Part 1:
Preparing to Use ICT in Teaching

a. Aims and Objectives

The teacher's aim for the sake of this case study is to develop pupils' understanding of a range of economic factors using the Virtual Economy and a range of business factors using the Virtual Factory. In this case the learners are early (ie. term 1) GNVQ Advanced pupils, and are following the Business programme in year twelve for a variety of reasons.

We shall see as we go along some ideas for applying this kind of work to pupils studying Economics at Advanced level, and to pupils studying business related subjects further down the age range. As we meet the teacher, he has previously taught the main area of work - economic factors - through a variety of methods, including talk-and-chalk, OHP, some video and printed matter from the current affairs and business/economy press.

The resources we shall encounter in this case study can be aligned with the new Advanced GNVQ specifications roughly as follows:

• The Virtual Factory:
  • Unit 1 - Business at Work
  • Unit 3 - Marketing
  • Unit 6 - Business Planning
• The Virtual Economy:
  • Unit 2 - The Competitive Business Environment

There are other areas of application for the two products, and you will surely think of them as you go along, but these are the most obvious ones to begin with.

Specifically, then, over an introductory two-week phase of his programme, the teacher wants the pupils at this phase of their learning to be able to:

• Identify some of the economic impacts of changes in income tax and NI.
• Identify some of the economic impacts of changes to the Base Rate and VAT.
• Explain the impacts on businesses of indirect taxation, with some examples.
• Provide examples of measures businesses can take to manage changes in the economy or competitive environment.

Questions for Consideration

• How do you currently deal with this area of work in the classroom?
• Do you use real practical exercises to illustrate points, and how do you manage use of these?
• What are the main problems encountered when you work with practical exercises?
• Which parts of the Key Skills Curriculum 2000 specifications do you see this area of work as impacting upon most, and are there other curriculum areas where the ideas would be of use?

Keep a short record of your responses to these questions for discussion with your mentor.

b. Deciding Whether to Use ICT