils and their teacher, and the ways in which pupils interact with each other at the computer (Mc Cormick and Scrimshaw,2001 cited in Becta, 2005)

ICT and learning modalities: meeting student needs

Because of its interactive and dynamic nature, ICT has the potential to meet the needs of individual students by providing opportunities to direct their learning and to pursue information, or complete tasks, in ways which meet their own interests and needs. (Computer based technologies in English KLA, 1997, p6)

In particular the integration of technology into the English classroom represents a paradigm shift to acknowledge the importance of the emerging technological learning style which is increasingly becoming the fourth learning modality for students of the click and go generation.
These technological learners:

• are mechanically oriented
• know how to use technological tools without formal instruction
• enjoy using a video camera
• obtain much of their information electronically
• like integrated learning activities
• would like to learn everything via a computer
• spend much of their time on the computer or playing video games
• know how to work with and use new software and hardware
• interact and communicate with others via e-mail and/ or the internet
• understand how to integrate various technologies ( Coil, 1999)
   

Using ICT enables English teachers to tap into this learning style and the dominant youth culture. Many modern ICT texts can also be used as a starting point for the exploration of traditional texts (Smithson, 2005). For example, an interactive site such as the virtual tour of the Globe Theatre site allows us to bring Shakespeare’s world to life.

Using ICT as a classroom tool has many other benefits because ICT :

• provides highly motivational activities for students …Initially computer-based activities can provide stimulus to undertake tasks that students may otherwise avoid
• links to other learning and to real-world situations and experiences that reflect gender & cultural diversity
• increases opportunities for student interaction and decision making…This interactive process has the potential to cater for individual learning styles
• makes complex tasks more manageable …in some cases these activities require the development of new skills
• makes repetitive tasks more interesting
• illustrates complex processes or concepts
• provides access to resources…increases the need for students to develop critical thinking and effective information processing skills
  (DET Computer Based Technologies in the English KLA, 1997, pps 6-7))

ICT also enables a representation of language as a symbolic system. Furthermore the use of well-designed ICT environments can help pupils grasp abstract concepts such as imagery, literary relations, and morphology. (Interactive Education, 2006).

The teacher as facilitator

ICT has many benefits for the classroom teacher. Using presentation software enables teachers to show ideas dynamically (Moseley et al 1999), and deliver content effectively. For example,

CD-ROMs make vivid multimedia worlds available and store large amounts of information … that teachers suddenly have at their fingertips. (McKnight (2002)

Most importantly however, the use of ICTs in the classroom signals a shift from the conventional position of power held by the teacher to a more collaborative approach to learning. Generally computer based activities allow the teacher to assume the role of facilitator whilst students take on an increasing responsibility for their own learning The use of computer-based technologies can shift the emphasis of activities away from the teacher and towards the students, enhance social interaction, (DET Computer Based Technologies in the English KLA,1997, pps8- 9), and be empowering especially for students with low traditional literacy skills (Interactive Education,2006)

Teachers can use a range of teaching tools such as discussion boards, forums, email, raps, web quests, video and digital photography, e movies, and even mobile phones as tools for delivery of class program. This opens reciprocal dialogue between members of the class community and may be extended to the school community at large through activities such as bloggs and wikis,( Kinzie, 2005, pB01)

ICTs and the English classroom

The use of ICT in the English classroom extends beyond its motivational value to address key outcomes of the syllabus, and allow students to become competent users as well as consumers in English.

Research suggests that incorporating ICT into the English curriculum can:

• improve writing and reading skills
• develop speaking and listening skills
• support collaboration, creativity, independent learning and reflection (Becta,2003a, Becta,2003b, VTC,2003) (cited in Becta 2005)

As an interactive and collaborative medium, ICT allows responding, composing, and publication to be easily shared and offers students the opportunity to explore the language of texts more creatively and develop as speakers, writers and readers for an ever widening range of purposes and audiences. ICT can enable students to:

• access information and respond to a widening range of texts
• organise and present information in a variety of forms
• broaden the range of audiences for their work
• compose a widening range of texts for a broad range of purposes
• compose for real audiences. ICT can support them in their choice of genre for audience and purpose.
• identify key characteristics and features of text
• develop understanding of language and critical literacy (Becta,2006,ICT in the Curriculum)

Composing ICT Texts

Using ICT changes the nature of composing and allows the writing process to become more fluid.

