Case studies from across the world EmergingApplyingInfusingTransforming Ireland? Singapore? Africa?

Ireland

Schools IT2000 National Centre for Technology in Education – Schools IT 2000 Initiatives Technology Integration Initiative (TII) Teaching Skills Initiative (TSI) Schools Integration Project (SIP) Interactive Software in the Curriculum (ISC) ScoilNet

Technology Integration Initiative (TII) Support technology planning and infrastructure building in schools Supports schools with purchasing, planning, and technical information Grants provided to schools Target of 60,000 multimedia computers Every school has Internet access

Teaching Skills Initiative (TSI) ICT Course development and delivery for teachers 120,000 training places since 1998, approx 10,000 annually Range of evolving courses to meet teacher needs accreditation path courses to Grad. Dip & Masters Ongoing course development to blended, online, e- learning

Teaching Skills Initiative (TSI) Over 1,000 tutors recruited and trained to deliver courses Administered through the local education centre network Very high demand from enthusiastic teachers who were prepared to avail of the training in their own time

Teaching Skills Initiative (TSI) Primary School Training Courses Introductory Phase One Introductory Phase Two ICT and the Primary Curriculum Intel Teach to the Future Post Primary School Training Courses Post Primary Phase One Post Primary Phase Two Intel Teach to the Future Specialist Courses Maths, Music, Guidance etc.

Schools Integration Project (SIP) SIP is a collection of school-based projects focusing on the innovative use of ICT in teaching and learning over 70 projects involving more than 300 schools SIP is intended to: Inform future government expenditure on ICT Develop resources Suggest new pedagogic strategies Disseminate good practice Partnership: Support from industry, commerce Support from third level colleges to projects in their region Inter-school networking involving clusters of schools working collaboratively

NCTE Educational Software Evaluation Pilot 120 Software titles being evaluated Evaluations published on ScoilNet Software libraries in education centres Discounts and special licensing deals Identifying new software titles (UK, USA, Australia) Advice to companies developing new software Interactive Software in the Curriculum

ScoilNet is the 'official' Irish educational web portal Providing on-line resources and information for teachers, students and parents Range of categorised educational content online Collaboration through the development of user communities using discussion groups Partnership with Intel Ireland Platform for teachers to publish content Attracts an average of 900,000 hits per month Warde 2007 ScoilNet

Ireland: ICT professional development model The Schools IT2000 initiative teacher professional development model of training is inadequate as well as outmoded Need for a model based on current thinking about learning and social constructionist that looks beyond how teachers engage with technology to how teachers’ use of technology as they work alongside their students allows them to redefine learning itself Butler 2005

Where do you feel Ireland is on the knowledge ladder? Share your reflections on the Irish experience of ICT use in Education and Professional Development with your neighbour EmergingApplyingInfusingTransforming Ireland? Singapore Africa

Singapore

Singapore: 1997 Masterplan for IT in Education National Institute of Education – Integration of ICT in Education Key importance of teachers Human Resources Training every teacher in effective use of IT in education Equipping trainee teachers with core skills in teaching with IT Involving institutions of higher learning and industry as partners in schools Curriculum revision 3 types of IT courses – basic ICT, foundation, and elective courses Infrastructure 2:1 teacher-computer ratio School-wide network High-speed multimedia network across Singapore

Singapore: Success Principles for use of ICT in Teacher Professional Development Integrated cohesive plan with sufficient funding Involving all stakeholders Especially the teachers Combining in-service and pre-service elements Sufficient technical support (infrastructure and mentoring advice) Building on existing examples of success Need for partnerships to ensure sustainability Wider links to teacher professional development and reward schemes

Singapore: Teacher achievements 2001 survey of teacher achievements 24,000 teachers received hours training in use of IT 78% of teachers said that IT helped to make teaching more student centred ICT-pedagogical integration A major concern 30 hours of instruction not enough for ICT –pedagogy integration proficiency Student - teachers want more ICT-Pedagogy integration in the praticuum Jung 2005, Unwin 2006

Share your reflections on the Singapore experience of ICT use in TPD with your neighbour EmergingApplyingInfusingTransforming Ireland Singapore? Africa Where would you place Singapore on the knowledge ladder?

Africa

DEEP Digital Education Enhancement Project Open University (UK) and Fort Hare University (South Africa) Investigating use of new technologies to improve teaching and learning in primary schools in Egypt and South Africa Using hand-held PDAs for teachers Focusing on Advantages of handheld computers for TPD How handhelds compliment other professional resources What curriculum development in literacy, numeracy and science is enabled by the devices (DEEP

Complex Landscape: Multiple Initiatives Up to sixty ICT-related Teacher Professional Development programmes underway in Africa Many of the programmes consist of ‘one-off, topic-led, short-term training programmes that aim to develop specific skills of teachers, but which do not necessarily comply with professional standards of competency development’ Isaacs and Farrell 2007 p20

Mathematics, Science and ICT Education World Bank Study (2007) conducted in ten countries in sub- Saharan Africa Systematic use of ICT for teaching and learning purposes in TPD programmes is low Students learn mainly basic computer skills Resources are inadequate for practical experiences Instructional models in both the teacher colleges and the universities are excessively academic, teacher-centric and remote from the real challenges of classroom practice Students who specialize in ICT tend to leave the teaching field behind for business and industry jobs Ottevanger et al. 2007

IMFUNDO’s African Experiences Vast physical wastage Hardware under-utilised Hardware broken or ineffective High costs of Internet access Huge educational wastage Insufficient relevant content Multimedia potential underused Networking and interaction ineffective because of lack of connectivity

Lack of Research A dearth of evidence-based research and knowledge in the system, particularly from the African perspective Most research is drawn on the knowledge and experience of frameworks developed in the USA or Europe Isaacs 2006

Need to focus on ‘ICT for Education’ not on ‘Education for ICT’ Teachers and teacher educators should genuinely ‘own’ the process of ICT integration Pre-service and in-service initiatives should be combined to balance support to both environments Technology should be integrated across the curriculum in a blended way Content should be produced locally that is relevant to teachers and learners Principles of Good Practice in effective use of ICT in Teacher Professional Development in Africa

Most if not all schemes should be scalable Need for creation of real partnerships Communications between schools, teacher training institutions should be facilitated Need to develop policy to deal comprehensively with TPD for ICT integration The focus should be on sustainable, resource adequate and on-going professional development Imfundo 2001; Unwin 2004; Evoh 2007; Olakulehin 2007

Discuss your reflection on the African experiences with your neighbour EmergingApplyingInfusingTransforming Ireland Singapore Africa? At what stage would you position the Africa experiences on the knowledge ladder?