National Centre for Technology in Education

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Large Primary School

Current ICT Status: Initial Stage

School Profile

ICT Adoption To Date
Prior to 1998 the school had a small number of computers, which were dispersed around the school on computer trolleys. With the help of the Schools IT 2000 funding and local sponsorship, a full computer room was kitted out in 1998. Later that year, an enthusiastic member of staff devised the school's first ICT plan. This plan focused heavily on developing the computer room and on timetabling students into this room. All classes, excluding junior infants, are currently timetabled for one hour per week in the computer room. The mobile computers are now used mainly in the junior classes as part of 'activity time'. Much of the work in the computer room focuses on teaching specific computer skills, such as word processing, graphic manipulation and how to use the Internet, as well as exploring educational software. Since the original plan, 15 members of staff have participated on at least one NCTE computer course and most teachers are now looking for additional time slots in the computer room.

Plans to Reach Intermediate Stage
The staff are now keen to redevelop their ICT plan with a focus on integrating ICT into the daily work of each class. They have decided to allocate one of their resource teachers to this initiative. This person will focus on integrating ICT into the entire school curriculum and will work collaboratively with her colleagues, in their classrooms, in order to identify appropriate ways of achieving meaningful integration. She will also manage the computer room and co-ordinate the purchasing of additional hardware, software and peripherals.

An audit of all existing software has been conducted and relevant titles have been assigned to appropriate age groups, special needs and curriculum areas. In addition, the staff are planning to develop an ICT skills roadmap, similar to their handwriting scheme, so that all students can acquire key computer skills by the end of each school year. In this way, ICT skills are learned in a curriculum context and are progressively acquired during a child's school career. Having been introduced to the power of ICT over the past few years, staff are anxious to concentrate more heavily on integrating content-free software - word processing, data handling, graphic manipulation, multimedia authoring and Web publishing programs - into their classroom teaching. This approach will utilise the school's digital camera and scanner, as well as the soon-to-be-purchased digital video camera.

Currently, the school Web site is populated with teacher-developed content and the staff are anxious to develop a system where all classes have a publication area on the site. This will involve a team of teachers and students co-ordinating this activity on a weekly basis. The staff are also keen to focus on how ICT can assist students with special needs and, to this end, a number of staff plan to enrol in the NCTE course entitled Special Needs and ICT: The Basics.

The computer room is working well, but in order to further integrate ICT the staff would like to purchase nine additional computers for classroom use. The school also intends purchasing a CD-serve to share multimedia CDs throughout the school. By purchasing appropriate licences, the CD-serve will eliminate the need to purchase multiple copies of CD resources. A laptop will also be purchased so that teachers can evaluate digital resources (CDs, DVDs or online resources) at home. The school library will receive a networked computer, which will be connected to the Internet, to allow students and teachers conduct online research. A computer will also be placed in both the special class and the resource room for students with special needs - this will enable these students to have regular access to a computer. A digital projector will also be purchased to facilitate whole class and group teaching. In order to maximise the power of the additional computers, the school will need to be wired such that computers can be connected to the network from any room in the school. In this next stage of ICT development, twenty rooms will receive four network points and two double electrical sockets. By networking the entire school in this way, teachers and students can access software, the Internet and key documents via the school network and it also allows them print to a number of strategically located printers throughout the school.

So, in summary, here are the school's key ICT action areas for the next three years.

Management and Planning

ICT Resources and Infrastructure

ICT and the Curriculum

School ICT Culture

Staff Development