Audit of my school’s ICT use

My school is the home for just over three hundred students ranging from grade K – 6, and fourteen teachers and a principal. As stated in one of the my previous posts my school is equipped with a computer laboratory, Internet access which includes Wi-Fi, a smart board (situated in the computer laboratory), a considerable number of working netbooks running Edubuntu, one laser printer, one scanner, one digital camera, two HP laptops and a digital multimedia projector.

Based on the SVG ICT Strategy and Action Plan all the rationales mentioned in the reading are embedded in it, however, it is debatable whether or not what is happening at my school reflects any of the rationales. This might not just be an issue of the school policy and practice as not all of the rationales are applicable to my school since it is a primary or elementary school.

As far as use of ICT in schools are concern, of the six specific educational uses listed in the document ‘Uses of ICT in schools’, evidence of three are present at my school. These include one: using the Internet to gather information for research and projects, and for educator resources and learning support materials. This is not done on a large scale as only 28.5% of teachers could be considered as trying. The initial part of this use is not applicable to the students as they are not given opportunities to do so. Many teachers are aware of the dangers of students venturing onto forbidden or inappropriate sites, hence this is part of the problem. Two; using basic ICT applications to enhance teaching and learning, developing computer literacy skills in the process:- this is also not done on a large scale although it was attempted by most teachers, however, the effort lacks continuity. Three; ICT-related learning areas, such as Information Technology or similar subjects:- this was also attempted but suffered the same faith in most classes as the second use listed here.  The approach lacked authenticity since at that time the students did not have their own netbooks and most of them at the time were not exposed to computers at home.  

ICT provides a vital role in the administrative part of the school as many correspondents from the Ministry of Education are received and sent via email and hard copies of letters and other documents which might constitute the administrative business of the school are processed and printed.

The smart-board is not being utilized as it is installed at a rather difficult height for both students and teachers to reach and manipulate whatever might be on it. However, plans are in placed to construct a platform which will hopefully solve this problem as the board is located in the computer laboratory.

ICT at my school therefore, serves two purposes: one is administrative and two, educational. It is my view that there are many areas which need to be improved in order for teachers and students to get the best from the use of ICT in the teaching learning situation.

Conclusions Reached

From reading Two generations of teachers: Differences in attitudes towards ICT it is safe to conclude, according to Ferrero, that  the age of teachers is not a factor in the way ICT is practiced and used in schools in which the study was conducted. The lack of evidence in this regard has somewhat nullified the concept “generation divide”.  

Another conclusion which was reached by Ferrero is the negative impact of the institutional environment on the teachers’ willingness and effectiveness in using computers. According to Ferrero, the lack of technical assistance and professional support within the schools have adversely affected the use of ICT in schools. Teachers who are new to such technologies and those who need guidance tend to regress with lack of mentors, coordinators and support systems. This is evident in my school.

Reflection on Activity 1

Reflection on Activity 1

ICT integration is not entirely new to me as I have attended a workshop once before, however, this is the first time I am seeing ICT use/integration being categorised. What this has done for me is; it has allowed me to see exactly who is directly impacted by the use of ICT and how and where ICT is used in a school setting. It also allows me to clearly distinguished areas where it might be integrated as opposed to used. My understanding of ICT has allowed me to form two broad categories: These are ICT Usage and ICT Integration. Administrative tasks, Assessing learning, caring for learners, Growing professionally I categorized as ICT Usage and Preparing learning experiences as ICT Integration. However, I must say here that students stand to benefit from both categories.

Hello Activity

My name is Fitzroy Stapelton a teacher and a student currently taking the CCTI course. I am from St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and I work and reside in the small rural town of Chateaubelair. Chateaubelair is located on the north western side of mainland St Vincent nested at the foot of La Soufriere volcano.
I teach Grade 4 at the Chateaubelair Methodist School. I am responsible for teaching all subjects which are done in my class daily. These include Language Arts, Maths, Social Studies and Science. My students are mainly from a working class socio economic background. This may be attributed to the fact that agriculture and fishing are the two major economic activities by which the people make their likelihood. Hence, these two activities have significantly shaped their interests along with sporting activities such as cricket, soccer, and a bit of track and field. However, the advent of the one-netbook-per-child initiative by the government of SVG and the establishment of wireless access in most, if not all schools including ours, have developed within my students a love for computers, the Internet and computer games.
As for me, I like working with computers and related technologies, and consider my favourite area of teaching to be Language Arts.  It is my wish that this course will enable me to effectively integrate ICT in my teaching thus making learning more fun, interesting and meaningful for my students. I will also like to be able to transfer to my students, the necessary skills and knowledge relating to ICT in order to empower their own learning in a more independent manner. About one third of my students have netbooks which are functional and my school also boasts a computer lab, which is not fully functional, and a multimedia projector. There is also a recently installed smart-board. I hope to gain valuable knowledge and skills in this course which will help me to utilize these technologies for to improve my teaching, my colleagues and students' learning.