COMPUTER INTEGRATION AS A CLASSROOM RESOURCE IN ANDALUSIAN COMPULSORY EDUCATION (SPAIN): ITS EFFECTS ON EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY

This article highlights some of the results from the “Observatics: the implementation of free software in ICT centres in Andalusia” project framed within the National Research Plan (R&D&I) 2004-2007 of the Spanish Ministry of Education (SEC-2004-01421-EDUC). Our research analyses the centres’ Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plan, implemented by the Regional Autonomous Government of Andalusia, to focus on the progressive implementation of computers in Andalusian Primary and Secondary schools. Our research tries to gauge the range of use and curricular integration of computers in schools, as well as the effects that their use has not only on the classroom, but also on school innovation. We have also witnessed a significant increase in the use of computers in the training processes of the teaching staff, as well as a notable growth of cooperation in educational dynamics. Nevertheless, although the results show an increase in the frequency of ICT use and greater teacher involvement in the teaching processes at the centre, there is insufficient evidence to state that genuine integration of technology in curriculum or in organization has taken place. More in-depth studies would be needed for these new resources to be assimilated into a new school culture.