ABSTRACT
Developments in the use of leT have been rapid and have impacted on the way in which we conduct our everyday lives. The impact in schools, however, in both the content and the methods by which pupils are educated, has been far less profound. Recent government initiatives, Circular 4/98, Teaching: High Status, High Standards and the expected outcomes of the New Opportunities Fund Training Initiative, is a centralised attempt to change this. The focus of recent developments at a national level involve leT in: generally supporting learning in subject teaching; specifically raising standards in the key skills of literacy and numeracy; and raising awareness, skill and confidence of teachers in the effective uses of leT. The underlying philosophy of these proposals is that:
• leT gives us the ability to do the same things in different ways. This type of approach is only part of the story, as it is based on a view of the curriculum, which is print, paper and pencil based. leT resources add a further dimension to the teaching-learning cycle. To be fully literate in the digital age, schools must enable pupils to take full advantage of all the possibilities that the developing technologies allow. Such developments are, however, built on a sound framework of national and international research and of practical experience within school settings. An appreciation of both of these elements allows us to add a further dynamic dimension to that proposed.
