The Interactive Whiteboards, Pedagogy and Pupil Performance ...

(handheld, network connected instruments which individual pupils can use to interact
with a central computer), or a better solution than laptops. Despite strong advocacy
by committed proponents the precise role the technology can most usefully play in
the classroom remains uncertain. Thus in the primary sector they are more
frequently championed as a means of supporting whole class interactive teaching,
whilst in secondary schools they are more likely to be welcomed as supporting a
more conventional teacher role at the front of the class. To understand why the
technology has attracted a separate funding stream so quickly, despite IWBs
relatively recent arrival on the scene, and the continuing uncertainty over their best
use, this review will consider the ways in which ICT policy more generally has been
developing over recent years.
ICT in schools since 1997
When New Labour came into office in 1997, they introduced a series of policies
designed to increase the spending by schools on ICT. These initiatives established
an educational entitlement to a minimum level of ICT infrastructure in every state
school (in the first instance spelt out in terms of internet connection, a dedicated
computer suite, and sufficient resources to provide at least one computer in each
classroom). Further resources were directed to ensure a minimum entitlement to
ICT know-how on the part of pupils and teachers. Thus a variety of policy levers
were introduced to increase the use of ICT across the curriculum in different subject
areas, as well as increase the time spent by pupils studying ICT as a separate
subject. In addition the government funded a sequence of initiatives designed to
capacity-build the necessary competence, which teachers require to use ICT well
within education. These initiatives take various forms 1
From the perspective of New Labour, the introduction of ICT to schools is about
modernising the public sector through investment. Such an investment is justified if
it re-vitalises the school infrastructure, modernises working practices and equips
children more specifically for what lies ahead in an increasingly technologically
driven society. Current pronouncements from the DfES signal a further increase in
spending in this area, and reinforce this general policy direction (DfES 2003b). Their
avowed aim is to strengthen the work already undertaken in building the
infrastructure, and further invest in strategies designed to facilitate best pedagogic
use of ICT, whilst simultaneously enabling workforce reform (DfES 2003b).
1
For example, arms-length government agencies which foster the use of ICT via a range of
different kinds of activity (BECTA, NfGL, now known as ICT in schools); an increasing use
of ICT on the government’s part to facilitate the exchange of information (for example, the
DfES webpages carrying the latest research evidence on ICT); online resources for teachers
(Curriculum Online; teachernet; London Grid for Learning); funding for different kinds of
research into best practice using ICT (Best Practice Research Scholarships; The Review
Project, Hull); outreach practitioner forums (National Whiteboard Network); or programmes
of inservice training for teachers. A detailed outline of many of these initiatives is included
in Ofsted, 2004.
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