Students need laptops, urges ICT Ireland

09-06-2004

by Martin Lynch

The Irish government has been challenged to help provide every Irish secondary school student with a laptop computer within five years.

The gauntlet has been thrown down by ICT Ireland, the technology industry lobby group of IBEC, which believes that Ireland is falling dangerously behind other advanced nations in its provision of IT in schools. The call comes on the back of praise for the recent alliance between the telecoms sector and government to provide broadband access to every primary and secondary school by 2006.

"ICT Ireland considers that the rollout of broadband is only one component in enabling digital literacy in Ireland's education system," commented ICT Ireland director, Brendan Butler. "It is widely agreed in principle that there is an urgent need for the provision of high-speed Internet access to all schools, but this is only one part of the equation. Broadband connectivity...is of no major benefit in isolation. It needs to be part of an overall package to integrate ICT into teaching practice and to meet broader curriculum and assessment objectives."

A key part of the solution is to provide laptops with relevant content to every student, a strategy Butler says has already proved successful in other countries.

"We are falling way behind international standards," Butler warned. "Evidence from programmes in place in other countries has shown significant benefits when every student has a laptop. These range from better grades to lower absenteeism and dropout rates. It's a win-win situation for the government, the industry and the students."

Butler maintained that the provision of laptops within the school environment will also help bridge the so-called 'digital divide' in Irish society.

"We spend a lot of time talking about the digital divide in Irish society and how low-income households cannot afford IT. If they have IT in classrooms, then everyone will be on a level playing field," he said.

The key issue for any such initiative will be careful planning and funding, something ICT Ireland wants the government to commit to. Initial meetings have taken place but Butler complained that progress has been "painfully slow". He claimed IT companies are already involved by funding school projects in their own areas but that a cohesive plan for the nation is needed to move ahead.

Government support and funding will be crucial to a nationwide rollout, and Butler has promised that the government "would be pleasantly surprised by what the IT industry would be prepared to do to help".