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Informing Science + IT Education Conference 2003 Proceedings
| Informing Science + IT Education Conference |
| Pori, Finland June 24-27, 2003 |
| Utilising Equipment Matrices for Information Technology in Primary Education Policy |
| Anita Greenhill and Gordon Fletcher |
| University of Salford, England |
| Griffith University, Australia |
| This paper is a reflective discussion on the use of equipment matrices to determine infrastructure re-quirements in |
| an education context. This position was originally presented within the wider framework of a government-funded |
| research project to initiate national policies for implementing IT within primary schools. Equipment matrices were |
| seen by the policymakers funding this reasearch as an appropriate method for representing the needs of a school. |
| Equipment matrices represent a systematised and regularised understanding of the relationships between social |
| practices and technological tools (Curriculum Materials Information Services, 1997). The users of these tools are |
| enmeshed within the matrix through a complex combination of meanings and interaction. However, the |
| correlation of variables within a two-dimensional matrix produces a ‘simple’ representation of the available |
| information that is heavily abbreviated. Lost among this condensation are the needs and presence of the user, |
| either individually or collectively. The ‘snapshot’ of information that matrices pre-sent is, however, refined by the |
| direct inclusion of volatile information such as contemporary equipment and sofware specifications. |
| In this paper we argue that the range of factors beyond technical specifications that influence the use and |
| understanding of information technology are necessary elements within any consideration of IT infra-structure |
| requirements. These, however, can only be simultaneously included in the equipment matrix representation with |
| more expansive incorporation of multiple parameters. Simplification, we advocate, should not be the aim of the |
| methods that determine educational infrastructure requirements but rather, in its place, is the need for sensitivity to |
| the learners and their needs. |
| Keywords: Education Policy, Infrastructure, Student-Focussed Education |
ISSN
1535-07-03
Unless otherwise indicated, this paper has undergone blind external review by three or more reviewers.
Types of Papers: A Best Paper, Regular Paper, Short Paper, Informal Paper,
Unrefereed Panel Paper
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