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Teachers get £5.6 million technology training programme

The Open University and e-skills UK have launched a nationwide programme designed to help teachers bring technology more effectively into the classroom.

Funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), the £5.6million programme is aiming to help education professionals, from primary through to secondary and college level, build their information and communications technology (ICT) skills, stay up to date with the latest developments and meet the needs of an increasingly technology-savvy generation of young people.

The new programme is also aiming to help teachers of all subjects make effective use of ICT as an inspirational and effective learning tool, and boost the technology skills of their students.

There will be a special focus on building the professional competence of technology teachers providing them, amongst other things, with first hand experience of the ways in which IT is used in business and to drive innovation.

The programme combines distance learning with face-to-face learning and will be supported by an online community.

Karen Price is CEO of e-skills UK, the Sector Skills Council for business and information technology. She said: "We live in a technology-enabled world. To prepare young people for successful futures we need to transform the way in which technology is taught and used in education. This places new demands on the skills and knowledge required of teachers.

"The UK already has many excellent technology teachers as well as teachers who are inspirational in their use of ICT in lessons. We believe that this programme will raise the overall standard to that of the very best, enhancing and enriching education for young people and their teachers."

Professor Brenda Gourley, vice-chancellor of The Open University, said: "From Facebook and Wi-Fi, to iPods and YouTube, today's school pupils are some of the most technologically savvy people in society. The Open University has been driving the use of innovative technology in education since it began 40 years ago and we are looking forward to helping teachers become even better at harnessing the potential of technology in their own classrooms."

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The Open University

e-skills UK

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