Topic 2 Task 1 - IT Initiatives UK

Technological initiatives in UK schools. Some findings and reflections.

1. The involvement of business

Tesco’s has been running a ‘computers for schools’ initiative for the last 13 years. I have experienced this first-hand – that is, when shopping at Tesco’s I’ve been offered ‘Computers for Schools’ vouchers, which I then passed on to a friend who has kids at school. See here for a review of the Tesco’s project:

http://www.webuser.co.uk/sites/site_review.php?rev_id=1851

Here is a link to another business initiative to bring computers to schools: http://www.tfs.org.uk/

2. Government initiatives

I’ve just been scanning through some weblinks and found a summary report on initiatives to make portable ICT devices widely available to teachers in UK schools. Some of the benefits of providing teachers with portable ICT devices includes:

• general learning gains via increases in enthusiasm, motivation, confidence and a sense of ownership
• greater integration into classroom use and across the curriculum compared to other forms of ICT, with the minimum of disruption to existing practices, as a result of the portability, size and ease of use that these devices afford
• encouragement of independent and self-initiated learning, and the extension of learning beyond the classroom, school and formal educational context.
  

Teachers maximise the impact of portable technology by:

• being confident in its use and undergoing training, especially as a result of having their own machine and becoming familiar with its potential
• recognising and exploiting the advantages of portability
• utilising portable ICT in an integrated way in teaching and learning, alongside clear pedagogical approaches and learning goals.
  
  Here is a link to the original article.

http://www.becta.org.uk/research/research.cfm?section=1&id=541

In addition to these initiatives to bring ICT into the classroom, interactive whiteboards are also being gradually introduced into U.K. state-run educational institutions:

"The Secretary of State announced £25 million for the purchase of interactive whiteboards at the BETT Show on 7 January 2004. This is in addition to the £25 million that was announced by Stephen Twigg in September 2003.

The £50 million is being split equally between the primary and secondary sectors. At primary level, £10 million was allocated in the 2003-04 financial year and £15 million will be allocated in 2004-05. At secondary level, £15 million was allocated in 2003-04 to all London LEAs as part of London Challenge. The remaining £10 million will be allocated to LEAs in the 2004-05 financial year”.

Click here for the full report.

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/ictinschools/ict_active/subject.cfm?articleid=509

3. The Home Computer Initiative (HCI)

This is a system whereby employers can buy computers which employees then 'rent' for a fixed period (eg 2 years) at the end of which the employee buys the computer at its market value. This is a tax free deal. Our school is investigating it as an option at the moment.
Check this link: http://www.ukhomecomputing.co.uk/

4. Anecdotes

1) This morning on the bus I heard a secondary school girl saying to her friends, “Wednesdays are evil. I’ve got prayer, followed by double IT and then Latin.” I wonder which subject she finds particularly ‘evil’? What struck me most about her comment, though, was that in the space of a morning she would be studying (or learning to use) a modern tool (IT) and also learning about an ancient civilisation and language – you couldn’t really get much further apart historically speaking than IT and Latin. 28 years ago I was the first boy at my Grammar school to get a Sinclair pocket calculator – and what a novelty that was!

2) Since I’ve been teaching English as a foreign language, I’ve noticed increasing numbers of my learners bringing laptops to school. Many use them simply for pleasure during breaktimes, to watch movies, listen to music or send e-mails. But several students also use them in class, for word-processing their notes as the lesson proceeds, or for dictionary work.

5. Conclusion

So what does the future hold? Increasingly compact and portable ICT devices? All learners and teachers equipped with multimedia equipment? More and more distance education? Ever increasing access to information? Ever increasing scope for people to communicate over ever wider distances? Growing needs for people to learn increasingly complex computer skills?

Consequently, in what ways does (and will) new technology change the nature of education?