The document explores the limitations of digital technology in English classrooms, highlighting differences in digital literacy between teachers and students, and the practical challenges teachers face, such as time constraints and training. It presents findings from interviews with both teachers and students, revealing dissatisfaction with traditional presentation methods like PowerPoint and emphasizing the need for hands-on training in digital tools. Additionally, it notes students' preference for visual learning and the importance of adapting teaching methods to embrace new technology effectively.

1. What limitations are involved when
using digital technology within the
English classroom? The perspective
of pupil and teacher

2. Rationale
• I am really interested in how quickly technology moves
forward, which was what made me focus my research project
on this area.
• I feel comfortable with using a lot of new technology as I use
much of it in in my spare time, but I thought that many
teachers may not feel as confident.
• I wanted to hear from both
students and teachers so that I
might find the best ways to share
good practice with other English
teachers in the future.

3. Is there a massive gap?
Students’ knowledge
of digital technology
Teachers’ knowledge
of digital technology

5. Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School…
• Has over one thousand PCs on
site.
• Uses the ‘Moodle’ VLE.
• Is trialling ‘Mimeo’ IWB software
in some classrooms.
Technology can become outmoded
or ineffectual after only a few years.
This must be a huge financial concern
for schools when deciding which
technology is invested in.

6. Literature review
'digital literacy is … much more than a functional matter of learning how to use a
computer and keyboard, or how to do online searches' (Buckingham, 2008)
'sheer diversity of specific accounts of “digital literacy” that exist' (Knobel & Lankshear,
2008)
'teachers need to be digitally literate so that they can empower students with the skills
and knowledge that they will need to be successful in a workplace dominated by
technology’ (Pianfetti, 2001)
‘the older generation of teachers ‘don’t believe their students can learn successfully
while watching TV or listening to music, because they can’t … they didn’t practice this
skill constantly for all of their formative years.’ (Prensky, 2001)

7. Prensky, 2001

8. Methodology
• Interviews with members of the English department
(individually).
• Interviews with year 9 pupils (grouped)
• Interviews with year 12 pupils (grouped)
• Findings organised by issue as it ‘can make comparison across
respondents more economical (Cohen, 2007: p.467)

9. Findings – 1. Time
“We’re not experts in it, in our mind we have a mental
image of it taking a lot of time to prepare.”
“I think there’s a sense of kind
of re-doing things that you
might already do electronically
... Replacing something will
always come slightly lower
down the priority than perhaps
developing something from
scratch.”

10. Findings – 1. Time
• This feeling wasn’t unsubstantiated – PowerPoint and
Mimio Notebook for example.
• Perhaps showed a reluctance to create digital
resources if the teacher has already expended time and
effort in creating something beforehand.

12. Findings – 2. Use of PowerPoint
“Most of my lessons do have PowerPoints in them.
Really these days PowerPoints are replacing my lesson
plans.”
This mirrored the findings of Holbrook et al. (2012:
p.219-220), who state that: ‘technological tools
become a means for increasing efficiency.’

13. Findings – 2. Use of PowerPoint
Year 9 students expressed dissatisfaction with the way
PowerPoint is used in their lessons:
“They put writing on the board and sometimes we have
to copy it out and like you don’t read it properly so you
don’t understand what you’re actually meant to be
doing.”
This could imply that whilst some of the teachers within
the department use PowerPoint to ‘increase efficiency’,
some students view this as counterproductive.

14. Findings – 2. Use of PowerPoint
Susskind (2004) did a study into student response to
the use of PowerPoint, focusing on HE. It found that
‘students viewed themselves as more effective’ and
that ‘it was easier to understand the lecture and take
notes.’
Is it possible that age matters when using presentation
software?

15. Findings – 3. ‘Hands-on approach to CPD’
Two thirds of the English staff that I interview stressed
the need for a practical, hands-on approach to training
in digital technology.

16. Findings – 3. ‘Hands-on approach to CPD’
“There should be times that we are assigned that we
can do some training and ... Have a go at playing with
technology a bit more.”
“If you buy technology at home or you buy a new car,
you tend to learn how all the buttons work kind of as
you’re learning it, rather than by reading the manual or
being trained to use it and maybe teaching doesn’t
really allow you to do that”

17. Findings – 3. ‘Hands-on approach to CPD’
“the problem is if you don’t then go back and do
something with it straight away you may as well not
have had it. It’s kind of lost really.”
“It’s all very well and good having the training but then
you have to find the additional time to do something
with it so you’ve got all the information before it slips
out of your head.”

18. Findings – 3. ‘Hands-on approach to CPD’
• From these comments, it felt like there was a real
enthusiasm for digital technology, but a certain amount
of frustration at how CPD sessions and training in
school is spent.
“I don’t learn by watching somebody do things on a
computer, I have to do it myself.”

19. Findings – 3. ‘Hands-on approach to CPD’
When is there time to experiment?

20. Findings – 4. Visual
Year 9 students highlighted the use of visual technology
such as film:
“It depends if we’ve like done a play or like read a play
sometimes afterwards we’ll watch the play, gives like a
visual of what it’d be like to see.”
“Like if we read the story or watch the film afterwards
as well I think to like it in action, help understand it
properly as well.”

21. Findings – 4. Visual
It could be suggested that these students’ views
support Kress’s (2003: p.64) views of ‘visual grammar’:
‘The screen more than the page is now the dominant
site of representation and communication in general ...
The screen is the site of the image, and the logic of the
image dominates the semiotic organisation of the
screen.’

22. Strengths
- Helped me realise that students like to
be ‘left to go and do stuff’, therefore
taking the onus off teachers to master
as much technology as they possibly
can.

23. Weaknesses
- Interviews with year 9s were not
particularly strong as it could be argued
that I directed them towards answering
negatively.

24. This resource was part of assessment for Secondary English PGCE
course at Sheffield Hallam University and is being released with
permission of its author. It accompanies the case studies produced
as part of the "Digital Futures in Teacher Education"; for more
information see www.digitalfutures.org
Except where indicated otherwise, the content produced within
the project is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales.