Primary Strategy — Learning and Teaching with ICT
Today, ICT is an integral part of our everyday lives. Children especially have an intuitive grasp of how technology works. They love to use it to play and to learn.
It is no surprise, then, that ICT in the classroom has been linked with positive improvements in attainment and motivation. For instance, children at KS2 who are high ICT users tend to outperform low ICT users in National Tests for English to the equivalent of an additional term's progress (source ImpaCT2, DfES).
The benefits and advantages of computers in the classroom are many and varied:
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ICT helps motivate and engage children
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ICT helps prepare children for the world of work
Today's workplace is dominated by computers, technologies, applications and devices that children already love to use in the rest of their lives. ICT is the learning and teaching tool of the 21st century. -
ICT opens up new opportunities in teaching and learning
Teaching using ICT offers teachers the chance to inject new passion into their subjects, to adopt fresh approaches, pool ideas and develop new skills to expand their career possibilities. -
ICT helps schools to maximise ALL their resources
ICT saves valuable time and money by maximising the impact of teachers' efforts and streamlining management and admin processes. The 2003 ICT in Schools survey, for instance, reported that the majority of schools believe that ICT 'helps reduce teacher workload in terms of lesson preparation, planning and assessment'. -
ICT is flexible
ICT can be tailored to suit pupils of all ages and abilities, and teachers of all skills sets, to support teachers and pupils across the whole curriculum. (Over 99 per cent of primary schools in England are now connected to the Internet, with over 60 per cent having access to broadband)
Find out about new free ICT materials for leadership teams and teachers and further online resources.
