Source: The Open University – Israel
The authors report on their examination of National ICT Programs implemented by the Israeli Ministry of Education over the last decades. In the last thirty years we have witnessed the announcement of a dozen national information and communication technology (ICT) programs for the Israeli K-12 education system. This study reviews these national programs in an attempt to identify trends in the perception of the role of ICT’s in the education system.
The study identifies a high level of similarity between the various programs in regards to issues such as the national importance of ICT’s, the need for a national repository of educational content, and the need to develop appropriate human and technological infrastructure. It also identifies changes in the perception of the computer as a “teaching machine” that can replace the teacher, a perception which emerged in the early programs, but disappeared in the last two decades. Similarly, the topic of computer science teaching is no longer a part of these national programs. On the other hand, we see the rising importance of ICT’s in supporting individual development. This study lays the foundation for a study of the relationships between the national ICT programs in the Israeli education system, and social, political and technological factors.