Scenarios

The scenario sections are intended to give you lots of ideas about how to manage your resources so you can incorporate ICT into your teaching. Whilst this Unit is not the place to provide detailed technical instructions on the use of specific applications or equipment (you will need to consult the manuals for such information), we have identified a number of key skills that are required to carry out activities similar to those described below.
It is assumed that you are familiar with the operating system your computer uses and can manage basic tasks such as starting up programs, simple word-processing, and saving and printing work. The key skills, the type of software and any peripherals will be listed at the end of each scenario. These will be linked into the activities which you will find towards the end of the Unit.

Scenario 1 - Writing a school ICT policy

This first scenario illustrates the process of formulating an ICT policy and development plan. A whole-school ICT policy is a statement of the aims of a school staff working co-operatively in the context of using ICT for curricular, management and administrative tasks in that school. The following aspects are considered:

• Where is the school now?
• Why is the school using ICT?
• What are the expected outcomes?
• What are the steps to achieve this?
• When and how often should the policy be reviewed?

Who should write it?

It is important to involve everyone in the formulation process and to ensure the plan is compatible with existing school policies and takes account of equal opportunities, gender and disability. All staff must be involved so that there is a shared purpose and understanding of the need for an ICT policy. It will have to take into account the diverse attitudes and experiences of the staff; it is essential to have senior management support. Implementation of the policy is far more likely if there is shared ownership and commitment to it.

Steps towards a policy

The first step is to identify the purpose of the policy. This is a simple statement of intentions; for example “to respond to new developments in technology” or “to implement educational technology across the curriculum”. The statement should identify where the staff and school wish to be, regardless of costs or resources. In practice the statement will help a school to prioritize future developments. The next step is to identify why ICT is of importance to staff and pupils. Questions that should be considered include:

• What can ICT offer pupils and staff that cannot be offered just as well in other ways?
• How can ICT help pupils and teachers to access a broad range of activities across the curriculum?
• How can ICT promote equal opportunities?
• What would be the effect on pupils if computers and other types of ICT were not available?

It may be productive to have a range of statements made up for discussion by staff to assist in the formulation of the aims of ICT use in their school.

Statements might include:

Information and Communication Technology…

• assists students in developing a positive self-image
• can used to meet the individual needs of the pupils
• can enable access to the curriculum
• empowers the user
• gives access to a wide range of resources
• is motivational and non-judgmental
• can promote effective collaborative working
• is fun
• can present information in ways which help pupils to understand it

As well as having positive statements there is a place for considering some cautionary statements:

• ICT should not be used as a stick or a carrot
• ICT should not be used only for learning of rote skills
• ICT should not to be used for the sake of using it if a non-ICT method is more appropriate

You should now have a set of statements about the collective view of ICT. The next step is to reflect upon current practice by conducting an audit to gather information about ‘where we are now’. Information can be collected by staff, taking note of what equipment (hardware and software) is used, or by identifying what pupils have used, where (which curricular or management area) and for what purpose it was used.

Having gathered this information find out :

• Which resources in school are being used most / least?
• Which resources cannot be used because staff do not have the necessary skills?
• Which resources would be used more widely if available?
• Which curriculum areas make most / least use of ICT and why?

This information along with the aims of the school for using ICT enable you to set goals, both in the short and the long term. In setting goals consider:

• organization – how and where should ICT be integrated into the curriculum
• recording and planning – how can pupils’ use of ICT be recorded; can ICT be used to assist in the recording?
• access – will pupils use stand-alone or networked machines; in the class or in an IT suite; is specialist equipment available for pupils who need it?
• resources – how will the cost of ICT, including future plans, be dealt with; how will the budget be apportioned for software, hardware, repair and maintenance; how will staff and pupils access shared resources?
• staff training – what training is required; who will deliver the training; when and where will the training be delivered?
• implementation – which senior management member has responsibility for ICT; is there an ICT co-ordinator to share responsibility for implementation?
• monitoring – who will monitor the implementation and ensure goals are being met?
• evaluation and review – when and how will the implementation of the policy be evaluated and reviewed?

Once you have gone through the consultation process, and given due consideration to these and other issues that may arise, the ICT policy can be written up. One possible format could be:

Tools to help write an ICT policy

Becta has an Interactive ICT Policy Guidelines Web site which gives step-by-step help in the preparation of your school ICT policy. It can be found at:

www.becta.org.uk/schools/smanagers/schools/tools.htm

The Web site takes you through the various sections and then invites you to generate an IT Policy Document, which can be printed out. Detailed instructions are available at:

www.becta.org.uk/schools/smanagers/itpolicy/help.html

Becta also have an information sheet on how to write a whole school IT policy, at:

www.becta.org.uk/technology/infosheets/

Schools in Scotland will all have received the handbook Scottish Schools: Using the Superhighways: ICT and Development Planning, which supports the integration of ICT into learning, teaching and management processes. More details are available from www.stf.scet.com ; there are also details of other publications on (safe) use of the Internet.

This ICTS website is maintained by Inclusive Technology.