February 2003 Insights Education Issue #1

ICTs in school classrooms:
planning to avoid costly mistakes

Can any country afford to opt out of advances in telecommunications? Businesses are seeking to meet users’ needs better through electronic forms of communication, so at least some members of every country’s workforce need to have ICTs skills. Digital resources also offer a wide variety of educational tools and opportunities for teachers, students and communities.

Studies of ICTs initiatives in schools in both developing and developed countries show the need to plan carefully:

• In Hong Kong focusing too much on teachers’ technical skills meant teachers became skilled technically but not in using ICTs to support learning.
• The UK developed infrastructure, provided equipment and trained teachers in teaching skills, but some teachers still lacked basic ICTs skills and some also had raised expectations which were disappointed when technology was unreliable.
• Mexico, where resources are more limited, focused on identifying and resourcing subject-specific ICTs initiatives, such as video clips in geography or data logging in science (using sensors to collect data over time) in a small number of schools prior to steadily expanding the programme.

ICTs training and equipment costs are high, so policy-makers at the school level need to decide at the start of any planned investment whether the purpose is:

• to develop students’ ICTs skills such as word-processing or using spreadsheets - in which case, ICTs specialists can be employed
• to use ICTs to achieve more effective teaching in schools, such as using music or art and design software, data logging in science and geography or using digital cameras in technology classes to record each stage of design and development. In this case subject teachers will have to acquire ICTs skills or ensure that pupils are enabled to use the technology through other support.

These two purposes are often confused in schools. If the decision is to develop ICTs skills, then educational programmes such as Cisco’s Networking Academy Program offer a well-tested route forward (see Selinger). Fulfilling the second purpose, ‘to use ICTs to achieve more effective teaching in schools’ is more of a challenge.

To increase the impact of ICTs on teaching in schools, policy-makers need to be clear about the specific goals of any ICTs initiative, how many and which students will be involved, what must be done first to ensure at least a limited success and what can be left for later.

Policy-makers also need to ensure that:

• teachers know how to use ICTs in the classroom: there are many approaches to the use of ICTs but several goals can be achieved with a few computers and one point of Internet access in a school
• teachers have a positive attitude towards ICTs: although unreliable technology can affect teachers’ enthusiasm, reliable technology on its own is not enough
• the role of ICTs within the curriculum is specified
• if children can use technology in their classwork then these skills should also be formally assessed otherwise teachers may prioritise activities that lead to higher grades at the expense of ICTs skills
• technology is maintained regularly and teachers have access out of lesson time
• senior management is enthusiastic about ICTs and provides ongoing resources and central government is prepared to support schools with resources and training and by creating appropriate curriculum policy frameworks.

ICTs initiatives are more difficult to implement than usual curriculum changes because of the interdependence of the above factors. Ensuring value for money requires careful planning and close monitoring of outcomes. The demand for access to resources can rapidly outstrip available funds and creative ways of financing resources, such as community involvement, are often necessary to support development.

Marilyn Leask
T +44 (0) 207 925 3700
id21education@ids.ac.uk

See also
'ICT and Whole School Improvement: an OECD study', by M. Leask, 2001
'The New Opportunities Fund ICT training for teachers and school librarians: progress review and lessons learned through the central quality assurance process in England', Teacher Training Agency, by M. Leask, 2002

'The Integration of the European SchoolNet into classroom practice: the dynamics of change' at www.eun.org by M. Leask and S. Younie, 2002
‘ICT in Education in Mexico, internal report for the British Council, by M. Leask, 2002

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