Technology infrastructure in schools
Previous research has highlighted the importance of adequate technology infrastructure in schools (Darmody et al., 2010). Drawing on the post-installation survey data of school principals, this section describes which ICT devices are most frequently used in Irish second-level schools (see Figure 5.1). Shared devices, laptops, PCs, netbooks, tablets or mini-notebooks with internet were the devices most frequently mentioned by the principals (61 per cent). Twenty-five per cent of principals reported students using such devices on their own. Staff shared a number of devices, including digital cameras (78 per cent), data projectors (73 per cent), interactive whiteboards (55 per cent), laptops, PCs, netbooks, tablets or mini-notebooks with internet (43 per cent). Seven per cent of principals reported not having laptops, PCs, netbooks, tablets or mini-notebooks with internet available in their school. In addition to the other specific categories of technology, over 70 per cent of principals mention that there is some other form of technology which is not available in the school for educational purposes. FIGURE 5.1 Use of ICT Devices in Schools
Source: Post-installation survey of second-level school principals (N=158); Categories are not mutually exclusive, for example, a resource can be ‘shared between students’ and ‘shared between staff.’
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Laptops, PCs, netbooks, tablets or mini-notebooks without internet
Laptops, PCs, netbooks, tablets or mini-notebooks with internet
Digital reader (portable device to read books, newspapers, etc. on screen)
Interactive whiteboard Digital camera Data projector Other, please specify
Shared between several students Used by each student on their own
School Leadership, Culture and Technical Support | 43
Figure 5.2 shows that 62 per cent of principals felt that there was adequate provision of internet access for teachers in their school, but a far lower percentage consider the provision of internet access for students in their school to be adequate (35 per cent). Forty per cent of principals strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that there were adequate computing facilities in the school.
FIGURE 5.2 Principals’ Satisfaction with ICT Provision in His / Her School
Source: Post-installation survey of second-level school principals (N=158).
Two important issues emerged from this survey: principals’ dissatisfaction with technical support and the maintenance of ICT equipment. Over half of principals (strongly) disagreed with the statement ‘There is adequate provision of technical support in this school’, with 55 per cent feeling dissatisfied with the maintenance of ICT equipment. Nearly half of principals felt that the provision of computing facilities in their school was inadequate. The findings suggest that there is notable room for improvement in schools in these areas.
The principals’ questionnaire also included a range of questions about school practices related to ICT use. Most schools use online tools and a range of internally- and externally-hosted content. A majority allow students’ own devices
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
There is adequate provision of computing facilities in this school
There is adequate provision of audio-visual equipment in this school
There is a wide variation in the quality/age of ICT equipment between different classrooms There is adequate provision of Internet access for
teachers in this school
There is adequate provision of Internet access for students in this school
There is adequate provision of technical support in this school
The maintenance of ICT equipment in this school is satisfactory
to be used at least some of the time, and as shown in Table 5.1, there was a small but statistically significant rise in this practice between the pre- and post- installation surveys.
TABLE 5.1 Change in Reported Uses of ICT in Schools by Principals
ICT practice Average change
in usage score Students may use their own devices (e.g. tablets, smartphones, cameras) to support their
learning within the school
0.12** A ‘live’ video two-way link is used to share one or more subjects with students in another
school
-0.011 ICT tools (e.g. email, video links) are used to communicate with other schools in Ireland 0.038 ICT tools (e.g. email, video links) are used to communicate with other schools
internationally
-0.028 The school uses content and resources on the local school server to support teaching and
learning
0.052 The school uses content and resources accessed through an external virtual learning
environment (VLE) to support teaching and learning
0.084 Online tools and/or other applications are used to support teaching and learning 0.073 Student-owned computing devices (i.e. where each student has their own device) are
being used in some year groups
0.15** E-books are being used by some year groups as an alternative to paper based textbooks 0.14**
Source: Analysis of survey data. (N=272 principals pre-installation, 158 principals post-installation).
Note: Principal scores calculated by adding up category usage scores before and after installation of high-speed broadband, with No=1, In some cases=2, and Regularly=3.
