Primary School Teachers ICT Training in the UK - Essay Example

Teacher ICT training in the UK is being offered and driven by the UK government via the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). It is mandatory for all UK Primary School teachers to take pieces of training in ICT, and the UK government was working on a 100% target as of the year 2002. The DfEE has got training centers that are used for the pieces of training. (Wheeler, 2000). The skills that the teachers are being trained on are ICT resource skills. These vary from ability to timetable lessons, offer learning material, offer examinations, check pupil assignments and other extra curriculum activities.

(Riel, 2000, p. 9-24). The next skill the teachers learn is the use of ICT educational space to enable modern trend network communications between teacher and pupil. Teachers are also trained in ICT collaborative educational skills that will enable the pupils to social be able to collaborate with the latest technologies such as discussion formatted ICT lists. Teachers are also trained on the autonomy management of pupil learning which will take as much creative shape as is the technology in the coming days.

(Wheeler, 2000). These pieces of training are both technical and integrative skills in classroom lessons. The technical bit of the training is including and goes beyond Computer-Mediated Communication. (Wheeler, 2000). The integrative training is the bridging of the conventional classroom learning and trendy ICT learning. (Wheeler, 2000). In the teaching of ICT skills to the Pupils, the teachers trained to use ICT resources away from the conventional manual teaching of the pupils. The teachers will also teach pupils how to approach some virtually linked tests with instant feedback to both pupils and teachers.

(Semenov, 2000, p.25-30). The teacher will now have to adopt a deeper learner-centered approach to the pupil by refocusing on ICT thinking and collaborative education. (Littlejohn, Stefani, & Sclater, 1999, p. 27-30). Finally, the teacher will change how they teach interactive knowledge that has an ICT bias. (Wheeler, 2000). Indeed the teachers in the UK are receiving training in ICT teaching practice. Up to the UK, 230 million pounds had been spent as of 2002. A 50% discount on all computers purchased by teachers is also on offer to improve and boost their personal skills.

They have also been organized into pilot assemblies to ease the training plans. Thereafter a collaborative web page is developed for each training group to help them relay any matters that they would like to share with training class colleagues. (Wheeler, 2000).