ICT-enabled innovation for learning
in Europe and Asia Exploring conditions for scalability and
sustained impact at system level
Panagiotis Kampylis & Yves Punie
JRC-IPTS
European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL)
Paphos, 20 September 2013
Outline
• Policy agenda
• The project 'Up-scaling Creative Classrooms in Europe'
• In-depth analysis of 3 European and 4 Asian cases of ICT-enabled innovation for learning with significant scale and/or impact
• Lessons learnt and ecological model for sustained impact at system level
European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS): Research institute supporting EU policy-making on socio-economic, scientific and/or technological issues
PAST projects: Learning 2.0
Innovation & Creativity in E&T Future of Learning & Skilling
ICT for Assessment of Key Competences Teacher Networking (eTwinning – TELLNET)
Mapping Technologies for Learning (2012-2013)
CURRENT projects: Digital Competence Framework (2010-2013)
Mainstreaming “Creative Classrooms” (2011-2013) Open Educational Resources (2012-2014) Horizon Europe - Schools Sector (2013-2014)
IPTS, Information Society Unit. Since 2005, evidence-based policy research on ICT for Learning and Skilling
In collaboration with DG EAC,
linked to other policies (CONNECT, ENTR,
EMPL)
European Policy Context
http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.europe-2020-flagship
Educational targets • Reducing Early School leaving • Increasing Higher Education
Attainment
Additional Aims • Making LLL and mobility a reality • E&T quality and efficiency • Equity, social cohesion, active
citizenship • Creativity and innovation
• “Opening up Education” and Open Educational Resources (OER) > 25/9/2013
Research & Policy agenda
• Innovating E&T: mainstreaming and scaling-up ICT-enabled innovation for learning
• Digital Competence for Education and Employability
– Towards educational transformation in a digital world
– But progress is slow!
Small-scale, innovative projects but with little systemic impact, often not continued beyond pilot
or funding schemes, without any scientific evaluation on outcomes, effectiveness and
efficiency
Policy response >>> Creative Classrooms initiative
• Rethinking education: investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes
Up-Scaling Creative Classrooms in Europe (SCALE CCR)
• To provide a better understanding of ICT-enabled innovation for learning that
can be brought to scale and/or having systemic & sustained impact.
• To provide recommendations for policymakers, educational stakeholders and practitioners
[on behalf of DG EAC, 2011-2013]
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/SCALECCR.html
• Literature review, interviews (7), experts workshops (2)
• 7 case studies
• Online consultation on policy recommendations
• Outomes: 1:1 initiatives, report on case studies, policy recommendations
Methodology
• NOT just about going from small numbers to big numbers
• NOT just about replication or duplication of successful initiatives
• NOT about imposing one (pedagogical) model that is fit for all
• NOT about providing devices to students and then business as usual
What do we mean with scale? Sustainability?
• IS about innovative practice that meets the requirement of digital society and economy
• IS about impact and systemic change (that is cost-effective)
• IS about what works and what does not work (implementation)
• IS about a flexible, dynamic, context-specific model with local autonomy and shared ownership
http://www.microsoft.com/education/demos/scale/index.html
Five key dimensions for scaling up educational innovation
Clarke and Dede (2009), building on
the model by Coburn (2003)
1. Depth — change in teaching and learning practices (quality of the innovation)
2. Sustainability — the extent to which the innovation is maintained in ongoing use
3. Spread — the extent to which greater numbers of people adopt the innovation
(outwards and inwards)
4. Shift — decentralization of ownership, knowledge and authority (from external
actors to internal ones)
5. Evolution — revise and adapt the innovation as an organic process, which is a
product of depth, spread and shift
http://bit.ly/DedeScalingUp
Progress is slow related to mainstreaming and scaling-up
Why?
Need for a more systemic approach and changes at organizational, technological and pedagogical level.
CCR multidimensional concept
Creative Classrooms (CCR) are innovative
learning environments that fully embed the
potential of ICT to modernise learning and
teaching practices
'creative' refers to innovative practices, such
as collaboration, personalisation, fostering
creative learning…
'classrooms' is considered in its largest sense as
including all types of learning environments,
in formal and informal settings.
