The Five Year IT Education Strategy of Hong Kong

On October 7, 1997, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR announced in his first policy address, "We will launch a five-year [1997-2002 information technology] IT education strategy to promote the use of IT to enhance teaching and learning. The main tasks are to equip our teachers with the necessary IT skills; to apply computer-assisted teaching and learning across the curriculum; and to place students in an environment where they can use this technology as part of their daily activities and grow up to use it creatively." Our research project on educational uses of the Internet for humanities studies in the Chinese context was launched in August, 1997 and completed in September, 1998. It happened to precede the 5-year plan and could well serve as an Internet guide for school principals, students, and teachers.

Why the Internet

It might not be easy to separate the political and economic aspirations of the government from the authentic and more durable education value of the IT initiative. But there is no doubt that the better our teachers and students understand the potential benefits and constraints of computer-mediated communication (CMC), the more they are empowered to respond to the challenge of change brought about by one of the most rapidly developing areas of new information technologies -- the Internet. It is the goal of this project to introduce some of the most commonly used applications on the Internet, to highlight the human side of educational technologies related to the Internet, and to explore its pedagogical implications. By CMC technologies, we refer to a family of associated technologies, all of which involve information storage, retrieval, processing, and display. On a more concrete level, they include effective use of computers and educational software in the classroom, internal e-mail, voice mail, and the Internet.

A Brief Overview of Major Internet Applications

It is helpful to have a brief overview of the major Internet applications and their functions. Technical details of "how to" will be introduced in the next section.

Understanding the Educational Value of the Internet

Most teachers approach the Internet with a certain degree of apprehension. It is natural for one to have similar sensation when one travels to some places unknown. It is helpful to develop a "mind map" of the Internet. Think of the Internet as a collection of locations where you can:

• Find information resources,
• Communicate with peers, students, administrators and subject experts,
• Publish your work and ideas,
• Share your knowledge and skills with others in new ways of cooperative learning.

Potential benefits of the Internet for Teachers

• Ending isolation.

The Internet can help teachers find peers and resources online. The beauty of the Internet is: no matter how specialized your area of interest, there is someone out there who can point the way. People like to connect and the Internet makes the connection much easier and faster.

• Sharing of resources.

The internet is the most efficient distribution system for sharing information. Internet resources like AskERIC and School Net can help teachers share lesson plans and ideas, teaching skills and techniques.

• Professional development.

The Internet creates potential for collaboration among educators to further professional development.

Potential benefits of the Internet for Students

• Active learning environment.

The Internet can help reform-oriented educators provide an active learning environment where students are engaged in in-depth projects to investigate the real world. Rather than listening passively to a lecture, students can learn something by doing it, using it immediately and teaching peers. Active learning helps students attain higher academic achievement. (Figure 1 shows the effectiveness of different instructional strategies and average retention rates.)

• Individualization of learning

The Internet can help a student with individualization of learning. Every student can work at an individual pace. It enables teachers to pay individual attention to independent learners. Howard Gardner, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, argues that different children must be taught differently, because individuals understand the world in different ways. Prof. Gardner recommends that schools be filled with apprenticeships, projects, and technologies so that every kind of learners can be accommodated. (Gates, 1995).

• Multiple learning styles

The Internet can help teachers accommodate multiple learning styles and different learning rates in the classroom.

• Authentic language/content-based learning

The Internet provides an authentic learning environment where students work with peers in other countries in collaborative projects, research a subject content in groups and learn how to work in teams to complete content-based writing tasks. Student motivation can be greatly increased.

Potential benefits of the Internet for Schools

• Internet can help administrators to collaborate with other administrators and streamline many of the administrative functions. It is more efficient and effective to use the Internet to arrange meetings, send memos, keep in touch with parents and exchange student records or news of activities between schools.

• The Internet can be a catalyst and enabler of "systemic reform", that is, a revamp of how we teach and learn as well as changes to the school structure itself. Computer scientists predict that the greatest benefit of the Internet is the application of technology to education. (Gates, 1995, p. 184).
• The Internet can be used as a huge global library of online learning sources. For example, Britannica Online is now available and the entire text of 32 volumes is searchable online. Self-access learning resources such as the Independent Learning Centre Web site of The Chinese University of Hong Kong are easily accessible.

