Elementary and secondary education in Canada serves a geographically dispersed and ethnically diverse population. Global economic integration places importance on advancing the knowledge and skills of the Canadian work force. Within the K-12 sector, the goal is “raising the bar and closing the gap”– raising the overall performance of students while narrowing the achievement gap between students from lower and higher socioeconomic backgrounds. Technology can shift the focus from teaching to learning. Projects in which this transformation has taken place have entailed collaboration among researchers, theorists, discipline specialists, and classroom teachers. A national project, SchoolNet, facilitated Internet connections and built school level capacity. A recent national survey indicates that virtually all elementary and secondary schools in Canada had Internet-connected computers, with a ratio of students to Internet-connected computers of 5.5:1. However, many of these computers were functioning with older, slower operating systems. School principals reported that most teachers possessed the required technical skills to use computers for housekeeping functions but only about half of school principals felt that the majority of their teachers were adequately prepared to use computers to enhance student learning. Canada faces a number of tensions regarding ICT integration in the schools. Effective integration depends on a sound, system-wide infrastructure. However, administrative computing requirements, rather than educational considerations, often drive hardware decisions. Professional development must be scalable and sustainable; allow for on-site work in schools; include appropriate incentives; be activity based and allow for ‘play’ and discovery.

• Penny Milton(Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Education Association)