Report Commissioned by The Lifelong Learning Group of the Information Society Commission

Also available in .rtf format

Original version (.rtf format) mirrored from: www.isc.ie

HTML format produced by Office of the Dean of Teaching and Learning (ODTL)

Innovation in Learning in the Information Society: A Comparative International Study

A Report Commissioned by The Lifelong Learning Group of the Information Society Commission

Prepared by The Centre for Research in I. T. in Education
Trinity College Dublin
info@crite.net
www.crite.net

Bryn Holmes, Tim Savage, Brendan Tangney (Eds)

December 2000

This report was prepared for the Lifelong Learning Group of the Information Society Commission by the Centre for Research in IT in Education (CRITE), Trinity College Dublin. The recommendations contained in the report are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Information Society Commission or the Lifelong Learning Group.

---

• 1 Overview
• 1.1 Aims of the Research
• 1.2 Methodology and Approach
• 1.3 Structure of the Report
• 2 Introduction and Key Issues
• 2.1 Introduction
• 2.2 ICTs and Innovative Learning
• 2.3 The Current Irish Situation
• 3 Key Recommendations
• 3.1 Towards a new vision for learning
• 3.2 The call for a National Plan For Learning
• 3.3 Discussion
• 4 Recommendations for the Formal Education System
• 5 Learning in the Workplace
• 6 Learning in the Community
• 6.10 Libraries
• 6.11 Community Schools
• 6.12 Community Technology Centres
• 6.13 Learning Grids
• 7 Appendices
• 7.1 Contributors To The Report
• 7.2 Membership of Information Society Commission's Lifelong Learning Group
• 7.3 Technology for the Deaf - One Person's Story
• 7.4 Bibliography

Chairman's Foreword

This report is being published in the hope that its scope and originality will provoke discussion on a critically important area of our lives - how we organise lifelong learning in the Information Society. It is increasingly evident that economic prosperity, social cohesion and personal fulfilment are dependant on how well we manage this task at a period of increasingly rapid change.

While the recommendations contained in this report are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Information Society Commission or the Lifelong Learning Group, the report has made a valuable contribution to the Commission's final report.

While the principal driving force of change derives from developments in Information and communications Technologies, lifelong learning has to do with much more than acquiring skills in this area. It is our ability to think, and to select and use information that ultimately determines the success of a learning policy and this remains the case in the Information Society. But it is also true to say that ICTs can greatly assist us in providing learning opportunities and in removing obstacles to access.

It was to study how best modern ICTs could be used in this way that the Lifelong Learning Group of the Information Society Commission commissioned this report. An earlier report, Building a Capacity for Change had looked at lifelong learning in Ireland and it was felt that a comparative international study of good practice would give a broader picture and provide a useful critique.

As with the earlier report we look at lifelong learning in three arenas: the formal education system, the community and the workplace. Examples are studied from around the world and their impact explored. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that some things have changed fundamentally: the traditional boundaries between these arenas are disappearing; the initiative has shifted from the teaching institution to the learner; and political or physical barriers are no longer the obstacles they were.

These changes create new opportunities for the learner and frequently major difficulties for institutions accustomed to delivering a service to learners in traditional ways. They, in turn, have to provide a more flexible and user responsive approach. In this situation organisational innovation and enterprise must be encouraged and resourced. Continuous evaluation will enable us to identify the successes. Not all initiatives will succeed but clinging to traditional ways is much more likely to fail over time as new providers emerge in a global learning environment.

I would like to thank all members of the Lifelong Learning Group for their commitment over the past three years and for their contribution to this report. The Commission Secretariat has been most helpful throughout the life of this advisory group and I would like to thank Aedan Hall in particular as well as Mike Neary, Director of the Commission. Special thanks are due to CRITE, the Centre for Research in Information Technology in Education which prepared the report and engaged with the Lifelong Learning Group throughout the period of its preparation. It is hoped that publication of our joint work will contribute to the continuing development of the Information Society in Ireland and will enable us to give a lead internationally with the quality of our commitment and imagination.

Seamus O Canainn

Chairman, Lifelong Learning Group

December 2000

1 Overview

I forsee,- Mr. Deasy said - that you will not remain here very long at this work. You were not born to be a teacher, I think. Perhaps I am wrong.
A learner rather - Stephen said. [Ulysses, Joyce]

This report on comparative international research on Best Practice and Innovation in Learning was commissioned by the Learning Advisory Group of Ireland's Information Society Commission and carried out by the Centre for Research in Information Technology in Education at Trinity College Dublin.

1.1 Aims of the Research

• To identify international best practice in innovation in learning in the light of the increasing importance and influence of ICTs (information and communication technologies).
• To assist in identifying new and emerging trends in the area of learning in the evolving Information Society.
• To inform the overall work of the Learning Advisory Group in its role of making public policy recommendations on matters relating to learning in the Information Society.
• To assist in identifying shortcomings in the approach to learning in Ireland relative to international best practice and in formulating appropriate recommendations to address these shortcomings.

1.2 Methodology and Approach

The methodology used in preparing this report was multi-fold and involved a wide-ranging consultation process. It began with a review of the literature and an invitation to international experts to contribute. Under the auspices of the ISC a one-day conference was held on the 1^st of June to which interested parties from all over the country were invited. Over 200 attendees had the opportunity to interact with 6 international experts and over 20 groups from Ireland who demonstrated and discussed exemplar uses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in learning.

1.3 Structure of the Report

The body of the report begins with a short introduction that leads into the main recommendations. This is followed by more in-depth discussion of some of the issues raised before going on to three subsequent sections which make detailed recommendations in the areas of formal education, the workplace, and the community. These separations are largely for convenience in rendering the report in a linear text format as there is a great deal of linkage and cross-fertilization between these areas. In fact one of the key features of learning in the Information Age is that these and other traditional boundaries are breaking down as learning on almost any topic can increasingly be undertaken by anyone, anywhere and at anytime.

The appendices contain a list of references, information on contributors to the report, and other background information. Further information can also be found at [http://www.crite.net/Conferences/2000/isc1/]

2 Introduction and Key Issues

2.1 Introduction

It is now a cliche to state that we are living in a time of enormous change. This does however not detract from the truth of the statement. Across the developed world profound changes are occurring in diverse areas ranging from communication, through the nature of work and employment and the structure of organisations, to family life. In-depth discussions of these questions are dealt with thoroughly by such writers and thinkers as Drucker [1999], Handy [1989], Papert [1994], Toffler [1970] and many others. The realisation that such profound changes were taking place led to the setting up of the Information Society Commission [ISC] in this country and similar initiatives around the developed world.

Diverse forces are driving these changes with technology, particularly Information Technology, as a key force. However, despite the fact that technology is only one component of the larger picture, too often discussions and planning are driven by a technological imperative and nowhere is that more obvious than in the area of learning, which is the focus of this report. Healy [1998] and others recount many cases of technology, usually in the form of PCs, being parachuted into a learning environment, schools being the prime target, with far too little thought and planning being given to the wider educational context within which the technology is to be used.

If it is accepted that this is a time of enormous change, then from a learning point of view an important question to be addressed is "what are the skills that people should be equipped with in order to live fruitfully in such a dynamic environment?" Obviously an appreciation of the significance of ICTs and skills in their use is a key requirement but again this question should not be addressed solely in a narrow technological context. As a recent EU document outlines:

The essential aim of education and training has always been personal development and the successful integration of Europeans into society through the sharing of common values and the passing on of cultural heritage and the teaching of self reliance". [EU 2000]

Today a key aspect of self-reliance is that one possesses the skills, expertise and knowledge, which are most appropriate for the current milieu, usually termed the Information Age. Computer literacy is obviously one of these skills but, as rapid change is a hallmark of the Information Age, the main skills, which will stand to individuals in the long term, are the higher-order ones. These include the ability to learn how to learn, the ability to reflect, to analyse, to synthesise and adapt to the ever, and rapidly, changing landscape. This view is echoed by many, for example the influential Dearing Report in the UK argues that students should develop key skills including "communication, numeracy, information technology...learning how to learn.... and cognitive skills such as critical analysis" [Dearing 1997]. Mary Robinson articulated a similar view. "In this time of unprecedented change we are witnessing what our society will need are balanced, rounded individuals who can think for themselves and who have strong analytical skills" [Robinson 1999].

Whatever definition one adopts for the term "Information Age", and many definitions exist, one of its key attributes is the extent to which borders and barriers are broken down. In keeping with this trend, around the developed world the focus is shifting away from narrow compartmentalisation of formal and informal education, and training towards an approach based on the concept of lifelong learning and not just learning for some but learning for all. This means that learning must be the product of a holistic curriculum that meets the individual and social/cultural needs of learners throughout their lives.

2.2 ICTs and Innovative Learning

This report focuses upon the role that ICT has to play in supporting learning in the Information Age context. It argues that ubiquitous learning technologies, such as the Internet, multimedia and virtual environments, have a key role to play in a flexible, broadly constructivist, learning paradigm where the focus is on learning with technology, not learning about technology.

In such a model, learning is continually assessed, evaluated and compared. The knowledge learned should be flexible, not simply in terms of including relevant skills and reassessing what those skills are but should be capable of being built upon. Thus, learners will be empowered by knowing how to monitor their own learning. This can be achieved by teaching learners how to be aware of their own learning, referred to as teaching metacognitive skills, in addition to teaching the desired higher-order thinking skills.

This argument is elaborated upon in section 3.3.1.

2.3 The Current Irish Situation

It can be said with some justification that Ireland has made good progress in the past few years in coming to grips with some Information Age issues but it must be remembered that Ireland is starting from a low base.

In 1997 Ireland was ranked in the third division of countries in the IDC World Times Information Society Index. In the more recent data Ireland is placed in the second division, and ranked 19 out of 54 countries worldwide. However most of our European neighbours are ranked above us; out of the following 8 countries (Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Austria, and Ireland, France) Ireland is rated 7^th. Furthermore it is projected that Ireland will be overtaken by France in 2000 [IDC 2000].

The use of ICTs in the formal education system has expanded enormously over the past few years with the Schools IT2000 programme being the major impetus at primary and post-primary levels. In fact we are now at a critical junction as the use of ICTs in the classroom moves on from the hands of those who have been termed the 'early adopters' to the 'late majority'.

There is a danger of over estimating the progress made to date. Not surprisingly, given the enormous task that was undertaken in such a short period of time, a number of aspects of the IT2000 plan were not fully implemented. In particular the IT Unit for planning ICT policy within the Department of Education and Science has just recently been set up and, as the NCTE is primarily an implementation group, this has led to a certain policy vacuum. Also, the National Policy Advisory & Development Committee (NPADC), set up to inform the Minister on policy issues, has met on a very infrequent basis, the proposed industrial board has not been set up and the parental input is less than that of many other countries.

