The practice of ICT in schools in 2011 - Using ICT to inspire students in Yr 12 Business Management

According to a survey by technology giant Canon, advancements in technology has been ranked as the biggest force for driving change within companies. Canon surveyed around 300 senior executives of companies within Australia, along with 700 workers who were not involved in decision-making. This article can be found here: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/8304599/technology-biggest-change-for-many-firms

Within the scope of Unit 4 VCE Business Management, students will study the ‘Management of change’ of which the impact of technological changes effect large scale organisations, forming internally as well as externally.  In my professional practice, I decided to use the above article as a case study analysis, setting some review questions related to key criteria in understanding this content.

This proved to be an excellent topic to study. Integrating key milestones of ‘technological developments in society’ as content within the Yr 12 Business Management class, allowed students to incorporate existing knowledge in the area of ICT and their personal experiences of example technological advancements.

One critical observation I have learnt since beginning this Masters of Teaching program through the University of Melbourne, is that students will respond very well and begin to construct and develop their knowledge at a faster and more effective rate if the teacher is able to teach content while integrating aspects and linking examples from the students own life and the lives of those around them.

While developing students understanding of key concepts of how managers would deal with technological change within the world of business, I decided deeper analysis of other case studies as well as the introduction of a real-life example, may provoke higher-order thinking within students.

During a lesson I presented the students with an article relating a major technological develop in the way society reads book. The class then discussed and evaluated how online book retailer Amazon had forecasted a major change within the industry from traditional paper books, to a growth in electronic book readers (e-Readers). Amazon’s new e-Reader innovation the Kindle, has become a fierce competitor with Apples iPad2.

While many would expect Apple’s track record for industry-leading technological development would usually blow most competitors out of the water, a simple Google search proves ‘tech-heads’ have found Amazon’s Kindle tablet is more than a match for the iPad.

While analysing these articles I asked if any of the students had an iPad or similar tablet, to which one student replied, “Yes, I do! Its great, you can do lots more than just ‘read books’ on it though! you can surf the net, write documents and spreadsheets, check emails, play games and heaps more stuff!” This proved to be an excellent opportunity to perform a real life experiment of how a new piece of technology may be managed by the students; in the same way it may affect a large-scale organisation within a certain industry.

There have been many studies and academic evaluations of the effectiveness of Apple’s iPad and a learning tool for students within a school setting. Meurant (2010) considered how Korean schools will be using these tablet within an ESL (English as a Second Language) setting, stating “EFL/ESL usage will in future predominantly be online. It will be used to access, navigate and contribute to English language digital resources, and for computer-mediated communication with others who are in the main non-native speakers of English”.

Mulholland (2011) believes children will be able to explore, create and construct knowledge in a whole new way, “having kids with a device such as the iPad in the classroom (within the curriculum) is very powerful...Our feedback from our teachers and students is that this is something they’re using every day. It’s embedded in all of their subjects”.

Walters (2011) estimates the iPad will revolutionise education “The iPad allows for portability and kinesthetic interaction that a laptop cannot provide…(it) gave us the opportunity to transition from long-term projects that incorporated software-specific projects with a steep learning curve to smaller-scale, app-based learning activities”.

In the next Business Management session, the aforementioned student brought the iPad to class, where I then asked students to split into groups systematically and complete three business related content questions, using the text editor application on the iPad. Some students found it difficult to adapt to the new changes taking place in the operations of the classroom environment, opting to return the tried and tested method of ‘paper and pen’. However most students relished at the chance to use the iPad as part of a learning tool. Questions arose such as “This is great! Heaps easier to use than I thought, how much are they?” followed by “If I do my notes on this can I print them off?, ‘cause I’ll need them for exams!”

When given the opportunity to experience the iPad for myself during the Business Management session, it was possible to see the reasons for the rapid growth in popularity of tablets both as a learning tool and a personal electronic device. It is, although, important to reflect on thoughts and areas of concern for the use of this ICT tool.

Firstly I would have liked more time to be able to continue the testing of this device as a learning tool, one lesson cannot hold the basis of findings. Ultimately, it is the success of future case studies undertaken in the academic community, which the Principal and the admin team would review in making their decision to buy iPad’s (e-readers/tablets) for the student body. Secondly, I believe I was rather fortunate to have an acceptable focus group when using the device, as teachers of younger year levels may struggle to keep their students on task, given the wide range of abilities and software applications the iPad has.

References

Barrile, S. & Cameron, T. (2009) Business Management: Corporate management, people and change. VCE Units 3 & 4. Eighth Edition.  Melbourne: Macmillan Education Australia. Pg 306-307.

Gotta be Mobile (2011) Consumer Reports: iPad 2 Is Best Tablet On The Market. Retrieved 24^th Sept 2011. http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/04/05/consumer-reports-ipad-2-is-best-tablet-on-the-market/

Meurant, R. (2010) iPad Tablet Computing to Foster Korean EFL Digital Literacy. International Journal of U- & E-Service, Science & Technology, Dec, Vol. 3 Issue 4, p49-62.

Mulholland, J. (2011) iPads Strengthen Education. Government Technology, Apr, Vol. 24 Issue 4, p20-24.

Ninemsn (2011) Technology biggest change for many firms. Retrieved 24 Sept 2011. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/8304599/technology-biggest-change-for-many-firms

SOA World Magazine (2011) NEWSWEEK: COVER: Books Aren't Dead. (They're Just Going Digital.) Retrieved 24^th Sept 2011. http://soa.sys-con.com/node/463057

Walters, E. & Baum, M. (2011) Will the iPad Revolutionize Education? Learning & Leading with Technology, May, Vol. 38 Issue 7, p6-7.