How the DIY philosophy can be exploited in ICT teacher education at the Faculty of Education in Prague?
Abstract
The article introduces empirical research carried out by the Department of Information Technology and Technical Education (DITTE) at the Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague. The authors have drawn inspiration from the EU project, 543177-LLP-1-2013-1-ES-KA3-KA3MP, "Do It Yourself in Education: Expanding digital competence to foster student agency and collaborative learning (DIYLAB)", in which they are involved from 2014.
The DITTE is responsible for Bachelor's and Master's Degree University study programmes for ICT teacher education. Graduates of the MA Studies are qualified to be a teacher of a compulsory school subject, ICT, which is part of the curriculum for primary, lower secondary and secondary school level.
Some ICT student teachers have a professional knowledge and expertise in computer science or have excellent practical skills and knowledge in ICT. The question is, whether the academic staff is able to exploit and apply the ICT/Computer Science knowledge of students in ICT teacher education.
Some ICT student teachers are employed in schools as non-fully qualified ICT teachers or they work as instructors for after-school or leisure (time) activities for children in Youth Clubs. A further question is, whether the staff, the Department or the Faculty is able to apply their ICT teaching experiences and to integrate them into ICT teacher education.
How can the DITTE employ ICT student teacher's experiences, skills and knowledge learned or mastered outside of university study in their leisure time or activities or in teaching practice in schools? How can the university staff learn from these student teachers knowledge in ICT/Computer Science? Is there a real possibility students and staff could develop together in a close collaboration a digital product or learning/teaching object the idea of which will be designed by an ICT student teacher?