The Daily. Tuesday, October 12, 1999

Computer technology in schools

The majority of Canadian schools are connected to the Internet for educational purposes, according to a new survey on computer technology in the classrooms. The survey showed that despite major strides taken in introducing computers to schools and connecting them to the Internet, education systems face significant challenges as they move towards taking fuller advantage of the new information age.

At the time of this survey, in January and February 1999, more than 9 out of every 10 students at the elementary, intermediate and secondary levels in Canada attended schools that had access to the Internet for educational purposes.

However, principals and school informatics technicians reported a number of obstacles to fuller use of computer technology in the classroom, the biggest of which were a lack of computers and lack of training opportunities for teachers.

Principals of schools representing about two-thirds of students cited a need for more computers as well as more time for teachers to prepare courses that require the use of computers and to explore ways to use the Internet. In addition, these principals said teachers needed more training opportunities to upgrade their computer knowledge and skills. Informatics technicians reported too few computers, too few copies of software as well as a lack of technical support to maintain the computers or to solve minor problems.

Nevertheless, schools indicated they have made major strides in bringing their students on-line. On average, during the last school year, there were seven students per computer in secondary schools. About 4 in every 10 students at the elementary, intermediate and secondary levels had used e-mail by the end of the school year. In addition, 73% of students attended an intermediate or a high school that had its own site on the World Wide Web.

Internet use expanding in Canadian schools

At the time of this survey, in January and February 1999, only 12% of elementary students attended a school without Internet access for instructional purposes, while less than 3% of students attended intermediate and secondary schools without Internet access.

Note to readers Data for this release were drawn from the Second International Technology in Education Study (SITES) conducted in January and February 1999 in 30 nations, including Canada. This survey was designed to profile the use of new information and communication technology in elementary and secondary schools. In Canada, the survey was conducted by Statistics Canada under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement and a number of other partners, including the provincial and territorial ministries of education, the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, Industry Canada, and Human Resources Development Canada. This report presents only Canadian results. A comparison of Canada's standing with that of other nations will be released in mid-October. The Canadian survey was a random sample covering 4,000 schools, each of which received two questionnaires, one completed by the principal and the second by an individual responsible for technology in the school. Both questionnaires included questions on the school, the use of communications technology, training and professional development of teachers, obstacles to the use of technology at the school and specific requirements. Data are available by province, for schools with three specific grades representing the majority of elementary/secondary schools in Canada: schools with Grade 5 (most elementary schools), schools with Grade 9 or Secondary III (most intermediate and junior high schools) and schools with the last year of secondary (most high schools).

In some provinces, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick for example, all schools were connected to the Internet at the time of the survey.

About one-third of elementary and intermediate students, and half of all secondary students, had used e-mail. In addition, 76% of elementary students, 80% of intermediate and 87% of secondary students had made use of external databases to find and extract information.

Overall, just over one-third of all students had disseminated information via the Internet and about 30% had designed or maintained a Web site.

Use of the Internet varied widely from province to province. For example, about 65% of students in Prince Edward Island had used e-mail during the last school year compared with 31% of those in New Brunswick. Students in Prince Edward Island were also in the forefront in developing Web sites. About 46% had been involved in maintaining a Web site during the last school year compared with 16% in Saskatchewan.

In general, computers were more available to students in higher grades. At the time of the survey, there was one computer for every seven students at the secondary level, compared with one for every eight intermediate students and one for every nine elementary students.

Pupil-computer ratio

Mathematics most likely to be taught using instructional software

Mathematics was the subject most likely to be taught in all three levels of schools using instructional software, according to the survey.

About 87% of elementary pupils attended a school that used software to teach math, compared with about 64% of students who used software for geography and 56% who used it for primary language instruction.

At the intermediate level, 76% of students attended a school that used software to teach math, compared with 57% for geography and 53% for informatics. At the secondary level, 79% of students attended a school that used software to teach math, 64% for geography and 75% for informatics.

Most elementary pupils had access to software for word processing, encyclopedias (on CD-ROM), spreadsheet packages, databases and Internet browsers. Additionally, intermediate and secondary students had widespread access to software for graphics, presentation and programming.

Training opportunities and types of training taken vary considerably among teachers

Only about 30% of students at all three levels attended a school where it was mandatory for all teachers to take at least a basic computer-training course. Similarly, only 22% of students attended a school where it was mandatory for all teachers to take courses on a regular basis to keep up to date with new technological knowledge and skills.

On the other hand, about 79% of the students were in a school where a large number of teachers had taken at least some basic computer courses. The course most frequently provided for school teachers was an introductory applications course (standard tools).

A publication with more details on Information and Communication Technologies in the field of education will be released early in 2000. This publication will include a comprehensive series of statistical tables resulting from SITES.

For tables or general inquiries, contact Daniel Perrier (613-951-1503; fax: 613-951-9040; perrdan@statcan.gc.ca). For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Raynald Lortie (613-951-1525; lortray@statcan.gc.ca) or Nanci Comtois (613-951-1740; comtnan@statcan.gc.ca), Centre for Education Statistics.

Use of new information and communication technology in schools