Subject: Release of Statistics Canada's Research Report on "Connectivity and Learning in Canada's Schools"
Hi IMYM teachers,
Today, Statistics Canada has released a very interesting research paper on "Connectivity and Learning in Canada's Schools". The data analyzed in this report comes from the 2003-04 Information and Communications Technologies in Schools Survey (ICTSS) sponsored by SchoolNet to measure access to and integration of ICT into the learning environment in classrooms across Canada.
As IMYM teachers, you may be particularly interested in section 6.0 Teachers and Technology. This section addressesIt is available as a pdf from http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/040924/d040924a.htm (see below for further information).
Academic year 2003/04
This latest study in Statistics Canada's Connectedness series provides an in-depth look at information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and reach in Canada's 15,500 elementary and secondary schools.
Based on national results from the Information and Communications Technologies in Schools Survey (ICTSS), which were first released in The Daily on June 10, 2004, this new study provides provincial and territorial estimates for a more comprehensive picture.
It covers topics such as the number of computers in schools, their availability for students, computer processing speeds, technical support time, student access to software and online courses, teacher training, and challenges to ICT use in schools.
The study found that Canadian schools are equipped with the necessary infrastructure to integrate ICTs into the learning environment. In 2003/04, over 97% of all elementary and secondary schools were connected to the Internet, as were 93% of school computers.
The proportion of schools connected to the Internet ranged from 91% in Manitoba to nearly every school in Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick, and the three territories.
Typically, there were about five students to a school computer, and 5.5 students for each computer connected to the Internet.
This ratio ranged from a low of only 2.9 students for each computer connected to the Internet in the Yukon to a high of 6.5 in Quebec.
Most (86%) schools used broadband technologies to access the Internet, while only 9% used a regular dial-up telephone line. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut, along with Prince Edward Island, had the lowest proportions of schools connected by broadband. Schools in the Yukon, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan were leaders in broadband connections.
One of the biggest concerns among principals was cost. Slightly more than two-thirds of principals reported that getting sufficient funding for the use of ICT in their schools was a constant challenge.
At least three-quarters of principals in Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick felt that funding was a major concern. This compares with less than half of the principals in the Yukon, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
The extent to which ICT is being integrated into teaching practices also requires further study, as training opportunities for teachers were cited as an extensive challenge by 40% of schools.
Only 46% of school principals felt that the majority of their teachers were adequately prepared to engage students effectively in the use of ICT for learning. This proportion was highest in Alberta, the Yukon and Prince Edward Island.
Prince Edward Island was the only province to report a higher proportion of schools with teachers possessing ICT skills for engaging students than those involved in administrative work.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 5051.
The latest issue of the Connectedness series, Connectivity and Learning in Canada's Schools, No. 11 (56F0004MIE2004011, free) is now available online. From the Our products and services page, under Browse our Internet Publications, choose Free, then Communications.