Potential Benefits of the Internet for the Community

• The Internet can put a school in better touch with the community. A stronger community-school relationship can be built by making student projects and information available to the whole community through Web pages. Community-based project findings can also shared on the internet for the benefits of the local community.
• The Internet encourages lifelong learning of the citizens of a community. After students leave their school and join the world of work, they can still engage in learning and updating their skills and knowledge via the Internet. The meaning of education will be changed from getting a diploma to something more -- the enjoyment of lifelong learning.

Changes in the Role of Students and Teachers

• For students, independent learning takes a lot of self-discipline, initiative, planning, consultation with teachers, peer learning and team work.
• For teachers, some fear that they may lose their jobs. They fear that technology will replace teachers and it will dehumanize formal education. IT WON'T. Machines can never replace the innovative administrators and teachers who love to work with students.
• It is very wise of teachers to get online and to be an informed guide on the side rather than a sage on the stage. "Computers will never replace teachers. But teachers who use computers will replace those who don't. - Ray Clifford, Provost of the Defense Language Institute. What we need is a re-examination of classroom roles and classroom processes and the changing paradigms of college teaching. (See Table 1)

Table 1. A Re-examination of Classroom Roles and Classroom Processes:

(Sandholtz, 1997. p.14 and also Anita Lie's "Cooperative learning: changing paradigms of college teaching", 1998)

• Having access to the Internet can change your views on learning and teaching. It can excite you and challenge you to think about the possibilities for what you have wanted to do all along. Using the Internet for schools is a global, grassroots and generative movement in educational reform. Get connected and make the most of the changes. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. What is important is to get started.

Calling of Teachers in the 21st Century

Teachers who are called to teach shape the future of their students. Teachers are "engineers of the souls". Teachers are professionals and they deserve professional tools befitting the 21st Century -- the age of digital revolution. Let us be among those who believe that

• children are the future.
• every child is gifted.
• teachers shape our children's future.
• teachers are professionals.
• teachers deserve professional tools.
• every teacher should have a computer and get connected.
• cooperative learning is more than a buzzword.
• dialogical encounters among students and teachers enhances education.
• dialogue is humility, faith, critical thinking, love, and hope.
• critical thinking is part of all content.
• context is everything.
• We believe in library cards.
• We believe in paper and pencil.
• We believe in cross-curricular activities.
• We believe in old-fashioned interactivity: human interaction.
• technology is cool.
• teachers are cooler!

Conclusion

Let us all work with reform-oriented educators who believe that teaching with wisdom, teaching with passion, and teaching with heart is worthy of our best effort. Working together we can rise up to the challenge of change in the 21st Century classroom and build a better learning community with lots of human interaction. With the help of the Internet and other computer-mediated communication technologies, human interaction can be independent of place and time and yet intensified to allow creative combinations of actions and reflections for teaching and learning more intelligently and effectively.

-- "Reflection without action is verbalism. Action without reflection is activism" (Paulo Friere)

-- "Studying without thinking is bewildering. Thinking without studying is dangerous." (Confucius)

Acknowledgement

The project was made possible through the support of The Research Grant Committee Foundation Endowment Fund for Staff Development, The Independent Learning Centre (ILC), The English Language Teaching Unit (ELTU), Chung Chi College (CCC), The Research Institute of Humanities (RIH), and The Faculty of Arts of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Harvard-Yenching Visiting Scholars Program 1997-98. We are grateful.

Copyright

Computer-Mediated Communication for Teaching and Learning in the Chinese Context Working Group, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Any part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by an means, provided the Working Group is cited and given credit for the work and no-cost dissemination is intended.

Annotated Bibliography for Teachers

Boswood, T. (1997). New Ways of Using Computers in Language Teaching. Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

This is a collection of activities for language teachers who aim to maximize the potential of computers in the classroom. Activities include word processing and desktop publishing, getting connected via e-mail and MOOs, working with the Web, multimedia applications, concordancing, and other applications.

Cafolla, R. Kauffman, D. and Knee, R. (1997). World Wide Web for teachers: An interactive guide. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

A non-technical step-by-step guide to the WWW, it is an introduction to basic tools of browsing the Web. There are four interactive tutorials to help users get online. The book is composed of 6 chapters: The Internet and the World Wide Web, The Netscape Interface, Interactive World Wide Web Tour, Bookmarks, Using Search Engines, and Educational Web Sites.

