Evaluation of the ICT Test Bed Project: Final report
Key findings
Learning and teaching
As technology was embedded, schools' national test outcomes improved beyond expectations.
The impact of ICT on attainment levels was greater for primary schools than for secondary schools.
Effective use of presentation technologies led to greater interaction between teachers and learners.
Effective use of ICT personalised learning by enabling greater learner choice within the curriculum, improved assessment for learning and more learner-directed teaching.
Technology facilitated more effective assessment for learning by making it easier for learners to be more involved in target-setting and for teachers to give individualised feedback.
The use of electronic registration improved attendance levels in some schools by three to four per cent, while behaviour management systems were perceived to have a positive impact on both behaviour and attendance, prerequisites for effective learning.
To enable learners to get the maximum learning benefit from using the internet, internet protocols that safeguarded learners' welfare without being overly prohibitive were required.
Some changes to teaching and learning strategies were inhibited by tensions between the priorities of different government policies and agencies with regard to ICT.
Leadership and management
Institutions that were more e-mature improved their performance levels significantly more quickly than those which were not. However, there was a dip in performance until the ICT became embedded and staff developed the requisite skills.
Managing the implementation of large amounts of ICT required a strong vision, an extended planning phase, staged investment and support throughout.
Schools needed to build sustainability - of both resources and pedagogic change - into their change management strategies from the start.
Ready access to databases, which enable better analysis of data, made assessment and planning more systematic. However, there was a need to ensure that the amount of analysis required was not over-burdensome.
Management information systems (MIS) enabled leaders to better identify the particular needs of their school community through improved data analysis.
Workforce development
The involvement of ICT changed the working practices of teachers and extended the roles of administrative staff and technicians.
Well co-ordinated and sustained professional development opportunities were important in developing ICT skills and confidence of all staff and embedding the use of ICT. Informal, on-the-job training was very effective when supported by in-school champions.
Where new technologies were introduced into all of a school's classrooms at the same time, a culture of sharing and mutual support developed as the whole staff faced the task of embedding the technology into their pedagogy. Collective need led to collective solutions being found and shared.
Access to reliable technology and daily use led to rapid improvements in teachers' skills and improved management of workloads.
Shared server areas and virtual learning environments made it easier for teachers to find, store, share, create and reuse resources and lesson plans. This ensured long-term value from the initial high investment by the workforce.
Cross-institution links
Effective cross-institution collaboration required a common purpose and leadership from the top. Plenty of time for staff to meet and establish trust needed to be built into the process, with roles and responsibilities clearly identified. This was especially important in the cross-sectoral collaboration.
Home and community links
The majority of students in ICT Test Bed schools, as in other schools, now have access to computers at home. Loaning ICT equipment to learners helps to bridge the digital divide.
ICT made it much easier to share assessment information with parents via school websites or learning platforms.
Schools slowly increased their use of email - and, in some cases, text messages - to communicate with parents, enabling them to respond to parental enquiries more rapidly. However, establishing a two-way dialogue with parents was more challenging.
Increasing home access to ICT and the internet was operationally difficult for schools. It was very time-consuming and required careful planning.