Márta Kőrös-Mikis

ICT for Children

Motivating Primary School Teachers to Use ICT

The information society presents a challenge for today‘s public education system; in changing our everyday lives, information technology also provides new opportunities for learning. Old pedagogical tools and methodology are becoming increasingly less effective and are no longer suitable on their own for knowledge acquisition. Due to information and communication technology (ICT), it is not only the knowledge itself that is changing at a rapid pace, but also the way in which we get access to information. The role of educators has been transformed: teachers are no longer the primary source of knowledge for children. For this reason, we must create a learning environment in which children are encouraged to discover, use their creativity, engage in multimedia communication, cooperate with distant partners, work independently and in groups, and adapt their experience, thus enhancing the acquisition of knowledge and the development of their skills.

Preparing children for the information society is the prominent task of public education and should be started at as early an age as possible. The National Institute for Public Education (“Országos Közoktatási Intézet”, OKI) has been conducting research and development since the 1990s aimed at applying information technology effectively among kindergarten and primary school children and thus assisting in developing their skills and knowledge. The objectives of the OKI operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Education (http://www.om.hu) are:

• research and development activities to improve public education
• curricula development, monitoring and developing teaching/learning methods
• complex development of pedagogical systems
• publishing activities: New Pedagogical Review (http://www.oki.hu/upsz), books, website (http://www.oki.hu/english, which is very popular!)

It is expected that ICT use in our schools will largely increase, when every primary school has access to the Internet. All Hungarian primary schools are to have a multimedia computer lab with Internet access by 2005 within the framework of the Education Ministry‘s so called “Sulinet” program (Schoolnet, http://www.sulinet.hu). (In 1997, this program made it possible for all secondary schools to have their own computer room with Internet access.). In addition to providing the equipment, primary-school teachers also require training in the use of ICT. In the course of the past two years OKI has developed and published a range of teaching materials in order to both assist and motivate teachers and their pupils of 6 to 10 years of age in use of ICT.

The results of our endeavours to this end may be summed up as follows:

• modular curriculum for mastering ICT for grades 1 to 4;
• annotated multimedia guide for choosing the appropriate software;
• sample lesson plans for teaching subjects on the basis of ICT;
• collection of playful ICT tasks
• ICT competition assignments for gifted primary-school pupils;
• organizing and operating ICT Workshop for Children with innovative teachers.

How can we get teachers to use ICT on a regular basis? In order to answer this question, first we need to understand the Hungarian situation concerning ICT. The state of ICT in Hungarian public education can best be illustrated by a scale. On the one side of the scale we have ICT as a compulsory subject, while, on the other as everyday school use, as application.

While turning to the first side of the scale, we have to mention the most recent amendment to the National Core Curriculum (NCC) of last year. According to this new version greater emphasis is given to ICT culture, the basis of which should be acquired as early as possible. ICT as a school subject was compulsory only from age 12 (from the sixth grade) with a minimum number of classes. Now ICT as a subject has to be introduced in the fourth grade. The question then was: who should teach ICT to children at the primary level between the ages of six and eleven? The regular teacher or a special teacher of informatics? The answer was that we need not only to motivate teachers to use ICT, but also to prepare them to teach it.

In 2003 the Learning Development Centre (then Centre for Programme and Curriculum Development) of OKI set up a special workshop: ICT for Children, dedicated to this issue. This workshop was intended to enhance:

• co-operation among innovative teachers
• exchange of information, getting to know each other‘s work
• publication and program suggestions
• dissemination of the results, outcomes of R&D activities
• initiatives for new projects.

We feel that sharing our experiences serves the public.

The members of this workshop succeeded in developing useful programmes contributing to ICT-based didactic materials available to teachers. First model curricula had to be developed, given that every school will have to modify the local pedagogical program and curricula by September 2004 according to the new National Core Curriculum. New curricula had to be developed for grades 1 to 4, which are to include the new ICT subject. How can schools prepare these curricula? They can do it themselves or adopt models proposed by others, which they can find, for example, on our website. Another alternative is to adopt the curricula available on the website of the Ministry of Education.

