Booting up the schools

Less than a year in operation, the National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) is powering ahead, bringing the information age to schools. The centre was set up the auspices of IT2000, an Information Technology (IT) initiative of the Department of Education and Science. Within the next few weeks, 10 facilitators will be recruited, a help desk will be set up for teachers, autumn training for teachers will begin and schools will be invited to take part in pilot projects.

Already, schools should have got their IT2000 grants for equipment and their free Telecom Eireann (TE) computer and phoneline. About 8,000 teachers attended IT classes over the summer. By Hallowe'en, all schools will have net-surfing capability.

A purchasing pack has been provided as well as a video on how to get that PC up and running. Schools are being asked to have IT plans prepared by the end of this month. Guidelines on school plans have been sent to schools.

There are four main initiatives which are taking place under the auspices of IT 2000:

Getting Started

The Technology Integration Initiative has begun and the money has already been given out. Some £13.5 million was parcelled out to schools: £2,000 per school plus £5 per capita. Special education schools got an increased per capita grant of £25. Both primary and second-level schools got the same amount.

A comprehensive purchasing and advisory information pack was also sent to schools last month. This shows the typical purchasing power which schools will enjoy. For instance, a primary school with fewer than 100 pupils and no existing IT capability would have got between £2,000 and £2,500. This would buy two computers and two printers (one colour), according to the guide.

At second-level, a school with fewer than 300 students, no IT, and a basic grant of £2,000 to £3,500 could also buy at least two computer and printer, and software with any remaining funds.

The purchasing models are reasonably detailed so that at the other end of the scale, a second-level school with 500 or more pupils would get a grant of £4,500 plus. If the school had no IT in place, it could buy four computers, at least two printers and software.

If the school has up to 25 computers already, it could use the money to network old computers, buy one computer as a server, and add two new computers. Mutlimedia upgrades could be added to one or more computers and the remaining funds used for software, a scanner or digital camera.

The NCTE invited manufacturers and vendors to provide information on their prices and percentage discount. This information is given in the purchasing pack. While schools can buy equipment on an individual basis, the NCTE is encouraging schools to form clusters to increase purchasing power.

All schools should, by now, have got one TE Internet-ready mulitmedia PC. By the end of the month, it's expected that all schools will be connected to the Internet. Telecom is also providing a free phone line and five hours free phone charges each week of the school year. Schools can pick their own Internet service provider and NCTE is making a video on getting the PC out of the box and into use.

Some 18 meetings were held around the country and the NCTE met with about 75 per cent of school principals, both primary and second-level, in June.

Teaching Skills Initiative

NCTE director Jerome Morrissey explains that "there are thousands of teachers with no notion of IT. Some are quite scared." The centre, in collaboration with the INTO, devised a course for primary teachers with the emphasis on getting the computer up and running so that software could be integrated into teaching as quickly as possible. The second-level course was devised with help from UL.

The cascade model of training was used with 130 primary tutors and 100 second-level tutors trained. More than 6,000 primary teachers attended the one-week course over the summer. Almost 2,000 second-level teachers were trained. NCTE is well on its way to achieve its target of training 20,000 teachers over two years.

Autumn courses will soon be advertised. Teachers will get certificates and both UL and Mary Immaculate award credits for these certificates for teachers pursuing relevant postgraduate courses. The NCTE plans to develop further advanced training programmes.

The Education Centres are the backbone of the training programme. They have got nine PCs from TE and six PCs from IT2000 funds. A team of 10 IT advisers were appointed in September and 10 more will be appointed in the new year. These advisers, based in the education centres, will provide advice and support at a local level. It's anticipated that most of the advisers will be teachers who will be seconded from schools for two years.

ScoilNET

A style and logo have just been devised for ScoilNet, the Irish education website, which is in development. Teachers and students will be able to access the site as Gaeilge, in English and in a text-only version. Teachers will have key passwords so they can set up discussion groups and correspond.

There will be subject specific areas and links to various other sites of interest. It's expected that all schools will be on ScoilNet by mid-term.

Jerome Morrissey, director for the NCTE, notes that "while it's centrally devised and updated it will have a huge capacity for horizontal contacts and it's expected that content will be built from the bottom up".

Schools should be supplied with email addresses for class work and project work but NCTE is not in favour of individual email addresses for security reasons. "Because of the random nature of the web, we don't know whom they might contact or who might contact them," says Morrissey.

Schools Integration Project

At least 40 pilot schools will be chosen for special integration projects (SIPs). Schools who wish to be included must have prepared their IT plan. Documentation about SIPs is being sent to schools this week and they will have a month to apply. In return for some extra teacher allocation and additional hardware, participating schools will be involved in a variety of pilot studies.