| In Monument
High, the school has invested in a computer lab. There are 45 networked
computers in the lab. Over a seven-day learning cycle, every learner at
the school is exposed to 45 minutes of access time to computers. This
has been time-tabled and this exposure is now a regular feature of the
learning cycle at the school.
Educators, however, find that their ICT skills leave
much to be desired. Out of 34 educators at the school, only 7 have ICT
skills. These seven educators at the school taught themselves their
ICT skills. A number of other educators at the school want to learn
similar ICT skills, but feel that they are already overloaded with the
numbers of learners they teach and new requirements to comply with an
outcomes-based curriculum. Some, not having used more than a photocopier
and typewriter to create learner support materials, are either afraid
of technology or afraid of appearing `too much like a learner', in front
of something new.
How would you work with educators' desire to
learn ICT skills, at the same time that you overcome some of their
reservations? What ICT-related professional development plans would
you put in place at the school? Would you block time off for educator
learning, collaborative discussion groups and teamwork? Would an
educator-user timetable be set up? Explain the strategies you would
use and why?
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