The need for IT In schools
The idea that even very young children can benefit from access to IT was acknowledged in the report (1990) of the Review Body on the Primary Curriculum. This report highlighted the over-riding desirability that :
o IT should be used as a means and a curricular resource rather than as a goal in itself
o IT has the potential to cater for learning needs across a wide range of abilities

A report on Mathematics in the primary school for the INTO Consultative Conference on Education in Kilkenny (November 1990) also acknowledged the impact that computing will have both on work and on society, and recommended that all primary pupils should have access to computing in Mathematics, and some knowledge of LOGO, before entering secondary school.

Present situation
So what exactly is happening at primary level? Enthusiastic teachers, with minimal support from the state, have developed IT on a school-by-school approach, and it is only by co-incidence that any two schools may be working from the same plan. Nevertheless, in those schools where teachers are commited and computers are available, very worthwhile work is being done. My own belief has always been that the child-centred nature of the Primary School Curriculum is far better suited to the use of IT than the subject-based secondary school curriculum is.

The use of computers in primary schools is growing rapidly. For teachers who have had computers in their schools, the novelty of this new technology may now have passed. Many approaches to the use of computers have been tried, tested, and changed, and some teachers may feel the need to re-appraise the continued use of computers in the school. Perhaps we are now at the stage where a broader view should be taken of the whole world of technology, based on the experience of teachers and pupils now familiar with computers, and on the factthatthe availability of computers in schools is becoming more common.

Policy
Being child-centred, the primary school curriculum is ideally ready to develop a policy for information technology. Foryears, many teachers have seen themselves as facilitators or directors of information. Even in the days of the hedge school, the emphasis was on retaining information through rote learning. When the present curriculum was introduced in 1971, teachers were encouraged to allow pupils to learn by discovery and research. The age of information handling had arrived in the primary school.

Nowadays, the methodology used in many classrooms concerns itself with equipping pupils with the skills to find and use information quickly
and easily. Most pupils leaving primary scnool have received training in the use of dictionaries, encyclopaedias, reference books, library skills, research skills (index, glossary, contents, maps, graphs). The arrival of the computer in the primary classroom simply extends and enhances this approach. Developing a Plean Scoile for information technology involves merging the handling of information from traditional sources with the manipulation of information from the world of technology. Accordingly, any IT Plean Scoile covers a much broader field than just the use of a computer. A successful IT plan should rely not only on the traditional approach enhanced by computers but also on telecommunications and microelectronics. IT includes typing, wordprocessing, desktop publishing, printing, coding of information as data, creating and using a database, automation, telecommunications, robotics, and simple microelectronics. Put this way, the use of computers is only a subset of IT.

IT In the everyday environment
Today's pupils live in a world of IT In their own homes, they enounter/use a remarkable range of IT applications - videorecorder/camera, home computer, television, teletext, computer-generated bills and blurbs, washing machine, alarm clock, radio, sewing machine, microwave cookers, telephone, security system, etc. All of these items are taken for granted by children, because they have never known anything different. Children are familiar with these devices, but this familiarity can bring dependence. It is important that pupils should know what they are using, how it can help them, and what problems it can cause. In this information age, it is clear that information-handling skills will become a universal job qualification. It is crucial that education should keep abreast of these developments and prepare all pupils from an early age for their future.

Girls need to be encouraged to make an extra effort to become involved in an area which is
already male dominated, and wnicn is increasingly being seen as a masculine domain. There is absolutely no good reason why boys should outnumber girls in IT activities, but schools should be aware of possible sex bias in this area.

It will be interesting to see what proposals the imminent Green Paper contains for the development of IT at primary level. Extracts quoted in the the national press appear to place the emphasis for IT development at second level. CESI may very well have a future role in determining the policy for IT at Primary level, and in drawing up guidelines for syllabus and curriculum requirements.

Plean Scolle for IT
A school-based plan for IT in the primary school
should acknowledge certain skills, and in particular the following:
o organisational skills - worthwhile project work
o questioning skills - questioning the use and
validity of the new technologies
o presentation skills - alternative formats of presenting work
o interpersonal skills - co-operation, learning
about working with other people.

