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Four in Balance Monitor 2011 

ICT in Dutch primary, secondary and vocational education 

Expertise 

Digital learning materials 

Vision 

Collaboration and leadership 

ICT infrastructure


ICT in Dutch primary, secondary and vocational education

4 

Contents 

Main topics 6 

1 What is Four in Balance? 9 

1.1 The Four in Balance model 9 

1.2 What do we mean by “balance”? 10 

1.3 The Four in Balance Monitor 13 

2 Benefits of using ICT 15 

2.1 Kennisnet’s research program 15 

2.2 Classifying ICT applications by pedagogical vision 17 

2.3 ICT and instruction 19 

2.4 Structured practice 21 

2.5 Inquiry-based learning 25 

2.6 Learning to learn 29 

2.7 Summary 31 

3 ICT in teaching 33 

3.1 Teachers at school 33 

3.2 Teachers at home 38 

3.3 Pupils at home 39 


4 Vision 44 

4.1 Views on learning 44 

4.2 Comparing school managers and teachers 46 

4.3 Innovation 47 

4.4 Summary 48

5 Expertise 49 

5.1 Familiarity 49 

5.2 Pedagogical ICT skills 50 


6 Digital learning materials 53 

6.1 Computer programs 53 

6.2 Percentage of digital learning materials 55 

6.3 Source 56 


7 ICT infrastructure 58 

7.1 Computers 59 

7.2 Interactive whiteboards 62 

7.3 Connectivity 64 


8 Collaboration and leadership 66 

8.1 Collaboration 66 

8.2 Leadership 68 

8.3 The future 72 


9 From ICT use to more effective teaching 74 

9.1 Adapt support to aims 74 

9.2 Use leadership to involve followers 76 

9.3 Formalize professional use 76 

9.4 Link teacher, pupil, and subject matter 

in a digital learning environment 77 

9.5 Know what works 78 

10 Bibliography 80 

5

6 

Main topics 

The Four in Balance Monitor is published annually by Kennisnet and 

concerns the use and benefits of ICT in Dutch education. The Monitor 

is based on independent research and looks at primary, secondary 

and vocational education and training. Below, we summarize the 

main topics covered in the 2011 Monitor. 

Benefits 

• ICT can make teaching/learning more efficient, more effective, and 

more interesting. 

• ICT use has become commonplace in teaching in recent years. 

Nevertheless, increasing ICT use does not necessarily lead to better 

results. The more powerful ICT becomes and the more options it offers 

for improving the quality of education, the more crucial the teacher’s 

role becomes. 

• The benefits of ICT depend largely on the presence of a teacher who is 

able to link the subject matter, the ICT application, and the pupil. 

Use by teachers 

• Three quarters of teachers use computers during lessons. This number 

has increased by 2 to 3% in recent years. 

• Teachers spend an average of 8 hours a week using computers in their 

lessons, and that figure is expected to increase within three years by 

approximately 40%, to 11 hours a week. In addition, they spend another 

7 hours a week on average doing school-related work on their home 

computer. 

• The ICT applications used most often in teaching are the Internet, 

practice programs, word processing software and electronic learning 

environments. Games and Web 2.0 are used the least. 

Use by pupils 

• Teachers believe that the number of hours that pupils can spend 

working at a computer at school is limited to between 1.5 and 3 hours 

a day. Teachers believe that pupils can spend a further 7 to 12 hours a 

week on computer-based learning activities outside of school. 

• It is wrongly assumed that youngsters are so skilful with computers

that schools do not need to teach them how to search for and select 

information on the Internet. Many pupils have a difficult time using ICT 

responsibly, critically, and creatively as a learning tool. 

• The majority of pupils in vocational education and training take their 

own laptops with them to school. This happens much less in secondary 

education, and scarcely at all in primary school. 

Vision 

• Knowledge transfer is the most common teaching method today, and will 

remain so in the future. Teachers and school managers expect that ICT 

will be used most frequently for purposes of knowledge transfer. 

• Knowledge construction will become more common in education in the 

future. Teachers and school managers believe that ICT will support this 

trend. 

• Teachers assume that they will continue teaching largely without the 

support of ICT. School managers think otherwise, however; they expect 

that within three years’ time, teachers will be using ICT in most of their 

lessons. 

Expertise 

• Two thirds of teachers feel that they are sufficiently or more than 

sufficiently familiar with the various options that ICT can offer them in 

their teaching. 

• School managers say that eight out of ten teachers have satisfactory 

technical ICT skills; for example, they can use a word processing 

program and the Internet. 

• School managers estimate that almost six out of ten teachers have 

mastered the pedagogical skills they need to use ICT in their teaching. 


• Teachers mainly use standard office applications such as word 

processing programs and e-mail. Slightly more than half of teachers also 

used software associated with a course/coursebook or a subject-specific 

program. 

• A fourth of all learning material is digital. Teachers expect that this 

share will increase considerably in the years ahead. 

• Approximately a third of teachers occasionally develop their own digital 

MAIN ToPICS 

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learning materials. That is 10% more than two years ago. In two years’ 

time, more than half of teachers expect to be developing their own 

digital learning materials. 

Infrastructure 

• The ratio of computers to pupils at school is the same as last year: one 

computer for every five pupils. 

• The adoption of interactive whiteboards has gone much faster than 

school managers had anticipated in previous surveys. Almost every 

school now has one or more interactive whiteboards. Expectations are 

that nearly every primary school classroom will be equipped with an 

interactive whiteboard before long. 

• Wireless Internet and optical fiber connections are becoming standard 

at secondary schools and in the vocational education and training 

sector. 


• Two thirds of teachers say that ICT use is a matter of personal 

preference, and that there are no shared (school-wide) goals. 

• Approximately eight out of ten schools have an ICT policy plan. About 

half of these schools are actually implementing this plan. 

• At the moment, school managers are focusing on purchasing 

infrastructure facilities and digital learning materials (material 

factors). In order to ensure that more teachers make better use of ICT, 

school managers would like to place put greater emphasis on teachers’ 

professional development and on developing a pedagogical vision 

concerning the use of ICT (human factors). 

From use to better performance 

• There are solid foundations for using ICT in every sector of education. 

Schools can get more out of ICT by: 

1. adapting support to aims; 

2. using leadership to get followers involved; 

3. formalizing professional use; 

4. linking teacher, pupil and subject matter in a digital learning 

environment; 

5. knowing what works.

1 

What is Four in Balance? 

1 - WhAT IS FoUr IN BALANCE? 

1.1 The Four in Balance model 

The Four in Balance Monitor is based on the Four in Balance model. This 

model summarizes what research has taught us about how schools can use 

ICT successfully to improve the quality of education. 

According to the Four in Balance model, introducing ICT for educational 

purposes has a greater chance of success if four basic elements – vision, 

expertise, digital learning materials and ICT infrastructure – are in 

balance (Ict op School, 2004). These basic elements are complementary and 

mutually dependent. 

Below, we briefly explain the four basic elements: 

• Vision: what the school believes good teaching is and how the school 

intends to achieve it. Vision consists of the school’s objectives, the role 

of teachers, pupils and management, the actual content to be taught, 

and the materials that the school uses. 

• Expertise: teachers’ knowledge and skills, which must be good enough 

to utilize ICT to achieve educational objectives. This refers not only to 

technical skills, but also to pedagogical knowledge and to knowledge 

of the subject matter – as well as to the ability to meaningfully link all 

three. 

• Digital learning materials: all digital educational content, whether 

formal or informal. Formal learning materials are materials produced 

especially for educational purposes. Digital learning materials include 

computer programs. 

• ICT infrastructure: the availability and quality of computers, networks, 

and Internet connections. ICT infrastructure also includes electronic 

learning environments and the maintenance and management of ICT 

facilities. 

The education sector’s task is to closely coordinate these four basic 

elements when planning, facilitating and implementing teaching/learning 

processes. Teachers play a crucial role in this, but there is also a need 

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Leadership 

for leadership to guide the process and to create the right conditions for 

collaboration with other professionals (see Figure 1.1). 

Vision Expertise 

Collaboration 

Digital learning 

materials 

Pedagogical use of ICT for teaching/learning 

Improvement in quality of education 

Figure 1.1: The basic elements of the Four in Balance model (Ten Brummelhuis, 2011) 

ICT 

infrastructure 

1.2 What do we mean by “balance”? 

In this Four in Balance Monitor we look at each of the basic elements of the 

Four in Balance model separately, so that we understand the priorities that 

schools set for themselves and the basic conditions in which they invest. That 

gives us an idea of how things stand across the country. The questions we 

ask include: What infrastructure facilities do schools purchase? Do they have 

enough digital learning materials at their disposal, or are there bottlenecks? 

how much effort do schools put into developing a pedagogical vision 

regarding the use of ICT in teaching? 

The Four in Balance model is not only a useful conceptual framework for a 

national benchmark, it is also an implementation model for the sustainable 

use of ICT in education. Four in Balance is not intended to compel schools to 

use ICT. It is intended to help the schools that wish to use ICT make choices 

that will improve the quality of teaching/learning and achieve the related 

benefits.


In many cases, schools fail to achieve the benefits that they thought they 

would attain using ICT. For example, a project falters because the teachers 

are not equipped to use the technology, or because the infrastructure that 

the school has chosen does not match the pedagogical approach that teachers 

favor. The project then never goes beyond a one-time experiment (Van der 

Neut, 2010; Van Eck, 2009; 2010). one well-known example was described by 

Zucker in an article in Science. Zucker looked at the investment schools in 

the United States had made in laptops (Zucker, 2009). Although the schools 

had spent a lot of money on the laptops and related equipment, teachers 

scarcely changed their lessons and failed to use many of the new options at 

their disposal. There was no impact on the way pupils thought or learned. 

Similar findings have emerged in studies exploring the impact of interactive 

whiteboards (DiGregorio, 2010; Bannister, 2010). 

The Four in Balance model allows schools to avoid such pitfalls by helping 

them consider, in advance, how to organize teaching/learning and what to 

invest in. Thanks to research, we are coming to learn more and more about 

how best to coordinate the four basic elements. one important finding 

is that the human factors (vision and expertise) must be considered first, 

and only then the material ones (learning materials and infrastructure). In 

previous publications, we referred to this particular coordination sequence 

as “education-driven innovation” (Law, 2008; De Koster, 2009). The opposite 

sequence, which starts with technology or digital learning materials, is known 

as “technology-driven” or “material-driven” innovation (see Figure 1.2). 


Education-driven 

Technology-driven 

Digital 

learning 

materials 

ICT infrastructure 

Figure 1.2: Two coordination sequences: education-driven (starting from the human factors) 

and technology-driven (starting from the material factors). Education-driven coordination has 

a better chance of succeeding 

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Coordination that puts technology before pedagogy has only a limited chance 

of success (Fullan, 2011; Kozma, 2003; Ten Brummelhuis, 2008). 

Crucial human factors include the following: 

• The ICT facilities match the teacher’s views on education 

If so, then the teacher will certainly not be unwilling to use ICT in his 

or her lessons (oECD, 2010b; Van Gennip, 2008; Versluijs, 2011). If an 

ICT application conflicts with the teacher’s pedagogical principles, 

however, he or she will prefer not to use ICT. Teachers will not easily 

give up their principles, because they derive much of their professional 

identity from them (Ertmer, 2005; 2009). We look more closely at this in 

Section 4.3. 

