National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE)

Transcription

1 National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) Business Plan 2007 ICT in Schools is an initiative of the Department of Education and Science

2 Contents Introduction..3 Supporting the Department of Education & Science in ICT Policy Advice, Development and Review....5 Expenditure Review of the ICT Support Service for Schools...5 Supporting technology integration in schools (TII) Directing the Regional ICT Advisory service to Schools.7 Teacher Professional Development in the Use of ICT (TSI)...7 Scoilnet Initiative Providing Digital Content for Teaching and Learning WEBWISE Internet Safety Initiative Innovation and Research initiatives.14 Organisational Management and Development

3 INTRODUCTION The National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) was established under the auspices of the Department of Education and Science in 1998 to provide advice, support and information on the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in education. The role of the NCTE is to implement the ICT priorities and policy objectives of the Department of Education & Science. The overall operational objective of the NCTE is to support and advise schools on the use of ICT in learning and teaching. Funding is derived from the Department of Education & Science. Additional funding for specific project initiatives is sourced from the European Commission. In order to deliver our mission, we operate a number of discrete initiatives within the organisation. Scoilnet The portal for Irish education, provides access to many thousands of teacher-reviewed online resources and to digital resources appropriate to the Irish school curriculum. The Scoilnet initiative develops and manages Scoilnet and other associated websites. Digital Content The Digital Content Initiative develops and promotes digital resources appropriate to the Irish school curriculum. Teaching Skills Initiative Developing and providing teachers with targeted professional development programmes in the use of ICT in teaching and learning is the core activity of the Teaching Skills Initiative Training courses are delivered in Education Centres and in schools. 3

4 Technology Integration Initiative The Technology Integration Initiative provides a range of planning and technical supports to schools, including a Service Desk to assist them to develop and maintain their ICT infrastructures. Webwise Special Educational Needs & ICT Initiative The Internet safety site, provides information and resources to teachers, parents and students to help ensure that children s online experiences are positive and safe. This initiative works within each of the other initiatives to develop resources and supports relating to special needs education, It also manages projects on the use of ICT in special needs education. Priority activities for 2007: This year the Schools Broadband Programme will shift its emphasis to supporting schools following the installation of the broadband network in Access to digital content that provides opportunities for meaningful interactive learning are an ongoing priority in 2007 with the Digital Content Strategy being finalized. In 2007, we will focus on the provision of Procurement of Digital Reference Content and Ordnance Survey Maps to all second level schools. The promotion and support of ICT and Special Educational Needs in schools will be addressed within the key activities to reflect the inclusive environment in schools. Ongoing development of online Continuing Professional Development (CPD). 4

5 Supporting the Department of Education & Science in ICT Policy Advice, Development and Review. The NCTE will work closely with the ICT Policy Unit of the DES to provide high-quality policy advice as a support to the Minister for Education & Science. The NCTE will prepare ICT in education policy submissions as required and assist with replies to parliamentary questions, and provide briefing material and speeches. In the first half of 2007, the NCTE will support the work of the ICT in Schools Strategy Group, appointed by the Minister, to advise on the prioritisation of measures under the planned Government investment of EUR252 million in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in schools under the NDP. The NCTE will provide advice to the Department of Education & Science on ICT infrastructural development in schools and on technical support options for schools. Otherwise, to contribute and provide input to the Department s ICT strategy for schools. The NCTE will manage the national broadband network for schools. Expenditure Review of the ICT Support Service for Schools It is expected that the expenditure review of the ICT Support Service for Schools, including the work of the NCTE, will be completed in The NCTE will continue to provide full assistance and support to the work of the expenditure review group and the Value for Money Review in This is expected to take up a significant amount of time and personnel resources throughout the first half of Supporting technology integration in schools (TII) The NCTE will provide advice and support to schools in developing and maintaining their ICT infrastructure and in relation to all aspects of the schools broadband network including bandwidth, content filtering, security, and its associated services. The focus of the Technology Integration Initiative (TII) in 2007 is to support the integration of best practice in schools ICT infrastructure and, as a result, the effective use of ICT throughout the school. As over 96% of schools are connected to the schools broadband network the broadband programme focus has changed from installing schools 5