Casson, L., et. al. (1997). Making technology happen: Best practices and policies from exemplary K-12 schools for teachers, principals, parents, policy makers and industry. Southern Technology Council, USA. (http://www.southern.org/edtech/)

A practical guide to the integration of educational technologies in schools. Highly recommended. Available on the Web.

Chan, C. (1997). "VLE: A collaborative learning environment over the internet" in

Publishing on the line: Proceedings of the third Hong Kong Web Symposium. 7-10 May, 1997. Ed. Bacon-Shone J. and Castro F. Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong.

This is an innovative case study of the setting up of a 'virtual learning environment' at the University of Hong Kong by a computer science graduate student.

Comer, D.E.(1997). The Internet book: Everything you need to know about computer networking and how the Internet works. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

A primer covering all the basics of Internet skills, the Internet Book provides accurate, up-to-date Internet working literacy information to people with no technical background.

Covey, S.(1989). The seven habits of highly effective people. New York: Fireside.

This is book of high critical acclaim on self-management, dependence, independence, and interdependence.

Crump, E. and Carbone, Nick. (1997). English online: A student's guide to the Internet and World Wide Web. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

It shows how to incorporate the Internet into English courses, and it covers the basics of online communication, plus advanced features. It also provides advice on research and documentation of electronic sources.

Dockterman, D. (1997). Great teaching in the one computer classroom. Boston: Tom Snyder Production.

The book offers practical solutions for turning the computer into a valuable teaching tool inside and outside the classroom. It shows how a single computer can help to ease administrative burdens, enliven classroom presentations, stimulate discussions, foster cooperative learning and critical thinking.

Dyson, E. (1997). Release 2.0: A design for living in the digital age. New York: Broadway Books.

The 10 essays in the book discuss tough questions about the Internet and offer insights into and understanding of how the Net affects our workplace, schools, and government. Her analysis of Internet governance, content and privacy is cutting edge and worth critical reading.

Gates, B. et. al.(1995). The road ahead. Middlesex:Viking.

Bill Gates explains his view of the development of the information superhighway and its impacts. He predicted that the greatest beneficiaries of the technologies will be students and teachers.

Hanson-Smith, E. (1997). Technology in the classroom: Practice and promise in the 21st Century. Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

The 25-page booklet presents the view of an experienced educator and technology pioneer on the integration of technology with school curriculum. The main points include the digital revolution, current practices [in U.S.], composition as process, multiple learning styles and individualized learning, authentic language/content-based learning, collaborative

learning/task-based learning, the role of cognition, and what lies ahead.

Jonassen, D.H. (1996). Computers in the classroom: Mindtools for critical thinking. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

There are four parts. Part 1 offers a rationale for mindtools. Part 2 describes the use of mindtools to develop critical thinking and collaborative learning with databases, spreadsheets, semantic networking, expert systems, computer-mediated communication, multimedia and hypermedia and representation tools. Part 3 describe computer programming: reasoning with computer logic, microworld learning environment, Part 4 deals with implementing mindtools: problems and potentials.

Kerr, S. T. (1996). Technology and the future of schooling. Ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Ninety-fifth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education).

This collection of essays raises tough questions about what computer really offer education. What is technology in the schools really good for? What does it encourage us to do in schools? What are we discouraged from doing? How can we recast our notions about education so that they remain primarily human-centered rather than technocratic and utilitarian.

Khan, B.H. (1997). Web-based instruction. Ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Educational Technology Publications.

There are 59 articles collected in 5 sections. Section 1 is an introduction to web-based instruction. Section 2 covers web-based learning environments and critical issues. Section 3 deals with designing web-based instruction. Section 4 discusses delivering web-based instruction. Section 5 is on case studies of web-based courses.

Lie, A. (1998). "Cooperative Learning: Changing Paradigms of College Teaching" A speech delivered in Hong Kong at the Baptist University and Lingnan College On September 21 and 23, 1998. (Dr. Anita Lie is the 16th ACUCA Visiting Lecturer jointly sponsored by The Chinese University of Hong Kong.) The speaker talks about the "why", "what", and "how" of cooperative teaching. She identifies the major benefits as higher student achievement, positive student-teacher relationship, and better psychological adjustment. She describes the basic principles of cooperative teaching as cooperative

management, task structure, individual/group accountability, teacher and student roles, and group processing. In the last part of her talk, the speaker introduces 8 techniques of cooperative learning: Think-Pair-Share, Roundtable, Three Stay, One Stay, Roving Reporters, Talking Chips, Jigsaw, Group Investigation, and Paired Storytelling.

