7. Case Studies of Irish Schools using the Internet

This chapter provides some real-world accounts of how Irish teachers have been using the Internet in their schools.

Conall Hamill, Geoff Reeves, and Pat Seaver have all had access to the Internet in their schools during the past year as part of their participation in Broadcom's Classroom of the Future Project. They describe some of their experiences to date.

Another member of the Broadcom project, John Curran, has carried out in-service training Internet courses from his ISDN-connected school. Here, he provides a more down-to-earth view of how the Internet can be used in education and discusses some of the issues which need to be addressed before teachers can fully embrace this new technology.

Conall Hamill, St. Andrew's College, Booterstown, Co. Dublin

The Internet is an invaluable resource in teaching. Speedy access to an almost limitless supply of information presented under topic headings can transform classroom performance dramatically.

As a teacher of French and English, I have found that the ability to find vast amounts of material relevant to classwork an encouragement to make classes even more interesting. There are many sites in French which have material which is either difficult, or impossible, to find elsewhere. As a fan of the singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, I was delighted to find that the lyrics of his songs, discography and biographical details are all there for the taking. Printing them off in seconds certainly beats hours of fiddling with the rewind button of the tape recorder straining to catch that phrase that you can never quite make out.

The presence of many French newspapers on the Internet is equally valuable. "Lyon Capitale" is accessible without any extra software and its archive facility enables the "Internaute", as the French surfers are known, to search through several months of back editions. You want an article on croissants or Coluche? Type in the heading and "Allez-y, coco"! Brilliant.

Geoff Reeves, St. Andrew's College, Booterstown, Co. Dublin

Although I've been a computer hobbyist for a while now, my familiarisation with the Internet has only taken place over the last two years or so. In that respect, I have found the Internet to be a massive resource of programs, pictures, information, and so much more.

It would easy for a newcomer to the Net to assume the information was all computer oriented but you'd be so wrong. Most of us use some of our personal background and experience in broadening the scope of our classes and as a resource of information, its depth and breadth should meet your requirements.

Having watched a number of my colleagues ease their way into the computer and the Web browser, I think it's fair to say that it isn't the most difficult thing to take on. Whether you want to make use of a prolific, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable resource already in your school, that is a personal issue but I have found that working with the students benefits both parties.

It is a new medium, just as the OHP, white board, TV, and video have been in their time and it should be treated just as they are now. The Net is a resource - a valuable, interesting, and entertaining one - just don't expect it to be the answer to all your needs.

In the past year, I encouraged one of my classes to find out as much as possible about the history of computers and computing using the WWW. From a brief overview I had given them they had the keywords and the names of some important people. They used the search facilities available on the Web and each student produced an essay or project on the topic. The results were satisfactory and I'm definitely going to look into further ways to use the Net in other areas this year.

As I said, it's a resource and it's here now. Point and click - it's that simple.

Pat Seaver, Pobalscoil Neasain, Baldoyle, Dublin 13

From the outset we must decide why use the WWW. Some people will use it because they simply love the technology. Most will use it only if it can do something more easily and quickly.

As a Scientific Literacy teacher for Transition Year I find that TV programmes can be valuable teaching aids, e.g. Horizon documentaries. The problem is the three L's - students tend to Look, Listen and then Laze! They find it hard to watch critically, hard to take good notes, and hard to discuss it the following week. Proper preparation and worksheets also take teacher time. However, by accessing BBC's Horizon Web site I can download full transcripts of each programme. These are available back to the 1993 episodes. Check out the BBC site for transcripts that might help your subject area.

Aoife, a colleague who teaches French, allows students to plan a day in Paris. Accessing French language sites students can check Metro maps, gig guides, exhibition listings etc. While this could be done with old newspapers and guide books, the immediacy and technology seems to motivate the students further. Also, it saves her time in collecting old papers and making sure each set contains enough resources.

Mick, a Woodwork teacher has been secretly beavering away on the Web for about eight months. He has located sites in the US that have supplied him with enough project ideas and plans to keep his JCE and LC classes busy for the next few years.

Another Pat encourages his TY students to investigate specific Science topics that interest them. Text can be copied and pasted into a word processor file and from there edited into a proper report making sure that all sources are acknowledged.

Another major use the school makes of the Web is as part of a Comenius-funded project with five other European schools. Students in each school supply information in the form of Web pages to all participants. This means that all information is held by all participants making documentation and final reporting much easier.

I'm cajoling these and other colleagues to list their top subject resources on the school Web site. Why not check it out and see how successful I've been!

John Curran, Good Shepherd National School, Churchtown, Dublin 14

Some valuable work was undertaken by one teacher in particular with a child who was having severe behavioural problems at that time. The student could not function in the classroom but was able to pursue individual learning by exploring the Internet. The teacher made time available for this individual to work alone outside the classroom and some interesting reactions were observed. The student, while disinterested, disruptive, and unable to maintain attention for classwork was able to work for extended periods at the computer precisely because this did not involve interaction with others. It proved a useful strategy to be able to isolate the student from disruptive situations while still providing him with opportunities for work and learning.

Experiences from Internet In-Service Course

A professional in-service training course for primary teachers was held in the Good Shepherd National School from 1st to 5th July 1996. Thirteen teachers took part. The previous experience of these teachers in using computers or the Internet was very varied. Some had no previous experience of computers, some had experience of using computers in school or at home, and some were experienced in using the WWW for professional and personal interests.