• The teacher is familiar with ICT and is capable of using it 

If not, then his or her use will be ineffective. This is in fact a key factor 

(Knezek, 2008; Van Buuren, 2010). once the teacher is familiar with the 

technology, he or she must integrate it into the subject matter and his 

or her pedagogical approach. This type of knowledge is referred to as 

TPACK, that is: Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Voogt, 

2010a). 

• The teacher is convinced of the added value of ICT 

If not, then he or she will tend to stick to a familiar routine (Tondeur, 

2008; Voogt, 2010a). It is important for teachers’ professional 

development to understand which ICT-related pedagogical strategies 

will lead to better pupil performance (Erstad, 2009; hattie, 2009; 

Timperly, 2007). 

• There is leadership 

A demonstration of leadership can get teachers involved in innovation, 

motivate them, and allow them to develop a shared vision (Dexter, 2008; 

Vanderlinde, 2011; Waslander, 2011) – not only the trendsetters, but 

also (and more specifically) the more hesitant majority (Fullan, 2011; 

Schut, 2010). We will look more closely at the issue of “leadership” in 

Chapter 8.

1.3 The Four in Balance Monitor 


Benchmark 

The Four in Balance Monitor provides figures on how Dutch schools 

integrate ICT into teaching and the results they achieve by doing so. The 

data reveal trends and offer schools a benchmark for comparing their 

own situation with those of other educational institutions (Chapters 3 to 

8). The Monitor covers the three sectors in which Kennisnet is interested: 

primary education, secondary education, and vocational education and 

training. When discussing research on primary education that does not 

include special education, we refer simply to primary education. 

In addition to surveying the current state of affairs, the Monitor reviews 

what research has taught us about the benefits of ICT (Chapter 2). The Four 

in Balance Monitor shows that we are gradually acquiring more knowledge 

of the effects of ICT. At the same time, this publication also shows that 

there are still many questions concerning the long-term benefits of ICT 

in education. By systematically generating new knowledge and providing 

the latest information about what does and does not work, we aim to 

help schools select the ICT applications that will improve their pupils’ 

performance. Such information can also help developers, educational 

support staff, policymakers, and commercial parties meet the support 

needs of schools that utilize ICT. 

Sources 

What we know about the benefits of ICT is based on the results of 

independent research. A considerable percentage of that research has been 

carried out on behalf of Kennisnet by various research institutions within 

the context of the “Making Knowledge of Value” [Kennis van Waarde Maken] 

research program. This program also covers closely related research 

projects, for example “Learning with more effect” [Leren met meer effect], 

EXPo and EXMo (see also Chapter 2). 

To show how the current situation compares with previous years, we 

present comparative data collected in previous studies. We also use data 

taken from other Dutch and international studies to help us understand 

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the basic elements of the Four in Balance model. Information on these 

sources can be found in Chapter 10. Virtually all of the sources can also be 

consulted via the Kennisnet website (onderzoek.kennisnet.nl). 

What’s new in 2011? 

The Four in Balance Monitor combines all the knowledge we have acquired 

so far about the use of ICT in education. While the 2011 Monitor follows 

the same structure as the 2010 Monitor, we have added new information. 

We have retained any valid insights gained in previous research and 

deleted findings that have become obsolete, especially where statistical 

data are concerned. We have also updated our survey of the research 

in Chapter 2 and added new information. This edition of the Monitor 

therefore supersedes previous editions.

2 

Benefits of using ICT 

2 - BENEFITS oF USING ICT 

What benefits can be derived from the balanced use of ICT in 

education? This chapter discusses the results of our research on the 

benefits of ICT 

This year’s results confirm what we discovered last year: that ICT makes 

teaching more effective, efficient, and appealing. It should be noted, 

however, that ICT (or more ICT) is not always the best alternative. Schools 

and teachers should start by taking a good look at the circumstances in 

which it is being used. Points to consider are the following 

• It is better to be realistic and set feasible goals. 

• The teacher plays a crucial role. 

• ICT raises new questions about pupil independence and the teacher’s 

role as a coach. 

• one size does not fit all: be sure to take differences in learning styles 

into account. 

• Coherence: relate the digital material to other material. 

After a brief description of the Kennisnet study (Section 2.1), we 

discuss the results by looking at four learning strategies that are closely 

associated with pedagogical vision (Sections 2.2 – 2.6). 

2.1 Kennisnet’s research program 

This chapter presents a compilation of the results obtained in Making 

Knowledge of Value, Kennisnet’s research program. Since 2007, Kennisnet 

has encouraged and funded research through this program, specifically by 

supporting studies that investigate which strategies work when using ICT 

in education and which do not. 

The program is demand-driven and education-driven; in other words, 

the research is based on questions that schools themselves are asking 

regarding the effectiveness of a pedagogical concept. For example, can 

an interactive whiteboard enhance teaching in a way that helps pupils 

learn more? And do pupils collaborate more closely if they make a video 

together? The program essentially welcomes any question concerning the 

contribution ICT makes to achieving educational objectives. 

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We can describe research carried out on behalf of Kennisnet using the 

“knowledge pyramid” (Figure 2.1). The pyramid consists of four levels: 

inspiration, existence, perception, and evidence. Every innovation in 

education begins with an idea (inspiration). Some of these ideas can 

be turned into reality (existence), and this is where the Four in Balance 

conditions play a crucial role. The job of the researcher is to clarify 

whether ICT will actually help produce the intended benefits, whether 

teachers, pupils and parents recognize its added value (perception), and 

whether pupils in fact really learn more (evidence). 

In other words, we begin building knowledge at the bottom of the 

pyramid, with an inspired idea as to how ICT can improve education. The 

idea is put into practice and research examines whether it has lived up 

to expectations. The research results can in turn lead to better ideas, and 

to a new or adapted bottom level, for example by extending successful 

projects to include a larger group or trying them out under other 

conditions, and by learning from projects that did not demonstrate the 

added value of ICT. 

Evidence – confirmed benefits 

Perception – perceived benefits 

Existence – implementation 

Inspiration – idea 

Teachers and pupils are enthusiastic; pupils 

are very motivated and feel more confident 

Pupils in groups 4 to 8 use Kurzweil software 

when they like, like a pair of reading glasses 

Pupils weak in reading let the computer read 

them texts (compensating) 

Figure 2.1: The knowledge pyramid 

The knowledge pyramid is made up of four hierarchical levels; each succeeding 

level has greater evidentiary value. An example is given on the right (Luyten, 

2011b). This example concerns a school that uses a text-to-speech program to 

help dyslexic pupils with their reading. The pupils can have the program read 

texts out loud to them. In the example, research has confirmed the school’s 

expectations. The results may lead to the program being used more widely. 

Example: Reading with a computer program that 

reads texts out loud (Kurzweil) 

Pupils who learn to read using the read-aloud 

software are more motivated and self-confident


In this chapter, we show the relationship between the basic elements 

surveyed in our research program, cluster those elements and draw overall 

conclusions. We begin at the bottom of the pyramid, with the ideas. We 

categorize these according to two important approaches to education: 

knowledge transfer and knowledge construction (explained in Section 2.2). 

This allows us to sort out the promising ideas from the less promising 

ones and map expectations concerning the use of ICT in education. We 

provide only a brief description here of the studies on which we have 

based our insights. readers who would like more information should 

consult the bibliography at the end of this publication and visit 

onderzoek.kennisnet.nl/onderzoeken-totaal/overzicht. The various studies 

are listed there. 

2.2 Classifying ICT applications by pedagogical vision 

We can roughly divide our insights into the benefits of ICT into two 

categories: ICT that supports knowledge transfer and ICT that supports 

knowledge construction (oECD, 2009). 

Knowledge transfer is a pedagogical approach in which the teacher 

conveys knowledge to the pupil in small steps, with the emphasis being 

on repetition and practice. The teacher decides what pupils should learn, 

and when. An extreme example of knowledge transfer is a lecture or a 

“prepackaged” lesson. 

In knowledge construction, the teacher facilitates learning as part of 

a process of investigation. The pupils are given the chance to acquire 

knowledge actively, independently and in collaboration with others by 

searching for solutions. When assessing pupil performance, the teacher 

looks not only at what pupils have learned but also at how they have 

learned it (Van Gennip, 2008). 

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Knowledge transfer Knowledge construction 

Structure offering knowledge in a clearly 

defined and structured (step-bystep) 

manner 

Timing Teacher (or computer) decides 

what knowledge pupils are given 

and when 

Epistemology Well-defined and solvable 

problems, with correct solutions 

Classroom 

situation 

Quiet and concentration in 

classroom, attention focused on 

teacher 

Focusing on the end product, 

facilitating the pupil’s process 

of investigation 

Pupil directs learning and is an 

active participant in knowledge 

acquisition 

Encouraging pupils to search for 

new solutions 

Active work attitude, working 

independently and in collaboration, 

not limited to classroom 

Testing Pupils tested on content Assessment of learning process 

Learning objective 

Acquiring a knowledge of facts 

and concepts 

Developing the ability to 

conceptualize and reason 

Table 2.1: Comparing knowledge transfer and knowledge construction (based on oECD, 2009, 

Chapter 4) 

Knowledge transfer and knowledge construction should be viewed as 

abstractions or idealizations (shown in Table 2.1). Pure forms seldom 

occur in reality, however, and in the classroom, teachers tend to use both 

– although Chapter 4 will show that teachers express a certain or even a 

strong preference for knowledge transfer. It is expected, however, that 

knowledge construction will gain in importance. 

Knowledge transfer and knowledge construction using ICT 

The Kennisnet studies can easily be divided into those concerning 

knowledge transfer and those concerning knowledge construction. It is 

useful to have a clear explanation of the difference between the two 

categories. Knowledge transfer includes such strategies as “instruction” 

and “structured practice”; knowledge construction includes such strategies 

as “inquiry-based learning” and “learning to learn” (which will be 

explained in detail in the sections below). ICT can be deployed in each 

of these strategies but the objectives will differ and so will the benefits. 

Table 2.2 lists the four above-mentioned (ideal) strategies along with a 

typical example of each one and a typical learning objective.


The rest of this chapter considers the following question: what do we know 

about the added value of ICT for these four teaching/learning strategies? 

Teaching/ 


strategy 

Typical example of 

ICT use 

Transfer Instruction Enriching instruction by 

using images on interactive 

whiteboard 

Construction 

Structured 

practice 

Inquiry-based 


Learning to 

learn 

repetition exercises on 

a computer 

Physics computer 

simulation 

Using video and a 

digital portfolio to 

encourage reflection 

Learning objective See 

Gaining new 

knowledge 

Consolidating 

knowledge, making 

it automatically 

accessible 

Understanding 

and mastering 

principles 

Controlling one’s 

own learning 

process 

§ 2.3 

§ 2.4 

§ 2.5 

§ 2.6 

Table 2.2: Four teaching/learning strategies and ICT use in each case (based on Lemke, 2006) 

2.3 ICT and instruction 

Instruction is the direct transfer of knowledge to a pupil, as it occurs in 

traditional classroom teaching. 

A reasonably large body of research has confirmed that ICT can help 

teachers transfer knowledge more effectively. This is particularly true for 

methods in which ICT adds something to a teacher’s existing practices but 

does not change those practices fundamentally. 

