The emerging contribution of
online resources and tools to classroom learning and teaching 

The present document is an overview of a Documentary Review on the effective uses of online electronic resources and tools in the classroom. The mandate of the Review Team was to gather the pertinent information (written or otherwise) which has blossomed on networked learning (Internet and intranet) during the 1996-1998 period, thus updating the 1996 study, The Contribution of New Technologies to Learning and Teaching in Elementary and Secondary Schools. This review identifies models of use, trends, and research gaps on the contribution of effective uses of online resources and tools in the classroom of the elementary and secondary schools and post secondary institutions.

This review comes at a particularly convenient time since the United States (which constitutes a formidable professional and technical source of online information) has just placed " education " at the top of their investment agenda, a decision clearly supported, in a historical move, by the two principal political parties. Moreover, OECD just released a report on The Global Research Village.

For the purpose of this review, online resources and tools were defined as the information technology applied to teaching and learning for l) the delivery of educational material, 2) the guidance and facilitation of the learning experience of the student, and 3) the support of collaborative learning and communities of learners.

An extensive bibliographic search was conducted for articles, reports, papers, and books which had to meet rigorous selection criteria as a scholarly publication or as a controlled study. Furthermore, not only were we looking for a diversity of results pertaining to the use of online resources and tools in the classroom, but we paid a great amount of attention to the conditions or circumstances surrounding their effective use in order to bring useful information to teachers, educational administrators, and policy makers.

Our overall analysis is based on what are considered the four key elements that constitute the teaching/learning exercise: the teacher, the content, the learner(s), and the context. Each of these elements can be seen as a continuum having the characteristics illustrated in the following figure:

The endpoints of each continuum define two contrasting models of technology use. For example, most current classrooms would lie toward the left ends of each continuum ( TCLC - ): 1) the teacher is a transmitter of knowledge rather than a facilitator of learning, 2) the content is pre-organized by the teacher or 'canned' on a CD-ROM rather than constructed by the learner; 3) the learners have low rather than high access to online resources and tools; and 4) the context offers the teacher and his or her classroom a limited rather than a high level of support for new initiatives and resources.

In contrast, the overwhelming thrust of research initiatives that examine the effects of online technologies are directed towards the opposite ends of each continuum: teacher/facilitator, content/constructed, learners/high access, context/extensive support ( TCLC+ ). Again, the teacher primarily facilitates student learning, the curriculum content is constructed by the learners, the learners have free access to online resources, and the context supports the use and expansion of the resources.

There is evidence that the teacher plays a crucial role in the quality of the technology impact on the learning process, and there is also evidence that materials on the web (or on a CD-ROM) that offer stimulating and well-adapted content are a rare commodity.

Performance that leads to the most promising outcomes in teaching and learning is obtained by teachers whose pedagogies are more advanced and already oriented to search and make effective use of online resources and tools. Those teachers can also count on a champion in the school context which mobilizes resources, thus providing enough external support.

Effective uses of online resources and tools are now part of the renewal process of classroom teaching and learning. The following emerging trends capture the evidence that was gathered with respect to the effective uses of online resources and tools in the elementary and secondary classrooms on the one hand, and in the post-secondary classroom on the other hand.

THE EMERGING TRENDS IN THE RENEWAL PROCESS

The use of technology in the classroom has already been demonstrated to have a significant impact on teaching and learning. How the new technology is adopted is related to l) the users' interest in doing what they do well and in a better way, and 2) the users' interest in doing things of a different nature than the ones they are used to do. It is important to emphasize that both uses of technology are relevant to classroom learning.

For instance, in the first case, educators use technology to make their current teaching or classroom management easier, quicker, and more efficient. A significant characteristic of this use is the integration of technology into the curriculum. An example is the mathematics courseware called The Learning Equation Mathematics, the use of which led to superior performance by grade 9 students in mathematical knowledge, skills, number, pattern and shape compared to that of students using traditional textbooks and classroom techniques (Psychometrics Canada Ltd., 1998). Another example can be found in Wenglinsky (1998), whose analysis of a national database of student test scores, classroom computer use, and other information showed that grade 8 students whose teachers used computers mostly for "simulations and applications"– generally associated with higher-order thinking– performed better on National Assessment of Educational Progress evaluations than students whose teachers did not. The findings of both of these examples are significant because they come from large-scale assessment of outcomes and practices involving information technologies that are taking place in regular classrooms. In the second case, educators look at the new technological tools as an opportunity for the renewal of their practice, and to engage in a variety of activities (for instance, guided discovery and collaborative knowledge-building) for a broader vision of education that includes changes in learning needs and opportunities (McGilly, 1994; ASCD, 1998). With respect to the elements of the teaching/learning exercise (see Figure), in both cases, a transfer of responsibility occurs: in the first case, on the content element, and in the second case, on the learner.

