The role of ICT in primary teachers’ practices. Exploratory study

Resumen

The constant evolution of digital technology has been transforming people’s lives and, particularly, the learning process. The information is available and is quickly updated. Schools have lost their role as main source of information to give place to alternative means of learning. Therefore, schools need to evolve into providing students, not only with reading, writing and reasoning skills, but also with the capacity to deal effectively with technology and to adapt to new learning realities. In this context, in Portugal, several ICT integration programs have been developed in the classrooms since 1980. In 2007, the implementation of the Technological Plan for Education aimed at both modernizing schools in what concerns to technology and training teachers to use technology in the classroom. This study presents the results of an exploratory study accomplished through the application of a questionnaire to elementary school teachers conceived to understand the impact of the e.escola program implemented under the Technological Plan of Education between 2007 and 2011 resulting in the massive distribution of laptops to elementary school children and the adaptation of schools to computers and wireless internet; and to know how primary school teachers use ICT in their professional activity in Portugal. The majority of the 78 primary teachers who answered the questionnaire have a computer in their classroom and 88.5% has Internet access in the classroom. However, only 42% of the teachers use the computer with their students in the classroom and only 10.3% of teachers have available a computer for each student. With respect to activities with multimedia resources, these are mostly routine tasks such as writing texts (73.1%) and Internet searches (73.1%). The more active pursuits such as developing online resources and participate in online projects appear with a smaller percentage, 7.7% and 9%, respectively. Teachers’ practices are still not focused on promoting active methodologies like collaborative work and the development of complex thinking skills.