Adult Learners and ICT: an intervention study in the UK

Transcription

1 Adult Learners and ICT: an intervention study in the UK Maria Kambouri, Harvey Mellar and Kit Logan Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, London 1 {M.Kambouri, H.Mellar, K.Logan}@ioe.ac.uk Abstract. The study s aim was to develop effective ICT based teaching strategies through a series of trials using theoretically grounded ICT task designs targeted at specific adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL learning objectives. Both the development of literacy skills through the use of ICT and the acquisition and development of ICT skills were examined. Working with a group of nine practitioners who agreed to participate both as teachers and as action researchers, we developed nine teaching interventions based on schemes of work that embedded ICT literacy within adult Literacy, Language and Numeracy classes as well as introducing new pedagogical techniques. Seven of these projects were taken into an intervention phase were the approaches and strategies employed were evaluated. Involvement of tutors was a key element of this process, both in deciding on the development of the ICT interventions and in the research process through reflection on their developing practice using ICT. Participants were, interviewed, observed, and the learners were assessed at the start and end of their 8 week course for attainment in reading and listening skills in English, as well as background, attitude and attainment in ICT literacy through bespoke questionnaires and assessment materials matched to the Skills for Life ICT curriculum. Findings support hypotheses that use of ICT boosts adult learners confidence in learning as well as rapidly gain ICT skills and double the value of study time by acquiring two sets of skills. 1 ICT to support Skills for Life: the UK case One important aspect of the strategy proposed by the Moser report [1] was the use of ICT to support delivery of basic skills, At the heart of improved quality in delivery and materials must be increased use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to improve basic skills. Specific claims were: - ICT is a powerful tool to raise levels of literacy and numeracy. - Computers and multimedia software provide attractive ways of learning. - The Web enables access to the best materials and the most exciting learning opportunities. - ICT offers a new start for adults returning to learning. And: 1 This project was part of a group of Effective Practice Projects supported by ESF and NRDC (the National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy).

2 - Learners who use ICT for basic skills double the value of their study time acquiring two sets of skills at the same time. By 2003, ICT was itself coming to be seen as a Skill for Life, in the White Paper, 21st Century Skills: Realising Our Potential [2], ICT skills are for the first time included within the Skills for Life programme: Until now, basic skills have referred to literacy and numeracy. In today s society, we believe it is as important that everybody can also use Information and Communications Technology (ICT), particularly in the workplace. So we shall offer basic ICT skills as a third area of adult basic skills alongside literacy and numeracy within our Skills for Life programme. This has been a time of great change in adult education in UK and the use of ICT in Skills for Life. During the period that the present study was being carried out, the standards for adult ICT user skills were developed [3], a pilot project looking at the implementation of these standards was carried out [4] leading to the development of a draft for the ICT Skill for Life Curriculum [5] and the ICT Skills for Life Pathfinders project which is currently under way in England. These measures and strategic developments are part of a series of changes the present UK government has implemented as technology is recognized to play a major part in the solutions to each of three major challenges which globalization is setting modern governments - economic productivity, social justice and public service reform. 2 ICT, Teaching and Learning The issue of how to teach ICT skills in adult education has not been explicitly addressed. Tutors who adopt a wide range of strategies for developing learners literacy and numeracy skills sometimes adopt a purely didactic form of teaching when approaching ICT skills, or alternatively adopt a time intensive strategy of individual tuition. There is little research in this area of how best to use ICT to teach basic skills and this study has sought to fill this gap. We have based our thinking about the role of ICT in teaching and learning on the framework developed by Ivanic and Tseng [6], summarized in Figure 1. We incorporated within this framework some of the insights derived from the literature on ICT and learning. (An overview of approaches to learning and ICT can be found in Mayes and de Freitas [7]). Ivanic and Tseng classify the use of ICT under use of resources in the context of teaching/learning events. However, in this study we are focusing on the learning and teaching of ICT skills themselves as well as the learning of language supported by ICT, so each aspect of the framework (which originates in linguistics) has implications for our study. We would argue that ICT is actually implicated in most, if not all, of the factors identified by Ivanic and Tseng, and so has a much more significant role in learning and teaching than is implied by describing it merely as an educational resource. Below we will indicate some of the ways that we believe ICT further adds to the density of each of the factors they have identified. Evidence from our case studies (see appendix 1 for a summary and a full account shortly in provides additional illustration for these interactions. Within the

