This document discusses the role of ICT school support specialists. It covers several topics related to teachers' use of ICTs including important pedagogical strategies when using ICTs, the role of the teacher, the importance of teacher knowledge and skills, how teacher usage develops over time, the importance of teacher subject knowledge, and enabling factors for successful ICT integration.

1. ICT SCHOOL SUPPORT
SPECIALIST

2. ICT SUPPORT ROLE SPECIALISTS
ICT Support Role
Specialists
teacher subject knowledge
enabling factors in ICT
integration
successful pedagogical
strategies
role of the teacher when
using ICTs
teacher technical abilities
and knowledge of
ICTs
teacher usage of ICTs

3. SUCCESSFUL PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES UTILIZING
ICTS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING
• ICTs can enable teachers to transform their teacher practices
• Teachers’ pedagogical practices and reasoning influence their uses of ICT
• ICTs can be used to reinforce existing pedagogical practices as well as to
change the way teachers and students interact.
• uses of ICTs can re-enforce traditional pedagogical practices and divert focus
from the content of what is being discussed or displayed to the tool being
utilized.

4. THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER WHEN USING ICTS
FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING
• Teachers remain central to the learning process
• A shift in the role of a teacher utilizing ICTs to that of a facilitator does not obviate
the need
• for teachers to serve as leaders in the classroom
• traditional teacher leadership skills and practices are still important (especially those
related to lesson planning, preparation and follow-up).
• Lesson planning is crucial when using ICTs
• where little planning has occurred, research shows that student work is often
unfocused and can result in lower attainment.

5. IMPORTANT ARE TEACHER TECHNICAL ABILITIES
AND KNOWLEDGE OF ICTS
• mastery of ICT skills is a not a sufficient precondition for successful integration of
ICTs in teaching.
• Teachers require extensive, on-going exposure to ICTs to be able to evaluate
and select the most appropriate resources
• very few teachers typically have a comprehensive knowledge of the wide range
of ICT tools and resources.

6. THE TEACHER USAGE OF ICTS
• Teacher professional development is a process, not an event
• Introducing ICTs expands the needs for on-going professional development of
teachers
• Successful teacher professional development models can be divided into three
phases
• On-going, regular support for teachers is crucial
• Training in assessment methods is important
• Effective professional development requires substantial planning

7. IMPORTANT IS TEACHER SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE
• Teachers' subject knowledge influences how ICTs are used
• Teacher content mastery and understanding of student comprehension make ICT
use more effective
• Exposure to new/additional information via ICTs is not enough
• ICTs can aid teacher self-learning in subject matter
• providing access to updated and additional learning resources, ICTs can enable
teacher self-learning in his/her subject area.

8. WHAT ARE THE ENABLING FACTORS IN ICT
INTEGRATION
• A variety of changes must be implemented to optimize teacher use of ICTs
• Functioning technical infrastructure is (obviously) crucial
• Introducing ICTs takes time
• Support from school administration and the community can be important
• Communities of practice can be important tools to support teacher professional
development
• Lessons learned from introducing ICTs in education need to be shared