Message from Centre for Information Technology in Education within the Faculty of Education

About the Seminar
Pilot projects or schemes have been commonly used as mechanisms for trying out new curricula or pedagogical approaches, including e-Learning. However, what is to be gained through a pilot is not always clear, nor what are the necessary design constituents for a productive pilot. Further, pilots are typically designed to run for a few years, and support is usually withdrawn when the planned changes are barely implemented. On the other hand, it takes years before the full impact of a pilot could be observed, beyond the scope of associated evaluation studies.

This seminar explores the question of how the benefits of e-Learning pilot projects can be maximized by examining an on-going e-Learning Pilot Scheme in Hong Kong funded by the HKSAR Education Bureau (2011-2014) and the UK ICT Test Bed project (2002-2006) funded by the UK Government. Prof Nancy Law will provide an overview of the HK e-Learning Pilot Scheme and the key findings arising from the 2nd Year Evaluation Report, leading to some important questions for consideration regarding the anticipated sustainability and impact of the e-Learning pilot at this juncture.

Prof Bridget Somekh will (a) present an overview of the UK ICT Test Bed Project, (b) examine the mechanisms for managing change built into the project’s design and the predicted and unexpected aspects of the project’s development over the four years; (c) highlight the key findings that make interesting comparisons with the HK e-Learning Pilot Scheme; and (d) make suggestions about what can be learnt about sustainability and scalability of the ICT Test Bed project.

About the Speakers
Dr Bridget Somekh is Professor of Educational Research (Emeritus) in the Education and Social Research Institute at Manchester Metropolitan University, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Her research interest is the process of innovation and the management of change, in particular changes in teaching and learning practices and the impact of ICT on users and their organizations. Between 2000 and 2007, she directed a number of national evaluations studies, including the ImpaCT2 (DfES), ICT Test Beds (DfES) and Primary Schools Interactive Whiteboards (SWEEP) evaluations of the impact of the UK government’s investment in ICT for schools. Bridget is internationally known for her work in both ICT in Education and action research to support the management of change. She is currently external consultant for the Research Study on the Pilot Scheme on e-Learning in Schools at HKU.

Professor Nancy Law is currently Deputy Director of the Centre for Information Technology in Education (CITE) in the Faculty of Education of the University of Hong Kong, after serving as its Founding Director for 15 years from 1998. She serves/has served on a number of policy advisory boards/working groups related to ICT in education for the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government and other community groups. Nancy is internationally known for her work on international comparative studies of pedagogical innovations and information technology and models of ICT integration in schools and change leadership. She has co-led the international SITES 2006 study and served on the Board of Directors of the International Society of the Learning Sciences. She is currently an Executive Editor of the International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning and is frequently sought after to provide expert input/consultancy to the European Commission, UNESCO and OECD on various aspects of technology-enhanced learning.

Please register at
http://www.cite.hku.hk/news.php?id=505&category=seminar