The thrust of research on the use of online technologies is to support the development of teaching practices and curricula which give numerous opportunities to the learners to use the resources and tools in autonomous, creative, and collaborative ways. This work is more recent, thus at an earlier stage of development. Initiatives include the work of Bereiter and Scardamalia (1993) and Harasim, Hiltz, Teles, and Turoff (1995). The trends emerging from this work with respect to the K/12-13 sector and relevant other materials are the following:

• Trend 1: Higher levels of control by learners are called for as classrooms are getting more online.
  
• Trend 2: Learning situations become more realistic and authentic as classrooms are getting online.
  
• Trend 3: Online resources boost student interest and motivation in the classroom through a greater diversity of learning goals, projects, and outcomes.
  
• Trend 4: The successful online classroom combines information technology with appropriate pedagogy.
  
• Trend 5: The classroom is extended to online learning communities with the potential to support or even challenge the locally-established curriculum.
  
• Trend 6: The education of educators is broadened to include just-in-time and/or collaborative learning.
  
• Trend 7: Educators use online technology as a driving element of an educational reform.

   

With respect to the post-secondary classroom, the scholarly works and other relevant materials that were surveyed, made it possible to identify the following trends:

• Trend 1: The emergence of a new mixed mode of learning: face-to-face and online learning activities.
  
• Trend 2: Information access is more direct, interactive, and flexible.
  
• Trend 3: Social interaction recovers its importance in the learning process.
  
• Trend 4: The learning community, supported by networked technologies, is a new collaborative learning arrangement being tested in a great number of ways.
  
• Trend 5: Computer resources are used to enlarge the notion of performance as regards teaching and learning on university campuses.
  
• Trend 6: The university as an institution is invited to adapt its activity to new higher education needs.
  
• Trend 7: The computer linked to other computers constitutes an important element in the modification of academic administrative procedures at both the micro and the macro levels.

   

GAPS IN CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ONLINE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

The findings of this review also reveal gaps in our knowledge at both the K/12-13 and the post secondary levels. These gaps are the following:

l. Connectivity and access

Substantial access to online technologies, in terms of both resources and learner competence in making use of them, remains the exception in our classrooms. Given limited connectivity and access, research results reflecting practical uses of online resources and tools in the elementary and secondary school classrooms are scarce. More information is needed on what up-to-date resources are available (Schofield, Davidson, Stocks, and Futoran, 1998, p.371), the technology planning process of schools, boards, and faculties of education (ASCD, 1998; NCATE, 1997), and the ability of students to make effective use of online resources (Schacter, Gregory, Chung, and Dorr, 1998).

2. Professional development interface with online resources and tools

Effective use of online resources for learning means pairing the resources with an instructional approach that is very different from the traditional one. More information is needed on the nature and extent of teacher's experience with information technologies (Rosen and Weil, 1995), how teachers view these resources (Kerr, 1996), how they understand their impact on society as a whole (NCATE, 1997), and how they alter their instructional practices in order to use them effectively (Haymore Sandholtz, Ringstaff, and Dwyer, 1997; Maring, Wiseman & Myers, 1997). More information is needed on online professional development activities (nature, process, and results; Moonen, B. & Voogt, J.; Breuleux, Laferrière, and Bracewell, 1998).

3. Better balance between stable and dynamic content

The content of what will be taught using online resources is becoming more diverse and shifting towards more construction and input by the learner. More information is required on whether this more dynamic content conflicts with traditional curriculum content and goals (Saye, 1997), and, where it does, on how to reconcile these conflicts (Hewitt and Scardamalia, 1998).

4. Performance indicators for evaluating the use and impact of online technologies

As the presence and use of information technologies become increasingly widespread, schools and universities will need to develop performance indicators to monitor the use and outcomes of the technologies, and to demonstrate accountability to funding sources and the public. These indicators are needed specifically to monitor the types of resources available, and access to them, professional development efforts, changes in teaching and learning practices, and changes in what is learned by students (Wenglinsky, 1998; Windschitl, 1998; Bordia, 1997; Harrington and Quinn-Leering, 1996).

