INTRODUCTION
Information and Communications Technology forms part of the core curriculum for all Leaving Certificate Applied students. It is intended to give students the skills and understanding to use computers in both their current and future lives. The Leaving Certificate Applied programme offers the ideal forum for students to apply these skills in a practical way, particularly in presenting task work and key assignments across the full spectrum of the curriculum. The achieveable goals of developing accuracy, neatness and presentation skills generate a sense of pride in work done by students which enhances self esteem and motivates students to maximise their potential in other aspects of the course and in their personal lives.
Globalization and technological change processes that have accelerated in tandem over the past fifteen years have created a new global economy “powered by technology, fueled by information and driven by knowledge.The emergence of this new global economy has serious implications for the nature and purpose of educational institutions. As the half-life of information continues to shrink and access to information continues to grow exponentially, schools cannot remain mere venues for the transmission of a prescribed set of information from teacher to student over a fixed period of time. Rather, schools must promote “learning to learn the acquisition of knowledge and skills that make possible continuous learning over the lifetime. The illiterate of the 21st century,” according to futurist Alvin Toffler,“will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Concerns over educational relevance and quality coexist with the imperative of expanding educational opportunities to those made most vulnerable by globalization—developing countries in general; low-income groups, girls and women, and low-skilled workers in particular. Global changes also put pressure on all groups to constantly acquire and apply new skills. The International Labour Organization defines the requirements for education and training in the new global economy simply as “Basic Education for All”,“CoreWork Skills for All”and “Lifelong Learning for All”.clude radio and television, as well as newer digital technologies such as computers and the Internet—have been touted as potentially powerful enabling tools for educational change and reform. When used appropriately, different ICTs are said to help expand access to education, strengthen the relevance of education to the increasingly digital workplace, and raise educational quality by, among others, helping make teaching and learning into an engaging, active process connected to real life.
