Sadly, a search of various terms relating to digital literacy, ICT, and technology and the Ontario Ministry of Education proved fruitless! I am disappointed and shocked by this. How can the entire province be ignoring the fact that learning with technology is the way of the future? I keep thinking I must be missing something! In fact, it is entirely possible that I am, because I teach at a private school, am not a member of a union, and my school is not mandated to follow the Ontario Curriculum. I am less aware of Ministry initiatives than my colleagues teaching in public schools.
My school is authorized to deliver the Primary Years Programme (PYP), under the IBO, and I did find a highly pertinent document relating to ICT in the PYP. This document clarifies the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in IB World Schools offering the PYP. Here is the link: http://ibpublishing.ibo.org/live-exist/rest/app/tsm.xql doc=p_0_pypxx_mon_1106_1_e&part=1&chapter=1
The document includes:
- Beliefs and values about ICT in the PYP
- The role of ICT in a transdisciplinary programme
- ICT skills for inquiry
- Good ICT practice
- Developing an ICT policy: A sample process
- Learners of today and tomorrow
- Samples
- References
I definitely need to pour over this document and become familiar with it as I work to become a digital literacy advocate at my school, as it clearly outlines the role of ICT in a PYP school and gives me the evidence and ‘power’ I need to make changes (where necessary in my school’s use of ICT). While I am still digesting the document, I like what I am reading so far. As a PYP teacher for 8 years, and a PYP workshop leader, I firmly belief in the research and thinking behind PYP pedagogy. Similarly, my school is fully supportive of any policies, beliefs and documents from the PYP — so this document will be an invaluable roadmap in guiding my own inquiries, ideas and development of projects in ICT.
Yesterday’s discussion of the connected self made me realize that ICT in education has moved beyond simply mastering a specialized set of skills and tools, e.g. Word Processing. ICT has become a vehicle for learning skills and concepts and their applications within meaningful contexts. Within that, as a teacher, and future librarian, being digitally literate means incorporating the 3 dimensions of the connected self to create authentic learning engagements through the provision and use of ICT. (From the Role of ICT in the PYP).
The following six ICT skills are relevant to all learners:
- investigating
- creating
- communicating
- collaborating
- organizing
- becoming responsible digital citizens.
But these six ICT skills are not taught in isolation, or individually. They can and should be embedded throughout lessons, engagements, tasks, discussions and investigations.
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Well done! It does seem mystifying that the Ontario Ministry of Education would not specify policies, curriculum and pedagogy associated with digital technologies. I do think a key to teachers and teacher-librarians playing a leadership role in turning schools into learning networks through digital connectivity is being well armed with knowledge. The fact is that there is very little substantive discussion in education about what it means to incorporate digital technologies into learning activities. The six ICT skills are a good beginning, but there is a social dimension that goes beyond simply collaborating. The social skills that are needed to fully participate in participatory learning cultures are of a high order, they will need attention and development, as well.
Christine, I appreciate your exploration of what is mandated, what is expected, as communicated by our governing bodies of Education. The fact that there is a lack of prescribed programs, learning outcomes and standards is a wound to teachers and students alike.
I started burrowing into B.C.’s mandates more thoroughly. I found the saddest document ever. It prescribes information and communication literacy as expected for successful graduation in B.C., but its major skill sets are word processing, keyboarding, and email communication. In fact, it defines literacy as ““the ability to
understand and employ printed information in daily activities, at home, at work and in the community – to achieve one’s goals and to develop one’s knowledge and potential” (B.C. Literacy Foundations irp: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/literacy_foundations/2010literacyfoundations_infotech.pdf). Sad, very sad.
I appreciate your synthesis that “ICT has become a vehicle for learning skills and concepts and their applications within meaningful contexts.” I’m still trying to wrap my head around the “definitions,” but it seems that in many ways ICT is the context, not separate, but inseparably knitted into our formerly distinct “classroom learning” context.
Christine, I imagine it would be rather disheartening to realize that your province has chosen to ignore the needs of its learners by neglecting to create a meaningful document and direction for ICT integration in Ontario! But, speaking from experience, a document does not a teaching practice make. Here in B.C. we have a ministry document, a union document, and various district documents. Does that mean a school will have a working class set of laptops? Enough digital projectors to go around? Strong enough WiFi for an entire class to log on to their accounts without major delay? No it does not. In the face of such setbacks, a teacher has to work extra hard to meaningfully integrate ICT into their practice. And, as you have outlined, it is up to ’embed” ICT skills within their “lessons, engagements, tasks, discussions and investigations”. I admire your determination to allow what you are learning through personal inquiry – from the PYP document you thankfully found – to motivate your practice.
* it is up to the teacher to ‘embed’
Thanks Christine, I have added the IB website to my Storify page on Inquiry Based Learning with TLs, which is something I want to pursue next!
An observation I have made is that my old understanding of IB was International Baccalaureate but now I hear it is also Inquiry Based. Interesting choice of acronyms, has IB always been inqiury based?
Doni
Hi Doni,
Where did you hear that IB stood for inquiry based? I’ve been working with the IB for 9 years now and it’s always stood for International Baccalaureate it’s actually IBO – the IB Organization). Maybe educators that are interested/doing inquiry-based learning are using an acronym of IB when they talk about inquiry based learning, but it’s definitely not something “THE” IB is using as an alternative acronym. Certainly, the IB philosophy of education takes a constructivist, inquiry based approach, though – particularly in the elementary grades. Hope that helps – let me know if you want more information re: IBO
Hi Christine,
Though your attempt to further your definition of ITC by looking at Ontario’s Ministry of Education’s sites was “fruitless”, I think it’s good that you were looking beyond your educational setting for information/ideas. We have considered the value of connectedness in class and I think that you expressed that in your post. Similarly, as we are creating twitter feeds, blogs and Pearltrees we are gaining from the work done by others. It will certainly be a benefit for us to connect with others beyond our school walls and create opportunities for collaboration.
I took a look at your PYP-ITC link.
I think it’s great to have the “beliefs and values” of ITC in PYP in black and white—like a Mission Statement. As I continued to look around the site I noticed the “Developing an ICT Policy: A Sample Process”. Whew! We know policy-making can be incredibly challenging and this document supports teachers and schools as they try to do this. I agree this will be an “invaluable roadmap” for you.
Your post reminded me of when I was looking for something along these lines (policy development) the other day. I found a Government site with a questionnaire to assess the ITC uses in elementary and secondary schools in Canada. It was from 2003-2004 and “Inactive”. I assume there’s a new one under another name??
(“The main purpose of this survey is to obtain critical benchmark data on the integration of ICT in education. The Information and Communications Technologies in Schools Survey (ICTSS) collects data on the infrastructure, reach and use of information and communications technologies in all elementary and secondary schools in Canada.”)
http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5051&Item_Id=1484&lang=en
I have also seen these for schools, created by their districts. I wonder do these surveys/data help us create policies? Is it possible to make ICT policies universal as there are so many variables? The PYP site says, “every school exists within a different context, which must be taken into consideration when the school determines how best to develop and improve its ICT policy.” (I have many questions about policy development and your post made me think!)
Anyway, thank you for sharing a very useful site. 🙂