Focus on what is possible in today's practices
with today's technologies!
Definition and mapping framework of ICT-enabled innovation for learning
level of change
profoundly new ways of using and creating information and knowledge made possible by the use of ICT, dealing with both formal and informal learning in school settings and in adult education
current stage
of development
geographical
coverage
the extent
of innovation
the actors
addressed
Selection criteria
Desk research and consultations with stakeholders to identify a number of cases of
ICT-enabled innovation for learning in Europe and Asia. Selection criteria:
not only technological but also pedagogical and organizational innovations
still ongoing; reliable and relevant data can be captured
genuine and unique ICT-enabled innovation for learning that has reached significant scale and/or impact at system level
potential difficulty involved in writing up the case report as per the required structure
initial mapping of the cases on the framework of ICT-enabled innovation in order to reach the best-possible diversity
7 cases from Europe and Asia...
• That have either developed over a period for more than 10 years or that have built on
system level initiatives that started years ago
• That have direct engagement with or are part of a goverment initiative at regional,
national and/or supranational level
• Diversity across and within the cases
The 3 cases from Europe
31 European 1:1 initiatives Hellerup School
European Commission-funded initiative
www.etwinning.net http://plus.etwinning.net
Case #1: eTwinning
• 33 countries (+) • 1 CSS - 35 NSSs • 25 languages • 200,000+ registered users • 100,000+ schools • 27,000+ projects • (~5,000 active)
Scale and geographical coverage
http://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/news/press_corner/statistics.cfm
Case #1: eTwinning
Policy goals (Barcelona European Council in March 2002): to promote school twinning as an opportunity for all students to learn and practice ICT skills and to promote awareness of the multicultural European model of society.
Case #1: eTwinning
Source: Vuorikari, 2010
Case #1: eTwinning
Mapping eTwinning
Case #1: eTwinning
Conditions for sustained impact and scaling up
Challenges/barriers to sustainability
CSS & NSSs provide multiple levels of top-down agency to support bottom-up innovation. Stable funding for 2014-2020 via Erasmus+. Sustainability good at system level.
Low scalability at school level, mainly because of limited (or no) compensation and recognition. In many countries still not integral part of the curricula and teachers initial education and in-service training. Teachers' ICT skills and confidence still a barrier. Project work is usually not part of the formal assessment. No interoperability with other networks
3.3%
eTwinning reach (2012)
Case #1: eTwinning
JRC -IPTS in collaboration with European Schoolnet (Jan to Dec 2012)
Target: Primary and secondary schools
Focus: notion of 1:1 learning rather than 1:1 device
Inclusion criteria:
• ‘True’ 1:1 initiatives according to the definition: “equipping all students of a given school, class or age group, with a portable computer device”
• Launched within an educational framework
• Recent 1:1 initiatives at local, regional, national or international level
• Significant scale and/or impact
The 1:1 Learning study
Case #2: 1:1 learning*
* in collaboration with Stefania Bocconi
31 recent initiatives in 19 European countries, 47.000 schools, 17,5 million students
Laptops and netbooks in most of the cases; tablets in some cases; smartphones in few initiatives
Case #2: 1:1 learning
Local/regional pilot
System-wide pilot
System-wide implementation
Case #2: 1:1 learning
• Full financing (e.g. by the state or local authority)
• Co-financing involving the state, local authorities and other stakeholders such as parents
• Free provision of equipment by industry
The financing models
Case #2: 1:1 learning
Pedagogical theory underpinning innovation
Case #2: 1:1 learning
Conditions for sustained impact and scaling up
Challenges/barriers to sustainability
Impact objectives if underpinned by Learning Sciences principles—teacher role, objectives, guidelines, tools, knowledge matter (improved participation levels and students’ motivation an extended learning opportunities outside the school). Impact beyond technology: CPD, Training, School organizational practices, involvement of parents, etc.
Large scale implementations are challenging due to the current economic climate and new patterns of ownership and deployment models need to be adopted (e.g. BYOD) for sustainable development and further uptake. Need productive learning scenarios and medium to long-term plan.
