Using IT in Science Education

1. Using IT in Science Education Seminar for the UNIFY project Tim Brosnan Institute of Education University of London

2. Part 2 Thoughts on how - present and future

3. Main parts • Summary of the present situation • Outline of some options for the future • Recommendations

4. Present situation and options for the future • People • Integration of IT and science • Hardware • Software • Systems

5. People - present situation (1) • The Unify team members are keen to develop the use of IT for both personal and professional purposes • The Unify students are keen to develop their use of IT • Despite considerable efforts the course has been unable to appoint a specialist IT lecturer

6. People - present situation (2) • The lack of a suitable person to co-ordinate and lead the IT aspects of the course is one of the two main factors hindering the integration of IT with the rest of the Unify curriculum

7. People - options (1) • Keep trying to appoint an IT lecturer • little chance of success • not necessarily the best option even if available - could widen the gap between IT and science • person appointed would need to develop an understanding of the main concepts taught in the science/maths courses

8. People - options (2) • Appoint a science specialist with a knowledge of IT • not many appropriate candidates (although potentially more than option 1) • would need time to extend areas of IT expertise • but… would help the integration of IT and science perhaps more than an IT specialst would

9. People - options (3) • Appoint an additional science lecturer to allow a member of the existing staff to develop the necessary IT expertise • longer ‘lead-in’ time than other options • not clear that any member of the team would wish to take this role • but… it could be seen as staff development • and… more likelihood of a successful appointment than previous options

10. Integration of IT and science - present situation • At present there is no real integration of IT and science courses • Because of the absence of an IT lecturer, the current IT course does not have course materials, booklet and planned, session by session learning objectives as exist for the other sections of Unify • It is also rather ‘computer’ orientated

11. Integration of IT and science - options (1) • Distinct course only - discrete model • Fully integrated into subject sudies - cross-curricular model • Both distinct course and used in subject studies - hybrid model • A short, initial course in basic IT skills followed by cross-curricular use - kick-start model

12. Integration of IT and science - options (2) • Discrete model • Advantages • easiest model to organise • easiest model within which to co-ordinate the development of IT skills • Disadvantages • divorced from the rest of the course • IT teaching/learning decontextualised • does not help students’ learning of scientific ideas

13. Integration of IT and science - options (3) • Cross-curricular model • Advantages • all IT teaching takes place in an appropriate context • Disadvantages • hardest model to organise • science/maths lecturers may feel it is not their role to teach ‘basic’ IT skills - and not a good use of the subject time

14. Integration of IT and science - options (4) • Hybrid model • Advantages • allows the advantages of both the discrete and cross-curricular models • Disadvantages • most time consuming model • still a need to provide an appropriate context for the content of the IT course • may not be a need for an IT course throughout the year

15. Integration of IT and science - options (5) • Kick-start model • Advantages • allows the teaching of basic IT skills in the discrete course and then their application and development within the context of science/mathematics • economical use of time • Disadvantages • requires a change of timetable during the year • how much of a ‘kick-start’ is needed will vary with student intake - no way to know in advance

16. Hardware - present situation • The course is well resourced in terms of computers • the machine are fast enough for most uses • the student/machine ratio is excellent • The course does not have reliable access to the Internet • The course has no simple way to transfer large files from machine to machine

17. Software - present situation • The course has a modern and stable version of Microsoft Office • the course has software/hardware for datalogging • The course has little in the way of ‘subject-specific’ software - e.g. CD-Roms

18. Systems - present situation(1) • The current organisation of the computer system is the second major deterrent to the successful use of IT in the science courses

19. Systems - present situation(2) • there is no system of ‘shared-files’ • staff cannot put material on ‘the system’ for all students to use - e.g. the material I have brought is only accessible on machine 28

20. Systems - present situation(3) • All students log-in as the administrator • this invites chaos - e.g. any student is free to delete everything I have put on machine 28 • the students cannot save their files to their own work area - they do not have one - so all material must be saved to floppy disc or to the hard drive on a specific machine • machines are accumulating lots of ‘rubbish’ files and students lose work more easily

21. Recommendations • People • Integration of IT and science • Hardware • Software • Systems

22. People - recommendation • I suggest that the course team considers appointing an IT co-ordinator rather than a specialist - i.e. someone to co-ordinate the link between science and IT rather than someone to ‘teach IT’ • My suggestion therefore is that the course team considers options 2 and 3 rather than 1

23. Integration of IT and science - recommendation (1) • I suggest that the course team consider the relative advantages of options 3 and 4 • It is necessary for a named individual (cf committee) to have oversight of and resonsibility for, the integration of IT (however organised) with the other sections of the Unify course

24. Integration of IT and science - recommendation (2) • The IT course (of whatever form) be redesigned the better to match the needs, content and contexts of the science and mathematics sections of the Unify course, reducing the ‘computer’ aspects • Course materials be produced for the new IT course of a quality and quantity comparable to those of the other sections

25. Hardware - recommendation • As and when external funding can be found, priority be given to the upgrading of the Unify Internet link. Establishing a stable, fast link would be a huge advantage to the course. • A second priority be the purchase of a portable CD-portable writer, allowing staff to copy and move large files

26. Software - recommendation • No recommendations. The existing software provides a good basis for development, and the course team has ideas for augmenting this with a judicious selection of subject-specific material.

27. Systems - recommendation(1) • The log-in system be reorganised so that • Every student and member of staff is given their own log-in • No student be allowed to install (or save) anything to any local hard disc • Without these changes the system is neither secure or sustainable

28. Systems - recommendation(2) • The Unify server be re-configured so that • A ‘shared files’ area is established on the Unify server to which staff (and not students) have write privileges • Every student has their own (secure) area on the server to which they may save their files • Withouth these changes course materials will be neither distributable or useable

29. Final thoughts • The issues raised here are not just an ‘IT’ problem but affect the teaching of every member of the Unify team - and the learning of every student • When the computer systems are altered, the enthusiasm and ideas I have seen will be allowed to develop, strengthening the leadership position of the Unify course