Enhancing instruction 

ICT can help teachers enhance instruction by allowing them to use visuals 

and audio, thereby intensifying the knowledge transfer process. one 

important lesson learned from previous research is that knowledge is 

transferred more effectively when visuals and audio are combined. This 

effect – known as the multimedia principle – has been confirmed by 

various studies (Mayer, 2002; Van Ginkel, 2009; Bus, 2009). 

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The interactive whiteboard has proved to be an effective medium for 

enhancing traditional classroom instruction. Teachers who use visuals, 

audio, and video on the whiteboard to enhance their traditional classroom 

lessons help pupils remember the material and are more likely to hold 

pupils’ attention. Another advantage is that the teacher can reuse digital 

lessons and post them in the electronic learning environment (ELE), so 

that pupils can review the material later. The impact of an interactive 

whiteboard can be boosted by using voting panels, for example to check 

whether pupils have actually understood the material and to make lessons 

more interactive (Lemke, 2009). 

The results of studies on the use of the interactive whiteboard in digital 

instruction are therefore largely positive. Teachers and pupils are 

generally very enthusiastic about the interactive whiteboard. Provided 

they have a skilled teacher who has mastered the subject matter, the 

pedagogical methods, and the technology, pupils who receive instruction 

on the interactive whiteboard do perform better (Fisser, 2007; Van Ast, 

2010; heemskerk, 2010; Somekh, 2007; Marzano, 2009; oberon, 2010). 

Texts read out loud by computer 

one very different way of using ICT in instruction is to program a 

computer to read out loud. Primary schools in the Province of Gelderland 

offered dyslexic pupils a software program that read texts out loud. This 

turned out to work very well; it motivated pupils to read and helped build 

their self-confidence (Luyten, 2011b). 

E-learning 

E-learning means reading with the help of ICT when the relevant 

participants are not in the same location and ICT is used to bridge the 

distance between them. The lessons can be synchronous (at the same time) 

or asynchronous (not at the same time). 

Examples of synchronous learning include having an expert address a class 

via video-conferencing or distance teaching for schools in regions with 

declining populations (Van der Neut, 2008; Jonkman, 2008).


A good example of asynchronous e-learning is the Khan Academy 

(www.khanacademy.org/), which has more than 2000 instructional videos 

that pupils can watch whenever it suits them. 

A more radical form of e-learning is the digital tutor, an overall 

instruction program that pupils can work through with minimal teacher 

intervention. It is particularly popular in higher education (for example 

the open University of the Netherlands), but primary schools are also 

experimenting with it. For example, some Dutch primary schools used a 

digital tutor for their English lessons (hovius, 2010). The tutors guided the 

pupils through a series of topics in English on the interactive whiteboard, 

addressing them in native-speaker-quality English. The pupils also 

watched films and carried out assignments. The pupils who had received 

lessons from the digital tutor were just as motivated and performed just as 

well as the control group pupils who had been instructed by a teacher in 

the traditional manner. 

There is little evidence that such e-learning methods actually improve 

teaching and learning, however (Lemke, 2009). What is certain is that they 

require teachers to have outstanding skills, for example so that they can 

maintain order in online classes, check whether pupils understand the 

material, and relate the digital material to the regular material. 

2.4 Structured practice 

The point of knowledge transfer is to give pupils a solid knowledge base. 

Knowledge transfer involves conveying new knowledge to pupils (Section 

2.3), but it is also vital for that knowledge to “stick” and for pupils to be 

able to recall it immediately. The most suitable learning activity for this 

is practice (making knowledge automatic). We define practicing broadly 

to mean the rote memorization of facts (such as words), the application of 

learned rules (such as grammar rules) and skills exercises (such as learning 

to touch type). 

Positive results have been achieved with practice software, subject to the 

right conditions. A well-designed program should allow pupils to practice 

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at their own level and should motivate them to review the material 

informally, even in their own time. It should also be easy for teachers to 

use. 

Practice at one’s own level 

one advantage of practicing on the computer is that the software can 

adapt the material dynamically to the pupil’s knowledge, skills and needs. 

A pertinent example is the “Clever Cramming” software program [Slim- 

Stampen]. It is based on research showing that we remember facts best if 

we review them when we have almost forgotten them. The ideal moment 

differs from one person to the next and depends partly on the pupil’s 

prior knowledge. Software programs are able to identify that moment to a 

fair level of accuracy. “Clever Cramming” uses a pupil’s reaction speed to 

decide whether or not an exercise needs to be repeated. Studies show that 

pupils who work with this software do in fact remember facts better than 

those who decide for themselves when to study a list of words (Van rijn, 

2009). 

A computer program is also better than a worksheet at providing pupils 

with extra tutoring in areas in which they are weak. one example is a 

homework program in language and math [Muiswerk] that not only gives 

pupils exercises to do, but also offers them new material. It gives pupils 

direct feedback and keeps track of which material they have and have 

not mastered. Small-scale quasi-experimental research shows that pupils 

are capable of working on such exercises independently and completing 

spelling and reading comprehension assignments with the help of an 

assistant teacher (Meijer, 2009). 

Informal learning 

Primary schools are making growing use of Smart Boards (a brand of 

interactive whiteboard) or SkoolMates (computers designed especially for 

children), with pupils (including pre-schoolers) using them to complete 

interactive exercises or play educational games. The pupils do not 

learn any better than pupils who do not have access to these tools, but 

teachers feel that they enhance their lessons and extend their pedagogical 

repertoire (Luyten, 2011; heemskerk, 2011).


one good example of using ICT for interactive practice is an experiment 

carried out at De Arabesk primary school in Arnhem. Pupils there worked 

in twos to complete math exercises on the interactive whiteboard. The 

sums were designed to get pupils actively involved: they required them to 

drag parts of the equation from one place to another, take turns writing 

on the whiteboard, consult one another and figure things out together. 

They also required pupils to stretch out their arms in order to fill in an 

answer or point to something. The study showed that pupils did indeed 

get actively involved in doing the sums, used inquiry-based methods, 

collaborated a great deal, and enjoyed working on the assignments. They 

also performed better (Coetsier, 2009). 

A growing number of practice programs now use the same motivation 

techniques applied in commercial games, for example tension and 

competition. This is proving to be successful. Children who practice their 

sums on a gaming computer are better at math and do sums more quickly 

(Luyten, 2011b), and the results of the Farmville-like Math Garden game 

also look promising (heemskerk, 2011). Both games have a competitive 

element and require pupils to work under time pressure (for example to 

create the nicest possible garden in the shortest time possible). 

Ease of use 

Primary schools in Emmen compared tests given on paper with digital 

tests and came to the following conclusions: digital tests are a reliable 

replacement for tests on paper, save time, and are easy to use (Luyten, 

2011j). 

Underlying conditions 

Teachers who have their pupils practice at their own level on the computer 

need to know when those pupils require extra help or support and when 

they do not. After all, the advantage of computer software is that it is the 

computer that decides who is given what material to practice and when. 

Not every teacher likes that. Effective use of computers means that the 

teacher must familiarize him or herself with a new role, but it also means 

that the computer program must live up to expectations. 

23

24 

It is therefore important for practice programs to be well designed: 

• A practice program must allow pupils to practice at their own level. 

If the exercises are too difficult or unrelated to the subject matter 

they have studied, the pupils will get stuck and thus require a lot of the 

teacher’s attention (ritzen, 2010). 

• Pupils have trouble working with practice programs that are 

constricting in their structure. If they get stuck, they want to be able to 

skip a sum, for example, and go on to the next one (Sneep, 2010). 

• The program must not have any technical problems, and absolutely no 

mistakes in the content itself. Unfortunately, such problems are still too 

common (see for example Luyten, 2011i; heemskerk, 2011). 

Because practice programs have not yet been perfected and often do 

not satisfy these requirements, it is important for teachers to keep 

accurate digital records on pupil progress. That does not always happen, 

however. A study by Vijfeijken (2010) describes a digital pupil information 

management system for development-based teaching that is easy for 

teachers to use. 

Even if the practice program is well designed, the teacher’s role should 

not be limited to monitoring. he or she must also take the pupils’ differing 

learning styles into account. A growing volume of research points to the 

differential effects of practice programs (i.e. their influence differs from 

one pupil to the next). For example, language training programs appear to 

have a greater impact on some pre-schoolers (positive or negative) than on 

others. According to the researchers, these pre-schoolers are intrinsically 

more sensitive than other children to environmental factors (such as 

feedback from a teacher or a computer program), increasing the impact 

of feedback (Kegel, 2011). More generally speaking, we expect that some 

pupils will be better able to work with ICT than others. It is the teacher’s 

job to provide the right amount of guidance. 

Another important job for the teacher is to continue to show how the 

practice material relates to the rest of the material covered. Children will 

learn very little if all they do is practice. In order to master a language,

for example, they must be able to use the words they have learned in a 

language-rich context (Suhre, 2008; Corda, 2010). 


In short, it is precisely when ICT enables pupils to work more 

independently, that pupils in fact need the teacher’s input more than ever. 

ICT does not replace the teacher but rather creates new relationships, 

between the pupil, the subject matter, the ICT application itself, and the 

teacher. It raises questions about the balance between pupils working 

independently, the amount of control exercised by the software, and the 

amount of control that the teacher has over the learning process. 

2.5 Inquiry-based learning 

Inquiry-based learning means teaching methods in which pupils are more 

or less free to look up the answer to a question, search for information 

about a topic, study a concept, or develop skills. The problems they are 

told to investigate are often complex ones that can be answered in several 

ways. The process – that is, how the pupil arrives at the solution – is one 

of the learning objectives. 

ICT can offer considerable advantages in this respect, but as in the case 

of practice programs, applications that support inquiry-based learning 

require at the very least a precise, professional, and pedagogically 

relevant design…as well as the constant attention of the teacher. 

Computer simulations 

Computer simulations enable pupils to experiment in an environment – 

a model – that imitates reality. They give pupils the chance to develop 

practical skills, for example learning about dredging with a dredging 

simulator (oomens, 2011), or to familiarize themselves with the basic 

principles of research, such as developing a hypothesis (De Jong, 2009). 

Games may also be classified as computer simulations. Some games are 

developed especially for the education sector, but pupils can even learn 

from store-bought games if they have a good teacher (Van rooij, 2010a; 

Verheul, 2009; Claessens, 2011a). 

25

26 

Pupils learn skills and acquire knowledge in simulations. The simulations 

must have a properly balanced design, however – not too structured 

and not too amorphous. Pupils must have sufficient prior knowledge 

to make any headway in such an environment, and the simulation itself 

must provide scaffolded instruction, i.e. support the pupils and offer 

them sufficient guidance (hagemans, 2008; Van de Schaar, 2009). It takes 

time to develop a powerful simulation or game. It is also expensive and 

requires considerable professional expertise, with technicians, designers, 

pedagogical experts, and subject specialists all working together (De Jong, 

2009a). 

one unusual example of a simulation is a four-dimensional globe that can 

move backwards and forwards in time and accurately represents the world 

in miniature (cities, countries, oceans). Pupils were allowed to use the 

globe to learn topography. This did not work very well, however; pupils 

made better progress studying a textbook, in part because the globe was 

not designed for this particular purpose and could not be used efficiently 

(Luyten, 2011g). 

