Technology in Schools

This paper examines the issues faced by developing countries who wish to implement Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in their educational systems. The authors note that developed countries in Europe and North America have had some success in integrating ICT into the schools, and that many in the developing world are anxious to keep pace. Decisions, according to the authors, must be made with an understanding of the importance of proper staff and programme development, the financial commitments involved, and the significance of not only the hardware purchased, but of the educational content to be included in the classroom.



Reasons cited for increasing the role of ICT in education include:

• Improving ICT skills
• Increasing productivity
• Improving quality of learning

In order to achieve these gains, however, the authors indicate that technology must be a relevant and integrated part of the schools culture. Technology-centred policies that focused on deploying hardware have “not produced meaningful results”.


For lessons on how to implement a successful policy of ICT integration, the authors look to their experience with the Chilean Enlaces programme, while drawing on experiences from ICT development initiatives around the world. A step-wise approach to developing a national programme is suggested, where pilot schools that represent typical school conditions can offer field experience to those in training, while a few experimental schools can be used to try out new ideas. At every step, ongoing training of teachers and administrators is a central component.



Rural schools are faced with the difficulties of costly access. The authors provide special discussion of how these conditions call for a different programme of in-service support, reflection meetings, and intensive ITC workshops.



According to the authors, for either the urban or rural school environment, issues of programme and staff development, technology and software choices and evaluation practices must be carefully planned. This paper provides examples and references to help plan for each of these challenges of establishing a programme that promotes ICT in the educational environment in a developing country.