ICT in Primary Education: Transforming children's learning across the curriculum

Why and how are teachers integrating ICT (Information and Communication Technology) into primary education? In this course we analyse examples from schools in different parts of the world, and bring professional teachers, headteachers and policymakers together to share their best ideas and inspiring stories. The materials in the course are based on studies carried out for the UNESCO Institute of IT in Education, Moscow. Learning Outcomes: to be aware of the range of reasons for using ICT to critique the strategies for developing ICT over time to analyse the strengths and weakness of different decision-making mechanisms to become familiar with a wider range of useful tools and resources for integrating ICT

• ICT and the 21st Century Primary School
• This week will enable you to be aware of the range of reasons for using ICT and to critique the strategies for developing ICT over time. You will also analyse the strengths and weakness of different decision-making mechanismsand become familiar with a wider range of useful tools and resources for integrating ICT
• How does ICT make a difference?
• This week will enable you to identify different dimensions of change at the school level due to the integration of ICT and to be aware of new opportunities for global participation facilitated by technology. You will also begin to understand the features involved in effective professional development and be aware of how children perceive the use of technology in a school context
• Pedagogical changes achievable through ICT
• This week will introduce the primary school teaching community and enable you to contribute to the integration of a range of effective ICT-based practices and pedagogies. In addition we aim to increase understanding of the differences in teaching and learning styles, and how different learning activities can contribute to the depth of learning.
• Technology opportunities
• This week we aim to encourage you to know different categories of ICT tools, their affordances and different criteria to be applied when selecting them. As well as be able to analyze the needs for digital content and various strategies how to get it, share, or develop and to be aware of the potential of ICT to support computational thinking, to reflect on the needs, priorities, and future plans for further developing and extending the digital environment.
• Inspiring examples and implementation concerns
• This week we hope to enable you to identify the different dimensions of implementation issues, and apply them to your own context and to become aware of problems that can be encountered in using ICT. We also wish you to share and build some solutions to these concerns and problems and consider these solutions to be of different kinds: learning design, infrastructure, negotiation with parents, communities of practice, policies, staff development, pedagogical innovations, differentiation, affordable access, and teaching support.
• Making ICT work
• This week we aim to explain the pivotal role of the teacher in the ICT-enhanced learning environments and to identify the competencies of the teacher to take up this role effectively in the ICT-enhanced learning environments. As well as explain the conditions for supporting the teachers to take up this role effectively in the ICT-enhanced learning environments