| The introduction of computers into Irish primary schools over the past
ten years has in general been fragmented and lacking in direction. There
is no overall plan laid down by the Department of Education, nor is there
any funding. Many schools have introduced Acorn computers (BBC 'B'I Master
128/Master-Compact, and more recently A3000) largely because these computers
are used in 80% of British schools, and (as a result) excellent educational
software has been devel- oped for this market. Other schools have a mixture
of hardware systems (some of which are lacking in suitable primary educational
software) . Others still have Apple or PS/1 computers gained through token-collection
by parents. Overall, schools have tried to introduce pupils to infor- mation
technology without proper guidance or funding. If the aim of introducing computers in primary schools is to improve the quality of pupils' edu- cation, then the realisation or otherwise of this aim cannot yet be ascertained. It is clear (from computer-based activities in some schools) that computers can be used effectively and imagi- natively as a further resource by teachers when creating a stimulating environment for young children to learn. But many teachers who are less confident or less enthusiastic about com- puters need support and training to achieve the same results. Many schools have no computers and need guidance, information, and direction regarding computer purchase, if (from meagre resources) they are to to spend £1 ,200 on a computer system (when such money could be used in so many other ways to help with pupils' education). There is also the problem of spend- ing this amount of money and then finding (with the vast strides continually being made in this technology) that next year, a new, improved, and more expensive model has come on the market. As things stand, the final decision on which machine to buy is left to each school. Computer lIteracy The two main aims of primary education (as stated in the Curriculum Handbook) are as fol- lows: 1. To prepare the child to lead a full life as a child 2. To equip the child to avail of further education so that he may go on to lead a full and useful life as an adult in society. In a rapidly changing society, there is a growing awareness that we need to educate our pupils for a different world, We need to ensure that they are prepared to deal with a technological soci- ety. In the recent past we have seen computers and computer technology become a part of everyday life. To participate in this society, today's pupils must become computer-literate. Besides meeting this aim, the introduction of computers into schools also offers new possibilities in terms of educational practice. Good computing practice In the beginning, there was concern about whether the computer could be used in an educationally enlightened way with young pupils. This is no longer in doubt. The question that remains is how the existing good practice can flourish and spread. As the demand for it grows, excellent educational software is now becoming available, but there is still software available that has little to offer. Through sharing their experi- ences, teachers can discriminate between what is worthwhile and what is rubbish. Primary computing activities .Drill and Practice. Some schools are making effective use of a library of small programs designed to support specific teaching points - often of a mathematical or a grammatical nature. Many of these programs involve children prac- tising particular skills (drill-and-practice pro- grams) .Such programs do not make the most effective use of the new technology, but they may help to introduce computers to teachers and pupils, and also be of value where the time- tabling of 112 computers to a whole school means that lack of time and opportunity for hands-on experience is a problem. .Adventure games. In many schools, exciting work has arisen from the use of simulations or adventure software. The chance for pupils to explore an imaginary world (whether based on fact or fiction) is something the computer can offer in a way not easily replicated by other means. Such programs lead pupils on a path of self-discovery. Even pupils who do not like to read books can read through these adventure programs, make decisions that affect the out- come, and make logical choices as a result. The teaching skills necessary to make good use of these programs are not fundamentally different for those needed to develop project work from any other source of interest. Quality software of this type usually comes with a teacher's booklet which can be enormously helpful. Such programs however are often costly, well-protected against copying, and require the program disc to remain in the disc-drive so that only one computer at a time can use the software. Some companies make multiple-copies available on a school- or site-licence basis, but this can also be costly. .Databases. Another important way in which primary schools have been exploring the edu- cational potential of the computer is. by using information storage and retrieval programs, i.e. databases. Scientific, historical, and environ- mental work has been significantly enhanced and extended by using the computer to handle large amounts of data. More recent software has incorporated data-bases into adventure and simulation software. (e.g. Sherston Software's Viewpoints) .Through databases, pupils can examine their own findings. Once created, a data-base can be interrogated by pupils to test out various hypotheses orto explore connections between different items of infor- mation. Databases take the drudgery out of sifting through evidence. They show how power- ful an aid the computer can be. Databases are one of the major uses made of computers in our everyday lives; we see this in the way bills are presented, and also through the interminable 'junk mail' which offers you (because youaresuch a discerning person!) that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. .LOGO. Programming the computer in BASIC has no place in the primary school, and is one sure way of boring pupils at what should be a very exciting element of schoolwork. Seymour Papert of MIT has developed a programming language for children based on the work of Piaget. This language, LOGO, provides the child with an environment in which he is the agent of his own learning. It is intended as a voyage of discovery which transfers much of the control of the learning situation to the learner -rather than placing the learner in the hands of a teacher who presents him with a set list of tasks to be com- pleted. Through LOGO, pupils can actually be- gin to write computer programs. As always, the teacher's skill is of major importance: the teacher must know when to intervene and when to refrain from intervening. LOGO has become one of the most exciting aspects of computing in the primary school. .Wordprocessing. Wordprocessing has an im- portant place in the primary school -not just that pupils can learn about it, but because it helps pupils to communicate more effectively and experiment with different ways of expressing themselves. For this to come about, the word processor must become as natural a tool as a pencil or a rubber. Only sustained use of a word processor over a period of time can bring this about. Gone are the days when a mistake in spelling or grammar meant a red mark on a copybook. Now such errors can be corrected on the screen before a final perfected version is printed. The QWERTY keyboard can pose a problem: some pupils take longer than others to find the right keys. However, with sufficient practice, all pupils develop a reasonable level of keyboard skill- .Email. A more recent development in primary computing has been the advent of electronic mail or email. Though still in its infancy, email offers exciting prospects for the primary school. Pupils can now make contact with schools all over the world. This helps to counteract stere- otyping and preconceived notions/images of a country and its people. Email gives a platform for pupils to discuss issues of importance with peers from different social, racial, and national back- grounds. In email, the computer comes to life; it is no longer the centre of activ)ty but rather the medium which permits communication between schools a distance apart. It only takes a modem and a telephone line to open up this world to pupils. NITEC (The National Information Tech- nology in Education Centre) based in Dublin City University, has been an enormous help in get- ting schools started in this area. Teachers' centres Software publishers might consider initiating a test-and-trial purchase scheme in Teachers' Centres. This would allow teachers to see soft- ware packages in use and to try them out before committing the school to purchasing them. Evaluation sheets about different software packages could then be fllled in by teachers and made available to other teachers though the Teachers' Centre. |