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Section 2

Planning and Implications for Managers


An important feature of the implementation of ICT is the development of a management strategy to establish and maintain the necessary ICT capability on the part of staff and pupils.

Introduction

In the past few years, the experiences of schools in using ICT as part of their everyday practice have gradually been disseminated. These findings, contained in a number of publications and online, have begun to give pointers to the aspects of initiatives that work and that carry positive outcomes. In all of these

outcomes the importance of planning emerges as a key to successful development. The Scottish Office key publication, Using the Superhighways - ICT and Development Planning (SOEID, 1998), provides a very useful starting point for managers at every level. While there is no single way While there is no single way to establish an ICT learning environment it is vital that authorities and schools consolidate their planning towards this objective.
to establish an ICT learning environment it is vital that authorities and schools consolidate their planning towards this objective. Some authorities have taken very substantial steps to equalise the provision across their area, such as establishing ICT hardware, software and training programmes either through their own services or by entering into a partnership with an outside provider to
manage services on their behalf. In other areas and schools the process has been much more gradual. Whatever the pace at which schools have moved thus far, the pace of technological change ... the move towards an ICT learning environment is likely to be through incremental steps...

continues to accelerate, and in all establishments the move towards an ICT learning environment is likely to be through incremental steps rather than through any overnight transformation. The Education Departments' Superhighways Initiative (EDSI) report (HMSO, 1997), carried out at the early stages of development of the National Grid for Learning (NGfL), indicated that simply purchasing hardware and establishing technical infrastructures will not guarantee success. The most successful developments occur where:

  • management is proactive in managing change, has a clear vision of what ICT can achieve, and is fully          committed to ICT development and initiatives
  • ICT is viewed as a school-wide, whole-curriculum commitment, with adequate funding to obtain the          resources necessary to meet agreed targets
  • the need for on-going staff development is recognised and time and resources for this are provided
  • ICT is perceived as an effective means of peer development for staff and pupils
  • existing social groupings see ICT as a means of consolidating the group or helping to achieve its          goals
  • new approaches and resources for learning are continually being sought, not only within education but          also from industry and commerce
  • links with parents and the wider community are seen as integral to the life of the school.

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