3 following discussion we will highlight those areas that specifically informed the design of our interventions, and which may be of specific concern for ICT in adult learning. Figure 1: The relationships between teaching and learning: a conceptual framework (Ivanic and Tseng 2005, p 9) Factors Affecting Learning-Teaching Events Participants beliefs, intentions and resources Learners come with beliefs about the role of technology in learning which impacts upon the way that they use technology. Earlier work on media more generally has shown that the impact of media on learning and on motivation for learning is itself related to learners beliefs and expectations about their reactions to the media and not just the media themselves [8]. Learners also have different intentions relating to what they want to get from the courses in terms of the balance of ICT skills and literacy skills, rarely (in these courses at least) is ICT seen purely instrumentally, as simply the means to another learning objective. Access to ICT resources (ownership of technology and access to the internet), personal resources in terms of ICT experience and attitudes to

4 technology, as well as supporting social networks of ICT knowledgeable family and friends all play important roles in learners take up and use of technology. The ability of ICT to motivate adult learners, both to come into learning and to stick with learning has often been discussed, however, traditional digital technologies, such as the desktop computer, may well be losing their appeal, and this project was keen to explore the motivational impact of the use of a variety of technologies, such as mobile phones, tablets, and digital video. Moreover, much of what has been said about learners applies equally to the tutors, who bring differing beliefs about the role of technology in learning and the balance of skills that they are trying to teach, and who have differing skills and access to supporting social networks. Tutor s familiarity and confidence with technology is an important factor in how easily they can integrate technology in their teaching. Through the qualitative data of this study we were also able to record the development over two years of the participating tutors. This is reported elsewhere (see NRDC report due September 2006 at The Nature of Learning-Teaching Events The context ICT is an important element of the context of learning and teaching events, though ICT is not a single technology, and it is important to look at the ways in which a wide range of digital technologies enter into teaching and learning. There is also an interaction between ICT and other elements of the context, for example issues arising from the physical location of technology (often restricting movement in the classroom) and the liberating effects of mobile technologies (at least in terms of space). Approaches to teaching Using ICT in teaching caused tutors to reflect upon, and hence change, their pedagogy. However, there is no single best way of using technology in teaching, and a wide range of approaches needs to be adopted. In attempting to put some structure on the discussion of this range of approaches Conole et al [9] suggest three axes along which to describe uses of technology in education: Information Experience, Reflection Non-reflection (discussed later under the heading How to learn ), and Individual Social (discussed later under the heading Social interaction ). The dimension Information Experience highlights the use of ICT for repetitive practice (also referred to as drill and practice ) at the one extreme, and at the other learning involving the construction of concepts through the construction of artefacts (see for example Papert and Harel [10]). In our projects tutors rarely used ICT for repetitive practice (though this was sometimes done, particularly in the use of Web sites for practice of literacy skills), but commonly took the construction of an artefact as the central part of their activity. Another way in which ICT was used, was to allow the learners to experience a variety of roles (for example as news interviewer) thus aiming at both literacy and language skills through the medium s affordances (video camera/tape recorder).

