Teaching Matters:The National Development Plan, announced recently by the Government, provides for €252 million to be spent on computers in primary and post-primary level over the next seven years. At first glance this seems like a substantial and badly needed investment in information technology (IT).

But, when examined more closely, it amounts to €9,000 per school per year, or approximately €800 per classroom per year or approximately €40 per pupil per year. That does not take into account the need to "top slice" some of this funding to provide for the Colleges of Education, teacher training and, of course, the fact that a fifth of all funding will go straight back to the Exchequer in the form of VAT returns. After these deductions, the whole investment package probably amounts to less than the price of a CD per child per year.

Nevertheless, the challenge for schools is to utilise the available funding to the maximum and use success to demand further investment. After all, if every other project in a national plan can run over budget there is no reason why the school IT budget shouldn't do the same.

But the scale of the task for the next seven years needs to be understood clearly and lessons learned from the past. The last big plan, IT 2000, created a false expectation and in many cases failed spectacularly. This was as a direct result of sustained under-investment, the lack of a coherent national strategy, failure to gain widespread support for the philosophy and pedagogy of IT in education, lack of investment in the Colleges of Education and large class sizes.

After all, one or two computers between 30 children in a classroom doesn't really send the message that IT is important in schools.

A decade ago, the government adopted a "throw money at the problem" approach. Schools could draw down funding, teachers could do courses and individual schools could buy whatever hardware and software they wanted. As a result, in the absence of an overall national plan or vision, many schools developed some excellent practices but it was all completely unconnected. Quite ironic, really, given that IT is supposed to be about connectivity.

In addition, computers in schools were not maintained, teacher professional development was not sustained and the infrastructure was not developed. This led to a false dawn and we are now well behind comparable countries in terms of IT in education. A recent audit of schools shows one in five computers in schools unfit for its purpose. This is hardly surprising given there has been no investment for the last five years.

So, among the major challenges facing the Department of Education and Science right now is to decide where we need to be in seven years time and how to get there. Key to this will be not to rely on the goodwill and expertise of a small number of dedicated and enthusiastic teachers, but to reignite the enthusiasm of all teachers, regain their trust and confidence and recreate a place for IT in the curriculum. Central to this will be a major investment in teacher professional development. The development of online learning is a significant opportunity in this regard and it must be utilised. Additional allowances for qualifications gained on accredited courses should be considered and teachers facilitated to participate.

There must be significant investment in the Colleges of Education. Remarkably, the last plan ignored them completely. The colleges will shape attitudes to IT for the thousands of new teachers who will be employed in schools in the next few years. Ignoring these key players will not be an option this time around.

Investment in IT will be completely wasted without a commitment to ongoing technical support in schools. Teachers are not computer technicians nor electricians. They do not have the skill sets or the time to provide the type of technical support that is necessary in schools. This must be provided directly or a budget for technical support built into schools' infrastructure. Lack of technical support, more than anything else, killed initial enthusiasm for IT in schools. After all, if it doesn't work in the way it should, when it should, then teachers can hardly be expected to use it in classrooms.

There will also be a need to prevent a digital divide in our schools. As currently structured, the national development plan will reward those schools that already have the expertise to enable them to develop a coherent plan linked to the curriculum and so draw down funding. Many schools will not have that ability and there is a need to support and encourage these schools.

Principal teachers need IT training but also need help to lead and encourage the training of other teachers. They also need to be facilitated to use IT as part of their own school administration, but there is little point until the Department of Education and Science is digitalised. Information transfer between schools and the department is still in the age of the biro.

There is a need to consider the needs of disadvantaged children, special needs children and newcomer children. IT has huge potential to improve their educational experiences and their distinct needs must be looked as part of any coherent strategy.

Most of all there is a need to avoid the gimmickry and sloganising of the past. Teachers have heard every catchphrase and every political promise in relation to IT. Phrases such as "a laptop for every teacher" and "the school bag of the future" will breed cynicism and ultimately harm progress.

This time, teachers want to see the reality of IT in schools, not listen to the rhetoric.

Valerie Monaghan is principal of Scoil Chiarán, Glasnevin, Dublin