Implementing broadband Internet in the classroom: key issues for ...

Implementing broadband Internet in the classroom: key issues for research and practiceThese pupils managed this designated task with considerable skill and pace. Therewas no great engagement with the material, but then in this instance it was theprocess rather than the content that was important, and they carried out the processas instructed. They had no problems with the technology and, indeed, seemed toenjoy being in charge of it.In the opinion of the teacher in Case Study 6, ‘If we hadn’t had this facility [broadband]there’s also an issue with learning. I don’t think as many of them would have been ontask’(post-lesson interview). This is the overriding impression we took from studyingthe ways in which the pupils worked in all the cases: they were on-task virtually all thetime. Without exception, the pupils could easily meet the technical demands of thebroadband-based activities and, as far as we could tell, nearly always followed theteachers’ instructions (including the pupils who were not particularly conscious of beingobserved by us). The impression of the pupils being on-task is hard to resist whensurveying a room full of active, generally self-regulating pupils working in accordancewith the teacher’s guidance and instructions in front of busy computer screens, evenwhen coping with the potential frustrations of working in pairs:Pupil 1: (selects Google)Pupil 2: (types ‘pointed arches’ into Google)Teacher: (to class) right you’ve got ten minutes (.) start savingPupil 1: (selects a website: the site is solely text-based)Pupil 2: don’t just copy and paste it all (.) I need to read it (readsthe text for a few seconds before Pupil 1 scrolls down, making itimpossible for Pupil 2 to read)Pupil 2: okay I’ve (.) I’ve got enough stuffPupil 1: can you read it when I do thisPupil 2: no I just thought of more stuff to write (Pupil 1 maximizesPowerPoint slide and Pupil 2 types)(Case Study 5)The video evidence does indicate, however, that the pupils’ readiness and capacityto act in these responsible and semi-autonomous ways in carrying out their teachers’instructions when using the Internet did not necessarily equate with active learningof the intended subject topic. When it came to finding material from the websites,pre-selected or otherwise, we saw little evidence of careful reading and absorptionof information by pupils. Rather, the pupils were generally prone to fast and relativelyindiscriminate scrolling through Web pages, pausing momentarily at pictures, diagramsor photographs, and deciding within seconds whether or not to move on to anothersite. Although it often took on the appearance of constructive collaboration, the talk ofpupils working together in pairs at the computer consisted overwhelmingly of readingaloud from websites, with one pupil dictating to another or simply talking off-topic.In effect, such collaborations worked well enough if the aim was to get a particular16