5 Much discussion of learning in recent years has centred on Lave and Wenger s concept of communities of practice [11], and some work in adult and community learning has put the idea of learning communities centre stage (see Cook and Smith [12]). We have evidence of one case study only where the tutor was already working with this idea before his involvement with the project and incorporated this thinking within his scheme of work [13]. Social interaction and construction of social identities Because of the nature of adult education, all tutors were interested in the benefits of social interaction between learners in the classroom and its effect on learning. Some tutors used technology to promote social interaction and learners reports show appreciation of an improved ambience in class. Earlier research in use of ICT in schools has shown the difficulties with children in developing successful collaborative activities around ICT [14-16], and more recent work by Mercer [17] looked at modes of talking in learning contexts (including the use of ICT). They all suggest that careful preparation is necessary for group chemistry to work. The Creation of Learning Opportunities The management of learning One of the vital elements for us in thinking about the management of the learning was the role that ICT was seen as having in this learning. Ginsburg [18] identified four rationales for the use of ICT in adult literacy; Technology as curriculum, Technology as complement to instruction, Technology as instructional tool, and Technology as delivery mechanism. Tutors reflected on their particular approaches and strategies by being explicit about why they were using ICT. They were also encouraged to move away from the view of the tutor as expert, often attributed to them by learners, to a more realistic view of the tutor as facilitator for learning, and supporting the development of learner autonomy [19]. This clarity about the role of ICT in the learning process, we believe, plays an important role in encouraging learner autonomy which is a crucial for adults who need to take charge of their own learning outside the formal learning contexts. Different Types of Outcomes Content We were always concerned with two kinds of content, ESOL, literacy and numeracy on the one hand and ICT skills on the other. To build the ICT literacy test we used the definitions of ICT skills adopted by the recent ICT Skill for Life Curriculum [3]. Although restrictive these definitions incorporated a concept of purposeful use which is very intuitive in this field. A number of other definitions have guided us to a wider definition as well as concept of informal development of ICT skills. Two

6 approaches which we found particularly useful were those of Carvin [20] and The International ICT Literacy Panel [21]. Carvin [20] distinguishes a number of elements of relevant new literacies, including: i. Technological Literacy: the ability to utilize common ICT tools, including hardware, software, and Internet tools like search engines. ii. Information Literacy: the skills to ascertain the veracity, reliability, bias, timeliness, and context of information. iii. Adaptive Literacy: the willingness to learn new tools and to apply previous ICT learning to new situations. How to learn ICT has often been seen as allowing learners to reflect upon their own learning processes [22], and some of our tutors saw this as an important aspect of their work. Use of Language of ICT The use of the language of ICT within the literacy/language classroom can be seen as a distraction from more useful language. The use of this language clearly presented a challenge for literacy and ESOL tutors and they developed different ways for dealing with this challenge. Some incorporated it in the vocabulary lists to be mastered as technological terms and others left the learners discover the terms and their meaning for when they were needed. It is clear that digital technologies are changing the nature of literacies; in particular there is a changing relationship between graphic and textual elements. Whilst this changing nature of literacies was not reflected in the literacy and ESOL tests used here it was nevertheless an important element of changing practice that we observed. Wider benefits of learning For many learners developing ICT skills is crucial in their everyday lives, whether it opens up work opportunities, enables them to help their children with homework or communicate with distant relatives by . 3 Aims and Methods This study s aim was to develop effective ICT based teaching strategies through a series of trials using theoretically grounded ICT task designs targeted at specific adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL learning objectives. We examined both the development of literacy skills through the use of ICT, and the development of ICT skills. Our main questions were firstly to identify effective ways of using ICT to support the learning of other Skills for Life, and secondly to identify effective ways of learning ICT skills themselves. In doing this we would be testing whether the principles we had derived from our previous work [23] and from a consideration of the literature were useful in building effective ways of using ICT. Side by side with these main questions we sought to gather data on a number of other specific issues: i. The motivational impact of ICT on learners ii. How ICT was impacting on the wider learning context

