Minister in interview with Dr Tony Hall (2) [educationmatters.ie]
- Published: 22 November 2011
Q. The recently-published EU Kids Online report questions the notion of the "digital native", pointing to a potential lack of digital literacy, and passivity in the way young people conceptualise and use technology.
The recent OECD report on ICT (Information and Communications Technology) in Initial Teacher Education recommends the development of clearly articulated policy that will effectively support teachers in the use of ICT in schools.
- What is your vision to ensure young people and their teachers have the necessary ICT competences and skills to participate creatively and fully in the Knowledge Economy/ Knowledge Society?
- Are there any new initiatives, investments or curriculum developments that you plan to introduce to improve ICT in schools?
A. The Government is committed to ensuring that ICT is integrated into the curriculum and education policy development.
For example, one of the objectives of the junior cycle reforms is to promote increased creativity and innovation and better embed ICT across the curriculum. We are also considering the potential to use ePortfolios as a part of the assessment process.
Taken together the reforms will present further opportunities for strengthening ICT across the curriculum.
At school level, we are also continuing to invest in professional development for teachers with 12,000 ICT related training places provided in 2010 alone.
Full Story: www.educationmatters.ie
