School ICT Audit
An audit of the school's resources should be carried out to determine the level of ICT provision and use already in place and the extent to which it is meeting the needs of teachers and students. The end result of this audit should be a list of the existing ICT equipment and software, as well as information about current usage and associated strengths, weaknesses and limitations. More specifically, the audit should include the following elements:
- A list of the hardware, peripherals and other equipment in the school
- Information about the degree to which each item of equipment is being used, and the purpose for which it is being used
- A list of software titles currently being used including details of
- the class/subject/special needs spread of software resources
- the current licensing situation
- Information about the availability of ICT throughout the school including
- the physical location of computers, i.e., whether centrally located, placed in classrooms and/or in special resource rooms
- the network infrastructure, i.e., the number and location of computers linked to the school network
- the extent to which ICT facilities are made available to students
- Information about Internet connectivity in the school including
- the type of Internet connection (modem/ISDN/leased line)
- the number and location of computers with Internet connections
- the number of hours usage per day/week
- the level of supervised/unsupervised access to students
- Details of the management and security procedures in place to provide for ahigh quality, secure system
- Details of how the school is providing ICT resources for pupils with specialeducational needs
- Information on the willingness of the staff to incorporate ICT into their teaching
- Details of training programmes undertaken by staff, including courses offered by the NCTE, and staff willingness or interest in progressing to Diploma and Masters programmes. These details should include statistics on the number of staff that have attended courses, the type of courses attended, etc.
- Details of the level and appropriateness of current maintenance and technical support contracts, including equipment warranty information