Meaningful context 

The best context for inquiry-based learning is one that is rich and 

meaningful. ICT can provide such a context. Pupils at a primary school, for 

example, used a digital sensor when studying various subjects to measure 

light, sound and temperature (Luyten, 2011a). other pupils in preparatory 

vocational education who wanted to specialize in ICT were given study 

material in basic subjects (such as Dutch and mathematics) that had been 

integrated into vocational subjects (Claessens, 2011b). In yet another 

example, a mobile phone was used to bridge the distance between formal 

learning at school and informal learning outside the classroom (Sandberg, 

2010). In none of these cases did the use of ICT in a meaningful context 

produce additional learning effects. Additional effects were found, 

however, when pupils downloaded educational games to their mobile 

phones. Because they were allowed to take the phones home with them, 

they continued playing the games after school hours and consequently got 

better marks.

Pupils surfing the Internet 

% of pupils 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

58 

PRIM 

43 

SEC 

85 

VET 


Searching the Internet 

The Internet is an almost inexhaustible source of information and as such 

is used a great deal in education (Figure 2.2). 

Figure 2.2: Percentage of pupils who teachers say make at least weekly use of the Internet 

at school for educational purposes (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

The Internet is not always a good learning environment, however. Pupils 

seldom subject Internet sources to a critical evaluation. They mainly look 

at whether the information is available in Dutch, whether the site can 

answer their question quickly, and whether it looks attractive. Information 

skills are indispensable if the point is to gain knowledge from the 

Internet (Kuiper, 2007; Walraven, 2008; 2011), but so far, schools have not 

attempted to teach pupils such skills in any systematic fashion (see Box). 

one good way to help pupils acquire the necessary information skills is by 

means of webquests (Droop, 2011). 

27

28 

The debate concerning the importance of information skills 

and twenty-first century skills 

The examples given in Chapter 2 concern ICT applications that support 

teaching/learning, for example a practice program, a digital portfolio, or 

the Internet. But to use such applications, pupils must have the necessary 

skills, i.e. ICT or information skills. Information skills are so fundamental, 

both in educational settings and in society in general, that they have 

become the subject of a major international debate. What skills are we 

talking about, and why are they so important? 

It is not entirely clear which skills are thought to be information skills. In 

the most general sense, they consist of all the skills that allow us to use ICT 

effectively in order to function normally in today’s ICT-driven knowledge 

society. This goes further than basic skills such as reading comprehension 

or ICT skills such as the ability to use a computer. Information skills also 

include skills that enable us to deal responsibly, critically and creatively 

with ICT (Van den Berg, 2010; Boelens, 2010; Maddux, 2009; Van Vliet, 

2011). Someone who has information skills is aware of security risks, 

can evaluate sources, and can produce information himself. he is also, 

however, aware of the ethical and legal aspects associated with the use of 

ICT and with information disseminated on the Internet and through social 

media. These wide-ranging skills are sometimes referred to as “twentyfirst 

century skills” (Voogt, 2010b). 

Information skills are becoming more and more important. It is growing 

increasingly clear, both in the Netherlands and abroad, that information 

skills are set to become the “new literacy” that every person must master 

(Anderson, 2008; Johnson, 2010). That means that information skills will 

soon be just as vital as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Anyone who has 

not mastered information skills will be at risk of becoming marginalized 

(European Commission, 2010; oECD, 2010a; Anderson, 2008; Boelens, 2010; 

Ten Brummelhuis, 2010).


The education sector has not concerned itself with this problem in any 

consistent manner. It is wrongly assumed that youngsters are so handy 

with computers that schools do not need to teach them how to search for 

and select information on the Internet. By way of illustration: a recent 

study has shown that only one out of five primary and secondary school 

teachers gives frequent or very frequent lessons on using Internet sources 

selectively (Van Gennip, 2011a; 2011b). 

That means that pupils’ digital literacy currently depends mainly on the 

situation at home and what their school happens to teach them. Unlike 

most of the other European Union Member States (Eurydice, 2011), the 

Netherlands has not defined learning objectives for the digital skills that 

young people need to survive in the twenty-first century. 

Studies are making it increasingly clear, however, that many pupils are 

incapable of using the Internet effectively as a learning resource (oECD, 

2010a; Walraven, 2011). In other words, we tend to overestimate pupils’ 

computer skills (Kanters, 2009). Although many pupils have mastered a 

number of ICT skills, that does not mean that they are capable of using ICT 

to learn or of using it responsibly, critically, and creatively. 

2.6 Learning to learn 

“Learning to learn” covers various teaching methods that focus primarily 

on the pupil’s learning process and his or her awareness of that process. 

The content is subordinate to the process. There is some overlap between 

learning to learn and inquiry-based learning. 

We still know too little about the added value of applications that support 

this type of learning. Schools are experimenting with ICT in this respect, 

but the working methods are still too open-ended to study their effects. 

29

30 

Competence-based professional environments 

Environments that simulate professional settings are particularly in 

demand in vocational education and training because they allow pupils to 

carry out the duties that they will have to perform later in their careers 

(see also Chapter 3). Among the key learning objectives are the pupil’s 

ability to plan and control his or her own learning process. 

one example of such an environment is Schonenvaart. In this simulation, 

pupils take on the role of an account manager and carry out a number of 

assignments. The effectiveness of the environment has been shown to be 

limited. Pupils do not see the relevance of the assignments, those who 

have trouble planning and who do not feel motivated show no improvement 

on these points, and only a small percentage of the assignments are ever 

handed in. In particular, the environment offers pupils who are already 

having trouble at school very few benefits. It puts enormous demands on 

the teacher’s time and energy because he or she must continue to monitor 

pupils closely (Coetsier, 2008). We can draw similar conclusions from a 

study carried out by Dieleman (2010) into projects concerning “meaningful 

learning” and the realistic learning environment LINK2 (Coetsier, 2011). 

once again, it was not easy to put the intended teaching method into 

practice; pupils became demotivated, and the results were disappointing. 

Reflection and ICT 

When teachers apply methods that focus on knowledge construction, it is 

important that their pupils think about how they themselves learn and 

acquire general skills. Schools are experimenting with various ICT tools 

that will stimulate such reflection skills. 

one such tool is the digital portfolio. Pupils save their work there, receive 

feedback on their assignments, and can see at a glance where they stand. 

Some schools are extending such applications by giving all their pupils a 

laptop, so that they can access their digital portfolio whenever they like 

(Weijs, 2010). 

other methods that stimulate reflection involve having pupils record their 

presentation on video and discuss it with their classmates (Verbeij, 2009), 

or having them keep a weblog (see Wopereis, 2009).


There have been only a few studies into such tools. Because many of the 

applications are still in the drawing board stage, the point of the research 

is usually to come up with a working design. As for research investigating 

the applications’ benefits, the results have so far been ambiguous. one 

experiment in which pupils used a digital video camera to produce their 

own school news program did not demonstrably improve their knowledge 

or skills (Luyten, 2011e). Neither did the use of digital portfolios produce 

any demonstrable benefits (see for example the study into digital 

portfolios in Meijer, 2009 or the study by Van Gennip, 2009), although that 

could be because the digital portfolios studied were not entirely functional 

yet. In addition, the learning objectives for these applications are not 

always clearly defined, making it difficult to assess their effects. 

Computer-supported collaborative learning 

Willemsen asked teachers to consider five situations in which pupils were 

engaged in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), ranging 

from relatively simple arrangements where pupils sat down together at a 

computer to more complex arrangements where pupils collaborated while 

each one was at home working on his or her own computer. Teachers 

doubted whether such applications would be effective; they felt they did 

not have enough control over the learning situation and did not see CSCL 

as being of equal value to a normal lesson situation (Willemsen, 2010). 

2.7 Summary 

• ICT can make teaching/learning more efficient, more effective, and more 

interesting. Whether it in fact does so depends on how well the teacher 

is able to link the subject matter, the ICT application, and the pupil. 

• ICT has generally been found to produce greater results when used 

for knowledge transfer (instruction, practice) than for knowledge 

construction (inquiry-based learning and learning to learn). In terms 

of the knowledge pyramid, many of the applications intended for 

knowledge construction have not gone beyond the inspiration and 

existence stages. Applications intended for knowledge transfer are more 

likely to reach the perceived benefits and evidence stages. however, 

the benefits may be easier to perceive because the learning objectives 

associated with knowledge transfer are more clearly defined and 

because there are more proven assessment instruments available. 

31

32 

• ICT can be conducive to knowledge transfer, as many examples show. 

The various applications share a number of features: they do not 

fundamentally alter teaching, for example, and are relatively low 

threshold. For example, ICT adds something (such as visual material) 

or replaces part of the lesson (the practice worksheet). Even so, such 

applications often take more time and energy than teachers may at 

first expect, especially if the computer takes over part of the teaching 

process (as in the case of a practice program). 

• In terms of knowledge construction, ICT is still largely unexplored 

territory and its added value is more difficult to demonstrate. 

Designers are wrestling with such questions as: how much structure 

and guidance should an environment give pupils, and how can teachers 

control a learning process that takes place on a computer or network? 

When ICT was first introduced in education, the suggestion was made that 

ICT might at some point even replace teachers. research results indicate 

that the opposite is true. The more powerful the ICT tool, the more 

indispensable the teacher. ICT creates a new relationship between pupils, 

subject matter, and teachers, forcing us to examine the balance between 

the work that the pupil does on his own, how much the software controls 

that work, and how much the teacher controls the pupil’s learning process. 

The latter makes huge demands on teachers: they must keep a close eye 

on the progress of pupils working on their own, take pupils’ differing 

learning styles into account, and show pupils how the material they are 

studying on the computer relates to other learning material.

3 

ICT in teaching 

3 - ICT IN TEAChING 

It is no longer possible to imagine teaching without ICT. Although 

computer use has not become as widespread as teachers and school 

managers had expected, teachers still assume that their use of ICT 

will increase exponentially in the years ahead, not only at school but 

also when doing school-related work at home. 

Section 3.1 looks at how teachers utilize ICT in their teaching. They 

use the computer for other school-related work as well, which they 

increasingly do at home (Section 3.2). Pupils also use their home computer 

regularly for school assignments, for example to look up information 

(Section 3.3). 

3.1 Teachers at school 

We know that many teachers use computers in their lessons, but how, and 

how often? The Monitor looks at three different indicators: 

1. Number: how many teachers use computers? 

2. Frequency: how often do they use computers? 

3. Variety: what do they use computers for? 

Teachers’ computer use 

% of teachers 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

91 

PRIM 

Figure 3.1: Percentage of teachers who use computers during lessons, according to school 

managers (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

59 

SEC 

72 

VET 

33

34 

Number 

Three quarters of teachers use computers during lessons. Figure 3.1 shows 

that more primary school teachers use computers (91%) than teachers at 

secondary schools (59%) or vocational schools (72%). 

The number of teachers using computers in their lessons has increased by 

2 to 3% in the past eight years. This is a much slower rate of growth ( 50%) 

than school managers had forecast. School managers estimate that the rate 

of growth will rise to more than 4% in the years ahead (Figure 3.2), but even 

then, it will take at least five years before all teachers are making use of 

computers in their lessons. 

Trend in teachers’ computer use 

% of teachers 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

Forecast 

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 

56 62 66 66 67 70 72 74 74 88 

Note: Data for 2003-2007 based on PrIM and SEC. Data from 2008 onward concern PrIM, 

SEC and VET. 