Students creating both traditional and multimodal texts using ICT will often attend to the visual and spatial qualities of text creation early in the design process as in selecting fonts, templates or choosing images. (Interactive Education, 2006)

ICT enables students to organise and present information in a variety of forms and compose their own work more easily and professionally. Word-processing software allows them to access tools professional editors use, and to manipulate text in ways that previously were difficult or unmanageable. Using such tools allows students to reflect and self-edit and encourages them to conference on screen and respond critically to other students' writing. (Mc Knight, 2002). Presentation software such as Powerpoint provides useful tools for performance, creates a more fluid environment for communicating a message, and elevates a speech to a more filmic medium. (McKnight 2002)

ICT provides the tools for composing and publishing a range of both conventional and multi-media texts so that students read, compose, and transform texts in novel and challenging ways. Production of texts might include emailing for a range of communication purposes, word processing written responses, designing websites, using desktop publishing packages and video editing packages, using programs such as Photostory and Moviemaker, and using animation software packages.

In the publication of texts, the Internet allows publication and collaboration in ways that were previously closed, or too expensive or time-consuming. (McKnight, 2002)

ICT enhances composing in English by allowing students to

• plan, draft, revise and edit their own and others’ writing using a word processor and other desktop publishing packages
• share and collaborate in the writing process
• use hypermedia to write up, lay out and present their work for publication on the Internet
• transform different media into one text
• email for a range of communication purposes
• design websites using informative/ persuasive texts
• publish writing in a variety of forms
• use video editing programs and programs such as Photo Story , Movie maker and animation software packages
• integrate digital photography and video into their texts
• integrate different media into one text
• communicate with a wider group of people in a range of forums (e.g. via e-mail, newsgroups, online conferencing raps) and hence promote collaborative learning .

Responding to ICT Texts

ICT in the English curriculum has changed the nature of texts, the process of reading and responding to texts, and the ways in which students access texts.

Multi media texts challenge the notion of the English language and literacy as being about words, sentences and texts types. The verbal aspect of communication is only part of what is being communicated in a multi-media text.

There is often a tension between the verbal act of meaning-making, and the meaning which comes from layout and from other resources intrinsic to the materiality of digital texts ( e.g.hyperlinks) (Interactive Education,2006)

Reading multimedia texts therefore requires new ways of reading and new reading skills. These include the ability to read images, icons, hyperlinks, formatting conventions and site maps. (PETA, 2006)

ICT has also changed the ways in which students access texts. ICT allows students to access an ever widening range of texts including non-linear texts. It enables them to extend their information sources, to use search strategies to locate and read significant parts of texts quickly and accurately, and to use the Internet, CD-ROMs and web quests to help with research during an investigation.

ICT also enhances responding by allowing students to compare the way information is presented in a range of texts; identify and engage with the key characteristics and features of text types; discuss the merits and limitations of particular text types; evaluate the validity, accessibility and relevance of information sources and investigate ways in which reading strategies are adapted to suit different texts.

Increasingly ICT provides a forum for student discussion, with sites such as book rap which allows students to respond to a range of texts on sites which in themselves are valid and valuable text types.

In the areas of speaking and listening, research evidence about ICT in the English classroom also suggests that the computers can be effective catalysts for responding both at the screen and away from it by providing focused opportunities for talk (Becta , 2006, ICT in the Curriculum). Lankshear and Knobel (2006) also discuss the new social relations opened up by ICTs that have the potential to change personal and social interaction in the classroom, including with respect to the role of the teacher.

Studying ICT based Texts

The new literacy

In order to fully understand the place of technology and ICT based texts in the English curriculum, it is necessary to examine the ways in which the new technologies have redefined literacy and to understand the implications of this for English pedagogy.

Literacy is now understood as being far more complex than coding and decoding written texts. Its definition has expanded from traditional notions of reading and writing to include the capacity to read and write multimodal texts (Buckingham 1993a cited in Pelletier,2005) and to understand what is entailed in their operation, reception, and production (Beavis,2006).

The new literacy encompasses the notion of multiliteracies and critical literacy. Lemke (1996), for example, suggests that at least four new literacies will be required for the new information age :

• multimedia authoring skills
• multimedia critical analysis
• cyberspace exploration strategies
• cyberspace navigation skills (Lemke 1996:4) (cited in Beavis 2006)

The new literacy also encompasses the view of literacy as dynamic and evolving rather than static so that what it means to be literate is continuously being redefined (Leu,2000). As new technologies emerge, proficiency in the new literacies will become essential for our students' literary futures. (di Sessa,2000; Dresang & McClelland,1999: Leu & Kinzer, 2000; Reinking, McKEnna, Labbo & Kieffer,1998; Tapscott,1998)(cited in Coiro,2003).

