Extending Educational Computing

Teachers are crucial to the integration of technology for teaching and learning. This article discusses a school’s efforts in teacher development and support for technology over five years. Access was facilitated by allocating a laptop computer to each staff member. Concurrently, an in-house inservice program was offered. Reported personal use was extensive; teacher confidence level and skill improved markedly. However, use of computers in the classroom remained relatively low. Further measures were instituted, including a detailed five-year plan for information technology, network and hardware expansion, appointing more technical support staff, and introducing, then refining, a technology-coaches scheme with specified basic skills for all staff. Classroom use showed small but steady gains in amount and diversity. From this case, factors such as pedagogical beliefs and lack of a collaborative culture are identified as inhibiting implementation of technology in the classroom.