Design of contents for ICT literacy in-service training of teachers in Korea

doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2008.05.001

Computers & Education

Volume 51, Issue 4, December 2008, Pages 1683-1706

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2008.05.001 Get rights and content

Abstract

The importance of ICT literacy education for students and teachers in the information society cannot be overemphasized. The Korean government had developed an ICT literacy curriculum for students and teachers since 2000. It announced the ICT literacy curriculum for students in 2000 and the ISST for teachers in 2002. Most contents of the ICT literacy curriculum and ISST focused on teaching the use of application programs. However, as the IT environment changes rapidly, the parties concerned thought that the revision of the ICT literacy curriculum and ISST is indispensable. Therefore, the Korean government announced the revised ICT literacy curriculum for students in 2005. The revised ICT literacy curriculum emphasized the principles of computer science and problem-solving methods. However, although the ICT literacy curriculum was revised, there was no ICT literacy in-service training curriculum to reflect the revised ICT literacy curriculum.

In this research, we designed the contents of the ICT literacy in-service training program based on the revised ICT literacy curriculum. The contents of the ICT literacy in-service training program consist of four sections: the Information society, Information devices, Information processing, and Information handling. The contents in each section of the ICT literacy in-service training curriculum are divided into two groups: mandatory and optional. There were several findings made in this study. After analyzing the opinions and requirements of experts and teachers, the ‘Information processing’ section was found to be the most important part of the ICT literacy in-service training program. It was found that the experts and teachers have different views on the contents of the ICT literacy in-service training program. Also, we found that effective teaching strategies and evaluation methods should be provided for the ICT literacy in-service training curriculum to be effective.

Introduction

For several decades, schools in countries across the world have been searching for ways to convince teachers that information and communication technology (ICT) should be integrated with their teaching strategy (Galanouli, Murphy, & Gardner, 2004). Although the UK has engaged in financial investment in ICT, surveys show that this remains a problematic aspect of teacher education (Harrison et al., 2003). A large number of studies showed that teacher computer competence is a significant predictor of their attitudes toward computers (Berner, 2003). Teachers’ attitudes were found to be determined by various factors, including cultural perceptions and computer competence (Albirini, 2006).

ICT education in Korea consists of ICT literacy education and ICT application education. The Korean government announced the ICT literacy curriculum for students in 2000 and the ‘ICT Skill Standard for Teacher (ISST)’ for teachers in 2002 (MOE, 2000, MOE, 2002). The ICT literacy curriculum focused on the usage of application program (MOE, 2000). The ISST was the criteria for developing the ICT literacy in-service training curriculum for teachers and it was based on the ICT literacy curriculum.

The ICT literacy curriculum was revised in 2005. The revised ICT literacy curriculum is designed to minimize the amount of education on the usage of application programs and emphasize computer science principles and the problem-solving process using algorithms in computing (MOE, 2005). There were many differences between the contents of the previous ICT literacy curriculum in 2000 and the revised ICT literacy curriculum in 2005. However, the ISST has not been revised on the basis of the revised ICT literacy curriculum yet. Therefore, it is necessary to revise the ISST for teachers.

The purpose of this study is to design the contents of the ICT literacy in-service training program for teachers. Firstly, we analyzed the conditions and problems of the current ICT literacy in-service training curriculum for teachers in Korea. Secondly, we designed the draft contents of the ICT literacy in-service training program in order to use in collecting for experts’ opinions and teachers’ requirements. The draft contents of the ICT literacy in-service training program used the contents of the ‘A Model Curriculum for K-12 Computer Science’ report, ISST, and the revised ICT literacy curriculum. Thirdly, we selected the draft contents based on the opinions of experts’ and the teachers’ requirements. Finally, we designed the contents of ICT literacy in-service training. It consisted of four sections based on the sections in the revised ICT literacy curriculum, viz. the Information society, Information devices, Information processing, and Information handling sections. We divided the contents of each section in the ICT in-service training program into 2 groups: the mandatory and optional groups.

Section snippets

Teachers’ ICT in-service training overseas

Many countries practice various ICT in-service training to improve teacher ICT ability and develop systematic ICT in-service training curriculums.

In first case, integrating information technology into classroom practice has been on the agenda of the United Kingdom government since the previous 1980s (Maddison, 1980). In recent years, it has been deemed increasingly important that those entering the teaching profession in the UK should be able to use new technology effectively in their subject

Methodology

This research aims to design the contents of the ICT in-service training program in order to improve the ICT literacy competence of secondary school teachers. To achieve this goal, we firstly performed the following:

•
In order to design the draft contents which could serve as the basis on which to collect the opinion or requirements from the experts and teachers, we compared and analyzed the revised ICT literacy curriculum, ‘A Model Curriculum for K-12 Computer Science’ report, and ISST. Then,

Design of draft contents for ICT literacy in-service training

In this research, we designed the draft contents of the ICT literacy in-service training program, which will be used as the basic contents for collecting the opinions and requirements from experts and teachers in the following works.

Firstly, we analyzed the ISST on the basis of the revised ICT literacy curriculum. As a result of the analysis, it was found that some contents of the revised ICT literacy curriculum did not include the ISST. There were many contents on the usage of application

Discussion

This research was associated with the informatization of education in Korea. Korean government has done such things as following for Informatization of education. Korean government has provided teachers with personal computers since 1997 and completed setting up high-speed networks in schools in 2000 (MIC, 2003, MOE and KERIS, 2006, NIA, 2007). Also, the Korean government has provided schools with free internet service since 2001. Therefore, informatization of education in Korea has been

Conclusion

In a rapidly changing IT society, teachers should study continuously the way to do their works effectively by using ICT. And the ICT literacy in-service training program for teachers needs to evolve continuously according to changing the social demands in the ICT environment and the skills which are required to use Information. However, in Korea, the ICT literacy in-service training has not revised as much as IT society changed. Also, Korean teachers could not apply ICT to their subject. ICT.

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Design of contents for ICT literacy in-service training of teachers in Korea

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Teachers’ ICT in-service training overseas

Methodology

Design of draft contents for ICT literacy in-service training

Discussion

Conclusion

Computers and Education

Computers and Education

Learning and Instruction

Getting started with integrating ICT: A guide for teachers

Non-programming resources for an introduction to CS: A collection of resources for the first courses in computer science

ACM SIGCSE Bulletin

Algorithmic thinking: The key for understanding computer science

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

ImpaCT2: The impact of information and communication technology on Pupil learning and attainment

Common needs and different agendas: How trainee teachers make progress in their ability to use ICT in subject teaching-some lessons from the UK

Computers and Education

Current status and problems of the ICT In-service training for teacher based on the operating guide and skill standard of ICT

Journal of Korean Institute of Information Scientists and Engineers (KIISE): Software and Applications