Teaching ICT is only one side of the scale and the timme allocated for that – a pproximately one hour a week – is not enough. Application is a lot more important, whereby pupils would have access to ICT, which would make the teachers‘ own work more interesting, more varied, as well as easier. What the members of our workshop have achieved was that now we have a series of sample lesson plans for teaching by using ICT. These samples include lesson plans specifically in Hungarian, Mathematics, Science and Environment, Arts, Music and Technology. (http://www.oki.hu/cikk.php?kod=gyermek-Schlotter-oravazlatok.html)

We have also prepared an annotated multimedia guide, which gives teachers guidance on commercially available educational CD-ROMs. On a subject-by-subject basis we present the content of CD-ROMs considered appropriate for educational purposes. This allows teachers to choose according to the needs of the students and the subjects. (http://www.oki.hu/cikk.php?kod=informatika-korosne-multimedia.html)

Getting familiar with the world of ICT, especially when it comes to children starting school should not begin with the computer itself. Many games can be played in the classroom or in the schoolyard, or many things can be drawn, written or crafted, which can serve as a basis for subsequent ICT-use and the acquisition of ICT-culture. We have put together a collection of playful tasks that involve ICT-games without a computer, for example: turtle-games, Logo-like games, labyrinths, puzzles, games for practicing directions, etc. (http://www.oki.hu/cikk.php?kod=gyermek-Panyine-informatikai.html)
Teachers like to get to know each other‘s work and related experiences at the same time. There is no opportunity for them to attend each others‘ classes. This is where case studies can be of help by showing positive experiences from other schools. (http://www.oki.hu/cikk.php?kod=gyermek-Nemeth-ut.html) We have collected and disseminated the experiences that can be used elsewhere.

Computers play an especially important role in special education, in complementing disabled functions. They allow disabled children to acquire knowledge more easily. We have prepared case studies on the computer-assisted teaching of multiply disadvantaged children who are challenged both mentally and physically. For these specialists we have also provided information on software that meets the individual needs of the students. We have a very popular periodical (entitled Developmental Pedagogy: http://www.mentor-konyvesbolt.hu/), which publishes our results regularly.

We have assembled playful tests to assess the ICT-knowledge of older pupils. (http://www.oki.hu/cikk.php?kod=gyermek-Szeplakine-tudasproba.html) Evaluating children‘s ICT-work on a continuous basis is, in our view, important. It is also important to show appreciation and to present the products, for example on the bulletin board in the school newspaper, and on the school website (if there is one). After all, children really come to grasp the role of ICT in everyday life when they can see the result of their own efforts. Pupils who show outstanding talent in this field are given extra assignments to prepare them for ICT-competitions. Lower primary pupils may participate in Logo- and computer-use competitions. (http://www.logo.hu)

We have to provide in-service training not only for the active teachers of the present, but also for future teachers in everyday use of ICT. Teachers‘ colleges organise special courses presenting ICT as a tool. ICT has become a popular subject. Future teachers participate in practice teaching where they can test their ICT-knowledge before graduating. (http://www.oki.hu/cikk.php?kod=gyermek-Stokane-tanitok.html)

Our workshop has also joined an international project MMM (Mini-web – Multilingual – Maxi-learning, http://www.mmm-ec.org), initiated by Professor Rachel Cohen. (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/rachel.cohen) This is based on children communicating via the Internet: they read and write, exchange letters, drawings and photos with each other in different countries while acquiring knowledge and learning the basic written form of their native tongue and the fundamentals of foreign languages. Meanwhile, acceptance of others, training for tolerance and the integration of children who speak foreign languages increase dramatically. The main goal of the project is to create an international community that extends across national borders, not only for children, but also for adults, that is parents and educators. At the same time, daily use and development of new ways to acquire knowledge is becoming an important tool in the ongoing struggle against illiteracy and school failure. At present two Hungarian schools participate in the work of the project.

We have to mention that motivation and didactical aids are not sufficient by themselves but an appropriate infrastructure is also indispensable. This calls for:

• computers in the classroom
• projectors
• educational software
• teaching materials
• computers for individual or team-work
• accessories (printer, scanner, digital camera, ...)
• local network, Internet, ...etc.

Many of our primary schools are in dire need in this respect.

The members of the ICT for Children Workshop made a poster exhibit for the IFIP Workgroup 3.5 Workshop (organised in Budapest, at the end of June 2004, http://learningfor21century.ini.hu/), in which they displayed their work. Below there are some excerpts from the texts on their posters.

1. Mária Stóka-Palkó
(professor, University of Miskolc, Comenius Teacher Training College, Faculty of Informatics, Sárospatak)

Our training aims to enable students to use computers as an important and helpful tool that can greatly assist them in the course of their work at a later stage: for purposes of demonstration, using instructional programs, doing administrative work, etc. Recent years have shown an increase in the number of schools where informatics appears at lower grade levels – either as a separate subject or in the context of study circles. More and more educators are beginning to accept that informatics at the primary school level – when used appropriately – can also facilitate the acquisition of knowledge in other subjects (e.g. playful instructional programs that develop reading and calculating skills). Among other things, informatics is expected to promote algorithmic thinking, and the experience of the last few years, the results achieved and their subsequent effects have proved that the subject also has the right to exist in primary schools.