7 iii. Effective support for the development of tutors in the use of ICT in Skills for Life. An interventionist approach was used inspired to some degree by the design-based research perspective [24], developing approaches to using ICT, and also developing the skills of the tutors in using ICT for teaching. These approaches incorporated elements of learning theories discussed in workshops with the tutors, who were encouraged to express their teaching interventions using technologies in terms of existing paradigms. For example, a constructionist approach (theoretically derived from constructivism, but incorporating the idea of construction within the educational process) was considered. This approach involved multimedia authoring (including digital video) for teaching literacy, and computer-based problem-solving (including simulation and modelling approaches) in the teaching of numeracy. In Phase 1 (2003-4) we worked with a group of nine tutors to develop a number of teaching interventions based on the recommendations arising from our earlier work, a research review and practitioner perspectives. We met with the tutors on a monthly basis, and between these meetings two development officers visited the tutors and worked with them in developing their practice. Each week the tutors completed an online reflective diary, and each term they drew up an intervention plan. The projects developed included a range of technologies and techniques: WebQuests, e-portfolios, Tablets, m-learning, Digital Video, Mindmaps, National Test, Cyberlab and Family numeracy. A brief summary of each of these case studies can be found in Appendix 1. In Phase 2 (October 2004 March 2005) we ran a series of trials to evaluate these approaches in the areas of literacy and ESOL (we were unable to continue the numeracy trials for practical reasons). Based on the development work of the previous phase, seven scenarios of ICT use (also referred to as schemes of work by tutors) covering a range of technologies, software and pedagogical approaches such as use of video, web searches, collaborative work etc) were identified to take forward for evaluation. Each project was led by the tutor who developed the approach and usually included another tutor (a buddy ) who also implemented the same scheme with the tutor s help. At the start of this phase the learners were given a series of tests on ICT skills, knowledge and confidence (CICT), ESOL listening skills and in half of the cases a reading comprehension test (NFER,GO). The teaching sessions lasted approximately 40 hours and spread over two terms. Each classroom was observed on three or more occasions (focusing on the teacher) in addition to which a sample of individual learners was observed carrying out tasks at each observation. The observational data involved recording the activities in class following a set of codes developed in a previous phase. Analysis of these activities was both quantitative (counting the occurrence of certain codes) and qualitative (describing the meaning of the activities in relation to the learner data to understand the pedagogic processes involved).learners were tested again at the end of the teaching sessions. 180 students undertook the tests; pre-and post test data were available on the ICT knowledge and skills assessment (ICTKSA) for 81 students, on the ICT Confidence assessment (CICT) for 91, on the GO reading test for 60, and on the ESOL listening test for 67, with complete data (i.e. ESOL and/or GO, ICTKSA and CICT, and Profile) for 61

8 learners (Table 1). Fluctuations in numbers were a result of students in some classes either improving and being moved up a class or dropping out. 4 Summary of Results In the evaluation learners improved in almost all cases first in ICT skills and in literacy or language (ESOL) skills though, as expected, different groups showed different balances between improvements in the two sets of skills. Table 1 shows the gains in ICT knowledge and skills (ICTKSA), in confidence with ICT (CICT), reading (GO), and in the listening (ESOL) tests. The learning gains for classes were in most cases statistically significant and the effect sizes large. The effect size was calculated as the difference between the pre and post-test means divided by the pooled standard deviation. This lends strong support to the claim in the Moser Report [1] that Learners who use ICT for basic skills double the value of their study time acquiring two sets of skills at the same time. Table 1: Comparison of the mean improvements and effect sizes found between the different schemes of work on the four assessments used for the 61 learners where all data was available ICTLA CICT GO ESOL Mean Change Effect Size Mean Change Effect Size Mean Change Effect Size Mean Change Effect Size Webquests e-portfolio Tablets m-learning Digital Video Mindmaps National test Factors Affecting Learning-Teaching Events ICT confidence Initial levels of ICT confidence were found to have an impact on learners persistence, particularly in classes with young learners, where those with lower levels of ICT confidence were likely to attend less frequently, and were more likely to eventually drop out (Table 2). The reverse was however noted for one particular class (National Test) of learners. This class was comprised of more mature students and a conjecture is that age may be a factor affecting the relationship between confidence and attendance (the lower the confidence initially the higher the attendance for older students). However, there is limited data to support this hypothesis and the negative correlation is based on a small number of students (8).

