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ICT in the School (ITiS) - Sweden
Sources: Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications and Ministry of Education and Science
In Spring 1998, the Government submitted to Parliament the Report " Tools for Learning - A National Programme for ICT in Schools, 1997/98:176.
The Parliament supported the initiative and the Delegation for ICT in Schools was given the task of planning and implementing the National Action Plan for IT in the School, (ITiS).
All the municipalities in Sweden have been offered the opportunity to participate in the programme which is to be implemented over a three year period from 1999-2001.
All municipalites have accepted all parts of the offer.
The Action Plan covers pre-school, compulsory school, special school, sami school and upper secondary school.
The National Action Plan for ICT - Why?
No part of the everyday lives of children and adults remains unaffected by Information Technology. Working life has in the course of a few years been dramatically transformed as a consequence of IT. Today the flow of informa- tion and data is much greater in scope and accessibility than ever before.
This development has an immense effect on the school and thus its teachers. It creates new opportunities, but also provides new challenges. The tasks of the teacher become both more stimulating and at the same time more demanding. The new technology will not replace teachers, textbooks or the classroom. It will supplement them by creating new combinations of opportunities and help to put pupils' learning in the very centre.
The use of ICT in schools confronts us with difficult ethical choices. The public debate on the fundamental values of our society will be placed high up on the agenda as a result of ICT. The task of the school is to function both as an objective discussion partner and a subjective guide in upholding the fundamental democratic values in our society. The school and its teachers should not evade their responsibility on these issues.
The Government has drawn up the National Programme for ICT, (ITiS), in order to give teachers support in acquiring and exploiting the opportunities provided by ICT. This also means creating greater variety in the work of teachers and transforming the school into a more exciting working place for pupils and teachers. We can achieve this by overcoming obstacles and using ICT to develop the work of the school. Not by focusing on technology for its own sake, but rather by using it wisely to promote the learning of our children and youth.
Development begins with teachers. It is only when teachers feel they have a firm grasp of the new technology as a pedagogical tool that it can become a tool for change. Such confidence comes from teachers themselves taking respon- sibility for finding and acquiring knowledge of ICT and learning which is both professionally and personally relevant. As a result of adding new knowledge to their own experience and bene- fiting from the experiences of others, the individual grows in interaction with other teachers and pupils.
The national programme for in-service training in ITiS is based on teachers taking responsibility for their own learning at work, where they should feel they receive powerful support from school management and facilitators. Parallel with this, ITiS supports development in the municipalities by providing some of the funding for the expansion of the school's ICT infrastructure. The overall effect of these measures should help to ensure that the school is able to take advantage of the opportunities for learning provided by the new technology.
Implementation and Time Schedule
Pilotversions of the in-service training for teachers and the support activities are running in six municipalities.
A regional support organisation was set up during the first weeks of May 1999.
All municipalities have taken up the offer to take part in the in-service training of teachers. Approx. 10 000 teacher are expected to begin their further training this autumn (october). During year 2000 around 25 000 will begin the programme and another 25 000 teachers in year 2001. Decisions will be made at the local level concerning the selection and participation of teams in the programme.
Support activities as seminars, training of facilitators and head teachers will begin in August/September 1999.
The state grant for increasing accessibility to the Internet in the school and giving e-mail addresses to all pupils and teachers was offered to all municipalities in mid-May. Every one was interested in receiving the grant and will apply for the grant this autumn or next spring. Applications should be submitted in the form of a report specifying the development status of the municipality and the measures the municipality intends to take within a given budget framework, based on the size of the municipality and its structural conditions. The application requires substantial preparations which is why the municipalites can choose application date.
The National Action Plan for ICT in School is a school development project. It consists of the following seven components:
The programme covers all schools i.e. the pre-school class, compulsory school and the upper secondary school.
The ITiS programme for in-service training should contribute to creating better conditions throughout the country for equivalent schooling of high quality for children and young persons. Pupils should be given greater opportunities to achieve the goals laid down in the curricula and syllabi. Teachers should also have the opportunity of developing professional skills and their own learning.
