Auditing ICT Skills
It is essential to audit your trainees' skills so that you can tailor the course to their needs and help them set targets for their own development. The ITT Requirements Guidance, R2.4, produced by TDA in 2008, points out that "Auditing of individual training needs is not a one-off event; it should be a continual process throughout training."
Ofsted consider that assessing, auditing and analysing needs is often a weakness in ITT courses. In An employment-based route into teaching 2004/5, Ofsted (2006), (Ofsted ITT Report) Ofsted noted that there was "ample room for improvement in a number of areas, including the provision of subject-specific training for secondary trainees, and in the identification and provision of individual student training needs ...".
It is likely that the ICT skills of each group of trainees will cover a broad range. Your department may already have an audit tool, in which case you should check it thoroughly to ensure that it covers all aspects, including subject knowledge, required by the Standards. If you don't have an up-to-date audit tool, or want something to compare yours with, try the audit tools below. Note: A search of the internet will provide you with a range of alternatives. Do you know of others worth considering? If so, please use the email link below to let us know.
On-line audit tools have been developed by client [c&it] research, development and publication department at Canterbury Christ Church University College. There are tools covering ICT Skills and a Professional Development Profile that focuses on the use of ICT for effective teaching and assessment. They are free for individual use. You may access the tools using this link: SMART Education ICT Audit Tools
The audit tools are also linked to on-line help centres for professional development and ICT Skills support.
An example ICT audit specifically designed for ITT trainees is available on the Teacher Training Resource Bank at ICT Audit
There is a range of accredited courses that tutors or students could use to develop their ICT skills. Two of these are:
The European Pedagogical ICT Licence provided by EPICT is a course that offers educators basic ICT skills on a personal and a professional level through focusing on the pedagogical integration of ICT in teaching practice.
BCS offers several courses, including the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), through a number of training providers. Both standard and advanced courses are available. For details see the BCS site. One of these providers, Aston Swann, offers the ECDL tailored specifically for educators.
author: Margaret Danby