9 Learning and teaching resources The use of ICT was found to be motivating for most learners across a range of technology use, though a few learners saw the technology as a distraction from their language work. Use of mobile technologies (Tablets, PDAs, mobile phones) was found to be particularly motivating, and enabled greater flexibility in teaching. Table 2: Correlations between percentage of lessons attended by a learner and their initial levels of ICT confidence (CICT). Where * correlations significant at p = 0.05 or better. Pearson Correlation (r) Significance (p) Sample available (n) Webquests e-portfolio * 34 Tablets m-learning * 24 Digital Video Mindmaps National Test * 8 Age The learners age was a significant factor in predicting learning gains. There was a negative correlation in gaining ESOL skills (older learners made least progress), and for men (but not for women). Positive correlations were found for ICT skills and for confidence (older learners made most progress). It may be that younger males at the start of the courses overestimated their abilities and by the end they had a more realistic view of their skills. The Nature of Learning-Teaching Events Use of technology Increased ICT skills and confidence were positively correlated with the amount of time learners spent using the technology within the classroom. More specifically learner use of the internet, PowerPoint and word processing were found to be positively correlated with gains in ICT skills, though only the use of word-processing was also correlated with increase in confidence (partly due to insufficient sample). These changes point to an increase in learner overall confidence and autonomy. Collaboration Particular emphasis was put on the introduction of collaboration, and observations indicated that tutors were often successful in managing a classroom with groups/pairs of learners collaborating. Those classes where individual learners spent more time working on their own showed better gains in ICT skills than those classes which spent more time working in small groups. However there were no corresponding gains in confidence levels related to time spent working individually.

10 Examination of the qualitative data showed that there were issues about the way group work was organised. When collaborative work was forced by the need to share technology it was not as successful as when tutors developed tasks that required peer interaction. One person sometimes dominated the use of the technology, and this may have undermined the usefulness of collaborative work for developing ICT skills. Observations do however point to collaborative working being useful for increasing confidence in using ICT as well as persistence with the course. Artefacts Most of the courses involved learners in the construction of an artefact often jointly. Evidence from classroom observations indicates that this was often a useful focus, generating motivation, collaboration and purposeful action. Observations also pointed out the value for using ICT in this way which allowed differentiation within the classroom. The Creation of Learning Opportunities The management of learning There were no correlations found between any of the teaching practices and change in performance in literacy and ESOL, but a number of interesting correlations were found for ICT skills and literacy. (It is likely that the ICT tests were closer to measuring what the learners were learning and were therefore more sensitive, and so these results may be indicative of what might be happening to a lesser degree in the literacy/esol area as well.) We encouraged teaching strategies that aimed to increase the autonomy of learners so that they were able to engage in self-directed learning. There was a positive correlation between the amount of time spent by tutors Managing activities (tutors engaged in helping individuals or small groups while the class works on an activity) and gains made in both ICT skills and confidence. The most effective teaching strategy was Extending, where the tutor built on/added to material previously introduced by them, or added to a comment by a learner. There was a strong correlation between this type of teaching activity and changes in ICT skills and confidence scores. One strategy was found to be negatively correlated with changes in ICT skills and confidence, and that was Explaining (a one-way dialogue from the tutor to the students on how to complete a task). This is possibly due to not allowing sufficient time for learners to understand the task. Tutors use of PowerPoint also correlated negatively with change in ICT skills. These results suggest that tutors one-way presentation was not effective in developing ICT skills or confidence.

