The debate about the use and justification of ICT including mobile
technologies in schools has been replaced by a discourse of inevitability where
schools of the future are presented as technology-rich sites of learning. The
extent to which school inspection reports challenge or affirm this
techno-centric discourse is the focus of this paper. This study examined school
inspection reports from a sample of post-primary schools in the Republic of
Ireland from September 2013 to June 2014 (n = 75). The research aimed to
identify the references made to ICT, and where present, examine what was
reported and how its use was evaluated. The research found that, where
mentioned, reference to ICT was characterised by a vagueness which gave little indication
of how the technology was actually used. Where descriptions of use were
provided, they tended to reflect the use of the technology as a presentation
aid for the teacher and limited reference to student-centred use was found. The
paper discusses the possible reasons for this type of reporting (and the nature
of use reported) and examines the implications for future ICT developments
including the use of mobile technologies in the post-primary sector.