Figure 3.2: Trend in average percentage of teachers who use computers in their lessons, 

according to school managers (TNS NIPo, 2003-2010)


Frequency 

Teachers use computers in their lessons for an average of 8 hours a week. 

This figure is the same as last year’s. Teachers forecast that the amount of 

the lesson time spent using computers will increase in the next three years 

by approximately 40%, to an average of 11 hours a week (Figure 3.3). 

Teachers’ computer use, in hours 

Number of hours per week 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 

2 

0 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

Forecast 

2012 

2013 

2014 

7 7 8 8 11 

Figure 3.3: Average number of hours a week that teachers in primary, secondary and 

vocational education and training use computers in their lessons, and forecast for the near 

future (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

35

36 

The number of lesson hours in which computers are used differs from 

one sector to the next (Figure 3.4). Computers are used most in vocational 

education and training (10 hours per week), not merely as a pedagogical 

tool but also to help pupils prepare for their careers. For example, pupils 

in secretarial school learn to use word processing programs, and pupils 

training to be assembly technicians in the metalworking industry learn to 

use a computer-controlled lathe. observations of 400 lessons in vocational 

education and training reveal that 40% of the hours devoted to ICT focus 

on computer applications used in the occupations for which the pupils are 

being trained (Plantinga, 2011). 

Secondary school teachers make the least use of computers, relatively 

speaking (6 hours a week). Primary school teachers use computers for an 

average of 8 hours a week in their lessons. As mentioned above, teachers 

in all three sectors expect that they will make much more use of ICT in the 

years ahead. 

Teachers’ current and future computer use, in hours 


14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 

2 

0 

8 

PRIM 

12 

6 

SEC 

9 

10 

VET 

Now 

In three years’ time 

Figure 3.4: Average number of hours a week that teachers use computers in their lessons, 

and forecast for the near future (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

13


Variety 

The ICT applications used most often in teaching are the Internet, practice 

programs, word processing software and electronic learning environments. 

on average, teachers use such applications eight times a month. They make 

the least use of gaming and Web 2.0 (Figure 3.5) and have an average of 

five different ICT applications in their pedagogical repertoire. 

ICT applications 

Look up information on Internet 

Practice program 

Word processing 

ELE 

Cooperation 

Planning 

Testing 

Portfolio 

Games 

Web 2.0 

2 

2 

2 

2 

4 

7 

7 

8 

8 

9 

35 

33 

32 

30 

47 

0 20 40 60 80 100 

Number of times a month 

% of teachers 

Figure 3.5: Percentage of primary, secondary and vocational school teachers who use ICT 

applications once a month or more during lessons and average number of times a month that 

they use such applications (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

56 

67 

72 

78 

80 

37

38 

3.2 Teachers at home 

Virtually all teachers use their home computers for school-related work 

(Figure 3.6), mainly for administrative tasks and to search for, adapt, or 

develop lesson materials. They also often use their home computer to keep 

in touch with colleagues or pupils. 

Teachers use their home computers for school-related work an average 

of seven hours a week, or one hour less than at school. This information 

emphasizes that computers represent more to teachers than only a 

pedagogical tool used in their lessons. 

Teachers’ computer use at school and at home 


20 

15 

10 

5 

7 

7 

0 

2009 

7 7 

8 8 

2010 


At home 

At school 

Figure 3.6: Average number of hours a week that primary, secondary and vocational school 

teachers use their home and school computers for school-related work (TNS NIPo, 2010)

3.3 Pupils at home 


Limits 

Teachers believe that the amount of time that pupils can learn effectively 

at a school computer is limited to a maximum of 8 to 15 hours a week 

(Figure 3.7). That is an average of about 1.5 to 3 hours a day. 

The number of hours a week that pupils can learn effectively at a home or 

school computer varies from 22 to 27 hours a week for secondary school 

and vocational education and training. Teachers expect that primary school 

pupils can learn effectively at a home or school computer for 15 hours a 

week 

Maximum computer time for learning 


30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

7 

8 

PRIM 

10 

12 

SEC 

12 

15 

VET 

At home 

At school 

Figure 3.7: Number of hours a week that pupils can learn effectively at a computer, according 

to teachers (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

39

40 

Actual use 

homework assignments that pupils do on their home computers are most 

common in vocational education and training, according to teachers. Such 

assignments are very rare in primary education (Figure 3.8). 

Homework assignments on computer 

% of teachers 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

2008 

2009 

2010 


PRIM 13 14 11 15 

SEC 39 39 44 38 

VET 61 65 68 72 

Figure 3.8: Percentage of teachers who give pupils at least one assignment a week to complete 

on their home computers (TNS NIPo, 2008-2010) 

The vast majority of secondary school pupils (80%) say that when they 

use the Internet at home to do schoolwork, they use it mainly in the same 

way as they do at school, i.e. to search for information. More than half of 

pupils (59%) also say that ICT makes it possible for them to collaborate 

with other pupils on school assignments from home.


The biggest change in recent years is that pupils have begun submitting 

their homework assignments by e-mail. The number of pupils who do this 

has risen from 24% to 34%. Pupils are also increasingly using the Internet 

to find out what homework has been assigned (via the school’s ELE) (Van 

rooij, 2010b). The school-related activities that pupils perform from home 

on the Internet are listed in Table 3.1. 

School-related activity % of pupils 2008 2009 2010 2011 

Searching for information 73 79 83 80 

Working on assignments with other pupils 45 52 60 59 

Contact with fellow pupils regarding 

schoolwork 

37 36 36 32 

Taking practice tests 31 25 27 27 

Submitting homework by e-mail 20 22 24 34 

Checking what homework has been 

assigned 

13 19 21 28 

Asking the teacher a question by e-mail 11 11 17 20 

Constructing and maintaining a website 9 9 7 4 

Asking an expert a question by e-mail 6 6 6 5 

Finding ready-made assignments to copy 4 5 6 4 

Note: This table is based on information provided by pupils in their first and second years of 

secondary school (appr. 12-13 years of age) 

Table 3.1: School-related activities that pupils have performed from home on the Internet in 

recent months (Van rooij, 2010b) 

41

Learning at school and at home 

We see that teachers have their pupils use ICT in various ways outside of 

school. In other words: ICT adds to the time pupils spend learning because 

they are given more opportunity to learn outside of school hours. 

This indicates that teachers use ICT to bridge the gap between formal 

learning (at school) and informal learning (outside school). Various studies 

have convincingly demonstrated the value of doing so. Examples are 

described in greater detail in Chapter 2; they concern learning English 

with a mobile phone, practicing words in a foreign language, and using 

computers to teach basic math principles and as a vocabulary-building tool 

for young children. Such applications show that ICT makes learning more 

appealing. Many teachers expect that ICT therefore motivates pupils to 

study harder and longer, ultimately improving their performance at school 

(Van den Brande, 2010).

3.4 Summary 

• Three quarters of teachers use computers during lessons. This number 

has increased by 2 to 3% in recent years. 

• Teachers spend an average of 8 hours a week using computers in 

their lessons, and expect that figure to increase within three years by 

approximately 40%, to 11 hours a week. In addition, teachers spend 

another 7 hours a week on average doing school-related work on their 

home computer. 

• The ICT applications used most often in teaching are the Internet, 

practice programs, word processing software and electronic learning 

environments. Games and Web 2.0 are the least popular applications. 

• on average, teachers have five different ICT applications in their 

pedagogical repertoire. 

• Teachers believe that the number of hours that pupils can spend 

working at a computer at school is limited to between 1.5 and 3 hours 

a day. Teachers believe that pupils can spend a further 7 to 12 hours a 

week on learning activities outside of school hours. 


43

4 

44 

Vision 

The way in which teachers use ICT depends not on the ICT tools 

themselves, but on the teachers’ pedagogical vision as to how 

learning processes should be organized. Differences between 

teachers in their use of ICT can be traced back to differences in 

their pedagogical views, i.e. to whether they subscribe to knowledge 

transfer or knowledge construction. Teachers do not expect their 

pedagogical visions to change fundamentally in the years ahead, but 

they do anticipate that ICT will play an increasingly significant role 

within their particular pedagogical approach. School managers even 

expect lessons that involve the use of ICT to become more common 

than lessons that do not. 

This chapter describes teachers’ and school managers’ visions of the way 

teaching is organized now and will be organized in the future, and of 

the role that they believe ICT will play in that context. As an indicator 

for pedagogical vision, we look at how much importance teachers and 

school managers ascribe to ICT when it comes to knowledge transfer and 

knowledge construction. 

4.1 Views on learning 

Chapter 2 differentiates between two pedagogical visions: knowledge 

transfer and knowledge construction. Kennisnet helps schools elucidate 

their pedagogical vision. We do that by offering them the opportunity to 

use the “Pedagogy in Balance” research tool [Didactiek in Balans]. Almost 

5000 primary and secondary school teachers have used this tool in the 

past year. Their data reveal how teachers see themselves organizing their 

teaching now and in the future, and the role that they believe ICT plays 

in that context. As yet, there are no data available on teachers in the 

vocational education and training sector.

Knowledge transfer is the most common teaching method in primary and 

secondary education (Figure 4.1). For example, almost all primary school 

teachers assign pupils exercises to help them absorb what they have 

been taught. Three quarters of secondary school teachers introduce new 

material by outlining it and explaining tricky points in advance. More than 

two thirds of primary and secondary school teachers ask questions about 

the material they have assigned. Teachers also anticipate that they will be 

using these techniques just as often in three years’ time, if not more. 

Teachers are also expected to make more use of ICT in the years ahead. 

In the case of knowledge transfer, for example, we see that they are 

increasingly borrowing images and video clips from the Internet to liven 

up their lessons. At the moment, 44% of teachers make frequent or very 

frequent use of such images or clips, and 66% of teachers expect to do 

so in three years’ time. They also anticipate making greater use of the 

interactive whiteboard. Now, half of the teachers do so frequently or very 

frequently; in three years, teachers say, that number will have risen to 

three quarters. 

With respect to knowledge construction, ICT is increasingly being used 

to support collaboration between pupils. At the moment, an average of 

13% of teachers use ICT frequently or very frequently to support such 

collaboration. Teachers expect that figure to rise to 35% in three years’ 

time. They also assume that they will be giving pupils more assignments 

requiring them to search for answers on the Internet. right now, 9% of 

teachers give pupils such assignments frequently or very frequently; in 

three years’ time, 28% of teachers expect that they will do so. In addition, 

teachers believe that lessons that do not make use of ICT will remain 

important. 

4 - VISIoN 

45

46 

Pedagogical vision of ICT in PRIM and SEC 

Very frequently 

Frequently 

Fairly frequently 

Now and again 

Never 

Primary school teachers Secondary school teachers 

Now 


Knowledge transfer without ICT 

Knowledge transfer with ICT 

Knowledge construction without ICT 

Knowledge construction with ICT 


Figure 4.1: Primary and secondary school teachers’ views on how teaching is organized now 

and will be organized in the future (Van Gennip, 2011a; 2011b) 

4.2 Comparing school managers and teachers 

School managers and teachers are largely in agreement on pedagogical 

vision (Figure 4.2). For example, they share the view that ICT will become 

more significant in the classroom in the next three years, and they also 

largely agree on the importance of knowledge construction now and in the 

future. 

