ICT increase involvement and effectiveness of learning
We can distil a number of advantages that have clear links with the effectiveness of learning and teaching. ICT helps students, among other things, to:
- be more involved in and have a deeper impact on education, regardless of the didactic model that is applied. We saw examples where the involvement of pupils was increased in a good instructional lesson by means of interactive whiteboards, but also saw many more constructivist approaches where ICT played a pivotal role. This is contradictory to the notion that ICT has a bias to the latter. There are also many examples of teacher that innovate their traditional classroom lessons, making them more interactive, more visual and more stimulating.

“The new interactive whiteboards in some ways replace existing practice. However we feel it is more accurate to say that they have helped teachers become even more innovative in the resources they can bring in front of the pupils, and pupils learn more effectively given the plethora of stimuli that is now before them. In no way have the boards stifled teaching. The software is so flexible that most, if not all, teachers can use them. If anything, they have indeed helped organise the work of the teacher.” ICT Co-ordinator
From School portrait Aquinas Grammar School, Northern Ireland

Teachers’ peer learning
Many schools have had success with (more or less formalised) programs where early adopters or ‘champions’ within the school form units of innovation. These champions spread good practices through both regular meetings in departments and through specialised ICT development programs. This form of in-house professional development has clear advantages. It helps to keep what is on offer close to the school curriculum, to the teacher needs and the classroom practice. Information and expertise is never far away, the threshold to becoming an innovative user is lowered considerably. Peer learning is usually very effective and these types of developmental activities are sustainable also in the long rung, which often cannot be said of one-day training in far away places.

Management of change
In almost all schools that were portrayed, innovation has been stimulated for many years.
What is needed for successful integration of ICT in schools is a combination of knowledge of the technical possibilities and a sharp awareness of where ICT can add value in educational terms.

Schools feel the need to exchange experiences with others, and internet offers a good platform of doing so. In each of the countries communities of practice exist, sometimes hosted at the national education portal, sometimes as result of the activity of one single teacher.

The school is breaking down barriers through ICT; for example, parents are encouraged to work with their children after school in the cyber café. Here pupils and parents collaborate together as they use the Internet and other tools as part of their investigations sharing their varied levels of knowledge and with pupils often demonstrating their skills to their parents.

From School Portrait Lent Rise Primary School, Slough, England
Read the full summary article about the school portraits.

Links:
Northern Ireland Education and Training Inspectorate
HM Inspectorate of Education, Scotland
Inspectie van het Onderwijs, The Netherlands
Office for Standards in Education, England
Onderwijsinspectie, Flanders
Landesschulrat Oberösterreich
Ernist ICT schoolportraits (pdf, 2MB)
Schoolportraits Handbook