The [UK] government yesterday raised the prospect of large-scale
public/private partnerships to bring information superhighways to
the classroom. Mrs Gillian Shephard, the education secretary,
published a consultation paper inviting companies in the
information technology sector to collaborate with schools in
developing fibre-optic networks as aids to teaching, teacher
training and school administration. In spite of the rhetoric
surrounding superhighways, only a small number of pilot projects
have got under way.
Mrs Shephard is seeking companies' views on how to fund and extend
education networks, but the cost of equipment and
telecommunications services has so far proved an obstacle for
schools. Although she did not mention new state funding, Mrs
Shephard said pilot projects 'will help determine how various new
technologies can enhance the process of teaching and learning'. The
paper highlighted the experience of higher education in the use of
new networks. 'SuperJanet' - the Super Joint Academic Network -
connects more than 60 sites across the UK, providing information
services, distance learning and teaching, and group working. Mrs
Shephard said it was a chance for the education sector to
contribute to the debate on superhighways, and to use them for
staff training. The Open University's post-graduate certificate of
education the course taken by trainee teachers - links 1,100
students and their tutors by means of loaned computers and modems.
The government intends to evaluate pilot projects, and is seeking
responses by July. The national curriculum requires schools to
develop pupils' ability in information technology.
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copyright 1995 by Financial Times (London)