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 he does not know an expert he would email in the final option. 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 a variety of views on a single subject or range of subjects, 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 - dialogues, for examples, can be very graphically represented using simple images and text-arrangement techniques. 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 current affairs 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' - and that video is itself a way of presenting reality to pupils who may not be familiar and comfortable with discussion across the ethnic and religious traditions.

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-ROM 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 moral and religious questions. The Encyclopaedias 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-ROM product can be of use.

Use the World Wide Web to gather resources.
The following web addresses provide interesting sources of information, and appear in all the case studies for RE:

General Resources for RE Teachers

http://re-xs.ucsm.ac.uk/schools/cupboard/ict/
maureenreport.html
A report on use of ICT in teaching.

http://hopkins.ndirect.co.uk/revision
General GCSE revision.

http://re-xs.ucsm.ac.uk/schools
General information about the place of ICT in RE teaching.

www.studyweb.com
Links across the Secondary curriculum.

Religion and Morality

www.religioustolerance.org/glossary.htm
A glossary of religious terms.

www.hopkins.ndirect.co.uk/revision/chper1.html
Morality in the GCSE syllabus.

World Religions and Worship

www.hopkins.ndirect.co.uk/revision/ch1/html
Christian texts.

www.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm
Summaries of World Religions, and many links to other sites.

www.hopkins.ndirect.co.uk/revision/ch2.html
Information about worship.

http://members.tripod.com/adaniel/religions.htm
Religion in India.

www.brent.gov.uk/brent/other.religion.htm
Summaries of World Religions.

www.cant.ac.uk/secpgce/Rel_Edu/Renet/PROF_RE/PLACESPP.htm
Information about places of worship.

www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/religion/islam/
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/religion/hindus/index.htm
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/religion/christianity/
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/religion/buddhism/
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/religion/judaism/
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/religion/sikhism/
The BBC World Service religion section.

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 these sites. Wandering off into hyperspace can be a waste of time without the right focus and the right discipline.

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 in particular, the danger of coming across a party in cyberspace with ideas you would not want to have shared with pupils is very real.

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, email 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 three-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. 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 Decisions of Life and Living