Beyond the issue of penetration of ICTs into the classroom lies the question as to what are the learning outcomes when ICTs are used and under what circumstances those outcomes are likely to be beneficial. Qualitative evaluation of the school's integration projects (SIP) is only now beginning and there is no evaluation of the effectiveness of the teacher training initiative or of SCOILNET. A recent survey of Irish post-primary teachers, [Mulkeen 2000], reported that 29% of the teachers surveyed had used ICT in teaching while the most recent figures available for the USA state that 60% of primary teachers use ICT in teaching, with 44% creating their own instructional material [NCES 2000]. As the population examined in the Mulkeen report is relatively small statistically there must be a degree of caution in interpreting the results, but the implications of the findings must not be dismissed.

Obviously there is a need for further research in this area. This is not to argue that all further use of ICTs in learning environments should be suspended pending the results of that research. Rather, given the very dynamic nature of the area and the fact that it is still in the early stages of its evolution, a pioneering spirit is required combined with systematic research and dissemination of results so that everyone involved in the process can benefit from each other's experience.

The Irish economy is experiencing both labour shortages and a skills shortage that need to be addressed. Recent studies by the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland [CCI 1999] and the OECD [OECD 1999] have highlighted these problems and the White Paper on Lifelong Learning [DES 2000] proposes measures to tackle the skills issue. The latter argues for a curriculum that embodies elements similar to those listed in 1.5 above. These include a constructivist approach to learning; support for self-motivated learners; learning for living, not only to pass terminal examinations; greater flexibility and fluidity between learning in education, the workplace and the community; flexible models of assessment and a focus on learners at transitional points in their lives. This report supports the main thrusts and principles of the White Paper, in particular the core principles of a systematic approach to lifelong learning, equality of access regardless of socio-economic status, and inter-culturalism in a rapidly changing society. Further to these, the White Paper identifies a need to specifically target marginalized groups as well as acceding that adult education should not be restricted to purely economic goals. As already indicated we believe that education for personal, social, and cultural goals has as much validity. While the White Paper focuses primarily on adult education, its focus on lifelong learning places it in close relation to this report. Its conclusion regarding new models of assessment, support services and the emphasis it lays upon the development of partnerships between education centres and industry interests are supported here. The CCI and OECD are also, for example, concerned with the relevance of initial education to the labour market, the role of continuing and workplace training and the inclusion of marginalized groups into the workforce.

One strategy for achieving these aims has been community education, which in Ireland has grown organically, largely in deprived areas as a response to the surrounding problems. The White Paper addresses the support and structure of this sector, recognising that it " is the amongst the most dynamic, creative and relevant component of Adult Education provision in Ireland." The organic nature of its growth has been reflected in the low level of funding for the sector and the White Paper recommends changes to overcome this issue.

One further point should be noted. Ireland is part of an international community and being part of any community implies privileges and responsibilities. In the past as a nation we have very actively discharged our responsibilities to the international community in the area of education and learning, particularly in the developing countries. This responsibility has not gone away. Rather we must endeavour to find the most appropriate way to discharge that responsibility in a manner that is most suitable and beneficial for the new times in which we live.

3 Key Recommendations

There are two central recommendations in this report. The first is quite radical and is long term; the second is of more immediate relevance.

3.1 Towards a new vision for learning

Schools are nineteenth century creations with reforms of later years bolted on, The organisation of the school day and year follow the rhythms of a rural agricultural society the traditional teaching model with the teacher as the fount and source of knowledge, passing on information to pupils and later reproduced for examination purposes, sits uneasily in an electronic age where information is readily and immediately accessible to anyone at anytime. [McGuinness 2000]

It has been predicted that 90% of current white-collar jobs will not exist in 10 years time. [Sunday Times 23 July 2000]

Our society is undergoing profound changes with a resulting increase in the demands being placed upon the education system. At the same time technology is opening up new possibilities in when and how learning can take place. For reasons outlined below, this report argues strongly that if there was ever a time for a renaissance in education it is now.

The influence of technology on education and learning manifests itself in two ways. Firstly, as previously referred to, in terms of the skills needed by citizens of the Information Age and, secondly, in the diversity of ways in which learning materials and instruction can be delivered. The model whereby the state funds classrooms within which teachers deliver materials to large groups of students of a similar age but of dissimilar abilities, learning styles and motivation is no longer the only way in which the general population can be offered access to education. One of very many alternatives is that students are given learning vouchers that they then use to purchase what courses they need from whatever source they choose in a global market. Another approach is being adopted in a school in Florida, described in the text box, in which there will be no teachers in the traditional sense. (Note the authors are not recommending either of these models, so much as putting them forward by way of illustration of the many possible options available).

Parents, teachers, and school administrators across the United States are watching Polk County, Florida's Daniel Jenkins Academy, the nation's first school to offer a completely online curriculum in a classroom. There will be no classroom teachers at Daniel Jenkins Academy, although there will be counsellors, school facilitators, and resource teachers on hand to guide students, and the online teachers will visit students periodically.. The learning environment will be paced flexibly, with students having a larger input into when and what they learn [Government Technology, Aug 2000].

From a cultural perspective the technologically enabled trend to globalisation is being dominated by an English-speaking US inspired popular culture. Deep questions need to be asked, and answered, as to what it means to be Irish and European in the Information Age.

At an even more fundamental level the foundations upon which our Western education system has been built have been undermined. Christianity no longer provides an agreed basis on which to build a spiritual, moral and ethical value system. The principle of a liberal classical education in which the subjects taught were chosen for their perceived intellectual rigour and as a means to "sharing of common values and the passing on of cultural heritage" has been replaced by a system within which subjects are taught for their utility, whilst spirituality, morality and ethics are relegated to the role of an extra subject. Authors such as Noddings [1992], O Sullivan [1999], Sergiovanni [1992], and Starratt [1994] have written extensively on this topic.

When all these factors are taken into account, it becomes clear that with technology acting as catalyst for change our education system is need of major re-casting.

Main Recommendation - A.

Given the profound changes that society is undergoing this report argues that a high level think tank be established charged with no less a task than articulating principles for the future of our education system and devising a framework within which those principles can be enacted and continuously reviewed and evaluated. While the role of technology will be important in the agenda of this group it should not be driven by any technological imperative.

3.2 The call for a National Plan For Learning

"We have reached the situation where a system has to be created, a system of rewarding teacher training, a system to support collaborative learning, participation in international and national projects, a system of distance learning for teachers, for school pupils. And it is not the teachers' task to build this system" [OEF 1998].

Main Recommendation - B.

The second, and more immediate, major recommendation of this report, and the recommendation on which all other recommendations hang, is that a National Plan for Learning should be put in place as a matter of urgent priority. This plan, while obviously having major implications for current practice, would largely operate within existing structures and paradigms and could run in parallel with the deliberations called for under recommendation A.

As breakdown in compartmentalisation is a defining feature of the Information Age the national plan needs to cover not just formal education but also learning in the home, community and the workplace. Furthermore international experiences has shown that for any Information Age initiatives to succeed they must be championed by the highest level in Government with the full backing of the social partners.

It is not the intention of this report to be prescriptive on the exact contents and structure of the plan; rather key characteristics that such a plan could embody are suggested. These include a focus on learning with technology, strong support for professional development, and an emphasis on ensuring social inclusion by taking actions to bridge the digital divide.

The main recommendations associated with the plan for learning are listed in Table 1. Additional, more detailed recommendations under the headings of formal education, the workplace and the community are given in chapters 4, 5 and 6.

While some of the recommendations made in this document are novel many are not, nor should they be. Many have appeared in national and international fora such as the European Experts´ Network for Educational Technology (Eenet). They are an attempt to capture the current international and national thinking on best practice. Nor is this report suggesting that there are not already many good initiatives taking place in different areas. Rather this report calls for a sustained, nationally co-ordinated, properly focused, researched and funded initiative which will build upon what is best in current Irish initiatives while not being blind to current inadequacies.

3.2.1 An opportunity to leapfrog!

Given the very rapid rate of technological change, together with Ireland's current standing in the Information Age tables and the emerging understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of the use of ICT in learning, the country's need is not to play catch up with those countries who have already invested heavily in the area, but to play leapfrog in order to produce a well-educated, flexible workforce who are capable of thriving in an Information Age. This is not just a lofty aspiration but an essential requirement for our continued social and economic well being.

By focusing on learning with technology, investing heavily in professional development, breaking down barriers between sectors, learning from the mistakes of others and leveraging off the flexibility of post-PC technology Ireland could very well leapfrog past other nations and become an exemplar for constructive, cost effective, use of ICT to support and enhance learning.

Table 1 Main Recommendations Associated With The Plan For Learning

Discussion

This section discusses and elaborates upon a number of issues raised by this proposal. It justifies in more detail the recommendations made earlier and develops other recommendations made later.

3.3.1 ICTs and Learning

Much has been written about the advantages that Information and Communication Technologies can bring to learning: with the advent of the Internet, limitations of time and place are challenged; learning can take place asynchronously and one can potentially access an enormous diversity of materials and information. Motivation is key to learning and ICTs have a strong motivating power. The diversity and flexibility of ICTs also mean that different learning styles can be supported and the needs of second chance learners and of different social groups can be accommodated [Davis 1998, Jonassen et al. 1999, McCormick 1999, Maurer 1997, Somekh 1998, Tearle et al. 1998, Wade et al. 1998].

Evaluating "effectiveness" in the area of education and learning is notoriously difficult and around the world governments are struggling with ways in which to identify learning benefits from using ICTs in classrooms and so justify their considerable investments. Ireland is no exception; hence one of the major recommendations of this report is that all future initiatives in the area should have a research component embedded into the projects from the start.

Despite the difficulties in evaluating "effectiveness" a body of research is emerging which indicates that ICT is of significant benefit when used appropriately. In particular ICT is good at supporting many of those features of learning argued for previously such as a constructivist approach to learning; support for self-motivated learners; flexibility in terms of when and how one learns; flexibility in assessment; problem oriented, and project based, learning dealing with real world scenarios.

Some sample success stories include the following.

• Evaluations on the use by US 5^th grade students of the "Animalwatch Mathematics Tutor", which is designed to cater for the different learning styles, found that use of the Tutor increased student's performance, as measured by test scores. Of particular interest is that, while the Tutor is beneficial for all, it is particularly helpful for weaker student [Wolf 2000].
• According to McCormick [1999] with appropriate multimedia training material, course completion times can be reduced by 33% with competency levels rising by up to 50%.
• Quest (Questioning, Understanding and Exploring Simulated Things) is a site developed by the Natural History Museum in the UK. Its emphasis is on first-hand enquiry, exploring and investigating, asking questions and providing virtual tools to explore virtual objects, and notebook to record and share observations. It allows people to interact with exhibits in a new and challenging way [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/education/quest2/english/index.html].
• Wireless, lightweight portable computers have been found to increase best practice in learning, not only with students in the classrooms but also throughout the building and after school. Research on Microsoft's Anytime Anyplace Learning initiative Rockman et al. [1998] has indicated that laptops have a number of influences in the classroom including the following:
• Laptop students use their computers more often resulting in more proficient students;
• Laptop students write more and of higher quality;
• Laptops increase access to research resources and so improve analytical skills;
• Laptop students rely more on active learning strategies; and
• Teachers spend less time lecturing and more time facilitating student self-motivated learning.
• A study of a programme which provided laptops for all the teachers and students at a disadvantaged school in Manhattan's Harlem neighbourhood found that students became more motivated to attend and participate in school [AM 2000]. A similar effect has been observed in a NCTE SIP Project (St Joseph's College, Nenagh, County Tipperary) demonstrated at the Innovations in Learning Conference of June 1^st.