Educators at our faculty are making great efforts to promote informatics culture in the following areas:

• Regional and national conferences
• Informatics competitions
• Adult education courses
• Lectures on methodology
• Annotation
• Student dissertation

Instructors at the faculty are currently conducting research on:

• Multimedia educational programmes, the creation and use of teaching aids
• Computer-assisted language learning
• Opportunities for the practical application of informatics in courses for teachers in training

2. Erika Lakos-Makár
(director of the Informatics Department and an instructor of methodology at the Faculty of Education at the Csokonai Teacher Training College Primary and Secondary Demonstration School at the University of Kaposvár)

Training of ICT majors at our institution was launched in 1999 and graduates obtain a certification that allows them to teach informatics in grades 1–6 of primary school. In Hungary, it has been possible to teach informatics as an independent subject in primary schools since 1995, and a larger number of schools today are beginning to recognise that the subject has the right to exist at the lower levels of public education, too. For this reason, graduates of our training college now play a more significant role at schools, and have increasing job opportunities.

Students at the college have their teaching practice at the demonstration school during the 3^rd and 4^th years of their studies, when they have already acquired general knowledge in pedagogy and methodology in addition to basic training in informatics. Study of methodology takes place in conjunction with the above and according to the following goals:

• Students should be able to transmit fundamental ICT knowledge at the primary level of general school.
• Students must be prepared to make use of their ICT knowledge in grades 1–6 of general school, both inside and outside of the classroom.
• Students must be familiarised with all the documentation, curricula and lesson plans setting the standard for teaching.

Students participate in demonstration lessons as a group in the 6^th and 7^th semesters. Their activities include observation, lesson preparation, practice teaching and reflection. Individual teaching also takes place during the same period of study. In the 8^th semester, teachers in training spend eight weeks teaching in a school of their choice – including subjects other than informatics – but by this time they are able to make effective use of their ICT knowledge in the course of their teaching practice.

3. Terézia Bicsák-Némethy
(teacher, Centre for Special Education Development, Consultation and Training, Zalaegerszeg)

The Centre for Special Education was established in 1990 with the aim of providing for areas of health care previously neglected in Zala County and improving those already in existence. The Centre has since provided services to many kinds of disabled children. Based on precise diagnoses and designed to cover the entire period of compulsory education, these services are conducted both in the form of group training and individual therapy. The crucial task of special education is to update the health care and pedagogical rehabilitation of handicapped children and in the course of the training the participants get familiarised with a wide variety of injury-specific methods and therapies. There is no separate training for computer use in special education, but information technology has proved to be a very useful tool in practice, and therapists gladly make use of it to expand their repertoire. Computer programmes applied at the Centre for Special Education include those used for speech therapy and those facilitating the development of autistic and dyslexic children, in pre-school and primary school activities for mentally disabled children, and in classes for children with multiple disabilities.

Organisational Structure

Training Activities	Special Services	Professional Services
• Pre-school class for mentally disabled children • Pre-school class for children with multiple disabilities • Training for autistic children • Preparatory training for compulsory education • Primary school class for children with multiple disabilities	• Speech Therapy • Early Development • Conductive Pedagogy • Professional testing of learning abilities, rehabilitation	• Consultation • Pedagogical orientation • Organisation of post-graduate training • Organisation of county-level scholastic competitions for disabled students

Supplementary Services
• Hypotherapy • Hydrotherapy • Therapeutic Gymnastics • Military Training • Bobath-NDT • Doman-Delacato

4. Irén Kondor-Kovács
(primary school teacher, author of digital teaching materials, Budapest)

Multimedia Learning Objects in Hungary were created within the framework of a competition announced by the Association of Informatics and Computer Science Instructors (ISZE). The aim was to produce computer animations and models designed to assist pupils in better understanding learning material through a co-operative effort between students and teachers. A total of 155 teaching materials were developed in harmony with the goals established by the innovative European Schoolnet program, in which Hungary was also a participant.

The multimedia study unit was prepared using the PowerPoint program, which enables educators to develop electronic materials independently based on their own teaching experience, in full knowledge of teaching aims and taking into consideration the age-specific requirements of their students.

Teaching aim: to acquaint students with the flora and fauna in various levels of the forest. Target group: 7–9-year-old schoolchildren. Information technology acts as a tool to achieve the teaching aim. Among pupils aged 7–9, the process of acquiring knowledge must be based on the principle of descriptiveness. This is facilitated by colour illustrations, schematic diagrams, moving images, animal sounds, the “noises” of a walk through the forest, and listening to stories.

