This Interview has been conducted with Dr. Ron Owston, who is Professor of Education and founding director of the Institute for Research on Learning Technologies at York University. He has spoken at numerous national and international conferences, and published in a variety of fields including technology in education, program evaluation, and teacher development in journals such as Educational Researcher, Research in the Teaching of English, Journal of Computer-Based Instruction, Journal of Information Technology in Teacher Education, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, and Journal of Research on Computing in Education.

One of his recent projects was a three-year study that examined innovative pedagogical practices using technology in schools in 29 countries. Additionally, over the last several years he completed a two-year evaluation of Health Canada’s public health information system; an evaluation of student and teacher use of Tablet PCs in eighth grade; an evaluation of the Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning Program for teacher professional development; researched blended learning courses in Canadian universities; and completed an evaluation for a two-year blended learning program for middle school teachers of mathematics and science.

Currently, Dr. Owston is domain leader for methodology and tools research in the Simulation and Advanced Gaming Environments (SAGE) for Learning research network, and lead researcher for the Literacy and Numeracy Learning Connections project sponsored by the Ontario Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat. He is also conducting a study funded by CCL of elementary school children’s construction of computer games to enhance their literacy skills.

Q1: How is it possible to bridge the gap between the competency of ICT teachers within Qatari schools and that of the learners, who day after the other prove to be much more advance, and competent using computers and the internet. They are real "Digital Natives", while teachers are still "Digital Immigrants". What can ( actually should) a teacher do to enhance his/her skills and knowledge?  

First, I have to say that the gap will likely never be closed! Students will always be exploring new technologies as soon as they come on the market and they will be inventing new ways of using existing technologies. But the good news is that teachers don’t really need to worry about that. Teachers are experts in pedagogy. They are not technicians. What teachers need to know, however, is how to create learning experiences for students that will allow students to apply their technology skills. Teachers do not need to know the specific details of the technology, but they do need to know in a more general sense what the technology is capable of doing. For example, a teacher may not know the specific details of how to upload a digital video to Youtube, but the teacher should know that it’s possible to do this and be able to construct a meaningful educational experience for students using this technology. The best way that teachers can enhance their skills is by reading professional journals, visiting educational websites, talking to and sharing ideas with colleagues, and asking to their own students what they are doing with technology. The important point here is that there is no single path for all teachers to follow, but teachers must be continuous learners and constantly strive to keep up-to-date.

Q2: A lot of teachers really do not know what technology to use to facilitate his/her instruction. What are the very basic questions a teacher has to ask himself when he chooses the technology to be used within class sessions?

The most basic question teachers have to ask is, “What are my educational objectives?” Once this question is answered, teachers then have to decide what kinds of learning experiences they want students to have in order to achieve the objectives. In some cases technology may be totally inappropriate; whereas in other cases it may be the only way to achieve the objectives. For instance, if the teacher wants students to react to a video they have just seen or a story that was just read to them, a face-to-face classroom discussion makes the most sense. However, if the teacher wants students to reflect on it and share their thoughts with other students, then an online discussion would be an excellent way of accomplishing that goal. One thing that teachers should never do is to let the technology determine what is taught!

Q3: Most of schools have now their own portals, where units are uploaded, presentations and homework are submitted. However, the interactive, collaborative and co-operative component is still missing, whereas it is known that ICT can facilitate group work, peer assessment, projects….etc. Could you please elaborate on the potentials of the Internet related to this issue?

I assume that the technology is in place for conducting online discussion and collaboration, but it is not being used. Therefore, the challenge for teachers is to construct meaningful online experiences for students. This will involve posing challenging questions, structuring meaningful online assignments, and encouraging students to post their thoughts and responses online. This takes specific skills on the teacher’s part for this to happen. Teachers need to join in on the discussions and comment on student responses in ways that encourage students to reply. When teachers participate themselves in class discussions, they are also demonstrating to their students that this is a valued activity. A good source on how to moderate online discussions successfully is Gilly Salmon’s book e-Moderating (see http://www.atimod.com/e-moderating/intro.shtml) and specifically her 5-stage model for e-moderating.

Q4: Cyber Safety is an important issue. Some schools ask the students to sign a contract where all rules and instructions are clearly listed, others went for "filtering software" , whereas another solution was to run a series of lectures, and workshops with the students and then parents about the issue….. What should be done in order for a teacher within a class to guarantee that his learners understand fully all risks that are 'out there' on the net and that his class is really cyber-safe.

There are no guarantees, but I believe all of the above steps are helpful. A teacher once told me that the best filter is in the student’s own mind. I agree with this wholeheartedly. No matter what technological solutions to the problem that we impose (e.g., filtering and firewalls), inevitably students will find ways around them. So students need to learn to make proper moral choices because there won’t always be someone watching over their shoulders. This is not something that can be done overnight and all teachers in the school need to work at this together. Parents should also be brought into the picture and at a parent-teacher meetings school policies should be discussed. Be proactive. Don’t ignore the problem and wait for a crisis to happen.

Q5: Out of your long experience, what are the tips and tactics, that can help a teacher seeking to integrate ICT into his instruction. What should he bear in mind, what should he abstain from doing?

I think the best strategy is one that’s incremental. Don’t try to integrate technology into all curricular areas all at once. Start by analyzing your teaching objectives and choose one for which technology is likely to be effective. Read how others have used technology for that objective and talk to more experienced colleagues about how they have used it. Then try out your ideas with students. Make notes for yourself as they are using the technology. Afterwards review your notes and determine what worked and what areas could be improved. Then when you try the lesson again you can make adjustments based on this experience. After you do this, try out technology for other objectives and over the school year you will develop a repertoire of successful lessons that integrate technology.