Collaborative, as well as constructivist, approaches to learning support concepts of cognitive apprenticeship and anchored instruction by providing an authentic or real-life context for learning, incorporating a number of ill-defined tasks that include integrated activities across the different subject areas. Leveraging the power of ICT collaboration can facilitate co-operation across large distances and can include leading experts in the field of study. Classic examples of the use of ICTs to support this type of learning include the following:

• Over 4,500 schools, representing more than 250,000 students, from all 50 U.S. States and 7 Canadian Provinces, participated in the spring 2000 Journey North Program [http://www.learner.org/jnorth]. Students collected data about a dozen different migrations and signs of spring. The documentation of Journey North extends for four months each year; with live data collection taking place from February until June.
• The Classroom of the Future (COTF) program in the US brings students and NASA scientists together to work on an International Space Station construction project. High school junior and senior students work at the Career Centre in NASA building a scale model of an International Space Station. [http://www.cotf.edu/].
• The Programmable Brick extends LEGO based construction kits enabling children to build not only structures and mechanisms but also behaviours. The brick is used in a NCTE SIP project, co-ordinated by St. Patrick's College of Education, based on the theme of storytelling. The demonstration at the conference on the 1^st of June was one of the best examples of the use of ICT in education according to the conference attendees' feedback forms. [http://el.www.media.mit.edu/groups/el/projects/programmable-brick/]
• Researchers at the Institute for Media Technology in Jönköping, Sweden argue that "because students are learning for real life and preparing to solve real complex problems in the future, the complexity of the world should be taken into account much more and much earlier than usually happens." One project had a group of 12-year students build a toy, or micro, greenhouse from a variety of materials ranging from cardboard to Lego. The environment within the greenhouse was continually monitored and controlled using a variety of technologies. In order to make the learning experience more real the process was then repeated on a larger scale with the goal of actually growing real produce for sale in the local market - a goal that was successfully achieved. The researchers strongly argue in favour of the use of technology to support such a constructivist learning project [Milard 2000].

3.3.1.1 Criticism Of ICTs For Learning

The use of ICTs is not without its critics. For example, Healy [1998] and Talbott [1997, 2000] recount many inappropriate uses of ICTs for learning and raise serious questions about the value for money that is accruing from the investment in ICT in education. Common problems they report are the poor pedagogical quality of many pieces of educational multimedia software, inappropriate lesson plans, the superficial nature of much of the content on the web, lack of appropriate teacher training and support, and the amount of teacher time taken up with computer maintenance and technical problems. Other reasons cited for poor learning outcomes are the lack of pedagogical support within educational software, learners' difficulties in using such systems [Bates 1995, Maurer 1997,Wade 1999], and the lack of innovative approaches to assessment in line with the pedagogy [Boucher et al 1997].

Another source of tension, even in the successful uses of ICTs, is that the role of the "teacher" is changed. The popular catch phrase that was used is that the teacher moves from "being a sage on the stage to being a guide on the side" With ICTs it is suggested that the model needed is "expert learner" amongst "learners" [SITE, 2000]. This raises questions not only about the role of the teacher but also about curriculum and assessment.

These are serious and valid criticisms and the recommendations made in this report are an attempt to ensure that these pitfalls are avoided.

3.3.2 Curriculum and Assessment Issues

The Internet is rapidly developing. There are thousands of educational portals with information, resources and lesson plans freely available. Not only do learners have access to texts but also to graphics, video, audio, 3D models, software, as well as resources that depend on connectivity such as access to experts and other learners.

The wide availability of learning material and resources combined with the changes in pedagogy discussed previously mean that the use of ICTs in any learning environment, and formal education in particular, must be seen as a curriculum issue rather than a mere technological one. Teachers need professional development to help them make appropriate use of the emerging learning materials and techniques while learners need to learn how to learn and to develop the range of high order thinking skills needed for the Information Age. These skills range from such basic ones as retrieving and imparting information to the creation of knowledge through analyzing and synthesizing information.

This is also the view adopted by a number of other Irish researchers and commentators. In a critique of the Ireland IT 2000 Strategy, Conway argues that: "IT 2000's rationale for integrating ICTs is primarily focused on perceived economic outcomes". He claims that: "IT 2000 underestimates the curricular scope of computer literacy and although it is not a curriculum document the inattention to the curricular scope of ICT integration is problematic" [Conway 2000]. This is in contrast to the UK, which has had a national policy of integrating ICT in the subject curriculum since the early 1980s. As an example Ireland's new Junior Certificate Syllabus for Mathematics that will be taught and first examined in June 2003, makes no mention of use of ICTs while internationally ICTs are seen to be key to the further development of mathematics and science education. Galvin [2000] makes a similar argument stating that: "a nation-wide, ICT initiative represents a curriculum intervention as well as a technical one. And successful curriculum intervention is notoriously difficult to achieve."

A key aspect of curriculum intervention is that of assessment. Constructivist, open-ended group and project based collaborative learning as advocated earlier does not sit easily in those parts of the current formal education system which are exam focused. There is considerably greater flexibility in the primary and transition years and it should be no surprise that it is in these areas that much innovation is taking place. Learning in the community, and, to a lesser extent, in the workplace, has much greater potential for flexibility.

Two other points are worth noting. Firstly as some resources are now only available on-line, ensuring equality of access becomes more important. Secondly, there is an urgent need to produce high quality learning materials specifically for the Irish context and Irish curriculum. While the NCTE's Scoilnet [www.scoilnet.ie] offers a framework within which this can be done, the development of high quality materials can only be provided by subject specialists equipped with the necessary skills for developing on-line learning material. These skills include not just knowledge of authoring packages but a good understanding of the appropriate pedagogical techniques to use in such a learning environment.

Recognising the need to develop appropriate integrated multimedia curriculum materials the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture has launched a school's competition [http://www.pntic.mec.es/mem/index.html] along the lines of the SpinAWeb competition that has been run by Trinity College Dublin since 1996 [www.spinaweb.ie].

3.3.3 Features of other National Plans

Given the emphasis being placed on the need for an overall National Plan for Learning some observations on initiatives in other countries are pertinent.

As pointed out by the TAC [1997] report, a serious long-term sustained commitment is needed in the area as initial interest and enthusiasm "often wanes over time, particularly in the case of exciting, timely, event-oriented projects, which may generate a degree of initial enthusiasm that is difficult to sustain over a protracted period." This is particularly true in the Irish case as the use of ICT spreads from the early adopters to the late majority.

The Government of Canada has made a strong commitment to keeping the country competitive in the global knowledge-based economy. The government promotes use of the Internet as a powerful tool for economic and social development for all Canadians, no matter where or how they live. To help Canadians take advantage of the Internet, the federal government has created a number of proactive, innovative programs and services designed for, and to allow input from, public schools and libraries, First Nations schools, the voluntary sector, rural and remote communities, small businesses, and recent graduates [www.connect.gc.ca/].

A classic example of strong leadership by government is seen in Sweden and the USA. In Sweden the IT Commission founded in 1994 was chaired by the Prime Minister and included 6 Ministers. The present commission was appointed in May 1998. It is chaired by the Minister of Industry and Commerce and consists of nine other key members of government. The Swedish vision is one of a "global" society, where people live in a small-scale local environment, but work in the large-scale global environment [http://www.itkommissionen.se]. In the US Vice President Al Gore popularised the phrase "The Information Superhighway" and both he and President Clinton have taken a personal leadership role in a number of funding initiatives including Netdays [http://www.netday.org/], the high-tech barn-raising initiative where they both volunteered their time [TAC 1997].

Swedish educational policy for lifelong learning focuses upon higher order skills, that is finding, interpreting, evaluating and presenting information A holistic view is taken of knowledge with an emphasis on theme-based tuition rather than division into subjects. Teacher training colleges have the responsibility to ensure that new teachers have sufficient knowledge of new teaching approaches [http://Knut.kks.se/english/ict/][http://www.skolverket.se/n/na.html].

Finland has one of the most comprehensive IT strategies. It is not just focussed on formal education but on all sectors and includes all citizens from the very young to the elderly. The initiative for large-scale assessment of ICT in Finnish education in 1998 came from the Parliament. The Finnish strategy highlights a new trend in innovation in learning that includes the learners in the strategy from the beginning. It acknowledges the students' information technology skills and intends to incorporate these in the curricula and practical operations of places of learning. Students will also assist in the preparation of teaching materials and are encouraged to participate through the awards of scholarships and fees. Competitions will be arranged with appropriate business sectors and awards distributed. Female students will be particularly encouraged to participate in information technology expert communities[http://www.minedu.fi/julkaisut/information/englishU/2/2.html].

Danish ICT policy stresses that teachers have to take the responsibility to update their own skills. It emphasizes that: "in the future there will be an increasing demand on the individual teacher to independently acquire new knowledge and methods within the ICT-area, just like other members of the labour market have to do" [http://www.uvm.dk/pub/1998/ICTstrat/1.htm]. There is a strong focus on the pedagogical possibilities of ICT use in both pre-service and in-service training, including its importance to the content, didactic and pedagogical principles of subjects. ICT use is encouraged both in the personal planning process and as an integrated element in the teaching and learning process [http://www.uvm.dk/eng/publications/10InformationCom/1.htm].

Much has been said in the literature about the changing role of the teacher, but national initiatives in Estonia emphasise an innovative role for students and learners. Students are encouraged to act as mentors and as mediators between students and teachers. Some Estonian schools required senior pupils to spend four hours a week mentoring and tutoring younger students [http://www.tiigrihype.ee/new/test/tiigrihype/timindex3.html].

3.3.3.1 Realistic Budgeting

Central to any National Plan must be the degree to which budgeting is realistic. Investment in hardware infrastructure alone is unlikely to yield dividends unless done as part of a larger exercise. At the core of this issue is not the fact that the effective lifespan of computers is short but that "the purchase price of a computer system represents only 25% of the cost of its operation over the period of its useful life" [TAC 1997].