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

In view of the above findings, we recommend that policy and research initiatives should be guided by the following approaches:

• a reflective approach to teaching (teachers-as-researchers). The use of online resources and tools by teachers should be informed by reflective practice that takes into account empirical evidence, rather than personal theories-in-use. The teaching profession must aim in this direction. The significance of this change is that it almost certainly entails a revised approach to teaching that puts less emphasis on teacher-centered activities. The learner is to be envisioned as capable of engaging in a variety of learning projects. New pedagogical strategies that support him or her in the acquisition of intellectual autonomy will need to be developed.
  
• the collaborative learning/research approach. Online technology is evolving rapidly. The traditional knowledge transfer model of research followed by dissemination, may not be a-flexible-or-fast-enough a process to respond to the emerging needs, as is well-exemplified in the following paragraph.
  
• a design experiment approach. Issues of "design" are prevalent today and could be supported by more direct "design experiment" frameworks for vigorous discussions of the contexts, contents, and processes that ensure the attainment of proper conditions for online learning. For such conditions to be established, it is recommended that the following research procedures be adopted:

  - the visioning of a wired classroom, institution, or educational system emphasizing content and pedagogy;

  - the planning of an incremental process of change;

  - the implementation of the above approaches with a high level of coordination among stakeholders responsible for education;

  - the initiation of a renewal process with respect to all of the four constituents that must be combined to form models of use with built-in professional development activities;

  - the endowment of research settings (meaning primary and secondary schools as well as colleges and universities) willing and capable of initiating and conducting:

  - innovative reflective action with respect to the learners' access to online resources and tools, teaching practices, and contextual factors;

  - relevant surveys, case studies, and longitudinal studies;

  - assessment and performance reviews.
  

Specific studies would also be instrumental to reduce research gaps, and enhance educational research in Canada. Here are a few examples of such research topics:

• the level of Canadian teachers' experience with computers, building on the findings of Rosen and Weil in the United States (1995);
  
• the level of student access to computers linked to a network (intranet and Internet) for subject specific tasks or project-based learning that integrate a number of subject matters, using schools' technology plans (1995 and on).
  
• collaborating partners' theories of action, one that would build on Hatch's results (1998);
  
• educators' perceptions of the properties of online technology - " a tool for improving the ways we do things now, a set of devices and procedures that allow us to extend the efficiency and the effectiveness of schooling without altering underlying assumptions about the roles and relationships of the students, teachers, parents, and administrators involved (...) or a very different kind of tool - one oriented toward the development of individual capacities in a social context and toward restructuring the work of schools", as Kerr puts it in concluding Chapter l of Technology and the future of Schooling (1996);
  
• the mind-sets that are behind the conflicting practices of educators (beliefs about content, method, organization, and evaluation of curriculum), building on White and Purdom's results (1996);
  
• beliefs about what constitutes success, for instance, building on Knapp's findings in math and science education (1997);
  
• advanced topic mastered with the use of online resources and tools, building on Dede's findings as editor of the 1998 ASCD Yearbook on Learning with technology.
  
• outcomes on standardized tests, building on Wenglinsky's findings (1998);
  
• many other research projects which would be of a sufficiently high (complex) and formal level to support conclusions being made by technology adopters when learning outcomes are considered, as pointed out by Jones and Paolucci (1998) in their review of over 800 research articles associated with technology in education dating back to 1992. As mentioned by Wenglinsky (1998), the Mandinach and Cline's study (in press) will stress the need for the use of technology over well-defined periods of time in order to conduct controlled experiments that will contribute to build the evidence on its contribution to learning and teaching.
  

The classroom is a place where order prevails. The infusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) creates a zone of uncertainty for both teachers and learners, engaging them in a process of risk and exploration for some time to come. Research on one or the other of the four basic elements of each 'extreme' model of use ( TCLC - : teacher/transmitter, content/pre-organized, learners/low access, context/limited support; TCLC + : teacher/facilitator, content/constructed, learners/high access, context/ extensive support) while neglecting the others, is bound to lead to partial and confusing results. The Review Team emphasizes that a focus on one element at the expense of the others tends to raise superficial questions and unproductive debates. The interdependence of the four fundamental elements that this review takes into account (and highly recommends for consideration in all further inquiry) should be progressively documented with respect to the impact of online technologies on teaching and learning in the classroom. More recent conceptual developments occurring in other fields such as the learning organization framework, and the new domain of knowledge management, seem to point in the same direction.

In conclusion, the Review Team expects that those countries that will develop rich conceptions of teaching, learning, content, and context as they provide knowledge building opportunities and shared social experiences to learners in the elementary, secondary, or post-secondary classroom will simultaneously enhance their research capacity. The significance of such a choice may be felt as one's reads the quite evocative recent OCDE Report, entitled: The Global Research Village: How Information and Communication Technologies Affect the Science System.

REFERENCES