Our syllabus now focuses on many forms of literacy (writing/reading, speaking/ listening, viewing /representing) and the syllabus rationale outlines the role of ICT as follows:

They (students) become imaginative and confident users of information and communication technologies, understanding their impact on society. These skills allow them to develop their control of language in ways that will help them in lifelong learning, in their careers and in life. (English 7-10 syllabus p7)

Whilst the traditional literacy skills will continue to be the basis of our English curriculum, the influence of technology means that we must continuously review our notion of what it means to be literate in the 21st century where our students have already developed technological literacies such as mobile phone technology and text messaging which operate according to a very different dynamic from those established in conventional educational practices (NATE,2006).

We must develop in our students the ability to respond to and compose multimodal texts and to critically engage these texts.

ICT Texts

ICT texts combine modes and media. They work in a dynamic, collaborative and interactive medium and may exist simultaneously in several media. These texts are electronically generated, and use electronic sources of information such as the Internet. Electronic texts include such diverse texts as web pages, emails, blogs, hypertext, interactive text and computer games. These texts have unique features and may:

• be non-linear in structure
• be composed by many authors
• encourage different kinds of reader interaction
• have a spatial dimension (Becta,2006, ICT in the Curriculum)

Meanings in these texts may be conveyed through combinations of:

• texts which are sometimes fluid and temporary
• still and moving images such as photographs, animations, video, computer graphics
• sound such as music or voice-overs (Becat,2006, ICT in the Curriculum)

Electronic texts can be characterised as hypertextual networks that explore new types of story grammar and a variety of new formats. They require different comprehension processes and a different set of instructional strategies. (Goldstone,2001: Reinking et al 1998)(Coiro, 2003). These texts provide opportunities to enhance critical literacy as many ICT based texts have a history of use in the 'real world' and can be used as a point of departure to develop critical or resistant perspectives.

Computer games as Text: Computer games are multimodal texts with interactive narrative structures. These games play a significant role in the lives of many of our students and can be used as springboards into related texts and issues (Beavis, 2006). However as products of the new technology and examples of the new literacy, they are valuable texts for study in their own right since they combine design and visual elements with traditional narrative techniques.

Computer games use narrative conventions such as point of view and plot structures in new environments and make many allusions to traditional texts (Mc Knight 2002). They draw upon film, graphic design, myth, imagery and iconography and are intensely intertextual in their references, utilising and reshaping for their own purposes older stories and references, symbols and associations (Beavis,2006). In the classroom we can tap students’ interests in games to teach techniques and perspectives of traditional literacy and literature study.

Studying computer games also enables students to explore relationships between visual language, design, verbal language, and meaning. It develops their understanding of narrative techniques making them more aware of how texts work and more reflective about the reading process and themselves as readers. (Beavis,2006)

In addition such texts can enhance critical literacy study by providing a forum for the discussion of the appeal of the texts, their dominant values or ideologies, their positioning in relation to the main characters, and the particular issues raised by the game ( Beavis,2006)

Implications of ICT and the new literacy for English teaching

The syllabus requires students to become competent, discriminating and creative users of ICT who are better able to demonstrate the syllabus outcomes of English through the effective use of ICT. (7-10 Syllabus, p9)

If we are to succeed in this and produce students who contribute critically and responsibly to a changing society, then we must take into account the complex ways in which information and communication technologies are influencing and changing literacy practice (Snyder, 2001). This requires a broader definition of literacy to encompass the literary practices associated with the screen based technologies. Such literacy is concerned with understanding how the different modalities are combined in complex ways to create meaning. (Snyder, 2001)

Within our curriculum and our classrooms, we must go beyond traditional notions of reading and writing and text types to provide our students with opportunities to develop skills, including skills in visual literacy, which will enable them to engage with an increasingly broad range of texts including multimedia texts.

Multi media texts challenge the notion of English language and literacy as being about words, sentences and traditional texts types and genres. They require new ways of reading and writing. Often the verbal aspect of communication is only part of what is being communicated and much of the meaning derives from the visual aspects of the text and from other resources intrinsic to the materiality of digital texts. (Interactive Education,2006) . These texts require new reading skills which involve competency in areas such as reading combinations of images, symbols & icons, formatting conventions, text, words, and site maps.

Using ICT also changes the nature of writing both in the production of traditional and multi-media texts. Furthermore the creation of multi-media texts require a different set of skills from those of traditional writing and students must be provided with the opportunity to develop skills in composing these multi-modal texts.

