Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Over the past five years, digitalisation has leapt forward in Flemish education. Half of all primary school pupils and all secondary school pupils have access to a computer.
The Monitor for ICT Integration in Flemish Education (MICTIVO) assesses every five years how schools deal with computers and serves as an indicator for the digitalization of education. There was a baseline measurement in 2007 and follow-up surveys in 2012 and 2017.Â
How Does MICTIVO Assess Digitalization in Flemish Schools?
For MICTIVO 4, researchers in 2023 made inquiries at 430 primary schools, 203 secondary schools, 7 basic education centers and, for the first time, also at 11 adult education centers (CVO). The five-yearly survey should provide an overview of the ICT infrastructure in education, the hardware and software and ICT use, ICT skills and media literacy.
What Are the Key Findings of MICTIVO 4’s Survey?
The monitor shows that the number of computers available in schools has increased compared to five years ago. Now half of all primary school students and all secondary school students have a computer. They are no longer in a shared computer lab because the researchers see a shift to mobile devices such as laptops.
While many devices were outdated five years ago, there now appear to be more new devices in primary and secondary education, but not in basic education centres. The hardware in CVOs is also usually between one and four years old or older. Other peripherals such as digital projectors and blackboards have remained quite stable since the previous monitor.
What Progress Has Been Made in Software Installation?
In addition, specific software in schools has also been investigated. Since the previous measurement, a digital student monitoring system has been installed in almost all schools. Only the centres for basic education are still lagging behind.
What Role Does ICT Policy Play in Digitalization Progress?
The positive evolution of the number of laptops in Flemish education “appears to go hand in hand with the presence of an ICT policy plan”, the monitor also states. For example, most educational institutions have an ICT policy plan, regardless of their educational level. A policy for the use of social media, cyberbullying and sexting is also present in more than half of primary and secondary schools, but less often than a general ICT policy plan.
According to the researchers, the accelerated digitalization in education is due to Digisprong, the major investment in the digitalization of education. However, there is still work to be done in the field of ICT professionalization for teachers “so that they can make effective use of the available digital resources”.
Flemish Minister of Education Ben Weyts (N-VA) responds with satisfaction. “The backlog in digitalization has been turned into an advantage. Our schools are more digital than ever and that is a strong lever for greater quality of education,” he says. “A lot is already going well, but we can do even better. We want to train teachers even more in the field of ICT. The social media policy is also still in its infancy in some schools and we also want to improve that.”