The full cost of running an information system can be broken down into a number of broad headings, including: computers; peripherals; network infrastructure; software; support and maintenance; user training. Too often the hardware purchase price is assumed to be the major part of the investment. In the case of teachers, user training constitutes not just basic literacy but sustained professional development in utilizing ICTs for pedagogical purposes. Another factor has to be taken into account, namely free time in which to plan and prepare for the integration of ICT into teaching. It is difficult for teachers to upgrade their ICT skills, receive training on how to incorporate ICT into their teaching, plan and prepare for that integration in an already busy schedule.

Finally access to computers and the Internet must be free, or of minimal cost, and evaluation and dissemination of results, from a learning perspective, have to be built into programmes from the start.

Public-Private partnerships have a large role to play in funding ICTs in schools and this is a model that is being used extensively both internationally and locally as one component of the funding process. Care however must be exercised to ensure that the educational objectives are not dictated to by commercial concerns.

Internationally the prestigious panel of advisors to the US government, [TAC 1997], recommended that no more than 30% of ICT spending be allocated to hardware. While the computer literacy initiative in Slovenia [http://ro.zrsss.si/angl/okvir1.htm] allocated 30% of the budget for hardware and 20% for teacher training.

3.3.4 Technical Support

Technical support and administration of networks of computers is a problem issue in community learning centres and in primary and secondary school settings. An all too frequent complaint from teachers is that machines do not work or cannot be connected to the Internet. Healy [1998] reports numerous cases of learning with ICT being severely handicapped by technical support issues resulting in wasted time and effort at best and negative learning experiences at worst. There are a number of reasons for this.

Firstly, managing a network of PCs is a non-trivial task that requires a sophisticated level of expertise. Secondly, technical support is too often ignored in the budgeting and planning of ICT facilities. Thirdly, much of the commonly used operating system software was designed for use by a single user and is somewhat inappropriate for a semi-hostile multi-user school or community learning environment.

A common approach to overcoming these problems is to assign the responsibility for technical support to an ICT co-ordinator. If the co-ordinator is a teacher he or she may have neither the expertise nor the time to carry the task out properly. On the other hand if the co-ordinator is a technologist (and these are hard to find in the current economic climate) they are unlikely to have the knowledge or skills to play an active teaching role. This contrasts markedly with commercial organisations where technical support is budgeted into the costing from the start and appropriate software is used.

An emerging approach to this problem of support provision is to have it performed remotely over the Internet.

Licensing of software is also problematic. Purchasing software needs to be included in the overall ICT budget. The common trend is to use industry standard software but this not the only option. A strong case can be made for making much more use of open-source software such as the Linux operating system and associated applications. This would save considerably on cost and also has the advantage that Linux is a much more robust operating system for a multi-user environment. A disadvantage is its lack of familiarity. The level of expertise required to install and administer the software is not trivial but then any robust solution will require a reasonable level of technical competence. A more serious disadvantage is that it is unlikely to be the software that is running on home computers. An indication, however, that open-source is moving from the periphery to the main stream is that, according to New York Times, (August 28 2000), "The President's Information Technology Advisory Committee, a group of university researchers and corporate executives, will issue a report advising President Clinton to support open-source software as a way to meet the increasing demand for better software."

The current situation in Irish schools is far from satisfactory although the NCTE has piloted a number of different models that could be used as a basis for a national technical support policy. These include sub-contracting out the job of technical support, employing a dedicated technical administrator and relying on a third-level institution (DIT) to provide technical support through its staff and student body.PobalScoil Neasain [http://www.psn.ie] have developed their own modifications for security in Windows 95 and 98 systems and make use of Linux for network services.

3.3.5 The Digital Divide

The emerging "digital divide" between those who have access to ICT and those who do not is a cause of major international concern. The UN Economic and Social Council recently adopted a ministerial-level declaration calling on all members of the international community to work co-operatively to bridge the "digital divide", while according to TechNews [2000] the gap between the information "haves" and "have-nots" may never be closed if swift and drastic measures are not taken. The oft quoted statistic that there "are three times more telephones in Tokyo than in all of Africa, for populations of 23 million and 500,000 million respectively" gives some idea of the scale of the international divide. A divide that is being made worse because of the fact that "the rate of investment in telecommunications is greater in Tokyo than it is in all of Africa" [Channel 4 1997].

But this divide exists not only between developed and developing countries but also between the well off and the socially disadvantaged within each country. A recent US Department of Commerce study [AM 2000] found that 80 percent of households with incomes over $75,000 have computers, compared with just 16 percent of those with incomes of $10,000 to $15,000. In the US the "digital divide" is being tackled by a number of initiatives including a program run by the Education and Library Networks Coalition which provides schools and libraries with $2.25 billion in annual funding for affordable access to the Internet. The UK ICT Learning Centres initiative has allocated Stg £252 million for the creation of 700 community-based centres.

The Information Age is presenting great challenges to Irish communities with respect to inclusion and participation in society. Though these challenges can be met by promoting lifelong learning and providing access to the infrastructure of the Information Age, there is a real risk that existing divisions in society may be widened.

To deliver upon society's commitment to social inclusion it is necessary that the concept of Universal Access be embraced to the fullest possible extent. Three aspects of Universal Access need to be highlighted.

Financial. The most obvious barrier to access is financial. Mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure that people have access to Information Age resources regardless of their ability to pay for hardware. But hardware alone is not sufficient. Network access costs are also a barrier. For any learning environment what is needed is extensive and cheap - if not free - high-speed network access. Finally access is of no use if the users are not equipped with the skills to utilise the facilities and if they do not perceive that there is some real advantage to them in their particular social context.

The recommendations in the chapter on Community attempt to address this aspect of the digital divide.

Physical Limitations. ICTs have a special role to play in extending the capabilities of those with physical disabilities. This is probably best captured by the personal account of how technology has improved the quality of one young deaf woman's life as described in appendix 7.1, where she recounts how simple text messaging has made the phone network accessible to the deaf. A more high profile example of a physically disabled person benefiting from ICTs is Professor Stephen Hawkins from Cambridge.

As we put in place a new infrastructure, and develop new formats and genres for presenting information and communicating, it behoves us to do so in a fashion that maximises the opportunities for those suffering from various limitations to participate.

As a concrete example the US, and other countries, have made it a legal requirement that all government sponsored web sites are accessible to the visually impaired.

Different Cultures. The final barrier to Universal Access is cultural differences. No technology is neutral and the Internet comes to us with a very strong cultural bias. It is interesting to note that Finnish is one of the most common languages on the Internet. We need to consider how our Irish language and culture can be enriched in the Information Age and how minority cultures, such as those of the travelling population and incoming immigrants can be supported.

3.3.6 Computers and Internet Access

To continue the theme of learning with technology and ICT as a curriculum intervention, issues dealing with computer and Internet access need to be addressed. Around the world the trend is to improve the learner-to- computer ratio and to improve the quality of access to the Internet.

"More than 90% of lower secondary students in Canada, Finland, Iceland and New Zealand attend schools that have access to e-mail/Internet for instructional purposes. In Denmark, Luxembourg and Norway, between 75% and 85% of students are enrolled in schools either with e-mail/internet access, while in France, Italy and Japan the figure is between 55% and 75%. [Designing Tomorrow's Education Promoting Innovation with New Technologies Extracts taken from the Commission of European Communities, Brussels, 27.1.2000]

Although the school computer lab is a common way of deploying scarce resources technical advances and research findings mean that an alternative model should now be promoted within schools. Integration into the curriculum is easier when computers are in the classroom rather than in a separate lab. It has been found that learning improved more with even a modest number of computers in the classroom than when computers were deployed in a dedicated lab [Becker 2000]. Thus the focus should be on getting technology directly into the hands of the teachers and the learners.

Lightweight laptop computers combined with wireless local area network technology offer enormous potential and flexibility in meeting this objective. Technology has now developed to the point where certain high performance laptops are the size of an A4 page (when opened) and weigh no more than 3lbs. Wireless local area networks offer speeds of around 10 Mbps that is more than adequate for most applications. Wireless has further advantages: it avoids the overhead of extensive wiring; buildings can be networked with minimum disruption; wireless infrastructure can be moved between buildings, an important saving for schools going through building programs or undergoing renovations.

This report strongly argues that the combination of lightweight portable laptops and wireless networks are the best, and most cost effective, marriage of technological developments and educational flexibility and offer an opportunity to leapfrog over a generation of instructional technology. For example a 20 PC portable computer lab using lightweight laptops and wireless technology can be stored in a cupboard or moveable trolley and taken out for use when and where it is needed.

In recent years computers have moved from being specialist devices to becoming commonplace consumer products. It is now quite common for many pupils to have better computer facilities at home than in their school. This is a further argument in favour of flexibility in deployment of school computing resources.

Internationally a number of different schemes and funding models are being used to put technology in the hands of learners and teachers.

Sweden is offering a free PC for teacher graduates in order to move the technology into teachers' hands. 60,000 teachers are expected to be targeted between 1999-2001 [http://www.skolverket.se/skolnet/english/index.html].

In the UK for example the TTA is offering a subsidy of Stg. £500 to teachers to buy their own computer. This initiative follows on from the "Multimedia Portables for Teachers Pilot" which showed that, once they have uninterrupted access, teachers are prepared to invest time outside school to build their own ICT skills.

Research figures for the scheme (where selected ICT-novice teachers were given their own portable computer) show a dramatic increase in the participant teachers' use of IT: over 90% successfully used CD-ROMs, 76% successfully used the Internet and 95% used the portable at home and at school for planning and delivering their teaching [BECTA 1998].

Acadia University, one of the premier undergraduate colleges in Canada, has since 1996 been committed to providing students with the "Acadia Advantage", a programme aimed at full integration of computers and technology into university life [http://www.acadiau.ca/advantage/]. All students and staff have laptop computers and the university is moving towards wireless networking. The way in which pervasive technology has been woven into the fabric of the learning environment to such good effect makes Acadia one of the best international examples of the use of ICT for learning.

There are a number of initiatives around the world aimed at putting laptops and appropriate software into the hands of secondary school students and teachers, see for example Microsoft's Anytime Anywhere Learning Initiative [http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/aal/default.htm] and the initiative in Harlem described earlier [TAC 1997]. The initial feedback from the NCTE SIP project at St Joseph's College, Nenagh, County Tipperary, which uses wireless laptops in teaching general subjects for the Leaving Certificate Applied is very favourable.

In Italy the Prime Minister and Minister of Education and the Italian Bank encourage students to buy PCs at a special zero financial rate of interest. "PC for students" is targeted at approximately 600,0000 first year secondary school students [http://palazzochigi.it/fsi/eng/computer_x_student.htm].

It should be noted that leasing machines, and contracted support for those machines, is a common practice in the UK, and is a viable alternative to purchasing machines.

3.3.6.1 Internet Access

High-speed Internet access in the classroom is important if the potential of the Internet is to be realised. Recommendation 5 in table 1 called for a national learning network. This is in line with the eEurope 2002 call for "Adequate funds to update the trans-European backbone interconnecting the National Research and Educational Networks. Upgrading national research networks. And High-speed Internet access and intranets in all schools and universities." [EU 2000].