11 5 Different Types of Outcomes It was interesting to observe how ICT changed the nature of knowledge to be learned, so tutors talked more about managing information and less about learning it, they talked about browsing and scanning and less about reading as comprehension. Tutors were aware of the wider range of ICT skills that need to be developed, in particular being able to evaluate resources, willingness to learn new skills and the transfer of skills from one context to another. 6 So what is Effective Practice? The specific components of our approach to changing classroom dynamics for the use of ICT in adult literacy and ESOL classes were shown to be effective in supporting the development of ICT skills and confidence. Tutors were most successful when they managed the following strategies: i. Have clear reasons as well as a plan for using the technology. ii. Encourage learner autonomy (through managing activities, extending activities, discussion and reducing tutor presentation time), and consequently release teacher time to observe and get to know their learners better and so carefully adapt their teaching to learners needs. This often meant understanding how to encourage self-directed learning through boosting their confidence. iii. Use of technology to construct (often shared) artefacts. iv. Use of a wide range of technologies, and in particular mobile technologies to support greater flexibility in learning in any place at any time. v. Collaborative learning was shown to be effective in terms of gaining confidence and speaking skills, but this was not always so; further work is needed to understand and develop more effective approaches to the use of collaboration with adult learners. This study would not have been possible without the close collaboration and active participation, in terms of development as well as practice, of the strong team of teachers (tutors in adult education) who not only were open to change through constant updating of their ICT skills and reflecting on their pedagogic skills, but also took risks with experimentation. 7 References 1. DfEE, A fresh start: improving literacy and numeracy (The report of the working group chaired by Sir Claus Moser). (1999), DfEE: London. Available from: [Accessed: 9 March 2006]. 2. DfES, 21st Century Skills: Realising Our Potential. (2003). Available from: [Accessed: 9 March 2006]. 3. Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, Standards for adults ICT skills. (2005), Available from: [Accessed: 28 Jul, 2005].

12 4. NIACE, ICT Skill for Life - Action Research Project, Report to DfES, October (2005). Available from: Project.pdf, [Accessed: 9 March 2006]. 5. Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, Skill for Life ICT Curriculum (draft). QCA. (2006), Available from: [Accessed: 6 March 2006]. 6. Ivanic, R. and M.-i.L. Tseng, Understanding the relationships between learning and teaching: an analysis of the contribution of applied linguistics. (2005), Available from: NRDC, Institute of Education: London. ISBN: Mayes, T. and S. de Freitas, Review of e-learning theories, frameworks and models. (2004), Available from: Models%20(Version%201).PDF, [Accessed: 9 March 2006]. 8. Salomon, G., Television is 'easy' and print is 'hard': The differential investment of mental effort in learning as a function of perceptions and attributions. Journal of Educational Psychology, (1984). 76: p Conole, G., Dyke, M.,..Oliver and Seale, J., Mapping pedagogy and tools for effective learning design. Computers and Education, (2004). 43: p Papert, S. and I. Harel, Constructionism. (1991): Ablex Publishing Corporation. 11. Wenger, E., Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. (1998): Cambridge University Press. 12. Cook, J. and M. Smith, Beyond formal learning: informal community e-learning. Computers and Education, (2004). 43(1-2): p Harris, S.R. and N. Shelswell, Beyond Communities of Practice in Adult Basic Education, in Beyond Communities of Practice: Language, Power and Social Context, D. Barton and K. Tusting, Editors. (2005), Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. 14. Crook, C., Computers and the collaborative experience of learning. (1994), London: Routledge. 15. Hoyles, C., L. Healy, et al., Groups work with computers: An overview of findings. Journal of Computer Assisted Instruction, (1994). 10: p Hoyles, C., L. Healy, et al., Interdependence and Autonomy: Aspects of Group Work with Computers. Learning and Instruction, (1992). 2: p Mercer, N., Words and Minds. (2000), London: Routledge. 18. Ginsburg, L., Integrating Technology into Adult Learning, in Technology, basic skills, and adult education: getting ready and moving forward, C.E. Hopey, Editor. (1998), ERIC Clearninghouse on Adult, Career and vocational Education, Ohio State University: Ohio. 19. Letertre, E., Multimedia pedagogical resource and learner autonomy. (2003), Available from: [Accessed: 9 March 2006]. 20. Carvin, A., 'More than Just Access',. (2000), Available from: er/erm00/erm006.asp?bhcp. 21. International ICT Literacy Panel, Digital Transformation: A Framework for ICT Literacy. (2002), Educational Testing Service (ETS): Princeton, NJ. Available from: Wegerif, R., Literature Review in Thinking Skills, Technology and Learning. (2002), NESTA Futurelab. p Mellar, H., et al., ICT and adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL. (2004), NRDC, Institute of Education: London. p Available from: doc_258.pdf, [Accessed: 9 March 2006]. 24. The Design-Based Research Collective, Design-Based research: an emerging paradigm for educational research. Educational Research, (2003). 32(1): p. 5-8.