6 to supporting schools after installation. Other TII programme objectives will focus on the provision of advice and support to schools on ICT infrastructure to support ICT in learning, both directly to schools and via the ICT Advisory Service. The priority areas of activity are: Provide recommendations to the Department on the ICT infrastructure required for schools. In relation to technical support, the NCTE will provide recommendations to the Department on models of technical support and maintenance required to support learning in schools. In relation to procurement the NCTE in conjunction with other parties, will provide information and advice and recommended processes to schools in relation to ICT procurement. Manage and direct the Service Desk in supporting broadband connectivity and services to schools and where possible to improve its services to schools. Provide support and advice to schools on broadband services and on broadbandrelated issues including; o installing broadband o network security and content filtering o connecting to the school network o remote access and other services. Provide recommendations to the Department on levels and quality of broadband required by schools and service improvements. Support the introduction of new services including to all schools and make recommendations on new services, e.g. web hosting. Provide ongoing advice to schools on technology provision, local area networking (LANs) and technical support and maintenance. 6

7 Directing the Regional ICT Advisory service to Schools The NCTE will work with the Education Centres, ATECI and the ICT advisors in delivering an ICT advice and support service to local schools. The submission of local ICT workplans by the Education Centres and their approval by the NCTE will enable the local provision of a significant range of ICT-based professional development courses for teachers and other school-based ICT support and advice. ICT advisors will visit local schools to assist in the process of integrating ICT in learning and teaching and to gather information on how this process can best be facilitated. The service will provide this feedback to the NCTE. Key activities for 2007 for NCTE in relation to the local ICT Advisory service are: Provision of work planning guidelines and priority areas of activity for ICT advisors for 2007 to the management committees of each Education Centre Approval of ICT work plans for each of 21 Education Centres Monitoring the delivery of the local ICT professional development programme for 2007 Holding regular meetings with the ICT advisors and provision of information and advice when required throughout the year Working with ATECI on the completion of the review of the Memorandum of Understanding on the management of the ICT Advisory service Agreeing new standard forms for gathering feedback on the service at local level such as a School Visit feedback form Teacher Professional Development in the Use of ICT (TSI) The NCTE has developed Continuing Professional Development (CPD) on the integration of ICT into teaching & learning. CPD is available to teachers throughout the country through the Education Centre network and in some cases in schools. The NCTE will co-ordinate and organise courses with local Education Centres based on local needs throughout It is expected that approximately 11,000 teachers will complete/attend courses and support groups in 2007 (face-to-face & online). Priority areas of activity include: Local delivery of ICT professional development through Education Centres 7

8 o Provide Education Centres and ICT Advisors with in-service priorities for 2007 o Evaluate and approve 21 programmes of ICT professional development submitted by Education Centres o Monitor, check and approve all financial claims from course providers and check monthly returns of TSI activity for each centre o Promote ICT training programmes for teachers in conjunction with the Education Centres through the Provision of posters for local promotion of ICT courses as required Distribution of TSI information brochure to all teachers in the country in January 2007 Management of the Course Schedule on NCTE website Promotion of ICT courses through NCTE Newsletter & website and articles in relevant educational magazines/publications Closely monitor local course provision through the ongoing review of course evaluations. Develop and provide online training to teachers including o The training of online tutors ( etutors ) to support online course participants o Design of delivery model for online training (blended learning approach) o Promotion of use of discussion/chat tools within VLE to encourage teachers to collaborate & share resources online Specific online courses available in 2007 will include o The Internet: A Teaching & Learning Resource o Using presentation software for teaching & learning (developed in collaboration with DCU) o Developing an Elearning Culture for your school (to be developed in collaboration with INTO Summer 2007 o Network Plus Course (Fás) Develop new courses and review and revise courses where required New Course Development o Development of basic modules for teachers delivering the new T4 syllabus at 2nd level in consultation with T4. Modules to include Introduction to 8

9 o o o Computers; Digital Media; Internet & ; Using ICT to create presentations & worksheets. Development of more advanced & subject-specific courses to support t4 teachers. Project Based Learning course (in collaboration with St Patrick s College) Development of generic modules for delivery to second level teachers Update of Existing Courses o Ongoing review of all courses and update/editing where necessary. Provide tutor training where required, including the provision of appropriate training to o online tutors (etutors) o tutors delivering new T4 courses o tutors to deliver FÍS training o and other courses as required. Work closely with teacher training colleges and universities to assist them in the integration of ICT in pre-service training, specifically o make online course The Internet: A Teaching & Learning Resource available to students completing DCU s part-time HDip programme o Inclusion of online Internet course as module in St Patrick s College Diploma/Masters in Digital Applications o Make all NCTE online course content (including video resources) available to pre-service colleges with the availability of online support by NCTE etutors. Scoilnet Initiative The range of online services provided through the Scoilnet initiative will further stimulate and meet the demand for digital content in schools. Increasing amounts of online content are accessed by teachers and students on a daily basis, however there are difficulties in sourcing relevant content directly aligning to the Irish curriculum. In the past three years Scoilnet has transformed into the portal for Irish education, grown the volume and type of content it provides, and consistently increased its reach to teachers, students and parents. While the core activity of the Initiative is the maintenance and development of 9

