Supporting collaborative ICT-practices in schools
Abstract: Sociability and community are now getting more and more attention among advocates of information technology. But the everyday life in workplaces, schools and public institutions often relies on unmediated and technologically un-facilitated interaction. It has become evident that today's innovations require changes in school community practices where teachers’ commitment to these changes is essential. Teachers’ commitment cannot be understood without studying workplace cultures represented by the complex forms of social interactions and forms of collaboration in the professional learning and classroom communities. Collaborative effort is needed within the school community to sustain the change in practices. However, we note that every-day communication in workplaces, schools and public institutions still, in most cases, takes place in a traditional and hierarchical manner. The availability of technology is not enough to change this as the practices are enmeshed in school cultures through the dynamics of professional identities, learning spaces and the modes of collaboration.
Presider: Ellen Taricani, Penn State University