Using ICTs in assessment

Whilst the ability to operate the technology eg use a word processor is basic to assessment of ICT in English, the authentic integration of assessment must encompass more than an assessment of basic technical skills and the ability to use the technology as a tool. Such assessment must involve assessing the ways in which students respond to and compose ICT texts and include their understanding of how the texts operate in their social and cultural contexts

An assessment schedule could for example include the following:

Basic Technical skills

• Composing: a checklist of basic technical skills such as the ability to use certain hardware eg a digital camera or software eg word processing, email, publishing packages, Powerpoint, Photostory or Moviemaker
• Responding: a checklist of basic ”reading” skills /cyberspace navigation skills eg use of hyperlinks, icons, site maps
• Research/ cyberexploration skills: eg using a search engine, locating specific information on the web

Literacy skills

• Responding: A knowledge and understanding of the distinctive features of multimedia texts eg the relationship between visual text, written text and design/layout
  The formulation of a personal response to the text
• Composing: The application of this knowledge and understanding of the distinctive features of multi media texts to the composition of such texts for a range of audiences and purposes

Critical literacy skills

• An understanding of how the composer’s choices of representational medium (text, image, sound, multimedia), transitional mode (print, electronic, spoken) position the reader, gives the text authority, and conveys values and meaning

The authentic integration of ICT into English assessment is problematic in an environment where many schools and many students have poor or limited access to computers. In such cases the “testing” of skills using pen and paper would seem inadequate and counter-productive. Real assessment can only occur when students have the opportunity to use the technology to develop essential skills and literacies.

ICT and issues of access and equity

There can be no doubt as to the importance of ICT to English. However its integration into the curriculum raises serious questions concerning access and equity and the following issues must be addressed:

• access to ICT within and amongst schools
• access to ICT in students’ own homes
• access to effective models of ICT teaching and learning
• skilling teachers in ICT

The Board of Studies in its cross curriculum content requirements for English states that:

The ICT content has been incorporated into the content of this syllabus to ensure that all students have the opportunity to become competent, discriminating and creative users of ICT and are better able to demonstrate the syllabus outcomes of English through the effective use of ICT. (7-10 Syllabus, p9)

It is patently obvious at this point in time, that not all students have the same opportunity to access technology and achieve these outcomes. There is inequitable access within and amongst public schools, between public and private schools, and in access to ICT in our students’ homes.

Within schools, the question of actual physical access to ICT must be addressed:

..Despite government rollouts no school has computers in every classroom. For security reasons alone most schools have moved to a "computer laboratory" approach so questions of physical access to computers to teach these competencies are very real. (Leete, 2005)

In addition the differences in resource levels which exists amongst public schools and between the public and private sector schools raise serious concerns. It is self evident that wealthier schools will have higher levels and intensities of ICT resources (Anderson, 2005, p147) and reports from countries around the world including Australia establish beyond question that schools in economically disadvantaged areas do not have the same levels of ICT resources as schools serving higher socio-economic groups. (Anderson, 2005, p148).

Likewise students in economically disadvantaged areas have correspondingly lower levels of home ownership of computers and associated technologies such as the internet (Anderson, 2005, p148) and this places them at further disadvantage.

Increasingly too concern is being expressed about access to effective ICT models since new evidence clearly shows that the ways computers are used has a profound effect on student outcomes. (Wenglinski, 1998 cited in Anderson, 2005, p148). In particular effective models have been identified as those which encourage students to engage with ICTs for higher order learning and provide students with what Jonassen (2000) describes as mindtools or cognitive tools. (Anderson, 2005, p145). According to Papert (2004), it is this aspect of technology, its potential to extend the ability of humans to solve problems creatively, that is most beneficial, especially to socio-economically disadvantaged students. (Anderson, 2005, p145).

The discussion of access and equity, therefore, must be broadened to include a debate about access to effective models of ICT for teaching and learning. Such an approach moves the debate from counting computers, examining the technology budget, and calculating the number of hours which students spend on computers to a consideration of differentiating between the different ways in which the technology is used (Anderson, 2005,p146)

This is particularly important for students who are affected by socio-economic disadvantage. These students have only one” shot” at using ICT to enhance their educational development, and that one “shot” is at school. If the school adopts a less beneficial model of ICT as identified by Wenglinski’s study (1998) then the gap between disadvantaged students and the rest of the student population can be exacerbated. (Anderson, 2005. p148)

Finally in order to address the issue of access and equity, there is still much work to be done to skill teachers in the new technology. Research indicates that teachers need to have adequate ICT skills, regular use of ICT equipment, and access to reliable technical support if they are to use ICT effectively in the English classroom. (Moseley et al 1999).

Until concerns about equity and access are addressed and more is done to skill teachers in technology, the mandatory inclusion of ICT in the curriculum remains a contentious issue and requirements that students… learn about forms of digital communication such as video conferencing (Syllabus 7-10, p9) are meaningless for the great majority of students who do not have access to even basic technology on an ongoing daily basis.

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