Primarily the programme focuses on:
To support implementation of this, the following will be arranged:
The municipalities will receive state grants to cover the direct costs of implementing the programme for in-service training. The cost of implementing support programmes will either be covered by state grants or funded by the Office of the Delegation.
Local Preconditions for ParticipantsIn order to create good conditions for implementing ITiS, the programme should be related to the school plan and local work plans of the municipality.
The Delegation imposes the following requirements on the municipalities:
When beginning the in-serivce training each participating teacher will have at their disposal a multimedia computer. The computers are intended to be located in the homes of teachers, also after the training programme has been completed.
The delegation has signed agreements with a number of computer manufacturers. These agreements will be re-negotiated at six monthly intervals so that the models purchased should always have high performance. The computers are supplied with pre-installed software as chosen by municipalities.
The computers should be purchased by the municipality, funded by the Delegation with ownership transferred to the municipalities.
Three principles have been instrumental in developing the programme for the school infrastructure. The first is that a long-term view must govern activities which the municipality wishes to implement. The second is that the programme must in some respect improve the school's access to IT. The third principle is equivalence and quality for all pupils.
This means that all municipalities should be able to participate in the programme. The municipalities are responsible for all children and young persons resident in their municipality.
The state will not take over the responsibilities of the municipality, even though the state grant provides support over a limited period for strengthening access to the Internet. The grant is based on the size of the municipality with account taken of structural conditions, and the number of pupils in compulsory and upper secondary schooling.
The Government's goal is that all schools should be connected to the Internet. The grant should in the first instance be used to provide Internet access to schools which either do not have connections or have connections with limited capacity.
Secondly, the grant can be used to increase capacity of existing connections or for measures which increase access by other means, for example the expansion of local area networks or improved organisation for IT support in the school. In cases where municipalities intend to use the grant for investments of this kind, they should be specified and reasons given in the application.
The municipalities in allocating priorities over the use of the state grant, should take into account existing infrastructure as well as pedagogical factors.
Since development and maintenance of IT infrastructure is an ongoing process, which is becoming increasingly complex and expensive, it is important that long-term view is taken and that the investments made are based on what currently exists and what is being planned in the municipality. All investments should take this perspective and be a part of a carefully conceived IT strategy or other long-term goal.
Within the framework of the programme, the Delegation will also examine other forms of support to municipalities e.g. measures to reduce costs for Internet connections, disseminating information on good examples and in certain cases developing technical recommendations. This work will take place in conjunction with the Swedish Association of Municipalities and the National Agency for Education.
E-mail is the most basic and widely used form of communication mediated by modern information technology and the Internet. Having access to e-mail is an important prerequisite for being able to participate in the IT society.
Within the framework of ITiS, all pupils and teachers in the school should have their own e-mail address. The goal is that they should have this by year 2001 at the latest.
A state grant is allocated to those municipalities wishing to offer all pupils and teachers e-mail in accordance with the goals that have been set up. By accepting the offer the municipalities subscribe to the goals of the National Action Programme. All municipalites have indicated that they will apply for the grant.
The municipalities themselves must, however, decide on the basis of their own local technical and pedagogical starting conditions how they can give concrete expression to this goal. The state's offer does not automatically guarantee e-mail addresses to all pupils and teachers. It is for instance possible that a group of pupils e.g. a class, in the lower grades share an e-mail address.
Four guiding principles have underpinned the planning of the action programme and shall be applied to its implementation in the municipalities:
The Delegation for ICT in Schools
The task of the Delegation for ICT in the School is to plan and implement the programme.
The Delegation consists of representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Industry, the National Agency for Education, the Foundation for Knowledge and Competence Development, the IT Commission, the Swedish Association of Municipalities, the National Union of Teachers and the National Swedish Federation of Teachers.
The Delegation is led by Staffan Bengtsson, State Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Science.
A small office has been set up for implementing decisions and day-to-day operations.
Some 30 regional co-ordinators are linked to the office in order to support municipalities and facilitators in the regions and to co-ordinate acitivities for implementation.
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