There is one opinion that they do not share, however. Whereas teachers 

expect that they will continue making frequent use of knowledge transfer 

without resorting to ICT tools, school managers believe that it is precisely 

for knowledge transfer purposes that ICT will become the most important 

tool in the teacher’s toolkit. They therefore believe that knowledge 

transfer without ICT will become less common. 

Now

Pedagogical visions of teachers and school managers 

Very frequently 

Frequently 

Fairly frequently 

Now and again 

Never 

PRIM and SEC school teachers PRIM and SEC school managers 

Now In three years’ time Now In three years’ time 

Knowledge transfer without ICT 

Knowledge transfer with ICT 

Knowledge construction without ICT 

Knowledge construction with ICT 

Figure 4.2: Primary and secondary school managers’ and teachers’ views on how teaching is 

organized now and will be organized in the future (Van Gennip, 2011a; 2011b) 

4.3 Innovation 

Teachers are more likely to use a new ICT application if it reflects 

their current behavior in the classroom. If teachers feel that an ICT 

application would cause them to alter their pedagogical approach 

drastically, they will be much less likely to use it in the near future 

(Versluijs, 2011). Teachers often reject technology that lies outside 

their pedagogical comfort zone because they consider it of little value 

to them (Underwood, 2009). Getting teachers to accept applications 

that will cause them to alter their views of teaching and learning 

requires a gradual introduction and ongoing support. A wellbalanced 

approach makes it possible to benefit from the added value 

of ICT in the short term and simultaneously invest in innovative 

applications that require more time to demonstrate their worth. 

4 - VISIoN 

47

4.4 Summary 

• Knowledge transfer is the most common teaching method 

today. Teachers and school managers expect that ICT will be 

used most frequently for purposes of knowledge transfer. 

• Teachers and school managers believe that knowledge construction 

will grow more important in the future, and that ICT will support it. 

• Teachers assume that knowledge transfer without ICT will 

remain the most important teaching method. School managers 

believe otherwise, however; they expect knowledge transfer 

without ICT to decline in the years ahead; they also expect 

much more use to be made of ICT, in particular when teachers 

employ knowledge transfer as a teaching method.

5 

Expertise 

Computers often assume some of a teacher’s instructional duties, 

but this does not make the teacher superfluous. On the contrary, a 

teacher who has mastered ICT skills plays a vital role in making ICTdriven 

education more effective. In their own estimation, six out of 

ten teachers have now mastered the necessary skills. 

As is the case in many other occupations, ICT has become inseparably 

bound up with professionalism in teaching. Although there is only a 

minimal indication of this in the formal educational requirements or 

professional competences prescribed for the teaching profession in the 

Netherlands, a growing number of teachers use ICT in the classroom 

without giving it a second thought. Although ICT is set to play an 

increasingly important role in education, the teacher will remain very 

important (redecker, 2010) and the use of ICT is expected to vary the 

teacher’s duties and the role that he or she plays (hoogeveen, 2010). 

Teachers’ professional expertise depends on: 

1. their familiarity with the options that ICT can offer (Section 5.1) 

2. the skill with which they use ICT in their teaching (Section 5.2) 

5.1 Familiarity 

Teachers are constantly making choices when preparing and giving lessons. 

If they want to make responsible choices, then at the very least they need 

to know which professional tools they have at their disposal. Increasingly, 

one of these tools is ICT. 

The percentage of teachers who believe that they are sufficiently or more 

than sufficiently familiar with the various options that ICT can offer 

them has increased in the past few years to 66% (Figure 5.1). This seems 

like an impressive number, but it also means that a third of teachers feel 

inadequately informed. 

5 - EXPErTISE 

49

50 

Familiarity with computer applications 

% of teachers 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

2008 

2009 

2010 


57 59 64 66 

Figure 5.1: Percentage of primary, secondary and vocational school teachers who feel 

sufficiently or more than sufficiently familiar with computer applications that they can use 

in their own teaching (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

5.2 Pedagogical ICT skills 

Effective use of ICT requires teachers to have gained expertise in three 

areas: the subject matter, ICT, and pedagogical methods. The trick is to be 

able to integrate all three in a lesson. This is known as the TPACK model 

(Voogt, 2010a). 

In order to gauge teacher expertise, we looked at their ICT and 

pedagogical skills. ICT skills include being able to work with a computer 

and use standard applications such as word processing and e-mail. 

Pedagogical ICT skills involve the use of ICT as a teaching tool.

The percentage of teachers who possess sufficient ICT skills to use word 

processing software and the Internet has increased slightly in recent 

years and now stands at 80% (Figure 5.2). The percentage of teachers with 

adequate pedagogical ICT skills is smaller. School managers say that almost 

six out of ten teachers have mastered these skills. 

Teachers’ skills 

% of teachers 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

71 

2009 

56 

79 

Basic ICT skills 

Pedagogical ICT skills 

2010 

60 

80 


Figure 5.2: Average percentage of primary, secondary and vocational school teachers 

who have adequate skills, according to school managers (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

57 

5 - EXPErTISE 

51

52 

Teachers themselves believe that their pedagogical ICT skills are gradually 

improving. An average of 57% have mastered a set of nine skills. Since 

2009, that figure has increased every year by an average of 6% to 7%. 

Pedagogical ICT skills (% of teachers) 2009 2010 2011 

Use digital pupil information management system 48 60 69 

Use computers as pedagogical aid 51 58 66 

Use ICT to communicate with pupils 55 61 65 

organize lessons in which ICT is used 46 54 58 

Use educational software 44 51 53 

Assess usefulness of educational software 37 46 53 

Use electronic learning environment 37 43 52 

Integrate ICT into teaching 40 48 51 

Adapt Internet-sourced digital learning materials 

for use during lessons 

35 40 43 

Average 44 51 57 

Table 5.1: Average percentage of primary, secondary and vocational school teachers 

with advanced or very advanced pedagogical ICT skills (TNS NIPo 2009a; 2009b; 2010) 

5.3 Summary 

• Two thirds of teachers feel that they are sufficiently or more than 

sufficiently familiar with the various options that ICT can offer them in 

their teaching. 

• Eight out of ten teachers have satisfactory technical ICT skills; for 

example, they can use a word processing program and the Internet. 

Almost six out of ten teachers have mastered the pedagogical skills that 

school managers believe they need to use ICT in their teaching.

6 


6 - DIGITAL LEArNING MATErIALS 

Little has changed in recent years when it comes to the use of digital 

learning materials. Teachers anticipate that such use will increase 

considerably in the years ahead. A growing number of teachers even 

believe that they will develop their own digital learning materials 

and make them available to other teachers. 

We define “digital learning materials” fairly broadly. one of the key 

features is that a computer or other electronic device is required to 

use the material (Leendertse, 2011). It can consist of material created 

especially for educational purposes (for example a practice program), or 

informal content (for example a video clip retrieved from the Internet). 

We also include word processing and similar programs. roughly speaking, 

digital learning material is any computer-based material that can be used 

for learning. 

This chapter surveys the current state of affairs with respect to digital 

learning materials by looking at three indicators: 

1. the use of various types of computer programs (Section 6.1) 

2. the percentage of learning materials that are digital (Section 6.2) 

3. the source of the digital material (Section 6.3) 

6.1 Computer programs 

We can summarize the use of computer programs in teaching in five 

points: 

1. Most teachers use computer programs that match their existing working 

methods or that fit in easily with those methods. Teachers select digital 

learning materials based on their own pedagogical views; in other 

words, they select material that supports their views (see Chapter 1). 

2. Teachers are still using the same types of computer program that they 

used in previous years. The overall picture for 2011 is comparable to 

last year’s and virtually identical to the previous years (Figure 6.1). 

3. The most popular computer programs were not developed specifically 

for educational purposes. They are programs without content, for 

53

54 

example e-mail and standard office applications. We call these general 

ICT tools. 

4. In addition, a little more than half of teachers also utilize subjectspecific 

practice programs and software associated with a particular 

course/coursebook. These are digital learning materials with specific 

content. 

5. A small group of teachers (10-15%) use programs based specifically on 

the principles of knowledge construction. These are games, simulations 

and software allowing pupils to collaborate on an assignment. 

Computer programs used by teachers 

General 

ICT tools 

Knowledge 

transfer 

(subjectspecific) 

Knowledge 

construction 

(subjectspecific) 

Office applications 

E-mail program 

Graphics software 

Specific software for 

practice exercises 

Software associated with a 

particular course/coursebook 

Games 

Simulations 

Collaboration 

% of teachers 

12 

14 

17 

15 

52 

56 

70 

75 

0 20 40 60 80 100 

Figure 6.1: Average percentage of primary, secondary and vocational school teachers who 

make daily or weekly use of computer programs for educational purposes (bars) and maximum 

dispersion in the past three years (dispersion lines) (TNS NIPo 2009, 2009b, 2010) 

Example: 52% of teachers use specific software for practice exercises. The short dispersion 

line indicates that that percentage has changed relatively little in the past three years, i.e. a 

maximum of 53% and a minimum of 49% of teachers made daily or weekly use of a practice 

program in the past three years.


6.2 Percentage of digital learning materials 

The percentage of digital learning materials is particularly large in 

vocational education and training, i.e. more than 40%. Vocational school 

teachers expect this percentage to increase to 60% in three years’ time. 

The percentage of learning materials used by primary and secondary 

schools is much lower, i.e. 17%. Although teachers expect that figure to 

double in three years, it has scarcely changed in recent years, fluctuating 

between 13% and 17%. 

Percentage of digital learning materials 

% digital 

learning materials 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

2008 

2009 

2010 


Forecast 

2012 

2013 

2014 

PRIM 13 15 14 17 35 

SEC 16 17 16 17 39 

VET 35 36 40 44 60 

Figure 6.2: Current percentage of digital learning materials (2008-2010) and increase forecast 

by teachers (2012-2014) (TNS NIPo, 2008; 2009a; 2010) 

55

56 

6.3 Source 

The most important sources of digital learning materials are the Internet 

and courses/coursebooks published by educational publishers. Teachers 

also obtain digital material from colleagues and adapt existing material 

themselves (Table 6.1). There has been little change in this respect in 

recent years. 

Source of digital 

learning materials (% of teachers) 

2009 2010 2011 

Found on Internet 62 68 67 

ICT material supplied with textbook 58 63 58 

Self-developed materials or adapted existing materials 44 48 48 

From colleagues 45 47 45 

From Kennisnet 33 38 35 

Table 6.1: Source of digital learning materials, according to primary, 

secondary and vocational school teachers (TNS NIPo, 2009a; 2009; 2010) 

The teacher as a designer 

More than a third of teachers see themselves as designers or developers 

of digital learning materials. This number has increased by slightly more 

than 10% in the past two years and – according to the teachers themselves 

– will continue to increase in the years ahead (Figure 6.3). of the teachers 

who already develop digital learning materials and/or plan to do so, 

half are willing to make their materials available to other teachers on 

the Internet (Figure 6.2). A fourth are willing to do so subject to certain 

conditions; many teachers want something in return, for example a fee, 

other materials, or time.

Teachers who develop their own digital learning materials 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

% of teachers 

2009 

2010 


Forecast 

2012 

2013 

24 32 35 55 

Figure 6.3: Increase in average percentage of primary, secondary and vocational school 

teachers who develop their own digital learning materials and their forecast for the near 

future (TNS NIPo, 2010) 


6.4 Summary 

• Teachers tend to use programs that can be described as tools. A little 

more than half of teachers also use subject-specific programs for 

knowledge transfer. only a small group of teachers take an interest in 

programs intended to support knowledge construction. 

