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Information and Communication Technology in Education: Expert Adviser Report by Neil Harries

The Life-Long Learning Committee sees as a fundamental issue the need to establish a culture of using information and communications technologies in schools to raise educational standards. The Committee began its policy review of Information and Communication Technology in Education by focusing on the local education authority (LEA) procurement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for schools.  However, while gathering information from organisations, it became clear that the remit needed to be widened.  There were concerns for the three elements of:-

  • connectivity - the network needed to support the strategy and the personal computers needed for teachers and pupils to use;
  • competency - the training needs of the teaching staff, technical support and the level skill that pupils should be achieving; and
  • content - what was available for teachers and pupils to use to support their professional development and curriculum studies in both the Welsh and English languages.

After an open competition, Neil Harries, the retired Director of Education for Caerphilly Borough Council was appointed as the Committee's Expert Adviser on ICT in Schools. This report is the basis of a Conference of a broad range of invited people in Wales who will be involved in turning the words on the pages of this report into reality for teachers and pupils in schools in Wales. In writing the report it also became clear that the implications of any strategic approach to ICT in Education had implications for all sectors of education in Wales and also for its economic future. This is why the invitation list was broadened to included representatives of those sectors.

Download: Information and Communication Technology in Education: Expert Adviser Report by Neil Harries [.pdf 531KB]