3.3.6.2 The Current Irish Situation

According to preliminary data, available from the NCTE at the time of writing, the student to PC ratio in post-primary is 13:1 and in primary is 17:1. This compares unfavourably to international figures, for example, of 5:1 for the USA.

he optimal use of computers will require that technology is available in a flexible manner throughout the school rather than in a computer lab. This in turn will support the use of technology throughout the curriculum rather than as a single subject.

3.3.7 Third Level Education

Traditionally the adoption of ICT within mainstream university educational programmes has been uneven and tends to be based initially around individual academics rather than as part of a planned, orchestrated support infrastructure. However, over the past five years the US, UK and other European countries have increased investment in WWW/Internet based educational technologies and services. In the UK considerable amounts of money were invested promoting ICT in higher education under the Teaching and Learning Technology Project (TLTP) and the Computers in Teaching Initiative (CTI). Coopers and Lybrand, the Tavistock Institute and the London Institute of Education evaluated the TLTP project and their evaluation report concluded that

existing products need to be embedded into teaching and learning structures for students. This requires the addressing of issues such as cultural change within departments, time for academics to work ICT based learning into their teaching curricula, staff development and training and even a fundamental change in the role of teachers in some higher education institutions (Somekh 1998)

In order to co-ordinate the usage and ensure best practice, universities have begun to set up what are effectively "Learning and Instructional Technology Centres" within each institution. Each centre has a mandate to assist academics in the adoption of best practice and application of ICT within educational programmes, for example the University of Bristol's Institute for Learning and Research Technology [ILRT], the University of Exeter's Learning and Technology Support Centre [LaTiS], and the University of Virginia's Teaching and Technology Initiative [TTI]. The lesson learned from such successful initiatives is that a holistic, educationally led, approach to ICT enhanced learning is required which is well integrated within the university's academic community and organisational infrastructure. A very important aspect of their success has been the integration of the support needed by an aspiring academic within a university (e.g. ICT assistance, pedagogic advice/training, materials design and development assistance, and administration). However, the provision of such centres and improved access to ICT resources are not enough. The "soft" factors that are essential to effective innovation also need to be addressed such as academic time and reward, as well as cultural change at the departmental level (Somekh 1998).

A second trend in the 1990s has been the growing convergence of the type of information and communication technologies required to support both on-campus and off-campus learning. An ever increasing number of universities in Ireland, UK and USA successfully offer courses for fully registered, on-campus students where a substantial part of the course is available on the Web and/or on CD-ROM. Students can access this material at any time, from computers located on campus, in residences, or at home.

These ICT technologies can also create the opportunity for internationally recognised scholars and academics to actively contribute to undergraduate or postgraduate courses as guest lecturers. Likewise such technology facilitates academics contributing to curricula in an international context. This can enhance an institution's reputation and increase participation and co-operation with other top tier universities.

In researching ICT enabled learning several common issues were identified. The following is a brief summary of some of the major challenges in supporting ICT enabled learning in third level institutions:

1. The need for combined pedagogic and technical support to assist in the design, implementation and deployment of such learning technology and digital materials.
2. It is important to note that this support should be tailored to the specific requirements of a college's faculties and departments as these vary significantly, based on their subject matter and educational goals, existing ICT infrastructure and experience within the Department, student location and movement. This should also take into account the relative disparity of student ICT experience across faculties and departments.
3. The need for academic awareness, staff training and professional development in order to achieve best practice for the integration of learning technology into existing and new courses or developments.
4. The need for improved academic and student access to software and hardware to create and deliver ICT based learning experiences. This will increase existing requirements on the computer/network infrastructure for hosting digital resources/learning tools as well as increasing pressure on terminal (PC/MAC) access for students on campus.It will also increase the volume of network usage both within colleges and between colleges and the outside (Internet).
5. There is a need to provide assistance regarding copyright issues of the use of externally produced digital images/text as well as copyright issues in digital delivery of content whose rights already reside in college(s).

Similar challenges and difficulties have been highlighted in the research literature arising from studies in the UK and US university sectors (Davis 1998, Laurillard 1993, Tearle et al. 1998). It is also important to realise that several of these, such as difficulties in student access to software & hardware, copyright of digital materials, electronic publication accreditation, staff/student development with ICTs are issues that universities already face and which will have to be addressed independently of the introduction of ICT enabled learning.

It is worth noting that strong similarities exist between the issues that arise in third level institutions.

3.3.8The Role of the Information Czar

"What is at stake during the next decade hinges on the capacity to innovate" [EU 2000b]

No report on the relationship between ICT and learning would be complete without some reference to the rate at which technology is developing. Moore's law on the rate on increase in computer technology is well known (the processing power doubles every 18-24 months) and has held good for the past thirty years. More recently improvements in communications technology have had a very visible impact on society - Ireland has a very high number of mobile phones per 1,000 population while Ocean are currently installing touch screen web browsers in bars around the country.

Planning for the use of ICTs for learning has to take into account the fact that, at least for the foreseeable future, ICTs will continue to develop at the same rate. With PCs and communication devices merging and morphing into new pervasive ICT devices it becomes all the more important that the use of ICTs in learning is both informed by sound educational principles and at the same time being open to the ever emerging new possibilities being presented by rapid technological development.

According to the Wall Street Journal of the 22^nd of August "Levi Strauss and Phillips next month will introduce the ICD+, a jacket that features a built-in cell phone, MP3 player, and headset. The jacket, which will retail for $900 at exclusive European boutiques, also includes remote and voice-activated controls." Whatever the future holds it seems unlikely that an educational model based an a single classroom in a school equipped with rows of PCs sharing a low-speed internet connection is appropriate for a class of teenagers wearing ICD+ designer jackets and carrying WAP phones!

An organisational model for this time of rapid technological development that is being adopted in many places is that of an Info Czar, defined as an individual who is primarily a "strategic technology planner capable of the highest level of technological understanding while at the same time being grounded in the needs and objectives of the organisation" [Berghel 1999].

Examples of this idea in practice can be found in the state of Maryland in the USA which recently appointed an Information Czar, [http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/20002/0614w.html#item4] and an opinon poll among chief information officers in CIO magazine which reported that "the United States needs a "computer security czar" to protect the nation's Internet security interests" [http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0818f.html#item2. 0]

4. Recommendations for the Formal Education System

This section provides detailed recommendations for the formal education system from primary through to third level, in addition to the recommendations already given.

1. Planning for the formal education system should be part of the overall National Plan for Learning.

IT2000 was essentially limited to the primary and secondary parts of the formal education system. To be more effective, any follow-on initiatives need to cater for all aspects of the formal education system and need to be integrated into the overall plan for learning that includes learning in the community, home and workplace.

2. The use of ICTs should be regarded as a curriculum intervention.

As argued in 3.3.2 the use of ICTs should be regarded as a curriculum intervention. The focus should be on learning with technology.

3. The existing expertise of the student base, in terms of technical know-how and as contributors to learning material, should be capitalized upon.

Several countries are seeking to support more learner-centred environments with Finland leading the way. The Finnish plan acknowledges students' existing information technology skills and intends to incorporate these "in the curricula and practical operations of educational establishments" [http://www.minedu.fi/julkaisut/information/englishU/2/2.html].

4. Rigorous research & dissemination is needed of existing initiatives, and research and dissemination models need to be built into all further initiatives.

There is a need to transform knowledge flow within the discipline by building on existing learning models in schools and promoting teacher use of ICTs in their own professional development so as to model best practice. There is a wide variation of how ICT knowledge is transmitted and acquired presently, across the EU, the most common means of communication recorded was through informal contacts or via the computer co-ordinator or technical assistant [EU 2000b].

Existing initiatives should as far as possible be researched and the results disseminated while all future national plans for the integration of ICTs in the formal educational system must include research into and dissemination of findings as an integral part of their planning from the beginning of the process and not something to be added after the initiative is well under way or has even been completed.

The focus should be on external evaluation and action research, or research that empowers educators to investigate their own environments. Student reflection of the successes and failures of initiatives should be included.

5. There is an urgent need for high-level teacher training focusing on techniques and skills for integrating ICTs into the curriculum.

Training teachers in the latest information technology is a continuing process, rather than a single event principals reported that teachers' knowledge/skills in using computers for instructional purposes was a bigger problem than a perceived lack of interest. [EU 2000b]

The educating of teachers in the use of ICTs in the classroom has been identified by many [for example, Glennan 2000] as one of the key actors in ensuring extensive use of new technologies in teaching and learning. Not only should teacher education be aimed at increasing IT literacy but also it should focus on how to utilise ICTs to improve learning, how to create teaching resources and how to exploit new learning opportunities. Using ICTs to help assess student progress, extending the scope of the present curriculum for gifted students while creating opportunities for repetition for those who are more challenged, as well as integrating technology into the instructional goals of the institution, are also pertinent topics.

Skills training is of course needed but so, too, is a deeper understanding of the role of technology in the classroom and in the teaching profession at large.

6. Support the development of curriculum material.

Subject specialists need to be supported in the task of providing high quality Irish curriculum content. This support should take the form of appropriate training in instructional design techniques and possibly release from other duties in order to have time to prepare the materials.

The following recommendations focus on access and infrastructure issues, the rationale for which was given in section 3.3.6.

7. Putting (lap-top) computers directly in the hands of teachers and students.

Uninterrupted access to ICTs greatly facilitates the constructive use of ICTs by teachers [BECTA 1998 b].

In 1999, many important Italian companies and banks (Telecom, Enel, Alitalia, Benetton, Banca di Roma etc) provided schools with their old (but perfectly working) computers. In March 2000, the Italian Government launched a national plan for spreading the use of computers among students at home, based on an agreement with the Italian Association of Banks. The initiative provides an interest-free loan for purchasing a computer.

In Sweden to promote teachers' acceptance in actively using ICTs in their teaching, the government aims that all teachers should have their own computer [http://Knut.kks.se/english/ict/].

8. For future infrastructure investments an emphasis should be on lightweight laptops and wireless networks.

Integration into the curriculum is easier when computers are in the classroom rather than in a separate lab and lightweight laptops combined with wireless networks offer a very flexible and cost effective means of achieving this.

9. Free high-speed Internet access in the classroom.

As part of the national learning Internet infrastructure, advocated earlier, high-speed (128kbps or greater) Internet access should be provided in the classroom. This is important if the potential of the Internet is to be realised in integrating ICTs into the curriculum. To ensure that the resource is used the cost of access needs to be modest or free.

10. Home Internet access costs need to be at rates comparable with those in North America.

This is a requirement to facilitate greater involvement of the home environment in the learning process.

11. Nationally Coordinated Technical Support

A cost-effective scheme needs to be put in place to provide reliable technical management and support of school PC networks. As indicated in section 1.9.4 the NCTE has carried out trials on a number of different models. The trials should be evaluated and a properly resourced nation-wide mechanism put in place.

