ICT in Northern Ireland Schools Policy & Practice

1. ICT in Northern Ireland Schools Policy & Practice Barry O’Rourke ICT Inspector Education & Training Inspectorate

2. Overview … • Background to ICT in NI • Strategy for ICT • ICT and Learning

3. Background Information … • 1,224 schools in NI • Around 920 primary schools (170,000 pupils) • Around 235 post-primary schools (156,000) • 48 special schools (5,000) • 17 further education colleges • Devolution within UK: 3 ministersDepartment of EducationDepartment of Employment & LearningDepartment of Culture Arts & Leisure

4. Background Information … Curriculum for ICT … • Education Reform Order in 1989: ICT implemented as a cross-curricular theme (pupils aged 4 –16); limited success • 2002 Review of curriculum: emphasis on skills, ICT one of these generic skills • Assessment: Scheme of IT Accreditation at end of key stage 2 (age 10/11) and key stage 3 (age 13/14); 4 strands, 8 levels- 188 post-primary schools- 108 primary

5. Background Information … Curriculum for ICT … • Specialist courses provided at GCSE level (age 16) • A-level and vocational (AVCE/National Diploma) provided at level 3 (age 18/19) • Literacy and Numeracy and ICT are Government priorities for development (School Improvement Programme)

6. Strategy for ICT … Education Technology Strategy launched in September 1997: www.deni.gov.uk/. Over 50 targets across categories: • Learners and their ICT skills • Teacher competence • Resources • Implementation and support • Same NGfL targets as other UK schools.

7. Strategy for ICT … Learners and ICT Skills … • Pupil competence and assessment (on-line?)- statutory assessment? • ICT strongly placed in the curriculum • Equity of access • Policy on Internet access

8. Strategy for ICT … Teacher Competence: • New Opportunities Fund (NOF) training, £11 million • By March 2003, all teachers know ‘when, when not and how’ to use ICT in the classroom • Pedagogy, beyond basic skills • Take-up slow initially, improved and on-schedule • Laptops provided to 50% of all teachers • 2 mainstream training providers, one provider for special schools; training providers quality assured twice by ETI

9. Strategy for ICT … Quality Assurance of NOF: • Over 86% of teachers signed up, 40% have successfully completed • Good evidence that teacher’s personal competence improved, use of ICT resources has increased • Significant numbers of teachers want to extend competence • Works better when school management provides time and support and strategic direction

10. Strategy for ICT … Quality Assurance of NOF: • Good use of ICT in planning and preparation of resources • Good self-help groups in schools, sharing of resources, ideas (more so in primary) • In some schools, ICT used well to support other school priorities, in particular literacy and numeracy • A few schools have planned well for post-NOF sustainability • Availability/access to laptops very successful • Threshold payments and notice of ETI ICT survey increased the focus on ICT

11. Strategy for ICT … Quality Assurance of NOF, BUT… • Implemented before hardware/software resourcing (Classroom 2000) • Little on-line sharing of resources/materials, an on-line professional community of teachers and educationalists a long way off • Time-consuming (other initiatives), adverse effect on after school clubs, activities, priorities • Many teachers experience difficulty integrating ICT into lessons. Good practice still much too rare. • Appropriateness of distance learning model?

12. Strategy for ICT … Resources, Implementation and Support • NINE website, regional version of UK NGfL website. Low regard by teachers, being revised to become a Managed Learning Environment • Classroom 2000 (C2k): procurement and implementation of a managed service infrastructure for all NI schools, including Internet connectivity. Free to schools • C2k is a huge investment, local and wide area networking, 10 year programme (£300 million) • Average of 1 ‘connected’ computer per 10 pupils

13. Strategy for ICT … Classroom 2000: Progress • 12,000 laptops distributed • 1000 data projectors to primary schools • 2 Megabit broadband installed in all post-primary schools (aged 11+), ISDN being installed in all primary schools • Viglen currently installing C2k solution in all primary schools, 80 per month, commenced January, to be completed December (around 10% complete) • C2k solution involves networked computers, Internet access, peripherals, support

14. Strategy for ICT … Classroom 2000: Progress • C2k provides curriculum content, related to NI curriculum needs: 80 software titles primary(high quality eg Granada, Microsoft, RM etc), 180 post-primary, regional licences • C2k for post-primary to commence in September • Wide area services (mail, filtered Internet, Virtual Learning Environments, secure file transfer, remote access etc) to commence October; eventual MLE • ETI represented on C2k Board and Education Technology Strategy Board • ICT Strategy under review ..

15. ICT and learning … • Improving picture • Development of ICT a high priority for many schools • Close correlation between ‘ICT-strong’ schools and good leadership • Increasing examples of good practice, but pupils have too narrow a range of ICT experiences in many schools • Weaknesses in recording and assessment of ICT • Progression of pupils’ ICT competence not well planned • Accreditation schemes accelerate development of ICT within and across subjects

16. ICT and learning … • Over-emphasis on task completion • Evidence of too much drill and practice • Good home use, high home ownership • Weaknesses in teaching outweighed strengths in more than one-fifth of lessons (especially discrete ICT) • Resources improving significantly • Significant increase in teachers’ personal competence and confidence, many still reluctant to use ICT as a learning tool in subject work • ICT being used more as a performance monitoring and management tool (CLASS system in almost all schools)