The ASTI has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton of the delivery to schools of grants for ICT infrastructure under the Digital Strategy for Schools. ICT is both costly to purchase and costly to maintain in schools: therefore, the funding allocation of approximately €15.000 for a 500-student school will enable schools to upgrade their ICT infrastructure. The ongoing successful roll-out of high speed broadband to schools will underpin this investment in infrastructure. However, success in reaching the goal of integrating ICT into teaching and learning at every level will ultimately depend on supporting teachers in the classroom. We must now move towards ensuring that each classroom is wi-fi enabled. Schools must be enabled to develop realistic e-learning plans which require, above all, time for subject teachers to meet and plan for both subject and whole-school approaches to using ICT in the classroom.
Click here for Department of Education and Skills press statement
Click here to view Digital Strategy for Schools 2015 - 2020 - Enhancing Teaching, Learning and Assessment