In the UK for example there is a model for sub-contracting out technical support to a third party. This leads to more reliable systems and less demands on teachers and instructors but does course incur a financial overhead. While in Finland the expertise of students is used as part of the solution and they are encouraged to work with real problems and assignments. This is not just an aspiration in the national plan. Students will be recruited to aid in Information Technology support and maintenance tasks [http://www.minedu.fi/julkaisut/information/englishU/2/2.html].

12. Consideration should be given to using shareware systems as the standard school software

For reasons outlined in section 1.9.4 serious consideration should be given to making extensive use of shareware systems in schools.

13. Address the Digital Divide

In implementing all of the recommendations above steps have to be made to ensure that the initiatives are used to bridge the digital divide rather than extend it.

14. Promote a vision of Irish and European culture

We need to consider how our Irish culture can be enriched in the Information Age and how minority cultures, such as those of the travelling population and incoming immigrants can be supported.

The following recommendations are focused upon the third level sector.

15. Support for the establishment of a network of "Centres for Distributed Instructional Technology", within individual Universities/Institutes to provide integrated pedagogic and technical assistance for academics and course developers for those institutes.

These centres could each foster the use of ICT enabled learning within their host colleges but could be linked to promote best practice across the colleges. These centres could also support the cross-institutional co-operation in educational subject areas e.g. Science, Arts.

16. Support the introduction of staff development/training in the application and use of instructional technology.

17.Support research into ICT enabled learning in the tertiary educational sector.

5. Learning in the Workplace

"(Knowledge workers)require the ability to acquire and to apply theoretical and analytical knowledge. They require a different approach and a different mind-set. Above all, they require a habit of continuous learning." [Drucker 1999]

In Drucker's analysis, workplace training is seen as a necessary extension to the foundation provided by formal education and as a source of blurring the boundaries between the traditional education sectors.

The Government has an opportunity to promote workplace training, and to encourage the development of an infrastructure that will promote the most suitable training models for the Information Age within the framework of the recommended National Plan for Learning. This section provides recommendations for workplace learning in Ireland. The key features of the integration of the workplace provision of training into a National Plan for Learning are highlighted first before focusing on more specific aspects of workplace learning.

18. Integrate the promotion and support of workplace training into a co-ordinated National Plan.

Initiatives in the workplace should be done as part of the overall National Plan as is the case in Finland where there is a focus on: smooth transition from education to working life; opportunities for continuous updating and development of knowledge and skills; economic support systems which guarantee subsistence during study periods; efforts to make knowledge acquired outside the educational system equal in status to that acquired through formal education.

19. A key focus of the National Plan should be to promote and facilitate workplace training specifically for the SME sectors.

Recent Irish research has identified that large organisations are much more likely to have a staff-training budget than smaller organisations [LF 2000]. Those that hold such budgets justify them in terms of productivity and competitiveness, adapting to change and general employee personal development. It is no surprise that employers also feel the government needs to provide greater support for their training efforts.

At risk here is the creation of a new digital divide between those companies that can afford the time, cost and disruption that workplace training can incur, and those that can not.

20. The National Plan should include an emphasis on empowering the individual workplace learner as well as the companies.

Successful promotion of lifelong learning in Irish society and within the workplace will increase the demand for workplace training from the employee. They will become more aware that training will be vital for their own employability and will expect workplace training to be provided to protect their own position in a changed labour market.

21. Ensure that the right to workplace training is included in equal access legislation along with the means to take up the training.

Workplace training must be a right, enshrined within legislation, for all those with disabilities, and rights for other marginalized groups.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 in the United States explicitly commits small employers to provide the same access to workplace training as for the general workforce. It provides for equal access to the "benefits and privileges of employment" which include training. Further to this, the Act requires employers to provide adaptive and assistive technology in order for employees to perform their essential job functions.

The following recommendations address the sourcing of training and the empowerment of both the individual learners and the organisations.

22. Explore and research the provision of a learning network for vocational training in Ireland as part of a national integrated learning infrastructure.

The University for Industry (UfI) is the UK collaboration between the public and private sectors. It was established to promote lifelong learning for individuals and businesses and to provide access to high quality courses through a network of learning centres and through the use of ICTs [http://www.ufiltd.co.uk/].

The LearnDirect branding within the UfI allows for this targeting. LearnDirect offers access to courses (CDROM, Internet based or based in local centres) as well as information on funding assistance and childcare provision. While it proclaims interest in all learning the initial search categories are Basic Skills, Business and Management, Information Technology, Multimedia, Retail and Distribution. The courses on offer are a result of the collaboration between business, content providers and the UfI.

There is currently research exploring the extension of the UfI to Ireland.

23. Encourage workplace learners to engage in wider learning with provision of, and information on, courses and implement mechanisms to target the promotion of learning in certain key Information Age skill areas.

In order to engage them, individual workplace learners must be empowered within their own learning. This entails providing them with an element of choice and the means to pursue their choice.

The United Kingdom Learning Accounts provides discounts on many courses, financial assistance and, most importantly, information about the range of courses available and covered in the Learning Account schema. There is a strong emphasis on Personal Development training and on the employers working in conjunction with their employees to assist this training [http://www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/ila/].

The following recommendations address the content of workplace training.

24. Address the area of workplace literacy in vocational training

Workplace literacy is a changing and evolving set of literacies necessary to function competently in the workplace. It consists of three R's (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic), and such skills as learning how to learn, teamwork, problem-solving, and communication.

In Canada the TOWES scheme offers an assessment tool for a test of workplace essential skills as result of a demand from employers. This demonstrates the recognition of basic skills requirements within the business sector [http://www.towes.com/whatis.htm].

25. Develop and promote teleworking training and target the provision at areas or individuals with most to gain from this new style of working.

26. Raise awareness of the potential benefits of teleworking through publicity and seminars for the business community.

Teleworking represents one of the major organisational changes of the Information Age. It offers flexibility and advantages for both the employers and employees. It can also open up the workforce to marginalized members of community who suffer otherwise because of rural location, disability or family commitments. The TELMET project for example is co-funded by the European Commission and aims to provide a training methodology for organisations and individuals who wish to avail of the process [http://www.telmet.org/index.html]. Ireland has also taken initiatives in this area such as reported in the National Advisory Council on Teleworking, which lead to the founding of the eWork Action Forum [http://www.entemp.ie/ecd/Telework.html].

It is not within the scope of this document to cover the full range of implications of teleworking in the Information Age, though the infrastructure recommended in this report in terms of access and networking are also essential for the successful implementation of teleworking.

27. Develop a framework to evaluate workplace and IT related training that includes accreditation and provision for progression.

With the rise of lifelong learning and the increased workforce mobility in the Information Age, it is imperative for both the employee and the employer that a new approach to accreditation is taken. The system must be recognised by all and maintain high standards.

The Irish Government has been instrumental in devising such a framework.

The Government has now published the Qualifications (Education and Training) Bill, 1999. The principal aims of the Bill are, first, to establish and develop standards of knowledge, skill or competence; second, to promote the quality of further education and training and higher education and training; third, to provide a system for co-ordinating and comparing education and training awards and, fourth, to promote and maintain procedures for access, transfer and progression. (Minister for Education and Science, M. Martin 1999).

28. Explore and research a scheme for accreditation based upon a skills card concept for the fundamental skills required for employment in the Information Age. This should be integrated into a national learning strategy and form part of the national qualification framework.

In the European Commission White Paper on Teaching and Learning - Towards a Learning Society, [EU 1995] the issue of personal skills cards is raised. The upheaval, as a result of the Information Society, the impact of internationalisation, and the impact of ICTs challenge the provision and accreditation of training. The cards themselves would attest to an individual's ability in respect of fundamentals of basic education (the three Rs) as well as the new fundamentals of the Information Age (ICT literacy). They can be extended to include vocational and technological skills and allow alternative routes of progression to the more formal ones currently available.

29. Ensure the mutual recognition of overseas and domestic qualifications in a national qualifications framework to account for the increased mobility of labour in the Information Age.

In an increasingly globalised economy and job market, systems must be developed to assess and recognise the value of qualifications gained overseas. This is vital to ensure that employers are confident in the skills of their potential employees, and that the qualifications earned anywhere in the world are valued within the global economy.

The National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) is part of the Australian Commonwealth department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs [http://www.detya.gov.au/noosr/aboutnoosr.htm]. This organisation not only provides advice and assistance in the area of recognition; it also encourages the creation of international agreements on global recognition and accreditation.

30. Support the promotion and extension of the Excellence through People standards (FÁS). Encourage closer links between this standard and the education and training sectors.

Competency standards are also gaining a large degree of significance in the professional environment. These help identify the skills and knowledge required by employees to perform their job in a professional and impartial manner. The standards underpinning the National Vocational Qualifications in Britain offer a prime example of partnership between the industry organisations and the national accreditation infrastructure [http://www.itnto.org.uk/html/itnto.htm].

31. Evaluate and assess the operation of the National Training Fund to ensure that it is supporting high quality training that is relevant to the aims of the Government.

In the Budget speech of 1^st December 1999 the Minister for Finance announced the formation of a National Training Fund financed through employers' PRSI contributions [McCreevy 1999]. The fund is managed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and aims to "to achieve the goal of improving skills and facilitating lifelong learning." As with all initiatives on-going action research and dissemination of results are needed.

6. Learning in the Community

The Information Age presents great challenges to Irish communities with respect to inclusion and participation in society. Though these challenges can be met in part by promoting lifelong learning and providing access to the infrastructure of the Information Age, there is a real risk that existing divisions in society may be widened.

The Irish Government is increasingly recognising the importance of the community sector in its provision for education and training. The White Paper on Adult Education - Learning for Life (July 2000) is a comprehensive document highlighting the nature and dynamism of the Community Education sector in Ireland. It stresses a commitment to support the sector and to facilitate its work in Irish society, structurally and financially. "10% of the annual increase provided under the Back to Education Initiative will be allocated on an on-going basis exclusively for the development of Community Education."

This document recognises the unique nature of the sector and recommends a commitment to further involve such groups in the provision and delivery of Community Education. The challenge is to integrate the Adult Education White Paper into a National Learning Plan in order to merge the traditionally separate sectors of formal education, workplace training and learning in the community.

The following recommendations are categorised under the physical environments where the learning could take place.

6.10 Libraries

32. Support the Public Access Network (PAN) proposal as part of a wider national learning infrastructure. To this end, the libraries will need to be included in the proposal for a national backbone network.

Libraries will need to expand their role of information providers so as to take account of the changes in technology. The Irish Library Council's recent report "Joining Forces" recommends the establishment of a public access network (PAN Ireland) to provide access to information sources with an emphasis on learning, lifestyle and citizenship. Such a resource would play a vital role in a national learning infrastructure.