10 the Scoilnet portal, a number of strategic projects with significant implications for the expansion of services and content are also planned for in this years work programme. Maintenance and development of Scoilnet the portal for Irish education o Maintain the currency of the content on the site. o Manage a team of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to identify and review online content for upload to Scoilnet. Subjects for special attention this year will be English, Maths and Gaeilge. o A range of promotional materials will be developed and distributed to promote the uses of Scoilnet and the Internet. Maintenance of NCTE website o Install and migrate to a new webserver to provide capacity required for hosted websites and logfiles o Upgrade to latest version of Content Management system to provide extra functionality and ease of use o Maintain currency of content on NCTE website and e-newsletter Participate in MELT, an EC funded project on meta-tagging o Meet our deliverables under the terms of the project. o work with the NCCA and with other key partners to develop an agreed approach to meta-tagging and content identification Digital Content Procurement o Finalise the strategy for the provision of digital content for distribution to schools through the broadband network. o Implement and direct the procurement process developed in 2006 to acquire access to online reference databases to be made available to schools through the national network Engage and collaborate with key educational partners on a specific number of key digital content projects to drive the integration of ICT in learning and teaching o Continue to investigate the supports required for Virtual Learning Environments though partnerships projects with Leadership Development for Schools Service, Teaching Skills Initiative, and Young Social Innovators. o Project with NCCA on the use of mobile phones in learning and assessing Gaeilge at post-primary level. 10

11 o Support Scoilnet projects: As Go Brach Linn Geography French Providing Digital Content for Teaching and Learning The Digital Content initiative focuses on the provision of digital resources that are relevant to students and teachers following the Irish school curriculum. This includes the evaluation of independently-produced software products and the production of digital resources for key areas of the curriculum in collaboration with partners (e.g., RTÉ). Access to digital content that provides opportunities for meaningful interactive learning is an ongoing priority for the Digital Content initiative. Priority areas of activities for 2007: Maintain and update existing Digital content resources o o o o o Digital content strategy o Research and develop an NCTE digital content strategy Partners o Engage and collaborate with key educational partners on a specific number of key digital content projects to drive the integration of ICT in learning and teaching e.g Library Council. OSI o Agree licensing and cost structure with OSI for schools at second level to access a range of online digital maps in collaboration with Geography Support Service. o Implement an RFT for a viewer to acquire access to online OSI maps to be made available to all post-primary schools through the national network. ImageBank 11

12 o Finalize implementation of Imagebank o Test Imagebank o Promote and integrate into professional development activities Software Central o Recruit, train and manage subject matter experts to provide content for publication on Software Central. o Continue to develop software central as an online resource where teachers will find advice on the practical use of software and software projects within particular curriculum areas Licensing o Negotiate and advise on software licensing structures and pricing for Irish schools. o Negotiate and advise T4 on licensing options Promotion o Promote the use of digital content and software in professional development activities and through the ICT advisory service. o Write monthly article for In Touch magazine to promote all the activities of the NCTE o Present and demonstrate use of content at conferences or relevant events FÍS o Continue to expand FÍS to an additional 25 schools o Develop a strategy for support and advice for other interested schools Gaeilge o Develop an online resources website for Gaeilge at Leaving Certificate level 12

