Information and Communications Technology is becoming an integral part of the education system, and the potential impacts are diverse

The rapid, seemingly relentless growth of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is having a major impact on just about every industry in the UK nowadays. One of the prime examples of this is the education system. Statistics reveal steady increases in the use of ICT in teaching and learning in primary, secondary and special schools across the England, as traditional teaching methods are increasingly being replaced by computer-based methods. But how can we be sure that this transition will have a positive impact? After all, it has no proven track record whatsoever. Despite this, spending continues to rise. The average expenditure on ICT per school in the England has risen from £9,4K per annum in 1998 to £31.5k provisionally in 2002.
Undoubtedly, the potential benefits are great. For one, it gets children familiarised in the use of ICT at an early age. It enables pupils to work at their own pace, and it is widely thought that interactive learning is more productive. But are...