• A fourth of all learning material is digital. Teachers expect that this 

percentage will increase considerably in the years ahead. 

• Approximately a third of teachers occasionally develop their own digital 

learning materials. That is 10% more than two years ago. In two years’ 

time, more than half of teachers expect to be developing their own 

digital learning materials. 

57

7 

ICT infrastructure 

After investing in computers in recent years, schools are now 

concentrating on procuring interactive whiteboards. School 

managers indicate that the number of interactive whiteboards is set 

to increase in the years ahead. Schools are also investing in faster 

and wireless Internet connections. 

This chapter describes the status of the ICT infrastructure based on three 

indicators: 

1. Computers (Section 7.1) 

2. Interactive whiteboards (Section 7.2) 

3. Internet connections (Section 7.3)

Pupil-computer ratio 

Number of pupils 

per computer 

10 

9 

8 

7 

6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

0 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 


PRIM 7 7 7 6 6 5 5 

SEC 9 7 7 6 6 5 5 

VET 5 5 

Note: The “outliers” in secondary education have been removed from the 2010 database. 

The pupil-computer ratio for 2010 has consequently been adjusted from 4 to 5. 

Figure 7.1: Trends in pupil-computer ratio (TNS NIPo 2005-2010) 

7 - ICT INFrASTrUCTUrE 

7.1 Computers 

At the moment, the ratio of computers to pupils in primary, secondary and 

vocational education is one to five (Figure 7.1). This is the same as last 

year. Schools differ considerably in this respect; at 95% of schools in all 

three sectors, the ratio varies between one and ten pupils per computer. 

Schools replace 15% of their computers every year. This is approximately 

5% less than the number of computers that schools say need replacing. 

59

60 

Ten to fifteen per cent of the computers used in primary and secondary 

education are laptops; the number of laptops in vocational education and 

training is larger, i.e. somewhat more than 25% (Figure 7.2). A number of 

schools have set themselves the aim of having one laptop for each pupil. 

Laptops and desktops 

% of computers 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

89 

11 

PRIM 

85 

15 

SEC 

Figure 7.2: Laptops versus desktops (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

Desktop 

Laptop 

Pupils’ own laptops 

Until recently, computers were considered tools that schools purchased for 

use during lessons. Today, however, laptops no longer belong to the school 

but are the pupil’s personal property, to be used both at home and in the 

classroom. Some schools assist pupils in purchasing a laptop (Kral, 2010; 

De Boer, 2011). 

Pupils at 23% of primary and more than half of secondary schools take 

their own laptops with them to school. Usually only a few pupils do this. At 

vocational schools, however, it is customary for pupils to take their own 

74 

26 

VET

laptops with them to classes. More than half of pupils do so in a fourth of 

the programs (Figure 7.3). 


More than 40% of secondary and vocational school teachers believe that 

pupils can learn effectively on their own laptop. It will be some time 

before this comes about in secondary education, however: at 86% of 

secondary schools, pupils rarely take their laptops with them to classes. 

Primary school pupils are even less likely to require a laptop, and only one 

out of seven teachers feels that every pupil should have a laptop. There are 

very few laptops, if any, in primary education. 

Pupils who have their own laptop 

% of schools 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

6 

16 

78 

PRIM 

SEC 

>50% of pupils at school 

3-50% of pupils at school 

1-2% of pupils at school 

0% of pupils at school 

Figure 7.3: Percentage of schools where some or all pupils take their own laptops with them 

to classes 

Example accompanying figure: At 78% of primary schools, there are no pupils who take their 

laptops with them to classes. At 26% of vocational schools, more than half of pupils take their 

own laptops along to classes. 

2 

14 

42 

42 

26 

57 

7 

10 

VET 

61

62 

7.2 Interactive whiteboards 

Schools have been notably quick to replace chalkboards with interactive 

whiteboards in the past few years (Figure 7.4). Close to 90% of vocational 

education and training programs and almost all primary and secondary 

schools now have an interactive whiteboard. The adoption of interactive 

whiteboards has gone much faster than school managers had anticipated in 

previous surveys (Kennisnet, 2009). 

Schools with an interactive whiteboard 

% of schools 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 


PRIM 10 48 67 90 97 

SEC 40 60 93 94 98 

VET 40 67 78 87 

Figure 7.4: Percentage of schools with at least one interactive whiteboard (Intomart, 2009; 

TNS NIPo, 2010)


Figure 7.4 shows that the percentage of schools with an interactive 

whiteboard is reaching saturation point. To indicate more precisely 

how much access teachers have to interactive whiteboards, we use 

the classroom-whiteboard ratio, i.e. the ratio between the number of 

classrooms and the number of interactive whiteboards. The classroomwhiteboard 

ratio is illustrated in Figure 7.5, which shows that almost one 

out of every two primary school classrooms is equipped with an interactive 

whiteboard. one out of six secondary school classrooms and one out of 

eleven vocational school classrooms are equipped with an interactive 

whiteboard. School managers expect to invest heavily in additional 

interactive whiteboards in the years ahead. This means that virtually 

every classroom in primary education will soon have its own interactive 

whiteboard. 

Classroom-whiteboard ratio 

Classroom-whiteboard 

ratio 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

2009 


Forecast 

2012 

2013 

PRIM 3,5 2,3 1,5 

SEC 6,5 5,9 4 

VET 16,5 10,9 9,2 

Figure 7.5: Classroom-whiteboard ratio for 2011 and school managers’ forecast for the next 

two years (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

63

64 

7.3 Connectivity 

We make a distinction between a school’s connection to the Internet, for 

example by ADSL or optical cable, and its internal network (LAN) with 

shared Internet connectivity. 

Previous Monitor surveys revealed that almost every computer used in 

the education sector has Internet access. Eight out of ten secondary and 

vocational schools have an optical fiber connection to the Internet. That 

is not the case in primary education, where only three out of ten schools 

have an optical fiber connection (Figure 7.6). 

In terms of Internet access inside the school, virtually all vocational 

schools and two thirds of secondary schools have wireless Internet. 

Wireless Internet is less common in primary education (Figure 7.6). of the 

schools that do not have wireless Internet, a fourth are planning to install 

it within two years. 

Connectivity 

% of schools 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

43 

PRIM 

29 

67 

SEC 

83 

90 

Wireless 

Figure 7.6: Access to wireless Internet and optical fiber (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

Optical fiber 

VET 

83

Compared with schools in neighboring countries, schools in the 

Netherlands are among the top in the European Union in terms of ICT 

infrastructure. This applies equally to computer and Internet access 

(Eurydice, 2011). 


7.4 Summary 

• The ratio of computers to pupils at schools is the same as last year: one 

computer for every five pupils. 

• The majority of pupils in vocational education and training take their 

own laptops with them to school. This happens much less in secondary 

education, and scarcely at all in primary education. 

• The adoption of interactive whiteboards has gone much faster than 

school managers had anticipated in previous surveys: almost every 

school now has one or more interactive whiteboards. In primary 

education, one out of two classrooms is equipped with an interactive 

whiteboard; in secondary education, the ratio is 1:6 and in vocational 

education and training 1:11. Expectations are that almost every primary 

school classroom will be equipped with an interactive whiteboard 

before long. 

• Wireless Internet and optical fiber connections are becoming standard 

at secondary schools and in the vocational education and training 

sector. 

65

66 

8 


School managers who show leadership support teachers in their 

professional development. Such support is needed if teachers are 

to find ICT appealing and use it more effectively and efficiently 

in their lessons. Depending on the school’s situation, one school 

manager may emphasize material factors (ICT infrastructure and 

digital learning materials) while another focuses more on human 

factors (vision and expertise). 

In previous chapters, we looked at the four basic elements of the Four in 

Balance model. This chapter addresses the “plus factors” of the model: 

collaboration and leadership. These factors help make the use of ICT more 

effective. 

Collaboration is discussed in Section 8.1 and leadership in Section 8.2. 

The chapter concludes by looking at what school managers are aiming for 

in the future (Section 8.3). 

8.1 Collaboration 

Collaboration between teachers involves their sharing expertise and 

materials in order to reach a common goal. Collaboration thus makes an 

important contribution to teachers’ professional development (Van Veen, 

2010). By collaborating, teachers show one another how to use ICT in their 

lessons and identify the relationship between ICT applications and pupil 

results. In addition to having a common goal, focusing on pupil results 

is especially conducive to teachers’ professional development (Dennis, 

2010). That is because they feel challenged by information that offers 

them support and they become aware of the implications of new working 

methods for their teaching practice (Timperley, 2007).

Joint agreements about ICT 

Do teachers in fact collaborate with one another in the area of ICT? 

one indicator is the presence of joint agreements. 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

8 - CoLLABorATIoN AND LEADErShIP 

one out of three teachers works in a team that has agreed to use ICT for 

particular subjects and to use it in a certain way. Two thirds of teachers 

are free to make their own choices in this respect (Figure 8.1). Teachers 

say that ICT use is often a matter of personal preference, and that there 

are no shared (school-wide) goals. 

Collaboration and coordination 

% of teachers 

62 

38 

PRIM 

76 

24 

SEC 

Teacher chooses him/herself 

Agreements made within team 

Figure 8.1: Teacher discretion with respect to using ICT at their school (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

63 

37 

VET 

67

68 

Support 

Where can teachers turn if they want more information about effective 

applications? Figure 8.2 surveys the sources of information that teachers 

use. It shows that teachers tend to turn to colleagues at school for help. 

They supplement this by contacting external sources, especially educational 

publishers, Kennisnet, and other partner schools. 

Source of information 

Teachers at own school 42 

Educational publishers 

Kennisnet 

Partnership with other school 

0 20 40 60 80 100 

% of teachers 

Figure 8.2: Teachers’ top four sources of information on computer use in the past year 

(TNS NIPo, 2010) 

8.2 Leadership 

School managers are second only to teachers in influencing how teaching 

is organized and how well pupils perform in school (Barber, 2010). We 

consider what school managers do to achieve their school’s ICT objectives 

by looking at two indicators: 

1. The presence of an ICT policy plan or other document setting out their 

pedagogical vision of ICT 

2. how teachers categorize the school leadership 

23 

22 

30


Policy plan 

Some eight out of ten schools have an ICT policy plan. About half of these 

schools are actually implementing this plan, and a third are not (Figure 

8.3). This breakdown is by and large the same as in previous years. 

ICT policy plan 

% of schools 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

11 

37 

52 

PRIM 

SEC 

No policy plan 

Policy plan is not implemented 

Policy plan is implemented 

22 22 

34 33 

44 45 

Figure 8.3: Presence and implementation of ICT policy plan (TNS NIPo, 2010b) 

Analyses of policy plans reveal that many of them have not been updated 

and that they frequently do not define the relationship between the 

school’s pedagogical vision and ICT. Schools evidently find it difficult to 

define that relationship (Uerz, 2011). 

VET 

69

70 

Centralized vision 

Schools do not all define their ICT policy in a separate ICT policy plan. 

often, their approach to ICT is part of their overall school policy. We 

therefore consider whether they have developed a centralized vision of 

how ICT should be used in teaching. Nearly six out of ten schools have 

a centralized vision of this kind, and more than a fourth of schools is 

currently developing one (Figure 8.4), in particular in secondary education 

(41%). 