13 8 Appendix 1 Developing the Interventions We worked together with the tutors in developing approaches to the effective use of ICT, starting from the tutors work in the classroom, incorporating the recommendations from the earlier Stage 1 study and reflecting on the resulting designs in terms of the research literature on teaching and learning in adult skills for life and on ICT and learning. Each approach was trialled and refined over three iterations. Below we briefly describe each of these approaches; full descriptions of these will be available in the form of Case Studies on the NRDC web-site at The first seven of these approaches were taken forward into the second phase for trialling and testing. Unfortunately the eighth and ninth studies (which were the two numeracy studies) could not be taken forward because it was not possible for the tutors involved to continue to commit to these studies as a result of other commitments. Web Quests This course used Web Quests with entry level ESOL learners a Web Quest was developed based around local sites giving an element of familiarity which helped to overcome the difficulties caused by the low level of language skills. A variety of strategies of arranging pairs in order to encourage collaborative learning and to improve confidence in speaking were trialled. The personal tutors and the ICT tutors worked very closely together to keep the language focus and the ICT focus matched. e-portfolios This course used OPEUS e-portfolios, a web-based technology that allows users to design websites in which they can store and display their work thus creating electronic books or portfolios. This allowed quick display of learners work (learners can design a web page and someone with a link to their website) and allowed feedback This was intended to both develop both learners language skills (writing and communication) and ICT skills (web design, word processing, , etc). The learners were Entry 2 literacy group of 16 ESOL learners aged at an FE College, who attended on a full-time basis. About half of the lessons for this class were held in rooms with computers, and the learners also had access to computers outside class hours in the Learning Centre. Tablets Tablets were used in an FE College setting with two groups of about 25 ESOL students in one 2.5 hour weekly session. This course aimed at creating language learning opportunities through the use of mobile technologies (incorporating ICT in

14 classes where this would otherwise not be possible) and also laid emphasis on collaborative working in groups with the learners sharing use of the Tablets. The learners were also actively involved with the local community through participation in a neighbourhood project. m-learning ESOL and literacy learners used camera phones and handheld computers with mobile phone functionality and built-in cameras to send text, images and sounds as multimedia messages or s to a website to create a mobile photolog/weblog, or moblog. The intervention was presented as a project during which learners became photo-journalists and prepared a photo record of college open day. Digital Video This course was titled ESOL and Computing, its aim was to develop both ICT and language skills, and it was run in an FE College. It was an optional course for second language learners, most learners were in an ESOL E3 course and they came to this course to get an introduction to ICT skills. Video Nation - a collection of amateur short streamed videos on the BBC web site - was used as a source of examples and material to work on. The learners then used a digital video camera to create films, and they were encouraged to take turns and assume different roles in filming the college s new building. MindMaps In this course the tutor used mind mapping software in an adult Basic Skills Literacy classroom in order to help improve the planning of written work through organising thoughts and structuring work into separate paragraphs. These maps could be saved directly into Word in order to be used as a basis for writing. This was a class of mostly retired learners who ranged in terms of literacy levels and who had a common interest in acquiring ICT skills. National Test This course took place in the evenings in a Community Centre which hosted a UK Online Centre accommodating up to seven learners The aim was to encourage residents who lived on the estate to join a basic ICT class with embedded basic literacy skills. Tutors used Skills for Life resources and the BBC Skillswise website alongside other paper based and web based material and to prepare learners for the National Test in Literacy.. CyberLab Cyberlab was a course for a literacy and numeracy embedded into topics including science, technology, history and culture in a framework of ICT-enabled activities. The intervention included a mixture of constructional, instructional and exploratory

15 teaching and learning approaches. This has included the use of Logo and robots when investigating algorithms, and when investigating fractals, learners used digital cameras to take pictures of real life examples. Family numeracy This course used website resources to allow parents to assess and practise numeracy skills. The workshop was tailored around the needs identified by the assessments. A tablet computer was used to enable parents to model how they would undertake calculations. Different strategies that parents could use with their children were discussed and practised using freely available online children s games and school s software.