Country report - Sweden National Action Programme for ICT in Schools – some evaluation results A new national strategy för ICT in Schools Strategy for “soft infrastructure” in education with - some examples

National Action Programme for ICT in Schools The Delegation for ICT in Schools is responsible for planning and implementing the programme which consists of the following seven components: - in-service training for 75,000 teachers in teams - a computer for participating teachers - state grants to improve the school’s accessibility to the Internet - addresses for all teachers and pupils - support for developing the Swedish Schoolnet and the European Schoolnet - measures for pupils with special needs - awards for excellent pedagogical contributions

National Action Programme for ICT in Schools Some early quantitatively and qualitative results Both studies also give prominence to ITiS as a pedagogical communication process where teachers acquire new knowledge in interaction with each other the work teams do not perceive it as something imposed from above

Report from the evaluation of the programme for strengthening the schools’ IT infrastructure under ITiS. the number of schools with connections to the Internet is now high. The Agency’s assessment is that virtually all schools are connected, pupils and teachers in nearly all schools have access to ; in the majority of cases the grant has been of great importance for building up the school infrastructure, the initiative has created ripple effects to other segments of municipal activities, in overall terms, municipalities have implemented plans in accordance with their applications for grants to strengthen the schools’ IT infrastructure under the ITiS initiative.

A new national strategy for ICT in Schools By 2005, this IT strategy is to have contributed to a situation where: All students have the ability, both mentally and technologically, to handle large amounts of information and orient themselves around it; All teachers, even newly graduated ones and teachers working in pre-school education, will have sufficient competence to use IT in administering, planning, communicating, and implementing pupils’ and children’s learning and formation of knowledge; There is an intensified consensus and dialog among teachers working in teams with the same pupils and there are more teachers who organize their work around this model; Internationalization is a more tangible and natural part of the everyday school routine and more schools participate in international projects and activities; Measures to better meet the knowledge goals of the curriculum with the aid of learning components will have been intensified and a framework for an international exchange of components will have been established; All school leaders will have sufficient skills, feel secure, be trustworthy, and be capable of taking their leadership responsibilities in educational and administrative IT questions; All Swedish municipalities will have access to advice, recommendations, and technical support, exchanges of experience with other municipalities, and the opportunity to participate in joint purchasing.

Strategy for “soft infrastructure” in education The goal of the national strategy is to: establish standards and recommendations for the field of education develop infostructures in the fields of raising the competence of all pedagogical personnel; teaching materials/teaching components; course and other educational information; and educational texts develop hub/brokerage services in the fields of competence raising, the exchange of experiences, conference/discussion group exchange, teaching materials/teaching components; and education develop tools/services, such as a national catalogue and a library of teaching materials/teaching components