General aims of the 'plean scoile' for all pupils:
By creating an IT leaming environment in schools, every pupil should:
have a practical awareness of what is involved
in information processing and computer-based
systems
o be aware of major developments in technology
which affect the way information is communicated
o experience the use of modern communication
devices and systems in a meaningful way
o use a computer to perform useful activities
which would otherwise be unduly tedious
o develop a practical understanding of solving
problems through computer use
o become familiar and comfortable with electronic communication systems in everyday use
o develop the confidence to use IT in enriching
his/her life

Objectives of the Plean Scoile :
On leaving the primary school, each pupil should
be able to:
o confidently operate a computer to perform a
variety of useful tasks
o be aware of the variety of methods currentiy
used to store, retrieve, and manipulate information
o use the full facilities of the school and public
libraries
o know how to retrieve information from systems
like teletext
o have sufficient keyboard skills to edit his/her
own work using a WP or DTP program
o be familiar with a computer language, preferably LOGO
o use the telephone system properly
o use a computer to solve problems

Aims:
Before putting this plan into operation, a school
should decide exactly what it is aiming for. The
following points will need to be considered:
o reasons for including IT within the curriculum
o overall strategy, and specific skills to be developed
o the teaching of IT to all pupils in the school
o the use of computers across the curriculum
o the use of computers in school administration
o a computer room versus a 'stand alone' computer in each classroom
o the school plan in other subject areas should
reflect the overall aims of the IT policy
o choosing an IT co-ordinator from the staff,
whose task would be to draw up details of the
plean scoile, once the aims and objectives had
been agreed.

The IT co-ordinator
While the position of the co-ordinator involves an additional heavy workload for the teacher concerned, nevertheless the implementation/success of the plean scoile will depend to a great extent on the input from this co-ordinator.

It is likely that the IT co-ordinator will be a member of staff with a globalview of information technology. He/she must keep abreast of new IT developments as they occur. The IT coordinator's duties will involve the following:
o drawing up a timetable
o managing the technological resources
o making recommendations for remedial computer work, in consultation with the remedial teacher
o organising after-school IT classes
o advising teacher-colleagues on the use of the equipment
o building up a library of appropriate software
o helping to evaluate software
o storage, distribution, and collection of equipment
o liaison with second level schools in the area
o providing technical support to teacher-colleagues
o care and maintenance of equipment
o purchasing new equipment
o monitoring and revising the plean scoile

DifficultIes
As a foundation, the above plean scolle is workable, provided it is continuously monitored and updated. Some obvious problems will need to be overcome however, especially in large schools.

If there is one thing to put teachers off using computers, despite all their preparation, it is a system failure. The first person called upon for help is the IT co-ordinator - who also has a full-time teaching load, and little time to solve the problem (other than during lunch time, by which time it is usually too late!). Unlike secondary teachers, primary teachers have no non-contact time, and this poses a genuine problem. One possible solution would be to liberate the IT coordinator from ordinary classroom teaching for a term in order to set up the plean scoile, and to direct on-site inservice training for colleagues. With a little imagination (and European money!) a roster of temporary teachers could be gainfully employed to help with this scheme.

Another major concern would be the ratio of computers to pupils in any given school (the old chestnut of class size). Acquiring computers places a financial burden on schools, and schools need direction to ensure that any money they may have is spent in a sensible and worthwhile way.
Another hurdle to overcome is the fact that some computer activities are very time-consuming, and one must be aware of the proportion of time given to hands-on sessions versus the time given to other aspects of the curriculum.

Funding
From discussions with teacher colleagues, it appears that remarkable and worthwhile use is being made of all IT resources in schools. All however are agreed that we are indebted to the many fund-raising activities carried out by teachers, pupils, and parents, to promote IT in our schools. How long this can continue is anybody's guess, but to implement even a scaled-down version of the plean scoile costs money. Some form of annual funding must be introduced to improve the situation - and to ensure that IT resources are not the sole preserve of schools who can afford them. If the Minister for Education is serious about the business and enterprise input into education, he should consider when he last heard of a business having to organise a sponsored walk to fund essential equipment!

However, despite all the hurdles to be overcome, IT has a much better chance of succeeding in a primary school ifs realistic and attainable plan is drawn up at an early stage and then continuously evaluated like any other area of the curriculum.

Sources
1. The Information Technology Project (Microelectronics Education Project). Publishers:
Addison-Wesle
2. Computers in the Classroom. Bright Ideas
Series. (Scholastic Publications Ltd.)
3. BBC Acorn User. July 1990.

References:
1 Report of the Review Body on the Primary
Curriculum (1990).
2. INTO Consultative Conference on Education:
Mathematics in the Primary School (1990).