The only other statistically significant change during the period around the installation of high-speed broadband was an increase (from a low base) in positive responses to ‘E-books are being used by some year groups as an alternative to paper based textbooks’. The lack of statistically significant change in certain reported uses of ICT in schools (for example, ‘A ‘live’ two-way link being used to share subjects with students in other schools’) may be due to the fact that principals were surveyed relatively soon after the broadband connection was upgraded. This reasoning is consistent with the theory of educational change (Fullan, 1991), which notes that change processes in schools tends to be slow and incremental.
The survey data are complemented here with the analysis of information gathered from the case-study schools. While the principals in these schools were supportive of including various forms of technology in teaching, learning and administrative tasks, many highlighted elements/areas that need developing. The principal of Holly Road – a low ICT integrated school – recalled issues with inadequate technology when joining the staff three years ago:
School Leadership, Culture and Technical Support | 45 When I came in here first the major issue was the internet was
always going off or it didn’t work or it was gone on the blink all the time... that was the biggest headache for teachers because they’d come in with their class planned and they couldn’t run their class as planned... Then also the computers were very old, really old. (Holly Road, Low ICT, Principal)
Over the course of three years the principal managed to refurbish four computer rooms and provide mobile computing devices in the school. However, the principal was not satisfied with the development:
Day-to-day I’d say we have a long way to go. There’s a lot that we could do that we’re not doing at the moment.... I would say the hard work and the infrastructure is still not where I’d like it to be at all. (Holly Road, Low ICT, Principal)
Despite the principal’s enthusiasm regarding ICT use in the school, the interview indicates that ICT integration may be a slow process, due to a number of factors, including the resources available for ICT development. Each school’s ICT infrastructure depended also on the school’s previous arrangements and investment in ICT. The principal in Ivy Lane noted that having provided PLC courses in the past, the school had developed a broader ICT network:
We have... six computer rooms, with twenty four PCs... And we would have a PC with internet access, in nearly all classrooms now. So every room in the school... has a PC that can connect onto your projector.... we took a huge jump in infrastructure. (Ivy Lane, Medium ICT, Principal)
This provided a base to build upon and develop a strong infrastructure that has also impacted on teaching approaches:
Well, once the infrastructure is there, teachers are using them way more.... Teachers that would’ve claimed to be IT illiterate are now doing stuff. (Ivy Lane, Medium ICT, Principal)
Leading ICT policy and assisting with ICT integration in schools has been seen to increase principals’ workload (McGarr and Kearney, 2009). This study also indicated that in most schools principals are actively involved in identifying funding opportunities for updating and expanding technology in their school;
organising the maintenance of devices and dealing with a variety of issues that may emerge with regard to the use of various electronic devices in schools. In the same vein, a challenge identified by most case-study principals was a lack of funding to cover costs associated with ICT development and maintenance:
We didn’t have a budget for IT because the budget that they got in the grant had been spent for projectors, whiteboard projectors and, you know, interactive whiteboards and things like that.... So what I needed was money for updating computers, memory, the internet to be sorted out, you know. (Holly Road, Low ICT, Principal)
Funding for ICT infrastructure was considered a challenge also by the deputy principal of one high-ICT-integration school:
Well funding is one [challenge]; I know every school is going to put out the, the begging bowl. But funding is one, to, to actually fund, to pay for the broadband that we have. Or to pay for our, our computers, it is an expense. And every year we’ve to review our budgets, to see if we can actually pay to improve.... So it’s just, I suppose the escalating costs of running a school of this size, with all of the ICT that we actually have. It can be a bit of a barrier. (Juniper Avenue, High ICT, Deputy Principal)
The most important factor in the implementation of computers in teaching and learning is whether a teacher can or cannot arrange appropriate teaching opportunities for using ICT in a classroom or laboratory (Pelgrum, 2001; Bingimlas 2009). Principals’ views on teachers’ skills and competences and how teachers themselves assess their confidence and skills will be discussed in Chapter 7.