13 WEBWISE Internet Safety Initiative Webwise is the NCTE's Internet safety initiative. It provides teachers, children and parents with educational resources, advice, and information about the potential risks of using the Internet. Through education programmes, teacher training, and awareness initiatives it empowers children to be autonomous and responsible Internet users. Webwise carries out research into children's use of the Internet, monitors emerging trends, and seeks to reinforce the positive role of the Internet in education. In 2007, the NCTE will distribute an Internet Safety Education Pack to every primary and post-primary school in the country. The Internet Safety Education Pack will contain the Webwise Information and Advice for Schools booklet, Webwise Survey (2006) of Children s Use of the Internet, the Surfwise Classroom Resources and the 2 watchyourspace.ie posters. The watchyourspace.ie Internet Safety campaign is aimed at year old children and teens and is to help teachers and schools to address the safety issues raised because of the advent of social networking. The watchyourspace.ie site is linked to the Childline Online site to help children and teens find help and support online. Webwise, in conjunction with TSI will develop a teacher-training course on Internet Safety. The CPD course, suitable for primary and post-primary teachers, will be called Integrating Internet Safety into Teaching and Learning and will be offered as part of the summer schedule in all 21 Education Centres. Webwise will also work with SPHE (post-primary) to develop teaching and learning resources to help embed Internet Safety messages into the Personal Safety Unit of the SPHE Junior Certificate. Webwise will also develop the Learning Resources area of the Webwise.ie site to provide teaching resources on Internet Safety for primary and postprimary classroom teachers. Webwise is the Irish Internet safety awareness node of Insafe, the European Safer Internet network. Through this network the NCTE, through Webwise, shares best practice, information, and resources with European partners. Webwise will continue to work closely with the Internet Advisory Board and raises awareness on how to report illegal content to 13

14 Innovation and Research initiatives The NCTE will support a number of research projects in both technical and pedagogical areas in 2007 and bring successful practice to the attention of teachers through the ICT Advisory Service. The projects to be supported in 2007 include the final stages of existing projects and the initiation of a limited number of new initiatives. Projects include: Digital Video in CSPE (ongoing) Kidsmart early learning programme and DLN (newly enhanced project) Riverdeep Learning Village Liberties Learning Initiative (ongoing) Hermes and digital software project (ongoing) Planet Aqua (ongoing) Empowering Minds (ongoing) FÍS(ongoing) ICT and Literacy (ongoing) Digital School Award initiative (ongoing) Lía Project (new) Oral Irish with mobile phones project Hermes: Schools Thin Client Broadband Wireless Project The NCTE will continue to support the Hermes project in Hermes involves a cluster of 9 schools innovatively integrating ICT into learning. The project delivers managed learning resources to achieve improved ICT integration on a whole school basis. The main focus for 2007 is teacher professional development, developing and sharing additional learning resources, and collaboration using a Managed Learning Environment (MLE). Organisational Management and Development Key actions in terms of organisational development and management include: Publication of a number of centre publications, which will include: o NCTE Business Plan 2007 o Design and publication of the NCTE Annual Report

15 Management of the NCTE Financial Resources, which will include participation in Public Procurement Management Reform, increasing of accountability and transparency, development of a Corporate Procurement Plan. Actions under Public Procurement Management Reform will include: o Capacity building - raising awareness of staff of all recent Frameworks, Guidelines, Circulars, any changes in legislation applicable to NCTE, updating existing directory with relevant documentation in order to provide full compliance with current legislation and development of a check-list for managers involved in decision-making process of awarding contracts to make sure that all Statutory Provisions and Requirements are met. o Training and education organisation of staff training with IPA in respect of Public Procurement, participation in seminars, meetings and training organised by NPPPU (Dep. of Finance) and ICT Policy Unit (DES). o Procurement - the NCTE will continue to explore the more efficient and effective use of procurement processes including the use of the Government s etender website where applicable. Promotion of NCTE among the wider educational community to heighten awareness of NCTE activities, through actions such as: o Publication and distribution of NCTE monthly newsletters o Maintenance of the NCTE website as a key source of information and advice for all NCTE target groups, stakeholders and partners. o Production of NCTE promotional materials o Advertising in educational publications and promoting NCTE supports and services at key educational conferences and events o Attendance at relevant educational conferences and events Representation of NCTE and external consultation o Facilitate dialogue with, and input from, individuals or groups who are represented by various associations. NCTE will establish regional/local focus groups, local groups and individuals, especially school principals and teachers, as required o Participate in and contribute to the work of a wide range of working groups and committees at national and international levels. 15

16 Centre policy formulation and adoption will be completed in a number of priority areas including: o Comply with directives and prepare returns on Ethics, Equality, Sustaining Progress, Freedom of Information and other regulations. o Publication and adoption of an NCTE Network and Internet Usage Policy o Update the NCTE Staff Handbook to include revised policies, procedures and information. o Implementation of a number of actions to meet health and safety responsibilities Development, submission and agreement of an action plan for the NCTE for the Towards 2016 agreement and meeting commitments for 2007 as set out under this plan Maintenance of a positive industrial relations environment and co-operation with industrial relations bodies. 16