ICT Leadership for Education Managers

School ICT readiness (Module 3: Workshop 4)

There is limited research relating to the leadership and management of ICT in academic journals. However, a number of research projects by national organisations provide evidence that ICT can change the way school leaders manage their schools.

Key benefits:

better insight into how a school functions
improved evaluation of school performance
better use of school resources
better information for curriculum planning

How school principals can embed ICT within teaching, learning, management and planning:

develop a vision for the development and integration of ICT across the curriculum and promote this vision within and beyond the school
provide appropriate, sustained ICT professional development for all levels of staff
become an ICT learner along with staff and students
use management information for school improvement
provide staff with personal access to ICT.

What the research says about strategic leadership and management of ICT in schools: http://www.becta.org.uk

How well are teachers in your school supported in their use of ICT through continuing professional development, ready access to ICT resources and technical support?

By the end of this task you could achieve the following outcomes:

- Identify ways in which to increase effective knowledge management in your school.
- Evaluate your school's ICT readiness status.
- Identify, discuss and plan strategies for improving your school's ICT readiness status.

2 hours 30 min

Workshop questions: Can my school grow with ICT

	Description	Resources
1	Knowledge management (45 min) Listen to the trainer presentation (10 min) Meet in groups of 4. Discuss what is strategic leadership and how knowledge about ICT can best be managed. (20 min) share what you do in your school identify achievable ways in which you can introduce knowledge management in your schools Open your course workbook and summarise the most useful points from this discussion. (15 min)	» View the trainer presentation » View the knowledge management presentation » Read about knowledge management
2	School readiness (75 min) Listen to the trainer presentation (10 Min). Work on your own. Use the school readiness self-assessment tool to develop an overview of your school's readiness to use ICT effectively. Click in the checkbox that most accurately describes your school's circumstances (15 min). Work in groups of three. Identify areas of possible weakness and discuss strategies for improving these areas. Record these possible actions by writing them in the fourth column of the self-assessment tool (35 min). Open your course workbook and summarize the most useful points from this discussion (15 min).	» View the school readiness presentation » Open the school readiness self assessment tool » Read about knowledge management
3	Reflection on change (30 min) In conclusion, meet as a whole group and discuss what you think the story about the caterpillar is telling us. Two caterpillars were sitting talking to each other when a butterfly flew past. The one caterpillar looked at the other and said: "You will never find me flying on one of those butterfly things."
4	Community of principals Join the Partners in Learning Network and find a community of principals online.	» Go to the Partners in Learning Network

Related scenarios

» Issues regarding effective use of ICT resources
» School ICT learning programmes
» Information leadership: Managing ICT resources