Meloni, C. (1998). "The Internet in the classroom", ESL Magazine. January/February, 1998, 10-20.

The author recommends ways to maximize Internet resources to teach in the English language classroom. She gives her rationale as increased student motivation, authentic language, global awareness, and environmental friendliness. Then she describes some e-mail projects and dialogue journals, keypal projects. There is a list of useful links at the end of the article.

Negroponte, N. (1995). Being digital. New York: Vintage.

This is a modern classic on impact of the digital revolution. It was written by the MIT Media Lab director. The style of the presentation is casual and informal. The ideas are revealing.

Perkins, D. (1992). Smart schools: Better thinking and learning for every child. New York: The Free Press.

The author develops the idea of Theory One and beyond as a solution to sad state of American education today. It covers the four basic principles of Theory One: clear information, thoughtful practice, informative feedback, strong intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. He also discusses the ideas of teaching for understanding, creating the meta-curriculum, the role of distributed intelligence, the cognitive economy of schooling the victory gardens for revitalized education, and the challenge of wide-scale change.

Perkins, D., Schwartz,J., West. W.M. and Wiske, M.S. (1995). Software goes to school: Teaching for understanding with new technologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

This is an anthology of 15 articles on the use of computer technology in the classroom. Focusing on three broad themes -- the nature of understanding, the potential of technology in the classroom, and the transformation of education al theory into practice --the contributors discuss issues of technology for education.

Oppenheimer, T. (July 1997). "The Computer Delusion". The Atlantic Monthly.

(http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/97jul/computer.htm)

This thoughtful article raises serious challenge to the value of computer in most applications in schools. The author criticizes the Clinton administration goal of "computers in every classroom" and US policy-makers' "credulous and costly enthusiasm.

Porter, D. (1997). Internet Culture. Ed. London: Routledge.

The book offers a critical interrogation of critical issues of the cyberspace and the implications of virtual community. It draws on a range of disciplines like anthropology, sociology, rhetoric, literary studies, and political science in its critique.

Sandholtz, J.H., Ringstaff, C. and Dwyer, D.C. (1997). Teaching with technology: Creating student-centered classrooms. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

The book gives vivid case studies of the use of computers in the classrooms featuring 10y years' experience of The Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) Project. It is a useful guidebook for teachers, teacher educators, and school administrators committed to educational excellence in electronic classrooms.

Serim, F. and Koch, M. (1996). NetLearning: Why teachers use the Internet. Sebastopol, CA.: Songline Studios, Inc. and O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.

NetLearning is about what students and teachers are learning online, their success stories show why the Internet has become invaluable in the classroom. Part I - Inspiration and Innovation. Part 2 - From Theory to Practice. Part 3 - Broadening Your Vision. Appendices include glossary, WWW resources and extensive bibliography.

Snyder, T. (March 1994). "Blinded by Science". The Executive Educator. 1-5.

A short article by a former teacher and a now director of a software company on the limitations of the use of new technologies in education.

Sperling.D. (1997). The Internet guide for English language teachers. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.

An introductory book for English language teachers interested in using the Internet for teaching. The seven chapters include getting connected to the Web, search engines, mailings lists and newsgroups, creating your own home page, collections of useful web sites for ELT, job search, and copyright laws on the Web.

Starr, P. (1996). "Computing our way to educational reform." The American Prospect. No.27. (July-August 1996): 50-60.

(http://epn.org.prospect/27/27star.html).

An insightful historical account of the impact of computers on educational reform in the United States.

Warschuaer, M. (1995). Computer-midated Collaborative Learning: Theory and Practice. (Research Note#17). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i.

A 30-page monograph on the theory and practice of computer-mediated communication that discuss the special features of online communication being text-based, computer-meditated, many-to-many, time- and place-independent, and distributed via hypermedia links. It emphasizes the educational value of creating cross-cultural learning communities.

Warschuaer, M. (1995). E-mail for English Teaching. Alexandria, VA:

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

The book introduces the use e-mail for teacher collaboration, in a single-classroom, for cross-cultural exchange, for distance education, finding resources on the Internet. There is also a list of important books, journals, organizations and Internet sites of interest to English teachers and students, and a glossary of Internet vocabulary.