John Eklund, Access OnLine Pty Limited, 112 Alexander St, Crows Nest, Sydney, NSW. johne@accessonline.com.au
Vicki Kwan, The University of Technology, Sydney. vkwan@dinsdale.com.au
Information Technologies, Collaborative Learning, Project-based Learning
In recent years there have been many writers who have suggested that information and communication technologies (ICT), and in particular the Web, have provided a means for enhancing not just collaborative opportunities, but the collaborative learning process itself at a classroom level. ICT has undoubtedly offered numerous practical advantages by allowing users to overcome restrictions of time and place, transcending barriers of textbooks and classroom walls, providing up-to-date resources for teachers and students, supporting a range of individual learning styles, providing authentic contexts for students and broadening the curriculum. In the Primary classroom, the value of ICT is generally believed to be as self-evident, if not well-implemented as yet. As an approach, however, it is not proven. This paper seeks to add the weight of a formal research study to anecdotal evidence supporting the use of ICT in Australian Primary School education.
One of the most promising ways the Internet is being utilised in schools is to participate in global or collaborative Internet projects (Carrucan et. al., 1998). These projects often involve students in using the Internet and WWW for research, publishing of Web pages and e-mail. These project-based learning contexts are motivating students and providing real life contexts for successful collaborative learning (Lonergan, 1997; Federman & Edwards, 1997; HREF8; Mather, 1996). One such project is the Australian School’s Web Challenge, and this forms the vehicle on which our study of collaborative uses of ICT is based.
To date, most of the literature about collaborative ICT projects, with the possible exception of Wyld (1996), is dominated by academic discourse and anecdotal reports of successful classroom practice [HREF1]. The most significant aspect of these sources is that the majority claims positive learning outcomes. With a large body of such evidence proclaiming the benefits of collaborative Internet projects and ever increasing numbers of Australian and overseas schools participating, this paper offers survey evidence establishing how these projects are enhancing education of Primary education students.
This paper reports results from a survey, a component of a much larger study, that aims to determine the value of ICT in enhancing collaborative learning in the Primary classroom.
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