What issues have arisen during the project?

  1. The pupils need to be engaged with the religious education before using ICT.
    2. Whenever ICT is to be used it is important to have the learning objectives in the subject clearly established and ensure that ICT is enabling and improving the learning in the subject.
     
  2. Teacher planning is even more important when using ICT
    3. Checking suitable and accessible web sites is essential. Book-marking the sites (including them in the ‘Favourites file) helped to keep pupils on task. Evaluating suitable sites for readability and fitness for purpose was necessary.
     
  3. Fragility of internet access and ways of overcoming.
    4. Downloading web pages and or site provided backup facilities for those occasions when access to the internet was unstable. Sometimes, hard copies of pages were also made available.
     
  4. Searching.
    5. At first, teachers chose specific sites that were useful for the topic. Later they established structured searches. Sometimes it was found to be helpful to list a limited number of sites from which the pupils were able to search. Always the searching skills were not the aim - it was the religious education that was the focus. Older pupils were given clear criteria for a wider search as an extension activity.
     
  5. Overcoming of language demands of sites.
    6. When sites with difficult language were needed, word banks were created in a particular Word file. Where there was a webpage written particularly for children this was used.
     
  6. Using ICT skills that pupils have or are on the point of developing.
    7. Learning should not be hampered by the lack of ICT skills or assumed capabilities. In secondary schools it was essential for the RE teacher to liaise with the ICT Coordinator.
     
  7. Having additional help when less able pupils were involved was particularly effective.
    8. The use of ICT was valued by the less able because it enabled them to check spelling and grammar and present higher quality work. It promoted pupil self-esteem.
     
  8. General hardware problems such as network printing, saving large files, loss of files across a network had to be overcome.
    9. Access to hardware continues to be an issue. We had to be realistic, diplomatic and long-suffering.