The reading speed and comprehension of this age group is still at a level where it is imperative that form and content be taken into account when developing texts. The CLEVER ATTEMPTS section of the program provides children with the opportunity to check their reading comprehension. They may do so either independently or under the guidance of the instructor. Symbolic icons included in the program serve to make its use clear to pupils.

5. Nóra Pányi-Segesdi
(teacher, Kőrösi Csoma Primary School, Tatabánya)

She has been using computers to develop the skills of primary school children at Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Elementary School in Tatabánya for the last 14 years. Only one of many tools in the classroom, along with the class library, the automobile carpet, storybook corner, slide projector and the toy shelf, the computer helps pupils to acquire skills in reading, writing, composition, arithmetic and the difficult craft of solmization (a way of learning music).

Although the children were fond of this friendly “playmate” from the very beginning, it actually became their favourite after they were acquainted with the so-called Storyworld software, which enables the 5-6-yearold pupils to write and illustrate their own stories, in fact creating their own colouring books or storybooks. Their imagination is primarily inspired by traditional fairytale figures (witches, dragons, princesses etc.), but the “guiding principles” are discussed together – who the characters and what the main storyline will be – after which the children also act out the story. Pupils sit behind the computer in groups of 2-3, and each group produces one or two pages of the story. Not only do they write text, but also draw pictures. When these have been completed, the rest of the class offers ideas on how to refine the work, and while they play, they are practicing their spelling and grammar skills without realising it.

In addition to learning their mother tongue, it is also important for primary school pupils to develop their musical skills. For this reason, the author has created a singing-music program that helps children play their favourite songs and even compose their own music, using the Kodály method. The selection of sounds and rhythms included in the program makes it suitable for playing any tune pupils have learned in the course of their music lessons in the lower grades of primary school, and it has proved to be more successful than expected. Whatever song the children happen to be learning, they are already impatiently waiting to “teach” it to the computer as well!

On the other hand, it is not only computers and computer programs that can contribute to the development of skills. During various lessons, and in free time, pupils regularly play games that support the acquisition of ICT knowledge, and the greatest significance of these games lies in the fact that they develop a complex set of skills e.g. attention, memory, algorithmic competence, physical movement, spatial orientation, logic, problem-solving and cooperation (e.g. the game entitled “The Turtle‘s Garden”, various directional games and robot games).

6. Erika Széplaki-Józsa
(teacher of informatics, Pásztorvölgyi Primary School, Eger)

The school is located in Eger, one of the most beautiful Baroque towns in Hungary. It is a relatively small institution, running two parallel classes, and pupils begin learning informatics in two lessons a week in the 3^rd grade.

Since informatics has now been a subject in primary schools for several years, naturally, textbook publishers are marketing materials that correspond to one or two specific concepts. The major portion of textbooks currently being published is for secondary school students. Knowledge in the 21^st century, however, is expected to reflect an approach towards effective application in practice at as early an age as possible. Children under the age of ten easily become acquainted with computers and various innovations in the field of informatics. They have no inhibitions with regard to using these tools, and so it is their natural curiosity that should be guided on the appropriate road to discovery. It is important that children grow to like the ICT environment so that can make use of computers in their daily lives and in the course of their studies later on. Consequently, the goal of ICT training is to gradually arouse and maintain students‘ interest in information technology, to familiarise them with its tools and concepts.

For the assessment of children‘s informatics knowledge task sheets are used at this school. The tasks included here were created for 3^rd and 4^th grade pupils. They do not cover the entire scope of teaching material, but merely focus on certain areas: familiarisation with basic hardware, the Paint drawing program and one part of the Logo range of subjects. Tasks involve completion, linking-matching, alignment and enumeration. They can be selected at random and used for practice, differentiation and testing. They are highly recommend for all teachers!

The acquisition and practice of user skills should always be based on examples taken from the pupils‘ immediate environment and daily life i.e. bulletin boards, texts, inscriptions, posters, story illustration and other everyday tasks and themes related to events taking place in their school. Informatics lessons are only successful if they extend beyond the subject framework and when acquired knowledge is immediately used in practice. Information takes shape in the form of data, hence it is also necessary to collect, group and organise data that is appropriate for the age-specific requirements of pupils.

In summary, the main principle behind the goal of teaching is best illustrated in the words of George Bernard Shaw: “If you want to teach something to someone, they will never learn it.” At first glance, this quote may seem surprising, but its message is true for all age groups. Learning can only be achieved through the process of activity, and only knowledge that is practiced remains in the mind.

