Promoting thinking skills within the secondary classroom using digital media

One of the recurring themes concerning the integration of ICT into secondary education relates to opportunities for moving classroom-based activities for learners towards higher levels of thinking and learning. The ongoing study described in this paper involves an investigation of the implementation of digital media - utilising Macromedia multimedia and web-based solutions for school project work - into a Year 9/10 IST (Information and Software Technology) elective course: Internet and Web Design. It concentrated on the subsequent assessment and impact that the software has had on creating an inquiry-based situation to promote higher-order thinking skills of students within a secondary classroom completing multimedia projects for the web. This case study of a composite class of fifteen Year 9 and 10 students utilised a mixed methodology involving both qualitative and quantitative procedures. The primary data gathering tool used was the 'What is Happening in this Class (WIHIC)' classroom environment instrument (Aldridge, Fraser and Huang, 1999). This instrument was used to gather data on both the preferred and actual perceptions of the staff and students involved. A cross-section of additional data collection methods were utilised including surveys, classroom observations, interviews with students and the class teacher, video taping and audio taping of classroom lessons and individual interviews conducted with members of the school management team. Early results from the study suggest that technology allows learning and motivation of students to be enhanced and that there is a willingness exhibited by individuals to engage in tasks and discussions. It is argued that teaching and learning can be enriched as the technological tools and pedagogical processes are brought together in appropriate ways. Kallick (2001) supports this by referring to the integration of technology as being a meaningful tool that will transform the culture of schools but requires attention to the habits of mind; newly defined thinking tasks such as problem solving, and the necessary cognitive operations such as analysing, inferring and evaluating.