Case #2: 1:1 learning
Hellerup School, Denmark
• public primary and lower secondary school (6-16 years old), since 2002
• 750 pupils and 65 teachers and assistants
• Keywords: flexibility, creativity, learning styles and systemic innovation
• Implements a systemic approach to educational innovation that involves and impacts the whole school community.
• Innovative physical space – Emphasis on stakeholder and user participation in the design process
Case #3: Hellerup
Hellerup School, Denmark
• Integrated flexibility for learning: no classrooms, personalized and self-regulated learning
• Wi-Fi everywhere, BYOD, mobile learning
• Teachers work autonomously in small teams
• Wide-ranging partnerships (e.g. European SchoolNet)
• Distributed leadership
Case #3: Hellerup
Conditions for sustained impact and scaling up
Challenges/barriers to sustainability
Success in building coherent school ecology, high teacher ownership, strong parent & community support, industry & academia partnership.
Almost disruptive innovation, difficult to scale up. Pressure from high-stake national tests (where factual knowledge is predominantly assessed), and to maintain vitality as school of the future today. This model of almost disruptive innovation requires readiness and long-term engagement by all the stakeholders involved and high investment in school premises and infrastructure.
Case #3: Hellerup
4 Cases from Asia
mp3
Nancy LAW
University of Hong Kong
Seungyeon HAN
Hanyang Cyber University
Digital Textbook
Naomi MIYAKE
University of Tokyo
Chee-Kit LOOI
Nanyang Technological University
• long innovation histories in education
• ongoing large-scale initiatives of ICT-enabled innovation for learning
• high ranking in international benchmarking on educational performance (e.g. OECD's PISA).
e-Learning pilot scheme in Hong Kong
Case #4: e-Learning Pilot
42
•Call for proposals: 21 pilot projects for 3 years (2011-2014)
•Similar aims (including digital divide) + development of learning resources
Challenges
•Lack of common pedagogical theory - not highly innovative
•Difficulties in higher level learning performance
•Learning outcomes greatly depend on teacher pedagogical designs – Most teachers are not ready
•Parental concern on ebooks – how to help children
•Unclear if and how pilots will be continued
Case #4: e-Learning Pilot
Conditions for sustained impact and scaling up
Challenges/barriers to sustainability
Top-down strategies (i.e. continuation of the funding, provision of TPD opportunities, monitoring of project implementation) contribute to the sustainability of the Pilot Scheme until August 2014. Pilot Scheme is expected to raise the baseline conditions for effective e-Learning pedagogy to achieve the targeted 21st century learning outcomes.
Currently there are no plans on sustaining the Pilot Scheme beyond the pilot phase. Continued funding for ICT infrastructure, extra staff for pedagogical development and technical support, and continued engagement and support from various partners are challenges for scalability. Teachers still lack pedagogical readiness for e-learning and schools have not yet developed effective leadership structures after the initiation stage.
Case #4: e-Learning Pilot
Consortium for Renovating Education of the Future, Japan
• Bottom-up classroom activity reform by teachers, backed up with learning sciences (Univ. of Tokyo) and supported by local boards of education and industry
• Building upon tradition of learner-centered practices: collaborative "knowledge-constructive jigsaw model" based on "understanding"
• Started in 2010, 300 high schools, 80 elementary schools, 600 teachers, all subject areas and all school types
• Impact: better learning outcomes, 21st century skills, increased motivation to learn outside school & stronger sense of learning among students "and" teachers
• Conditions for scaling-up:
• Collaborative and flexible organisation, strong teacher involvement
• Networks of small networks of actors (5-10)
Case #5: CoREF
Conditions for sustained impact and scaling up
Challenges/barriers to sustainability
MEXT awarded University of Tokyo to continue CoREF from 2013 to 2017. In the coming 2-3 years the project participants are expected to expand by 20 to 30% each year. Reform movements in entrance exams of colleges and universities are in place providing CoREF with chances to expand its reform efforts.
Raising standards of learning up to globally competitive levels and shifting teachers' education and training are critical issues for the sustainability and scalability of CoREF. The strategy of networking small teachers' networks appears effective but other possibilities for further uptake should also be explored.