The People's Network in the United Kingdom aims to have all Public Libraries connected to the information superhighway by 2002. An explicit theme within this project is the promotion and support of lifelong learning. "The Team's work will be to co-ordinate the work of library services across the UK in implementing the Network Infrastructure, evaluating the Staff Training programme and supporting the Content Creation process." [http://www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk/index.html]

33. Promote Libraries as ICT community access points to use their "beacon" status to maximum advantage. Extra funding should be targeted at libraries in low-income or disadvantaged areas so as to tackle the greater needs and to diminish the growth of a digital divide within Irish society.

Utilising libraries to provide community access to ICTs draws upon many of the strengths inherent in the library system within Ireland, not least of all their national coverage and their role within the local community. Possibly the most exciting potential in this area is "specific targeting" whereby extra provision for ICT access can be provided to those libraries in low-income communities or areas where specific need is identified, such those with a high refugee population.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offers an example of good practice in the targeting of funding in such a way. "The five-year goal of the Library Program is to provide grants to the more than 11,000 libraries in the United States and Canada serving low-income communities; provide training to librarians; and to ensure information access for future generations." [http://www.glf.org/learning/libraries/libraryprogram/default.htm]

34. Increase library staff training in the use of ICTs and access, and include ICTs in a programme of sustained professional development.

As for all other areas of learning the relevant professionals need appropriate professional development not just in skills training but in how to use ICTs creatively and constructively.

The New Opportunities Fund (UK) via the Peoples Network has allocated £20 million for the training of all library staff in the use of ICT. In the United States, the grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation include significant provision for the training of library staff.

The professional development of library staff is vital to the success of the libraries in this area. They will be the primary point of contact for many people embarking upon lifelong learning through ICTs. Staff confidence, gained through high quality on-going professional development, will act as a promotion of lifelong learning.

35. Develop a national distance education strategy within a National Plan, integrated with elements developed within the Public Library sector. The distance learning strategy must include partnership with national learning agencies and the private sector.

The nation-wide coverage of libraries in Ireland (318 branches and 30 mobile libraries) places them in a pivotal role in the provision and support of distance education either for the rural communities or those for whom distance education is the most suitable way of participating in study or lifelong learning.

Project Listed is a Telematics for Libraries European project which aims to integrate library services and distance learning courses to assist and support learners. This project has partners around Europe including the Irish Library Council [http://www.itpoint.org.uk/listed.html].

The project focuses on design and evaluation of learning support systems for distance learning through the public libraries systems of the partner countries. It also considers the needs of disadvantaged groups (the elderly, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities) and the technologies involved. It selects the most appropriate technologies for each situation.

"DERAL is a co-funded project under Telematics for Libraries which aims to encourage public libraries to play an increasingly important role in the transfer of information, knowledge and education to users who have difficulty in following normal courses of study". [http://deral.infc.ulst.ac.uk/]

36. Establish an advocacy organisation specifically for the area of ICTs in the library system either attached to an existing Irish library organisation or as a distinct entity.

The challenge facing libraries in the information age is well-documented ILC [2000] and the Irish library system is taking measures to deal with the issues arising [ILS 2000]. There is an international trend towards specific advocacy organizations in order to research, promote and disseminate information about the new challenges.

The Library and Information Technology Association is a division of the American Library Association and exists to educate, serve and reach out to the profession in the specific area of ICTs in libraries. It has a well-resourced web presence that allows for the dissemination of best practice, advice, checklists and discussion forums [http://www.lita.org/new_index.html].

Libraries for the Future is a North American advocacy organization founded in 1994 to "make accessible to all who wish to use them: collections, on-line information, learning services, public programs and public space. These will be accessible in terms of location, hours, availability of support services, languages, formats and content." [http://www.lff.org/]. When focusing specifically on learning, they aim to "involve citizens in planning and delivery of information and learning services; they will provide local and virtual space for research, education and problem-solving; and they will be responsive to the information and learning needs of each local community."

6.11 Community Schools

37. Establish a training programme for community educators with an emphasis on inclusion, community and leadership.

Recognising the need for specific training for community education and especially the need for leadership in the community education sector, the National Centre for Community Education in Flint, Michigan in the United States of America runs training courses and workshops. Flint is the school district where a famous partnership between Frank Manley, a local teacher, and the philanthropist C. S. Mott was formed in the 1930s. The Flint school district has modelled all of its schools on a community school concept with an emphasis on adult education, access to the community, inclusive education and research and training [http://www.nccenet.org/the_center/index.htm].

38. Create and resource a community education advocacy organization to promote and research community education through community schools.

The National Community Education Association also began work in Flint, Michigan though it is now centred in Washington. Whilst it also trains and provides assistance to community educators, its role is more of an advocacy organization [http://www.ncea.com/]. A national advocacy organization could help to prevent community education and the development of community schools being seen as the poor relation in the education sector by assisting in such activities as sourcing of research funds and dissemination of best practice.

39. Promote and fund access to resources for schools that open up to the community and integrate the community into their overall mission.

6.12 Community Technology Centres

40. Establish pilot Community Technology Centres targeted in areas of specific need and designed with the community. The pilot projects should be of differing scales to demonstrate the flexibility of the model, and allow for imagination and innovation in learning.

The British ICT Learning Centres Initiative aims to target ICT provision in areas of most need with the creation of 700 centres. The pilot projects (known as the Pathfinder projects) demonstrate a community approach, which focuses on reaching the target population and encouraging a return to education. In the 13 Pathfinder projects there are examples of mobile units and centres based in community locations outside of the traditional education sector such as Football Grounds (Burnley) and Public Houses [http://www.dfee.gov.uk/ict-learning-centres/index1.htm].

41. Government Departments responsible for housing should develop the Neighbourhood Network concept within Ireland.

Neighbourhood Networks are an initiative of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). They target ICT provision within housing developments. These resources are developed with co-operation between the community, local enterprises and the department. They are designed to be self-financing and community based. At present there are 600 of these centres in operation and 700 in the planning stage [http://www.hud.gov/nnw/nnwindex.html]. As part of their involvement, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development plays a vital role in the research of the effectiveness of these centres and the dissemination of Best Practice.

In a US National Science Foundation survey of 800 low income users of existing CTCs, 90% reported a positive difference in their work, educational, recreational and civic lives, improvements in confidence, outlook in life and future prospects. They are also more likely to pursue additional education.

6.13 Learning Grids

42. Establish a National Learning Grid for Ireland, as part of a co-ordinated national infrastructure within a National Learning Plan.

The National Grid for Learning was developed as an essential part of the UK Government's commitment to ICT in Education and Lifelong Learning. It aims to provide "an architecture of educationally valuable content on the Internet" with reference to three core groups: [http://www.ngfl.gov.uk/ngfl/index.html]

1. The learner
2. The education and lifelong learning services
3. Industry

Launched in November 1998, the NGfL now contains in excess of 5,000 hosted content pages and 250,000 indexed pages. As part of a wider strategy it aims to provide more than just access to education sites for learners. It promotes the provision of content that the NGfL itself assesses and approves before posting.

The Education Network of Australia (EdNA) contains over 9,000 links for educational resources which in turn link to over 230,000 sites [http://www.edna.edu.au/EdNA].

43. Co-ordinate and promote the creation of community grids alongside a national grid, as part of a national learning strategy.

Community grids are similar to the National grids that they are linked into; however they offer important extra facilities. They can promote business expansion, link local learning providers and potential learners, and connect local community groups and advertise events, although their focus is on learning.

As highlighted throughout this section lifelong learning in the community needs to be about more than vocational and ICT training. Lifelong learning and the use of the connectivity of ICTs can contribute significantly to the cohesion and empowerment within communities in Ireland.

Flexibility of the model for community grids is important. Community grids need to be designed with the local communities' active participation and as with much on the Internet, the services offered will provide the key to a grid's success.

CITINET is Sheffield's network of learning centres. It is a partnership between private, public and voluntary organisations, which aims to make learning more accessible and so increase the learning opportunities available to Sheffield's citizens. [http://www.citinet.org.uk/]

7. Appendices

7.1 Contributors To The Report

The report was prepared by Centre for Research in IT in Education at Trinity College Dublin. The principal investigator was Dr. Bryn Holmes. The report was edited by Bryn Holmes, Tim Savage and Brendan Tangney.

Many people contributed to this report, including: Ann FitzGibbon, Anne Gilleran, Damian Gordon, Dearbhaill McKibben, Eileen Brennan, Elizabeth Oldham, Paul Lynch, and Vincent Wade.

Thanks are due to Seamus O'Canainn and everyone on the Information Society Commission's Learning Advisory Group and the very many people who contributed to the Conference held on the 1^st of June.

The authors would also like to acknowledge the help and assistance offered by Antony Adams and W. Tulasiewicz - School of Education University Cambridge, R. Gilpin & Valerie Gilpin African Development Bank, and Vance Gledhill - University of Sydney.

7.2 Membership of Information Society Commission's Lifelong Learning Group

• Mr. Séamus Ó Canainn, Blackrock Education Centre (Chairman)
• Mr. Donal Connell, 3com
• Ms. Paula Carey, ICTU
• Ms. Kathi Dillon, NESTA
• Mr. Mike Egan, AONTAS
• Mr. Frank Kelly, Dept of Education and Science
• Mr. Terry Landers, Ericsson
• Mr. Brendan Murphy, FAS
• Mr. John Pierce, ICL
• Ms. Ailish Looby, Dept of Enterprise Trade and Employment
• Mr. Simon Hare, Dept of the Taoiseach
• Ms. Norma McDermott, Library Council
• Mr. John MacMahon, RTÉ

7.3 Technology for the Deaf - One Person's Story

How can disabled persons benefit from the promises of the Information Society? In an attempt to reach an answer to this question, read the words of this young student, profoundly deaf, as she describes how modern technologies has transformed her life.

"Technology has made a huge difference to the lives of deaf people, that's for sure! In my own experience, Hearing Aids have made a big difference - lots of deaf people who can speak orally wouldn't have been able to do so without them. They also really help me in lip-reading. Video Caption readers: for decoding subtitles on videos came out a few years ago and believe me, I can't stop taking out videos! I got a Minicom when I was about fourteen. It was brilliant being able to just call up friends, a few years ago, we got a fax, which is handy too.

Last year in college, email was really handy in making contact with other people on campus, as I couldn't phone them. This year, I still use it, but it's more for keeping in contact with people I don't see, like my sister who's in Japan. I don't really depend on it for convenience or day-to-day use now that I have a mobile phone. I use the Internet to look up things for college sometimes, but it has been a fantastic help these last few weeks as I'm going to San Francisco on the J1 visa this summer and I was using it to look up information on jobs etc. Email will be very useful when I'm over there for keeping in contact with people at home.

This year, I used text messages on my mobile phone which has transformed my life!! Nearly all deaf people of my age would have them, and now we no longer have to rely on asking people to make calls for us. The most significant thing all these technological devices have done is helped deaf people become independent. It's really a noticeable change - before I'd have had to ask someone to make a call for me. Now I can just text someone to arrange something when in town by myself. I was able to take the whole San Francisco trip into my own hands, using the Internet and email to track down information. I can now just take out a video without seeing if there's anyone who can watch it with me to interpret.

