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Designing and Implementing a Project-Based ICT Course in a Teacher Education Setting: Rewards and Pitfalls

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Abstract

ICT literacy is more than the ability to operate a computer system. It includes an intricate and sophisticated set of higher order skills and cognitive capabilities. In view of the relevant literature, a project-based ICT literacy course was designed with the aim of addressing and developing such capabilities in combination to technical skills acquisition. The course was implemented in a Greek university and a small cohort of undergraduate trainee teachers participated in it. Analysis of the tutor's field notes and students' anonymous written comments and descriptions of the course led to a list of successes and failures regarding the objectives set, the learning environment, the assessment method employed and the project themes selected. Students' evidenced lack of basic information skills and inexperience with project work were the main factors inhibiting and influencing the whole process. Findings are discussed with reference to previous studies and they seem to reinforce the idea that the problems encountered in ICT education are mostly pedagogical rather than technological.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Pyrgos Paidagogikis Sxolis, Panepistimioupoli, 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece E-mail

    Helen Drenoyianni

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Drenoyianni, H. Designing and Implementing a Project-Based ICT Course in a Teacher Education Setting: Rewards and Pitfalls. Education and Information Technologies 9, 387–404 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EAIT.0000045295.26962.8a

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EAIT.0000045295.26962.8a

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