Centralized vision 

% of schools 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

10 

27 

63 

PRIM 

9 

41 

50 

SEC 

No centralized vision (or don’t know) 

In development 

Vision has been defined 

Figure 8.4: Percentage of schools whose management say they have developed a centralized 

vision of how ICT should be used in teaching (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

24 

17 

59 

VET


Categories of leadership 

Teachers were asked to describe the leadership qualities displayed 

by their school management. Their answers show that there are two – 

complementary – categories of leadership; for now, we will refer to these 

as transactional and transformational (Marzano, 2005; Kelchtermans, 2010; 

Van Gennip 2011a). 

Transactional leaders 

• make software and hardware available; 

• expect that teachers will use these; and 

• give teachers the leeway they need to experiment. 

This strategy, however, tends to support teachers who are already in the 

vanguard. In terms of the Four in Balance model, transactional leaders 

focus mainly on the material factors, i.e. the ICT infrastructure and 

digital learning materials. Three quarters of teachers say that this is the 

leadership behavior displayed by their school management. 

Transformational leaders 

• focus on and promote professional development; 

• keep track of what teachers are doing with ICT and offer guidance; and 

• encourage teachers to work toward a shared goal. 

• In doing this, transformational leaders support the entire teaching 

staff. In terms of the Four in Balance model, transformational leaders 

focus more on the human factors, i.e. vision and expertise. 

Teachers say that transformational leadership is less common than 

transactional leadership, even though it is precisely this category of 

leadership that supports teachers most in their efforts to improve pupil 

performance (Fullan, 2011; Etuce, 2009; robinson, 2010). 

Figure 8.5 shows that when it comes to ICT use, teachers feel that their 

school managers focus more on the material factors than on the human 

ones. It is also clear that when school managers do focus on the human 

factors (vision and professional development), they are more likely to 

be in the primary education sector than in the secondary or vocational 

education and training sector. 

71

72 

Leadership focusing on material and human factors 

% of teachers 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

72 

PRIM 

55 

76 

8.3 The future 

It is possible that school managers’ leadership behavior is set to change. 

When asked to name their top priority in terms of achieving their school’s 

ICT goals, school managers say that in order to bring about the necessary 

changes in ICT use, they would like to place more emphasis on teachers’ 

professional development and on identifying a pedagogical vision 

concerning the use of ICT (Figure 8.6). In other words, their emphasis is 

shifting from material to human factors. 

This will require a different type of leadership behavior, one that is less 

concerned with making facilities available (without obliging teachers 

to use them) and more focused on encouraging and guiding teachers as 

professionals. 

SEC 

Figure 8.5: ICT leadership, according to teachers (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

45 

73 

Material factors 

Human factors 

VET 

37

Leadership goals 

Priority 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

43 

PRIM 

57 

37 


8.4 Summary 

• one out of three teachers works in a team that has agreed to use ICT for 

particular subjects and to use it in a certain way. Two thirds of teachers 

say that ICT use is a matter of personal preference, and that there are 

no shared (school-wide) goals. 

• Approximately eight out of ten schools have an ICT policy plan. About 

half of these schools actually implement this plan. Many policy plans 

have not been updated, and schools evidently find it difficult to define 

the relationship between their pedagogical vision and ICT. 

• Most teachers think that their school leadership stresses infrastructure 

and digital learning materials (material factors) more than professional 

development and vision (human factors). 

• In order to ensure that more teachers make better use of ICT, 

school managers would like to put greater emphasis on professional 

development and on identifying a pedagogical vision concerning the use 

of ICT. 

SEC 

63 

40 

Material factors 

Human factors 

Figure 8.6: School managers’ priorities for achieving ICT goals (TNS NIPo, 2010) 

VET 

60 

73

74 

9 

From ICT use to more 

effective teaching 

This final chapter describes five ways for schools and teachers to 

get more out of using ICT in the classroom. 

The 2011 Monitor has shown that there are solid foundations for using ICT 

in every sector of education. Most teachers believe that they have good 

ICT skills, and schools have one computer for every five pupils. Virtually 

all school computers have Internet access, and the number of classrooms 

equipped with an interactive whiteboard is growing rapidly. More and 

more digital learning materials are becoming available, and schools are 

clearly eager to make greater use of ICT both for knowledge transfer and 

knowledge construction. 

A growing number of teachers are making use of computers. If the 

forecasts are to be believed, virtually every teacher will be using ICT in 

their lessons in five years’ time, and they will be doing so with greater 

intensity and in more varied ways. ICT is no longer merely an optional 

teaching aid; it is fast becoming one of the fundamental building blocks of 

education. 

Despite all this, teachers are not adopting ICT in their lessons as rapidly 

as they and school managers had expected. The potential that ICT offers to 

improve teaching is often left unexplored. In terms of the Four in Balance 

model, that potential lies in enhancing the relationship between the 

pedagogical use of ICT and improving the quality of teaching (Figure 9.1). 

We describe five recommendations for improving that relationship in this 

chapter. 

9.1 Adapt support to aims 

The education sector wishes to make greater use of ICT. opinions differ, 

however, as to the way ICT should be allowed to influence teaching, 

both now and in the future. one school is prepared to go much further 

than another in that regard. It is important to take such differences into 

account if the idea is to help schools make more use of ICT. It would be

Leadership 


9 - FroM ICT USE To MorE EFFECTIVE TEAChING 

pointless to offer a blueprint; instead, support should be differentiated 

by target group. There are roughly three different target groups (based on 

Itzkan, 1994 and Twinning, 2011). 

Figure 9.1: The Four in Balance model 

Collaboration 

Digital 


materials 

Pedagogical use of ICT for teaching/learning 

Improvement in quality of teaching 

ICT 

infrastructure 

1. Schools that wish to use ICT to improve the quality of teaching 

These are schools that use ICT to consolidate current teaching practices. 

They retain their pedagogical vision and use ICT to support their 

practices. They do not alter the curriculum objectives and they measure 

the value of ICT in terms of improvements in pupil performance. This 

group includes many schools that have recently embraced the interactive 

whiteboard or digitized existing learning materials. Their support 

needs are mainly material in nature. 

2. Schools that wish to use ICT to extend their teaching practices 

These are schools that retain 80% of their existing teaching practices and 

make very gradual changes. All changes remain within the school team’s 

comfort zone and are broadly supported as a result. These schools use ICT 

both to achieve new pedagogical objectives and to experiment with new 

working methods. Pupils may watch instructional videos on the Internet, 

75

76 

for example, or learn skills in a simulation. In this group, changes in the 

material and human factors are mutually dependent. 

3. Schools that wish to use ICT to innovate their teaching practices 

These are schools that wish to make major changes in their pedagogical 

approach in a short amount of time. To put as much distance as 

possible between themselves and the past, they sometimes establish a 

“greenfield” site. Such schools typically introduce new teaching methods 

that would be virtually impossible without ICT, for example collaborative 

learning in the cloud. 

Chapter 2 shows that ICT can be effective in each of the above cases. We will 

look more closely at these three groups in next year’s Monitor. 

9.2 Use leadership to involve followers 

Schools are not yet making the most of the potential of ICT. They appear to 

have landed in a transitional phase marking the passage between ICT use 

by individual pioneers and systematic ICT integration by the entire school 

team. Support is also shifting from the pioneers to the followers (Chapter 

8). The pioneers have an affinity with the technology and feel that the 

technical facilities offer enough support; the followers, on the other hand, 

also want support for their professional development and for their efforts 

to develop a shared vision (Ten Brummelhuis, 2011). 

A transition of this kind makes demands on the management’s leadership 

ability. School managers have an enormous influence on teacher 

productivity and pupil performance (Marzano, 2005; Pont, 2008). When 

leadership is lacking, it seems, teachers will not feel the necessary 

commitment and make inadequate use of ICT. Strong leadership can have 

a positive impact on pupil results by showing hesitant teachers just how 

effective ICT can be (Timperley, 2008). It stresses the human rather than 

the material factors (Chapter 8) and in doing so supports a larger number 

of teachers.

9 - FroM ICT USE To MorE EFFECTIVE TEAChING 

9.3 Formalize professional use 

Teachers must be familiar with what ICT can and cannot do. Studies show 

that ICT can have positive, neutral, and negative effects; indeed, inexpert 

use of ICT can even cause pupil performance to deteriorate (see Chapter 2). 

To optimize the positive effects and minimize the negative ones, teachers 

need to know what works and what does not. 

More and more foreign teacher training programs and schools are including 

pedagogical ICT skills on the list of professional competencies that 

graduates and teachers are expected to master. This is still very rare in the 

Netherlands, and when it does happen, the arrangements are school-specific 

ones (see Chapter 8). Making such competencies a formal requirement in 

teacher training programs will shorten the amount of time it takes for 

teachers to adopt ICT applications that have a positive impact on pupil 

results. Teacher training programs should take the lead in this. 

9.4 Link teacher, pupil, and subject matter in a digital 

learning environment 

All too often, however, teachers are not required to use digital learning 

materials in their lessons. The teacher and the digital learning materials 

are two relatively isolated components, comparable to the relationship 

between teacher and teaching method. 

Increasingly, however, we are seeing digital learning environments that 

link teacher, pupil, and subject matter. Teachers are no longer separate 

from the environment; instead, they play a role within that environment. 

It should be noted that such environments are not surrogate teachers or 

storage spaces for learning materials; they are digital environments that 

provide comprehensive support for teaching/learning and give teachers 

as much scope as possible to fulfill their core duty, i.e. to create the right 

conditions for learning. 

The digital learning environment connects learning at school (formal 

learning) and learning outside of school (informal learning). In doing so, it 

increases pupils’ opportunities to learn. By studying more, pupils achieve 

considerably better results. Indeed, pupils are now spending more time 

77

78 

doing schoolwork at their home computer than at their school computer 

(Chapter 3). Supporting this trend are new infrastructure facilities, such 

as cloud computing and having a laptop for every pupil (see Chapter 7). 

9.5 Know what works 

To find out what does and does not work with ICT, schools and teachers 

must engage in three activities: knowledge generation, knowledge 

dissemination and knowledge valorization. We have already covered the 

subjects of valorization and dissemination in the foregoing. This section 

will look mainly at knowledge generation. 

We are gradually learning more about how to use ICT effectively, but many 

questions remain unanswered, first of all because ICT is used in many 

different ways in the field of education, making it a broad and complex 

phenomenon. At the same time, new technologies are emerging that raise 

new issues. Examples are “augmented reality” and the use of a mobile 

phone or iPad in learning. 

It is important, then, to continue to find more evidence that ICT improves 

education and to update what is already known, so that school managers 

and teachers can make informed choices based on the latest information. 

Such evidence involves knowledge generation driven by the professional 

curiosity of teachers who want to solve problems that they encounter in 

their own work. The practical issues raised by schools – i.e. questions 

about what ICT contributes in a pedagogical setting – are the starting 

point. In the future, knowledge generation should be demand-driven, 

evidence-based, and focused on benefits. 

By generating and disseminating knowledge of what does and does not 

work with ICT, Kennisnet is helping to create a firm foundation for 

innovation and for improving the quality of education.

9 - VAN ICT-GEBrUIK NAAr VErBETErING VAN oNDErWIJS

10 

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