How can grasshoppers change ICT practices?

By Lieve Leroy, VVOB Zambia

July 5th – 7th 2011, ICT in the Classroom Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa

Case

• You attend a workshop, but upon returning to your own workplace, you fail to implement the lessons learned.

• Your colleague just got his ICDL certificate, but still has a classroom full of chalk and talk.

Ever experienced something like this?

Outcomes

By the end of the session delegates will: • Have reflected on capacity building in ICT, inclusive of

integration in class/work practices.• Have exchanged good ideas and go home with a basket

of tips and tricks.• Have a good understanding of the Grassroots approach

and have reflected on the duplicability of it.

Getting started

• Think of an ICT tool (Web 2.0) which inspired you during the last year.

• What was the trigger that made you start using it?

Speed dating set up

Plenary

More questions

• Have you ever succeeded in motivating a/some colleague(s) to use an ICT tool?

• What was the key to success?

Think

Pair

Share

Our tool box to success

• Let’s make an inventory

Some guidelines

• ICT application in the classroom:

– requires staff development– implies change, which might trigger resistance

• Highly effective ways of staff development are: discussing, coaching, mentoring, observing and developing others are highly effective

• comfort risk danger:– Feasible but challenge– Support (time, materials, coach)– Confidence

Our tool box to success

• Reflect on the guidelines and relate those to our tool box: how effective are our approaches

The reality: Zambia

The reality: Zambia

The reality: Zambia

Grassroots Zambia

“Learn to use & Use to learn“

• Based on Grassroots TU Delft, The Netherlands• Done in Zambia, community schools and

colleges of education

Grassroots

• Staff at all levels can submit a proposal for a small scale initiative to enhance the introduction of ICT, or innovative methods of teaching at school/college (bottom up)

• Expert support/guidance over the duration of the project (technical and educational support)

• Reward for a successful implementation• Dissemination in a good practices seminar and

publication of good practices

Why grassroots?

• Stimulate lecturers, with little or no experience with ICT, to get a feeling for using ICT

• Increase the use of ICT in education in the institute

Why is it successful:• Lecturer is the owner of the idea; feels empowered• Stimulating creativity of lecturers• Enthusiasm and commitment• Stimulates peers; appealing concept• Students are immediately benefiting

Process

Approval of proposals

In Zambia: two rounds

5 thematic groups:•Find, search, collaborate•Audi, visual and video learning•Gadgets and tools•Language and Mathematics•Hands on ICT

“Those who make a

distinction between

education and

entertainment

don't know the

first thing

about either.“

 -- Marshall McLuhan

Expert Groups

Agreement Working Together

The role of the mentor in grassroots is:

• Give feedback• Give advice on how to balance responsibilities, set

professional priorities and action plans. • Help to find technical/subject matter inputs and

resources.• Empower participants to take responsibility for their own

project, experience and learning. • Organise meetings with the ‘peer group’. • Create linkages with colleagues from other institutions.

Getting started

• How would the concept of grassroots project be transferable to your situation?

• Discuss your own challenges in the use of ICT in your organisation/class. Come up with a grassroots proposal to solve this situation

• http://www.icto.tudelft.nl/en/ongoing-projects/grassroots/tu-delft-grassroots/

• http://grassrootszambia.webs.com/• http://www.vvobzambia.blogspot.com/ • http://www.slideshare.net/bart.cornille/tab-1-tales-of-the-

grasshoppers

With contributions from presentations by Kristin Smets (VVOB Brussels) and Leonie Meijerink e. a. (VVOB Zambia)

literature

• Bubb, S., Earley, P. (2007). Leading and managing continuing professional development (2nd ed.). London: Paul Chapman Publishing.

• Bubb, S. Earley, P., Leading staff development for school improvement, School Leadership and Management, Vol 29, No 1, February 2009, pp. 23-37.

• Fullan, M. (2007), The New Meaning of Educational Change (4th ed.), London: Routledge.

• Leithwood, K., Mascall, B., Strauss, T., Sacks, R., Memon, N. and Yashkina, A. (2007) Distributing Leadership to Make Schools Smarter: Taking the Ego Out of the System. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 6:1, pp.37-67.

• Marzano, R.J. (2003), What Works in School: Translating Research into Action, Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

• Marzano, R.J., Waters, T. and McNulty, B.A. (2005), School Leadership that Works: From Research to Results, Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

• Meijerink, L., Dopper, S., Cornille, B., Duplicability of Grassroots concept to inspire educators to use ICT in education, eLearning Africa Conference, 26 May 2010, Zambia.

• Pont, B., Nusche, D. and Moorman, H. (2008), Improving School Leadership, Volume 1: Policy and Practice, Paris: OECD.

• Reeves, D. B. (2009). Leading change in your school: How to conquer myths, build commitment, and get results. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

• Schollaert, R. and Leenheer, P. (Eds.) (2006), Spirals of Change. Educational change as a driving force for school improvement, Leuven: Lannoo Campus.