Worried about the plethora of information technology products? Trying to make a purchase? What does your school need in high-tech terms? Take heart, help is at hand. Kathryn Crowley, a primary school teacher who has been teaching in Dublin since the early Eighties, has been appointed full-time INTO information technology (IT) official.

She will be providing support and encouragement, in-service coordination and generally answering questions from teachers.She has already established a talent bank of almost 60 teachers who use IT in the classroom - they will be contactable through the INTO for its members. She has also been cooperating with all 21 education centres around the country with a view to linking in with more teachers who want IT advice."I'm an enthusiast," says Crowley. "I want to help teachers to realise the power of computers as a teaching and learning tool in the classroom. It's such a huge motivational tool for teaching. It can make their jobs easier rather than more difficult."Before the end of the month Crowley will have an information starter pack on hand to send to teachers who write or phone INTO offices in Dublin in searchof information about current technology. The pack will have all the dos and donts of buying, including advice for teachers who are thinking of purchasing computers on what works and what doesn't etc. It will include a glossary of technological terms, updated prices and a list of the recommended lines. A series of inservice courses for teachers will get under way next summer.Crowley is also working to identify schools which are recognised as having a track record in using IT. She wants to establish links between these "magnet schools" and other schools with a view to drawing people together for hands-on experience and training."I don't think there's a resistence among teachers but there's a fear," she says. "There is no particular `slot' in the primary school timetable for computers or information and communications technology. The computer should be used right across the curriculum, when appropriate, as an educational tool. This is the reason why software really is the key to the successful use of technology in our schools."Contact: INTO head office - phone (01) 872 2533.