I don't really know to what extent it has changed the job market for deaf people but I do know lots of deaf people who work with computers. It's definitely an area that they wouldn't be at a disadvantage in. I'd imagine the more we rely on computers and on communication by email etc rather than the phone, the easier it will be for deaf people to make their way up the career ladder." Cathy Heffernan (May 2000).

Bibliography

• AM [2000] Staff Writer "Computers in the Home", Access Magazine, 18 June 2000
• AM [2000a] Staff Writer "Laptops in the classroom", Access Magazine, 18 June 2000
• Bates, A. W. [1995]. Technology, Open Learning and Distance Education, London: Routledge.
• Becker, H. [2000] "Access to classroom computers", Communications of the ACM, Vol. 43, No. 6, June
• BECTa.[1998] Open for Learning Open for Business - Summary of the Government's National Grid for Learning Challenge. November. http://www.becta.org.uk/information/ictnews/nov98/autocabs1000.html
• BECTb. [1998: b] How learning is changing: information and communications technology across Europe - ICT in education policy, London: BECTa. Publication.
• Berghel, H. [1999] "The cost of having analog executives in a digital world", Communications of the ACM, Vol. 42, 11 (Nov.).
• Bobby http://www.cast.org/bobby
• Boucher A. et al [1997] Information Technology Assisted Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, HEFCE Research Series. Bristol: Higher Education Funding Council for England
• Bressler, S. & Grantham C. [2000] Communities of Commerce: Building Internet Business Communities to Accelerate Growth, Minimize Risk and Increase Customer Loyalty, Toronto: McGraw Hill.
• Caine, R. & Caine G. [1977] Education on the Edge of Possibility. Alexandria: Va., ASCD
• Chamber of Commerce of Ireland [1999] Labour Force 1999, Dublin: Chamber of Commerce of Ireland
• Channel Four [1997] Visions of Heaven and Hell.
• Children's Libraries [2000] http://chilias.diba.es/ or http://www.haef.gr
• CISCO [2000]http://wwww.wired-classroom.com
• Conway, P. [2000] "Schools Information Technology (IT) 2000: Technological Innovation and Educational Change" Irish Educational Studies, Vol. 19, Spring
• Davis, N. [1997] "Future Trends" in Globalising Education, Trends and Applications, R. Mason (ed). London: Routledge.
• Davis, N. [1998] "Strategies for staff and institutional development for IT in education - An integrated approach", in Somekh, B. & Davis, N. (eds.) Using IT Effectively in Teaching and Learning, London: Routledge.
• Dearing, R. [1997] Higher Education in the Learning Society, Norwich: HMSO
• DES [2000]. Department of Education and Science Learning for Life: White Paper on Adult Education, Dublin: Government Stationary Office.
• Drucker P. F. [1999] Management Challenges for the 21st Century. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Drury, C. & ISC Lifelong Learning Group [1999] Building a Capacity for Change: Lifelong Learning in the Information Age, Dublin: Information Society Commission.
• EENet [2000] The European Experts´ Network for Educational Technology http://www.eenet.org/
• Estonia Foundation [1998] Education Change in the IT Era: Vision and Reality, Tallinn: Estonia 1998.
• EU [1995] White Paper on Education and Training - Teaching and Learning - Towards the Learning Society COM(95) 590, November 1995. http://europa.eu.int/en/record/white/edu9511/index.htm Fiske, E. & Ladd H. (2000). When Schools Compete: A Cautionary Tale, Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press
• EU [1999] European Commission Information Society Technologies: Challenges and Opportunities, Luxembourg: Office for the Official Publications of the European Communities. http://www.oef.org.ee/conference/materials/villems.html
• EU [2000] European Council in Feira Eeurope: An Information Society for All: Draft Action Plan, http://europa.eu.int/comm/information_society/eeurope/documentation/index_en.htm
• EU [2000a] The eEurope 2002 initiative, http://europa.eu.int/comm/information_society/eeurope/documentation/index_en.htm
• EU [2000b] DDesigning Tomorrow's Education Promoting Innovation with New Technologies, Brussels, Report of the EU Commission Report to the Council and the European Parliament
• Gledhill, V. [2000] Innovations in learning in the information age. Hitachi European Symposium 2000
• Grubb, N. [1999] The Roles of Evaluation for Vocational Education and Training: Plain talk on the Field of Dreams, Geneva: International Labour Office
• Handy, C. [1989] The Age of Unreason, Princeton: Harvard Business School
• Healy, J. [1998] Failure to connect, New York: Simon & Schuster
• IDC [2000]. World Times Information Society Index 2000
• IDRC [2000] Bridging the Gaps in Internet Development in Africa http://www.idrc.ca/acacia/studies/ir-gaps.htm
• ILC [2000] The Irish Library Council. http://www.iol.ie/~libcounc/
• ILRT [2000] Institute for Learning and Research Technology, Bristol University, UK http://www.ilrt.bristol.ac.uk/
• Jonassen, D. et al. [1999] Learning with technology: a constructivist perspective, Merill: Prentice Hall
• LaTis [2000]. Learning and Teaching Support Centre, Exeter University, UK
• Laurillard, D. [1993] Rethinking the University. London: Routledge
• LeDoux, J. [1996] The Emotional Brain, New York: Simon and Schuster
• Lyon, D. [1988] The Information Society: Issues and Illusions, Cambridge: Polity Press
• Mansell, R. & When, U. [1998]. Knowledge Societies: Information Technology for Sustainable Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Martin M. [2000] Press Release by Micheál Martin T.D., Minister for Education & Science regarding the Government Education and Training Bill. http://www.irlgov.ie/educ/press/pressOct99.htm
• Massy, M. & Zemsky R. [1995] Using information technology to enhance academic productivity, CAUSE Conference 1995, www.educase.edu/nlii/keydocs/massy.html
• Maurer, H. [1997]. Necessary Ingredients of Integrated Network Based Learning Environments. Proceedings of EdMedia 1997
• McCormick, S. [1999]"The case for visual media in learning" Syllabus, 4-6
• McCreevy, C. [1999] Financial Statement of the Minister for Finance Mr. Charlie McCreevy. TD 1 Decemeber 1999 http://www.irlgov.ie/finance/Budget00/speech.htm
• McDonald, T. [2000] "UN Urged to Close Global Digital Divide" E-Commerce Times (06/20/00); TechNews http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2000-2/0626m.html#item1
• McGuinness, S. [2000] Educational Challenges in the New Millenium, Mullingar: Westmeath Vocational Committee
• Milard, M. [2000] "Building and Using Simulation Based Environments for Learning about Complex Domains", Proceedings of the M/SET-2000 Conference, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, Feb 2000
• NCES (2000) National Centre for Educational Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/
• NIACE (2000) National Organisation for Adult Learning. http://www.niace.org.uk/
• Noddings, N. [1992] The Challenge to Care: an alternative approach to education London: Teachers College Press.
• O'Sullivan, E. [1999] Transformative Learning: Educational Vision for the 21^st. Century, Toronto: OISE/UT in Association with the University of Toronto Press/Zed Books
• OECD [1999] Economic Survey of Ireland 1999, Paris: OECD
• OECD [2000] Knowledge Management in the Learning Society - Education and Skills, Paris:
• Papert, S. [1994] The Children's Machine: rethinking school in the age of the computer, London: Harvester Wheatsheaf
• Pinker, S. [1997] How the Mind Works, New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
• President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, Panel on Educational Technology (2000). The Report to the President on the Use of Technology to Strengthen K-12 Education in the United States. March 1997. In The Jossey-Bass Readers in Technology and Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Co. http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OSTP/NSTC/PCAST/k-12ed.html
• Prodi, R. [2000] President of the European Commission. Shaping the New Europe European Parliament. Speech given as President of the European Commission. Strasbourg, February 2000
• Robinson, M. [1999] Speech on being inaugurated as Chancellor of the University of Dublin, http://www.tcd.ie/Secretary/Events/PE9899/chancellor.html
• Rockman, et al. [1998] Report of a Laptop Program Pilot. http://www.microsoft.com/education/download/aal/research2.rtf
• Rogers, D. [2000] A paradigm shift: technology integration for higher education in the new millennium. Educational Technology Review, Spring 2000.
• Sergiovanni, T. J. [1992]. Moral Leadership: getting to the heart of school improvement San Francisco: Jossey- Bass
• Somekh, B. [1998]. "Supporting Information and Communication Technology Innovations" in Higher Education, Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1998
• Starratt, R. J. [1994] Building an Ethical School: a practical response to the moral crisis in schools London: Falmer Press
• TAC [1997]. US Technology Advisory Committee Report to the President on the Use of Technology to Strengthen K-12 Education in the United States. http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OSTP/NSTC/PCAST/k-12ed.html
• Talbott, S. [1997] The future does not compute. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly &Associates, Inc.
• Talbott, S. [2000] "Netfuture" http://www.ora.com/people/staff/stevet/netfuture/inx_topical_all.html#Education_and_computers.
• Tearle, P. et al. [1998] "Six case studies of Information Technology-Assisted Teaching & Learning in Higher Education in England", Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1998
• The Library Council [2000]
• Toffler, A. & Toffler H. [1995] Creating a New Civilization: The Politics of the Third Wave. New York: Turner Publishing Company.
• Toffler, A. [1970] "Future Shock", New York: Random House.
• UK Computers for Teachers Project http://www.teach-tta.gov.uk/ict/index.htm
• UNESCO - Learning Without Frontiers http://www.unesco.org/education/lwf/index.html
• UNESCO World Heritage Site http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mdm/register/index.html
• UNESCO. [2000] World Communication and Information Report 1999-2000, Paris: UNESCO Publishing
• US Department of Commerce (1998). The Emerging Digital Economy. Washington, D.C., National Technical Information Service.
• Villems, A, (2000). Is teacher a leader, a brakeman or just dragging along? On OEF Education Change in the IT Era: Vision and Reality Tallinn, Estonia November 14, 1998 http://aef.oef.org.ee/conference/materials/villems.html
• Wade, V. P. & Power C. [1998] "Evaluating the Design and Delivery of WWW based Educational Environments and Courseware", in ACM 3rd annual conference on Integrating Technology into Computer Science Education (ITiCSE)
• Wade, V. P. et al. [1999] "Network Based Delivery & Automated Management of Virtual University Courses", AACE World Conference on Educational Multimedia And Hypermedia & World Conference on Educational Telecommunications 98, (EDMEDIA&ED-TELECOM '98), Germany, June 1998
• Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) http://www.w3c.org/wai
• Wolf B. [2000] "Gaining Confidence in Mathematics: Instructional Technology for Girls", Proceedings of the M/SET-2000 Conference, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, Feb 2000.