Professional development of school staff
In parallel with the curriculum for students, there must be professional development of the staff within a school. The personal productivity and professional practice of teachers are enhanced with the use of ICT. First, is an awareness stage in which teachers and staff become ICT literate with regard to what technology is available and how it might be used. Second, as teachers and staff learn basic skills, they begin to apply various ICT tools to their regular tasks and projects. Third, as teachers and staff become more capable and confident with ICT, they begin to integrate and overlap both subject areas and tools. Last, is a change in professional practice in which teachers are now enabled to design lessons to incorporate larger, more complex, real-world projects using ICT tools and resources. As ICT is introduced into school systems, there is a tendency to move from discrete skills training to reflective practice and integrative professional development. Budgetary allocation and provision for release time for teacher professional development seriously impact on the ability of a school system to incorporate ICT in a meaningful way.
Community involvement Community involvement may include parents, families, businesses, industry, government agencies, private foundations, social, religious and professional organizations, as well as other educational institutions such as vocational schools and universities. Community involvement can come in the form of donations of equipment and resources, or may be in human resources provided for training and technical assistance. As a community contributes to a school, so the school can give back in many ways. For example, a school may decide to provide community members with evening access to computer labs, or have students offer training to parents. The use of ICT provides an opportunity for a school and its students to interact with both local and global communities. Interaction may range from building web sites for community organizations, to sharing projects with remote schools.
Assessment Assessment includes both assessments of students as well as overall evaluation of a school system, two aspects that are intricately interwoven. An improvement in the one should predicate an improvement in the other. Means of student assessment should reflect choices in learning pedagogy and an understanding of ICT in the curriculum. For example, in the emerging and applying stages of ICT, assessment may be linked to pencil