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, including having first-hand knowledge of projects on sustainability with which he could have electronic communication. He has used videos, already has some word-processed materials, he has seen some good sites on the World Wide Web, and he knows how to use a CD-ROM.

You may not be in the same positions as he 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:

Use discussion only, and not use 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 this area of work is that it is both hugely enjoyable - on its own, without technology - and very challenging for young people. Especially 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 the technology to get access to lively and detailed information, that I really would want to get the most out of the syllabus, the technology and the pupils, by combining some of the options.

Use a word processor package to create worksheets on the area of work.
Here the question is one of how much the pupils will learn, retain and organise if the teacher spends his 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 it need not take much time to create high quality learning resources that integrate text, graphics and other stimuli - flow charts, for example, that illustrate conflicts and processes. 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.

Use some video and print material, for example broadcast television programmes, contemporary publications, bespoke learning materials for the area.
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 materials. The best thing about it is that looking at video and published material provides a range of stimuli to the learner - especially our younger learners with high levels of 'teleliteracy' - about real-world issues that are dealt with using leaflets and information-sources on most projects engaged with them.

Use a CD-ROM to gain access to background material - either general material such as can be found on typical encyclopædias, or more focused resources in CD subject-specific collections.
The kinds of CD-ROM currently, readily and cheaply available to teachers and the general public, really only allow the most general level of understanding of issues in Environmental and ecological studies. The Encyclopædias such as Encarta, Compton and Hutchinson, the educational materials produced by DK and one or two other companies, and the vast range of other CD-ROM resources, often fall short of real focus on what we want pupils at GCSE to learn. However, in combination with other techniques, even the most general CD product with its use of a range of media can be of use.

Use the World Wide Web to gather resources.
The following web addresses provide interesting sources of information on Ecosystems, Energy and the Environment. When you come to use the World Wide Web to deal with this area of work, you should try to restrict yourself (and the pupils) to the sites listed here. Wandering off into hyperspace can be a waste of time without the right focus and the right discipline.

Ecosystems

http://www.eduweb.com/amazon.html
Amazon Interactive.

http://www.desertusa.com
Desert USA.

http://www.iaaglobal.org
Fantastic Forest.

http://www.ran.org/ran/
Rainforest Action Network.

http://www.snowcrest.net
Biomes of the World.

http://drylands.nasm.edu:1995/drylands.html
Bright Edges of the World.

http://treesandpeople.lbutv.slu/se/
Forests, Trees and People.

http://forests.org/gaia.html
Gaia Forest Conservation Archives.

http://www.gaia.org/treesforlife/
Trees for Life.

http://www.wcmc.org.uk:80/forest/data/
World Conservation Monitoring.

Energy

http://www.ases.org
American Solar Energy Society.

http://www.bp.com
British Petroleum.

http://www.bnfl.co.uk
British Nuclear Fuels.

http://www.solstice.crest.org/renewables/wlord/index.html
Building a Solar House in Maine.

http://www.usbr.gov/power/data/
Bureau of Reclamation.

http://www.foe.co.uk:80/CAT/
Centre for Alternative Technology.

http://www.energy.rochester.edu
Co-generation.

http://www.earthdog.com/renew.html
Earthdog Renewable Energy.

http://www.electricity.org.uk
Electricity Association.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/contents.html
Energy Country Analysis Briefs.

http://www.energy-efficiency.org.uk
Energy Efficiency.

http://www.eren.doe.gov
Energy Efficiency and Renewable.

http://www.energyinfo.co.uk
Energy Information.

http://www.fe.doe.gov
Fossil Energy.

The Environment

http://odin.dep.no/md/publ/acid/AcidRainE.html
Acid Rain.

http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/air/lesson_plans.html
Air Quality.

http://www.webdirectory.com
Amazing Environmental Organisation.

http://cnn.com/EARTH/
CNN Earth Pages.

http://www.dar.csiro.au
CSIRO: The Greenhouse Effect.

http://www.english-nature.org.uk
English Nature.

http://condor.stcloud.msus.edu/~dmichael/eco/
Environment and Sustainable Living.

http://www.foe.co.uk
Friends of the Earth.

http://www.greenpeace.org
Greenpeace.

Use the World Wide Web for the resources, and locate an expert or a peer working on the subject for e-mail communication.
The obvious problem here is the location of an expert. Some web sites invite exchange of observations by email, and these may be 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. The same is true when contacting 'peers', or any other interested parties - in the area of this case study as with any other, the danger of coming across a party in cyberspace with ideas you would consider inappropriate or irrelevant is very real.

Pupils present their findings and views through a PowerPoint classroom presentation, and/or send this presentation to other schools/organisations for sharing and discussion.
However pupils formulate ideas, you can have them use a word processor, e-mail or PowerPoint to express and exchange the ideas. PowerPoint is particularly good in that it allows pupils (and teachers, come to that) to formulate bullet-lists that they can expand on in interesting presentations in the classroom. The more ICT competent of your pupils might even want to email their PowerPoint presentations to each other and to their email participants on the web. If pupils decide to do this, and especially if they decide to incorporate views of their own on the topics, or images/videos they have gathered or produced, the process needs to be very carefully managed.

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 including e-mail, and to combine two or more in particular sessions over a two-week 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. 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 Sustainability