Northern Ireland Chalks Up Educational Excellence with Microsoft Innovative Teachers Programme

The Department of Education for Northern Ireland
Published September 2003

The Department of Education for Northern Ireland is committed to enhancing education with technology. Through Classroom 2000 (C2k) it has enabled seamless access to a range of education tools and resources for 50,000 desktops. More recently, it adopted the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Programme as part of C2k. It is a powerful online sharing tool, which offers precise support for the government's strategy.

Situation

The Department of Education for Northern Ireland is devoted to delivering the highest standard of education for all children and young people. It aims to motivate them to achieve their potential and prepare them for the future using information communication technology (ICT) as a foundation for teaching and learning.

'Computers in schools' forms part of this strategy, improving access to educational resources through the use of technology and the Internet. Microsoft already plays a large part in this development. It is working with C2k to implement a broadband integrated managed learning environment, which is rolled out to 50,000 desktops in 1,200 schools across Northern Ireland. This ambitious plan ensures these desktops are available for curricular use by teachers and pupils (as well as for management and professional development) and enables access to teaching resources both from school and from home.

At the same time, an early professional development programme has been introduced for newly qualified teachers. John Anderson, Education Technology Strategist, Department of Education, Northern Ireland, says: "All second and third-year teachers are required to develop portfolios of critical reflective practice that evaluate the effectiveness of their own teaching."

Anderson identified a need for technology to enable teachers and student teachers to interact with each other, collaborating and sharing information and teaching resources online. They could then use this information to enhance their own teaching methods. "We want to connect our teachers to each other so that they can share best practice, no matter where they are—whether it be in a small country school or a city school—and become part of a connected community of practice," says Anderson. "When we were introduced to Microsoft Innovative Teachers Programme, we realised that it delivers a perfect match to our needs."

Solution: Support infrastructure and Microsoft Gold Partner Certification

The Department of Education for Northern Ireland's Education Technology Strategy adopted the Microsoft® Innovative Teachers Programme, which was already in pilot stage in the US. The programme helps educators use the technology that is already present in schools as a foundation for teaching, by connecting with their peers, learning from and inspiring one another. As part of the incentive in the US, Microsoft funds the software licences and technologies that institutions need to run the programme.

Derrick McCourt, Business Manager, Microsoft Ireland, says: "The goal of this strategy is to create communities for learners. We see the opportunity for Northern Ireland teachers to add an international dimension to their learning. They can collaborate with teachers and share experiences within their own country and with other learning communities around the world."

Microsoft Innovative Teachers promotes knowledge sharing through online communities of practice. These Web communities enable teachers to gather and discuss relevant topics and issues surrounding the successful use of technology in learning.

The programme includes Virtual Classroom Tours, which enable teachers to learn from the classroom successes of other teachers. Information is presented in the form of teaching resources, tools, plans and practices that can be accessed online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"The big advantage for us is that Microsoft has already implemented the Innovative Teachers Programme in the US. It's an attractive prospect for our teachers that they can share best practice and gain from the experience of teachers in the US," says Anderson.

The University of Ulster is in the process of running a pilot scheme for the Innovative Teachers Programme. Victor McNair, Tutor at the University of Ulster, says: "Within our curriculum we use virtual learning environments extensively. This implementation enables us to bridge the gap between teacher training and the placement of our graduates in schools. Students can discuss issues such as classroom management, the use of ICT, special education needs and teaching strategies techniques within the school, using the online environment."

Benefits

Knocking Down Boundaries

The Innovative Teachers Programme provides teachers with a wide range of high-quality learning activities via hands-on Virtual Classroom Tours. Teachers can share best practices not only within their own learning environment, but nationally and internationally as the number of facilities that adopt the programme grows.

By helping teachers hone their skills and gain more from their role, the programme motivates existing staff, and encourages people to join the profession by reaching teachers early on in their careers. "Learning from other teachers through the technology promotes confidence and new opportunities to enhance and broaden skills," says McNair.

Improving Information Access

Teachers can connect to the online environment at any time, from any location with Internet access. Discussions are available 24 hours a day, and can be downloaded when convenient. "It brings teachers together as a community of learners so that although they are geographically disparate, they come together on a regular basis," says McNair.

The programme has been well received by teachers-in-training in Northern Ireland. Sarah Fahy, a student at the University of Ulster, says: "Lesson plans are easy to access in our own time. The pilot scheme has been very successful and I am looking forward to seeing the Innovative Teachers Programme improve our online learning resources."

Leveraging Resources

The Innovative Teachers programme helps teachers to better use and apply the standard education technologies already present at their school. "Whatever we do to expand our learning environment or software platform, we know that the Innovative Teachers programme is future-proof as we already use Microsoft technologies and will continue to do so," says Anderson.

"We will continue to build on our ability to unite schools, teachers and the University, thus making better use of the learning environment," says McNair.

Building Bridges

"Within Northern Ireland we are excited about our role within the Department of Education's strategy and within C2k. We see Innovative Teachers as being a cornerstone to our relationship," says McCourt. "This is a unique process in that it links technology and academic communities. This is demonstrated by the University of Ulster, which, with Innovative Teachers, is making sure that ICT forms part of its development framework."

Northern Ireland educators now look forward to seeing the programme adopted across Europe. "We would like to see our teachers work with and learn from other teachers in European countries as well as those in the US," says Anderson. "We want to build a connected community, and we will achieve that with Microsoft's help."

Summary

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