Case #5: CoREF
Singapore’s Third Masterplan for ICT in Education
(mp3)
• Circa 5 million people – 362 schools in total
• Central, longer term planning: Innovation (& PISA)
• Emphasis on Self-directed and Collaborative Learning
• Strong link research and practitioner's
• Impact: "Cultural change"
towards embracing ICT by
school leaders, teachers
and students
Case #6: mp3
Conditions for sustained impact and scaling up
Challenges/barriers to sustainability
The top-down support, the existing ICT-infrastructure and the professional sharing about the educational use of ICT have raised the floor for the integration of ICT into the curriculum. The availability of funds (by the MoE), the early successes and the increased teachers' capacity to innovate on their own (e.g. school- based curricula), are albo conditions for sustainability and scalability.
The general resistance to change and the preference to the status quo challenge the scalability of mp3. The top-down pressures for change and adoption of innovation may lead to superficial scalability if schools lack readiness for the innovative use of ICT for fostering Self-Directed Learning and Collaborative Learning. Need for alternative (formative) assessments (for SDL and CoL).
Case #6: mp3
4th Master plan on ICT and Education: focus on digital textbooks
Digital Textbooks in South Korea
Case #7: Digital textbook
Digital Textbooks in South Korea
Aims
•To create learning-centred learning anywhere and anytime
•Reduce digital divide & develop 21st century skills
•5th 6th and 7th grade
•No. of pilots 2008 (20), 2009 (103), 2010 (132), 2011 (63)
•Monitoring and evaluation
Case #7: Digital textbook
Conditions for sustained impact and scaling up
Challenges/barriers to sustainability
The technological rich environment (e.g. good Internet infrastructure in terms of penetration and bandwidth) both in and out of school contributes to the sustainability of the project. Moreover, the convergence of multimedia and e-learning resources can enhance the ways and effectiveness of use of digital textbooks in classrooms
Cost-effectiveness of the digital textbooks and the cost of mobile devices are key challenges for the sustainability of the project. There are also concerns about students' and teachers' health with regard to their exposure to electronic devices in the classroom. Teachers' actual adoption and comprehensive support are necessary to sustain and scale the innovation. Shift to interactive, flexible and open textbooks.
Case #7: Digital textbook
The 7 cases mapped on the five-dimensional framework of ICT-enabled innovation for learning
Initiatives that have bigger scales generally have lower participation thresholds.
The more innovative practices are more difficult to scale!
• Started as incremental efforts - progressively moved towards more radical forms of innovation > they have developed organically over time
• Dynamic adaptations and adjustments - an integral part of the monitoring, evaluation and feedback cycles (ecological model of change)
• Started as top-down initiatives - they also have mechanisms in place to encourage and support bottom-up approaches to the innovation
• Initiated even at the classroom level - supported by multiple levels of stakeholders above the classroom level
• Provide architectures (i.e. structures and mechanisms) for learning across sites and levels.
• Technology as an integrated infrastructure for learning at multiple levels
• Encourage learning that is experiential, generative and self-organizing
Common characteristics of successful change
1. Pedagogy first: Focus on the use of ICT to empower student learning and supporting learner-centric pedagogy that leverage learner interest and encourage self-directed learning and collaborative knowledge creation;
2. Teacher support and teacher autonomy: Changing pedagogical practice, even if the changes are simply incremental, requires teacher learning, in particular learning through practice and reflection;
3. Better definitions and assessment for 21st century skills: While the term 21st century skills has become a buzz word, there is a lack of specificity or consensus on what these skills are, and how they can be assessed.
Conditions for ICT-enabled innovations to have significant impact on learning
1. Multiple pathways to innovate and scale - there is no single or best route to innovation and scaling up
2. Ecological diversity of innovations foster scalability - strategies that cater for innovation diversity encourage wider participation in the learning process associated with engagement in innovations.
3. Leadership for strategic alignment as a necessary condition for scalability - mechanism for deep learning (at the system level) from previous innovations
4. Foster multilevel, system-wide connectivity and strategic partnership - decentralized bottom-up strategies coming from various partners outside of the school and the central agency
Ecological framework for mainstreaming ICT-enabled innovations for learning
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/SCALECCR.html
Thank you for your attention!
Panagiotis Kampylis, Ph.D.
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/eLearning.html
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/SCALECCR.html