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Technology is at the heart of everyday life for young people today. Using computers and 3G mobiles comes as naturally to them as writing with pen and paper
 Evidence shows that when technology is effectively applied to learning, the results are inspiring – improved grades and retention rates, greater participation by students and increased productivity by teachers and tutors.
Maximise use
The challenge for Becta is that only around 20 per cent of schools and further education colleges are using technology to its full potential, right across the curriculum. That means that many of the country’s learners are missing out. Becta’s Next Generation Learning campaign aims to bring the use of technology in schools from marginal to mainstream.
Technology in education is not just about extra computers in classrooms – schools and colleges are using video conferencing, handheld devices, interactive whiteboards, intranets and webcasts to make learning more stimulating and to boost results.
The use of technology such as e-mail and the Internet is also a hugely effective way for schools to inform and enrich engagement with parents. It can provide parents with easy access to the latest information about their children’s work, progress and wider aspects of school life, prompting conversations that can take place on a more frequent basis.
Schools that use technology effectively will reap the benefits in terms of efficiency gains and value for money. When we look at what Becta calls the ‘technology premium’, we see that £694m worth of productive teacher time would be gained if all schools used technology effectively - the equivalent of employing more than 24,000 new teachers, or a 10 per cent increase in secondary school teaching staff. At least 300,000 hours a year could be saved in FE colleges simply by using technology effectively to record and analyse student achievement.
The benefits are clear. So how should schools and colleges go about improving the way they use technology, and what funding is available to them?
Technology funding
Over the next 15 years the government will be spending more than £50 billion on improving schools in England. Around ten per cent of this figure will be spent on technology infrastructure and services, and it’s important that schools know what funding is available so that they can take full advantage of the benefits on offer.
In 2005 the Government set out its strategy for e-learning, Harnessing Technology, which sought to use technology to transform the way in which schools and colleges teach and are managed. The new Harnessing Technology Grant, allocated through the Standards Fund, repackages the previously available separate capital grants for ICT for 2007 to 2008. This funding is made available to support schools in delivering the priorities of the Harnessing Technology Strategy. Schools and local authorities are also able to use Devolved Formula Capital and the Schools Development Grant to fund ICT priorities.
In order for this funding to be used effectively, it’s important for schools to invest wisely. Becta provides information and tools to local authorities, schools and colleges to help them introduce systems that are fit for purpose, effective and offer value for money.
Becta’s self-review framework is a tool that helps schools assess how they are currently using technology, and to plan for improvement to raise attainment levels. With many schools across the UK already using the self-review framework, they are able to benchmark their performance against other schools in the country. The framework is free to use and is linked to the national standards for ICT so that schools can create an action plan for improvement: www.becta.org.uk/schools/selfreview.
Becta’s procurement arrangements allow individual schools, local authorities or regional and national bodies to procure a range of ICT services and equipment from quality assured providers. Becta is working to increase collaboration in technology procurement to achieve improved value for money, and cash savings already achieved through collaborative procurement are substantial – they are currently estimated at £262m over the last three years.
In many cases, however, it’s not just a matter of buying more computers, software and digital kit; it’s about deploying that equipment effectively or integrating technology with traditional techniques to maximise the potential benefits. Many schools, colleges and providers have the technology but don’t exploit it to the full.
It’s our job at Becta to help schools and colleges to invest wisely and realise the potential technology can bring.
The Bishop’s Stortford High School, Bishop’s Stortford
Bishop’s Stortford High School is an all-boys school whose headteacher, Andrew Goulding, has introduced technology to improve results as well as attitude and behaviour. In 2007 the school won Becta’s ICT Excellence Award for Leadership and Management.
Andrew Goulding describes how he went about improving technology at the school: “Our journey began in 2001 when we put together a team of staff and worked with an external consultant over two days to develop a coherent strategy for the whole school. Although there were pockets of good practice in certain departments it became clear that improving technology across the whole school was essential, and we would need investment in equipment, staff development and training.
“The journey has been absolutely crucial for the school. Staff were relieved when we began to improve the way technology was used at the school, and pupils responded positively to the changes almost instantly.
“Very early on in our journey we bought each member of staff a laptop, and created a fast and reliable school network which they could all access. This had huge benefits from the outset, improving communication between departments and reducing the time teachers spent on administrative work.
“We use a variety of technology including tablets, laptops, voting pads, podcasting, digital images and interactive whiteboards in lessons, but the introduction of technology to our school is certainly not about the latest gadgets and gizmos. It’s about using technology to ensure the highest quality of teaching and learning and firing the imaginations of our students.
“We also have an online learning environment to give students access to the school’s resources from home, which encourages them to develop their capabilities outside the school gates. As well as improving motivation and concentration in lessons, the use of technology means that our students are very ICT literate, giving them a strong advantage when they leave school and enter an increasingly competitive workplace.
“We constantly look for ways to connect with our students, helping them to learn in the way that they want to. Students are motivated by the fast pace in lessons that technology allows, and we often incorporate fast moving game-show style exercises using technology into our lessons to keep them engaged.
“Regular ‘collapsed timetable’ days are also a feature, where whole year groups will work on one project for a whole day. One of the most successful has been our stock exchange day for Year 9 pupils. The maths corridor becomes a trading floor and students are split into teams and become competitive traders and accountants. Computers are used throughout the exercise and a bulletin board gives the latest information on share prices. The students love these projects. Technology is used to make learning fun and stimulating, and it builds confidence and motivation.
“Children nowadays grow up with technology – they are digital natives rather than digital immigrants – and this has implications for how schools should teach them. As teachers we need to speak a language that our students understand and have grown up with. We must ensure technology plays as great a role in school life as it does outside the school gates.”
Results in the school have increased at all key stages. For example the 5 A*-C GCSE figures have increased from 78 per cent to 86 per cent and the A level grades A-C from 47 per cent to 81 per cent over a five-year period. Whilst this improvement is as a result of a number of different factors, the head teacher is convinced that the introduction and appropriate use of technology has played a major role.
For more information
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