NCTE

Large Post Primary School

Current ICT Status: Initial Stage

School Profile

• 43 teachers
• 1 learning support teacher
• 650 students
• 26 networked computers in a computer room (10 with access to the Internet)
• 3 computers in the staff room
• 1 computer in the library
• 1 computer in the careers room
• 13 printers (2 laser and 11 inkjet)
• 1 scanner
• 1 data projector
• 1 digital camera
• Internet access via an ISDN line (10 computers are connected)
• A selection of computer-aided design software
• A small selection of curriculum-specific software
• Word processing, spreadsheet, database and presentation software
• All staff have received ICT training

ICT Adoption To Date

This school's ICT plan was developed by the IT co-ordinating teacher in consultation with key staff members in 1998 and focused heavily on purchasing additional hardware and software. Arising out of this plan a new computer room was established in 1999, which is mainly used by the senior engineering, construction studies, LCVP and transition year students. The plan also addressed the ICT skills gap among students and teachers and all first year and transition year students were timetabled for skills training. Since the beginning of the Schools IT 2000 initiative, over 40% of the staff have attended an NCTE training course and many now feel much more confident in using the school's computers for their own purposes, both inside and outside of school hours. By attending training courses and having visited a number of local SIP schools, staff are now much more aware of the beneficial aspects of ICT in teaching and learning, as well as having a better understanding of how and why ICT can be integrated into their daily work. By using appropriate software and Internet resources in conjunction with a data projector, staff can illustrate difficult concepts and engage in whole class problem-solving.

Plans to Reach Intermediate Stage

Prior to 1998 the majority of staff had not used ICT in a classroom context. This has changed over the years with a small group of teachers increasingly using ICT to create classroom materials (e.g., presentations, handouts, examinations, etc.) and to control their classroom management duties, such as tracking student progress (e.g., using spreadsheets and databases). There is now a greater interest in integrating ICT into a wider range of subjects. The learning support teacher is also interested in exploring ways to use ICT to enhance the learning support service. In recent times, the computer room has been in constant demand and it is now vital that all 26 machines are connected to the Internet and that additional computers are purchased. The staff believe that the computer room alone is not sufficient for the school's growing ICT needs and that other computer deployment models need to be examined. As a starting point, the school plans to network the 4 machines currently located in the staff room so that staff have access to the school's server and the Internet. This will allow teachers to preview relevant educational content and prepare lesson materials in a digital format (i.e., handouts, presentation slides, etc.).

Three additional networked computers will be placed in the library to facilitate students engaged in project work and withdrawal classes. The library computers and those in the computer room will be connected to a CD-Serve, which will allow students access via the network to multimedia-rich encyclopaedia resources. This facility will be open to all students during break time and for set periods outside class time.

A number of the specialist rooms (i.e., Science, Maths, Geography, Art and learning support) will receive additional computers and associated peripherals. For example, the Science laboratory will receive a new computer with data handling and data logging software installed. The computers will be connected to the Internet to facilitate access to scientific Web sites and they will also contain a selection of appropriate curriculum software. These machines can be used by groups of students to conduct investigative work in a simulated environment. The computer in the learning support room will be equipped with a selection of software to cater for a variety of student need, such as reinforcement software to work on literacy and numeracy skills, writing tools to assist with daily writing, and planning and organising software to visually organise ideas and information.

A laptop and a digital projector will be purchased to facilitate the integration of ICT into whole class teaching. An interactive whiteboard will also be purchased for the Science lab and this, in conjunction with a computer and digital projector, will offer teachers the same features as a traditional whiteboard, such as writing directly on the board, highlighting or labeling elements on the screen and erasing errors.

National Centre for Technology in Education

Teachers and students will be able to interact with the board and their work can be stored electronically for retrieval at a later stage. The Art and Geography teachers have requested that a networked computer, complete with Internet access, be located permanently in each of their rooms. The Geography teacher has used the school digital camera in recent months to document key physical geography features and is developing a database for use by students and staff. In addition, he would like students to have access to a number of relevant geography CD-ROMs and Internet sites throughout the year. These real-time resources will be particularly relevant to student projects.

The Art teacher has purchased an online subscription for the entire school to a number of art galleries and she is keen to make this available to other staff members and students. She also has an extensive collection of art collections on CD-ROM and she wants to use the computer as a presentation device to discuss and analyse these collections. She is also encouraging her students to use the digital camera to take their own photographs and they regularly use photo-editing software to manipulate and enhance their own work. It is the principal's intention that other staff members will follow the lead of the Art and Geography teachers in requesting computers to be located around the school so that meaningful integration can commence. So, in summary, this school's ICT plan will focus on the following target areas over the coming three years.

Management and Planning

• Monitor the overall integration of ICT throughout the school
• ICT steering team to amend the school's ICT plan on a yearly basis to reflect the changing needs of both staff and students

ICT Resources and Infrastructure

• Network and wire the entire school, including the staff room, so that access to the server, CD-serve and the Internet is available in all rooms
• Purchase 7 new desktop computers
• Position additional networked computers in the library
• Position additional networked computers in five specialist rooms
• Purchase a laptop computer
• Purchase an additional portable digital projector
• Purchase an interactive whiteboard for use by teachers in whole class teaching
• Purchase additional application and curriculum software
• Source a maintenance contract to cover new and existing hardware and peripherals

ICT and the Curriculum

• Integrate the use of ICT into whole class teaching
• Locate computers in subject specialist and learning support rooms
• Target a number of specific subject areas by sourcing appropriate teacher and student software
• Explore ways of using ICT to support students with diverse learning needs

School ICT Culture

• Provide structured ICT access during school hours
• Involve staff and students in publishing an up-to-date school Web site
• Integrate ICT into all future project work

Staff Development

• Arrange for staff training in the following areas:
  • Mathematics and ICT
  • Intel Teach to the Future programme
  • Web site development
  • Multimedia authoring
    
• Attend local Support Groups on integrating ICT across the post primary curriculum
• Participate in software and Internet support events in the local Education Centre