The use of ICT for learning: the Ireland experience Education ICT and the Information Society Agenda in Ireland’s schools CMEC - OECD - Canada Seminar Montreal, April Dr Conor GALVIN UCD Education Department Dublin

Where we’ve been... zEarly 1970s. zDES involvement in courses since University involvement since z1980s saw a series of unconnected but innovative school-based IT projects; xPrimary Curriculum Unit IT project, xSecondary Computer Studies xVocational IT programmes - Euro TecneT

The watershed? z15 December 1994: Netscape Navigator. By mid-1996, millions of people were accessing the Web, thousands of companies were serving it, and the press was writing about it constantly. Berners-Lee (2000: 117) zEU Action plan, : Learning in the Information Society.

So, what did Ireland need mid- to late-1990s? zImagination: vision: leadership zTime to plan zSignificant investment in cutting-edge people and projects.

And what do we get?

The Full Details z“ Schools IT 2000: A Policy Framework for the New Millennium” (1997) 

What was Schools IT2000 ? zA four year plan ( ) to put in place a permanent schools’ IT infrastructure; seen to involve not just the machinery but also the teacher skills to use it.  The biggest single investment in living memory in any educational initiative in Ireland.

Three core elements zTechnology Integration Initiative (TII) zTeaching Skills Initiative (TSI) zSchool Support Initiative (SSI), incorporating the School Integration Project (SIP), and ScoilNet.

The TII z60,000 multimedia computers in Irish schools by the end of 2001 zThe NCTE helped schools in building up their ICT equipment infrastructure during the course of the initiative yThe Telecom machine  The purchase grant

The TSI zThe development of an ICT skills development programme to ensure teacher progression from novice to expert zIT Skill development for at least 20,000 teachers nationally (and to at least one teacher per school) yPhase courses / Front Line Maintenance  Primary /second level differences

The SSI - ScoilNet  A Web site to publish Schools IT 2000 advice sheets, guidelines and curriculum materials to assist ICT integration in the classroom. ScoilNet support staff to provide expert advice to schools via . Curriculum materials to be developed in partnership with educational organisations and teacher groups. Curriculum resources produced by ScoilNet to be made available to every school.

The SSI - SIP zA schools project to lead to the identification of policy, training and support models, pedagogical strategies and classroom resources for ICT adoption in Irish schools.  A core group of 40 schools to be involved in piloting various models of ICT integration.

So… zDid this initiative have the imaginative force to change radically the teaching & learning experience provided in Ireland’s schools?  No. For a number of reasons:

Policy, planning and practice zUnderfunded zTechnology rather than pedagogy led zNot enough focus on digital content zImposed rather than negotiated

For the record...

Computers in schools Up 125% Up 40% Source: NCTE Survey, April/May 2000

Schools with networks (%) 4 times as many Up more than a third Source: NCTE Survey, April/May 2000

zA significant narrowing of the gap between the best equipped and least well equipped schools. z1:18 in primary, 1:13 in second level. [Belgium 1:25, 1: 13. France 1:31, 1:17. UK 1:13, 1:8] zAlmost 3:4 second level schools have ISDN (up from 1:20). 8:10 primaries have internet access. Other achievements

We also got... zTraining yup to 3 out of 4 teachers in many schools. yA significant start on the journey towards integrating ICT usage into teaching z ScoilNet ya national web portal ya platform for future development in ODE for teachers on an individual and group basis. z SIP ySchools Integration Project

The Clonakilty SIP: ‘You are what you eat.’ zAn all-girls school, mostly female staff and a ‘low technology’ culture. zPCs - iMacs zA range of data capture and image capture PC peripherals… z… 9 pigs.

Cross-curricular SIP zEnglish, Gaeilge, Business Studies, Art, Home Economics… z… Presentation events; newspapers, television, DES officials. zConfidence, IT with a purpose, motivation (for both student and teachers)

A closing note

On-line zWe are immigrants to the information age; our students and our children will be the natives.