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Net Result for Second Level Pupils!

Story added 18 December 2009

One pupil from every second level school in the city has been presented with a Netbook by Ilex for taking part in the city wide Broadband Internet Access survey they recently undertook in consultation with Foyle Learning Community. Almost 4000 schoolchildren between 11 and 18 years (approximately 33% of all pupils) completed the survey, the initial results of which were presented at an event held in the Centre for Intelligent Systems Research at Magee.

All second level schools in the Derry City Council area took part in the on-line survey which was completed during school hours and 61% of respondents were male. The initial findings of the survey suggest that while access to the Internet is better than expected with 90% of respondents able to surf the net, in some schools this falls to 78% confirming that access is by no means universal throughout the city. Given that a number of the schools wish to move to a Virtual Learning Environment, where all home and course work is set and marked on line, such differentials in children’s ability to access the Internet will severely constrain the introduction of such innovative learning methods.

Overall, the survey paints a picture of a young, digitally literate city with 9 out of 10 females engaged in social networking. Importantly, females also spend considerably more time on homework and 97% of female respondents have a mobile phone. In general, 83% thought Internet access was “important” or “very important”, illustrating again the extent to which the young population within the city are aware of the opportunities that the net provides to improve learning.

The situation with regard to printer access is less positive, with 25% of students declaring they have no print facility. When asked about Internet supervision 65% stated that access was not filtered or restricted. In this category, 55% of 11-year olds reported that they had no restrictions to using the Internet. The figure for 18 year-olds rises to 84%.

Explaining the importance of the survey, Ilex’s Director of Strategy and Regeneration, Gerard McCleave, said: “The main objective of the Broadband survey was to see if limited access to Broadband was constraining the development of digital literacy in the Derry City Council area. We also needed to know if there were significant differences in access across the city and find out how digitally literate our young people are. As schools approach an era of virtual learning it is essential that pupils have the best possible access to digital media. Ilex’s role is now to utilise these results within the regeneration process and build on the opportunities presented by a dynamic, digitally literate population. More importantly, we must ensure that no one is left behind in the move towards a digital media society where learning takes place on-line and broadband access is an essential, not a luxury, within the city”.

For further information contact michael.gallagher@ilex-urc.com

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