Course outline, timetable, notes, etc. were prepared in HTML format. It was felt more appropriate for participants to have to access this material through the medium of the network and to download and print anything they required personally.

The resources available meant that each participant had access to their own computer which was networked locally and then had access through the Broadcom ISDN link to the Internet. Each computer thus had independent access to the Web. In addition, the tutor's machine was linked to an LCD overhead display panel which enabled class demonstration.

Conceptual difficulties

It became apparent at an early stage that the participants had considerable difficulty in grasping some of the concepts involved in working with the Internet and the WWW.

Speed

Some participants did not appreciate the sophistication of the equipment used during the course. In fact, the normal set up in a school or home - single machine access via voice line dial-up modem - would be much slower. While it was not expected that participants would have a technical appreciation of the network set-up and while it was part of the aim of the course that the technology would be transparent, there was, nevertheless, some surprise when participants expressed frustration at the perceived slowness of loading and delivery of information.

This pointed to a perception and an expectation that this technology is immediate and fast. It also pointed to a need for service providers and trainers to highlight the realities of working with the Internet when introducing this to teachers and schools. In many cases, schools and teachers will be working with older, slower equipment and delivery will be slow.

Scale and nature of the WWW

Another conceptual challenge which became apparent was that people had difficulty appreciating the scale, size, and disorganised nature of the Internet. It was difficult for people to understand that this vast collection of information is not organised in a coherent way. The traditional model of a library implies some higher authority cataloguing and organising information and resources. Using this model, people visualised the WWW as a huge library where all the books are placed in random order on the shelves with little or no organisation.

Use of search engines became an important exercise. For professionals used to using catalogues and indexes, the random nature of the Internet was difficult to adjust to. More often than not, people found interesting sites by accident or through following links from one site to another along threads maybe not connected to the original search task.

Learning strategies

This highlighted the need to devise and develop alternative strategies for children using the WWW to access information. In traditional research exercises, resource material in print format of a known content is presented to children. The teacher sets questions of a specific or general nature but the outcome or expected outcome is known. Using the Web, the teacher cannot know all the information available on a given topic. The information that children will produce - if any! - cannot be confidently predicted by the teacher. This question gave rise to a consideration of the types of tasks that might be set by teachers in a directed activity. This discussion on learning styles led to considering how the technology itself changed the learning / teaching task. Using the technology available simply as an adjunct to traditional teaching and learning models, as opposed to devising new strategies for teaching and learning, was considered. It was agreed that much thought would have to go into introducing this technology if its use was to be maximised.

Many times, when participants were sent to find a specific piece of information, they did not actually find this but were quite happy to browse according to their interests or whims. This did not necessarily mean that learning did not occur.

Of course, sometimes traditional teaching techniques are more suited to the task. If we want students to learn the names of the rivers of Ireland, then this is probably better presented in traditional format. If we want students to learn in a more flexible, less pre-defined way, then exploration of the Web is possibly more appropriate.

The process of browsing the Web for information is valuable in itself

Simply logging on, making a connection and getting some information is an exercise in itself. This was grossly underestimated by some of the participants. The fact that some of them came to the course with no knowledge of computers and within a day could freely access sites from around the world on the Web did not impress them! On the other hand, this in itself indicates an impressive transparency in the technology.

Learning about the research process

Finding information and doing research on any topic through any medium is frustrating, disorganised, messy, and often inconclusive. Whether making a personal tax enquiry by telephone or finding the best price for a carpet or gathering information for a school policy on remedial reading or Health and Safety - the process is not simple or predictable.

The process of using the Internet is a learning experience in itself about research. The different ways of searching and following links can be a teaching and learning opportunity irrespective of the subject. This proved to be the case during the course. Participants discussed how they set out to find information - for example - on the Irish Open Golf, or guesthouses or rock-climbing in Ireland, how different approaches gave different results and how the end point often bore no relation to the starting query.

Discussion / reflection

It transpired during the week that sometimes more interesting results arose when participants worked in pairs or small groups. Even though they had individual access, the strength of collaborative exploration was observed. Some participants preferred to work with others and found the discussion and modification and compromise necessary in this situation led to more considered results. It was commented that when working alone, the option to click on random links was too free whereas, when working with another, the original intention was more likely to be observed.

Conclusion on methods

It was agreed that for some tasks, tightly controlled, directed methods were appropriate. This method is appropriate to traditional learning styles and could be used initially to introduce students to the Internet and the WWW.

In other circumstances and when some degree of familiarity with the Internet has developed, a more open style might be more suitable. The notion of teacher "letting go" of control of the resource was considered. The value for children of developing research skills was considered important. Trying many different searches using different methods and being prepared to abandon a line of enquiry or retrace steps to find a different jumping-off point were seen as important skills to learn.

Two-way process

During the course, consideration of the openness of the Internet brought in the question of children, teachers, and students being able to make material available to others on the Web.

The question of an audience for children's work was discussed. Traditionally, children prepare work for a very limited audience. The chance that others throughout the world might view their work can be a powerful motivating factor for children to strive for excellence in their work. In the same way, it can be seen that teachers can not only access information placed on the Web by others but could also begin to make their own work available to others. The possibilities for discussion groups and news groups were considered. In the context of the WWW, which is dominated by material with an American or UK focus, the need for an Irish educational forum for discussion and placing material appropriate to the Irish situation was clearly seen.

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