7. Anikó Knizner
(director, Pitypang Pre-School, Budapest)

Dolls, toy cars, board games, Lego and the computer fit well together in the Step by Step program. The majority of children arrive at the pre-school between 7 and 9 o‘clock. During their morning play session, they may choose what and who they wish to play with, and where. The instructor only interferes to the extent that is necessary, allowing the children to express themselves freely. Pupils also have the opportunity to practice their independence using the computer. Based on symbols they can recognise and select from among different software the instructor has suggested.

During the morning, older children in the last year of pre- are given tasks linked to a current project. In addition to drawing, story-telling, handicrafts and other developmental games, they may also be assigned “computer” tasks related to one or two specific themes. In the framework of the CASTLE project, for example, this may involve selecting, printing, tracing and embroidering the letter-type to be used on the boys‘ shields and the young ladies‘ kerchiefs.

In mixed classes, older and younger children play together. They have got used to the instructor taking digital photographs of them and their work while they play. If she happens to forget, the children warn her since they know that these photos will be posted on the monitor in the corridor for parents and their children to view them later in the afternoon.

In addition to recording many common adventures and events, the digital camera can also preserve moments of experimentation, which further assists observation. With the help of the “Digital Nursery School” system, parents who request this service can use the Internet to view photos taken of their children in the nursery school.

8. Zoltán Németh
(teacher, Móricz Zsigmond Primary School, Győr)

The Móricz Zsigmond Primary School operates in a 760-year-old settlement, which is now part of a suburb near the local county seat in the city of Győr. The school is surrounded by private homes in a neighbourhood that has retained its rural atmosphere. 90% of the parents are manual workers who struggle to make a living on a daily basis. Many of their children are either at risk or face learning disabilities. Few of the students can afford to travel or participate in extra-curricular, cultural or sporting activities, hence the task of organizing effective study practice and free time activities for these children has become a primary responsibility of the school. Staff members already recognized the pedagogical opportunities provided by informatics more than a decade ago, and the use of computers during lessons as well as to assist students in raising their level of performance has achieved positive results. The school also takes part in various international projects.

It was about ten years ago when the author first encountered a computer program called Fairy Tale world, and decided that he had to try it in his own teaching practice. It was also at the beginning of the 90s that he became familiar with the Cohen pedagogical approach, which essentially means creating a unique reading-writing environment for students that not only arouses their interest, but also maintains the desire for knowledge they bring with them from pre-school. Starting on the very first day, they play different games, and everything around them is given an inscription. Their first experience is to learn each other‘s names, which are written on little name cards pinned on their clothes, so everybody in the school, young and old, addresses them by their own names. Actually, what they are doing right from the start is pretending that they already know how to read and write.

The basic conditions are provided by the computer equipment placed at the rear of the classroom – away from the pupils‘ desks, but easily accessible. Computer work quickly became the children‘s favourite activity, and it was also their first reading-writing experience. The braver ones went straight to the workstations and started getting to know the monitors and the keyboards. Some were even able to write their names, others just used the equipment to draw. By the end of the school year, some clever students had created very nice pictures and supplemented them with stories they came up with on their own. They printed out the drawings and the texts and glued them in their Fairy Tale World notebooks. The kids treated these notebooks like treasure – they would proudly take them home to show their parents and their friends. If the author had not decided to try the program, he could never have realized what a great source of joy computer-assisted activities can be. It was the biggest pedagogical discovery of hislife, and he hopea all of his colleagues will have an opportunity to experience this!

Based on these experiences this school was the first to join the MMM-project (Mini-web – Multi-language – Maxi-learning). Their poster illustrated how small children can take their initial steps on the information superhighway.

Today, students in all age groups take the presence of computers for granted. They regard the ICT equipment as a tool, respect its usefulness and are aware that concentrated attention and learning are required to take advantage of the opportunities it offers. The possibilities of the Internet and other digital tools are much less a source of amazement for young people than they are for members of the older generation. They use computers consciously in the interest of achieving their goals: they are not merely “playing” with the computer, but are working because they find the task interesting – and their motivation and desire to create are exemplary.

In place of a direct teaching approach, an educator‘s role today is to organize and coordinate, guide and assistthe independent activities of their students. A fortunate combination of the teaching process and the tools of information technology, along with a teacher capable of true innovation results in a learning environment that is truly characteristic of schools in the information society of the 21^st century.

Pedagogical innovation comes about in the course of practice and facilitates the development of many skills and abilities apart from the usual knowledge required to meet the expectations of schools. Our examples have been selected from among the case studies we conducted in our ICT for Children Workshop, illustrating some ICT applications that can be transferred to other teaching environments as well.