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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 10 Apr 2003

Vol. 565 No. 2

Written Answers. - Computerisation Programme.

Finian McGrath

Question:

33 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on whether every primary and secondary school should have a computer room for its students. [8030/03]

The Government remains fully committed to supporting schools in promoting access to and use of information and communications technologies, ICT, in teaching and learning. To this end, substantial funding has been made avail able to schools in recent years for the acquisition of computer hardware and software. Funding has been provided in the form of capital grants, which schools may utilise in a way that best meets their specific ICT needs and priorities.

The planning, organisation and management of computer facilities within the school, including the location of computers in classrooms or in a computer room, is a matter for the school authorities. To assist them in this process, the National Centre for Technology in Education, NCTE, provides, on behalf of my Department, a nationwide ICT advisory and support service for schools with a full-time ICT adviser based in each of the 21 education centres around the country.

In addition, the NCTE has provided ICT planning and management seminars for all primary and post-primary principals as well as a range of ICT training and support courses for teachers. The seminars for principals have provided advice on a range of issues, including the development of computer facilities within the school and the relative merits of providing a dedicated computer room or locating computers within classrooms. Research to date does not provide any definitive view on this issue and at the end of the day it is about ensuring that students have the opportunity to develop their computer skills and that ICT is used effectively to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in school.

In larger schools and many post-primary schools, a designated computer room may be the most efficient way of providing all students with access to computers for a definite time period. This model provides individual students or groups of students with access to relevant software and the Internet. New post-primary schools funded under my Department's building programme are provided with a multi-media language laboratory equipped with 31 personal computers and a computer room also equipped with 31 personal computers. For most primary schools, the practice has generally been to provide computer facilities within the classroom as this is considered to be more conducive to integrating ICT into everyday classroom teaching and learning at primary level.

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