c. Selecting ICT Resources

The teacher in the case study is completely at home with the skills behind most of the options we have looked at above, though she does not know an expert she would e-mail in the final option. She has used the videos, she already has some word processed materials, she has seen some good Dickens sites on the World Wide Web, and she knows how to use a CD-ROM.

You may not be in the same positions as she is, so we shall look at the options in the context of your school and your experience. Think about the following points as they apply to you:

Using the text only, and not using any ICT (or other technology) at all.
I have a bit of a problem with this (I would say that, wouldn't I?) in as much as my own experience of working with the text is that it is both hugely enjoyable - on its own, without technology - and very challenging for young people. In terms of the objectives set for this case study, there is such a wealth of material available from the World Wide Web and CD -ROM, and so much you can do with a couple of good imported images, that I really would want to get the most out of the book, the technology and the pupils by combining some of those options.

Using a word processor package to create worksheets on the text, placing some images into the worksheets.
Here the question is one of how much the pupils will learn, retain and organise if the teacher spends her time on creating learning and testing resources using a word processor, and how much they would have done so anyway. My own view is that a picture can paint a thousand words, or at least that a picture can give an extra stimulus to the understanding of Dickens' sometimes protracted (by modern standards) syntax. It also seems likely that the time spent on creating high quality resources of the sort the teacher wants is likely to be returned in the adaptability and re-usability of the resources.

Using some video, perhaps of different versions of the text such as the Muppet version or the film 'Scrooged'.
This isn't strictly an ICT option, but it would be if it were done in conjunction with the word processed worksheets or some work on the World Wide Web looking at other interpretations of the story. The best thing about it is that looking at video provides a range of stimuli to the learner - especially our younger learners with high levels of 'teleliteracy' - and that the videos are themselves re-workings of the text and opportunities to re-contextualise them.

Using the CD provided to you in your pack for this case study.
Once you've had a chance to look at the CD, you'll see that it gives you a reservoir of learning resources, and that it uses text, images and hyperlinks to get students thinking about the story. The problems remain, though, about managing the CD and giving pupils access to it.

Using the World Wide Web to gather resources, especially on the background to the text.
The following web addresses provide interesting background to Dickens and 'A Christmas Carol' in particular:

http://lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Dickens.html
This site will provide a range of links, including a link to the hypertext version of the story that has been provided to you on the CD ROM.

http://www.stg.brown/edu/projects/hypertext/landow/
victorian/dickens/dickensbio.html
This site gives a useful summary of the author's life and times.

http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertext/landow/
victorian/dickens/61d4.html
This site gives useful information and discussion on Dickens' characterisation.

http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertext/landow/
victorian/dickens/dicksocov.html
This site gives interesting information about the social and political context of Dickens' work.

When you come to use the World Wide Web to deal with Dickens, you should try to restrict yourself (and the pupils) to these sites. Wandering off into hyperspace can be a waste of time without the right focus and the right discipline.

Using the World Wide Web for the resources, and locate an expert on the subject for email communication The obvious problem here is the location of an expert. Some web sites invite exchange of observations by email, and these are included in your list above. You still have the problem of managing this type of communication, though, and especially of ensuring that the respondents in cyberspace really are the experts they claim to be.

Now that you've looked at my ideas about the options available, you need to make your own choices. The teacher in the case study has decided to use all options but the expert, and to combine two or more in particular sessions over a five-lesson period. You need to plan to do something of this sort. On the next page, make a copy and fill out the summary to help you get focus on what you will do. I've put in some suggestions - you can use these as you like. Think of some uses of your own, and make a short note on what you will have to do to make it work, what you expect the benefit to be to your pupils, and what difficulties you expect to encounter when you do it in the classroom.

Resources Selected for Work on Dickens