ICT in schools

As consultants from my company visit schools in Sweden we are astounded by the lack of top class ICT equipment in classrooms. It is rather interesting to note that Sweden is a world leader in many areas of data technology and has one of the highest rates of computer coverage in homes, yet schools in general lag far behind. Maybe this could be a factor in the lack of interest and boredom with school in many students. In the UK they have been lucky in that central money has been available for ICT investment and in many cities almost every classroom has interactive whiteboards as well has high density PC/laptop coverage. This is not the case in Sweden. Many head teachers say 'we don't have the money to invest in this' or they say 'our teachers wouldn't like these interactive whiteboards and maybe would not use them'. My view is that we must have them and teachers must use them. I remember visiting a school in one Swedish city that had 6 interactive whiteboards in classrooms and as we walkde around the school we saw that not one of these boards was being used. Of course this is a management issue and should be fixed. I have enclosed a link to BECTA, the UK agency responsible for ICT development in schools which may shed light on and provide information to expand our understanding and knowledge of the critical aspects of this subject