Department of Education

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ICT: an Uncertain Future?

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Yesterday’s announcement of the demise of Becta seems to have brought a lot of people out in the open to air their views, or maybe it was the unseasonable hot weather? Views were expressed in blogs, on twitter and various websites. Some of these views were reflective, looking back on the work Becta had done, some were vitriolic and many simply pondered what would happen next.

Of those who have been pondering what would happen next, many seem to be looking for who could take over the role of Becta. In reality, though, it is probably too early to start putting people or organisations forward to take over the role as we do not fully know what is going to happen to Becta, its resources and its assets. A timetable or schedule for closure has yet to be announced ( the date of ‘November’ seems to be taken out of thin air, people within Becta have told me that no date or timetable has been given to them). It is very likely that some of the assets and staff will be absorbed over time within the Department of Education.

One body that has been tipped to take over some of Becta’s role has been NAACE. This is a great organisation built upon membership of people involved in ICT an education. As such, it is in a great position to take a lead in the continuing development of educational technology. However, the members of NAACE also have their main jobs to do, in schools, Local Authorities, RBCs and private companies, how many would have the time or capacity to take on additional roles at a national level?

Apart from NAACE, other organisations have been mentioned; MirandaNet, JISC, eLearning Foundation, or even RM. Other people seem to suggest that it should be left to schools, Local Authorities or maybe the Regional Broadband Consortia. All of these organisations, and others, maybe pondering their course of action and studying their constitutions to see what, if anything, they could do. Assuming, that is, they want to do anything.

The other difficulty for many of these organisations could be funding. Not only securing any funding to take over any of Becta’s roles but also the current funding for their work. Several organisations may have relied to some extent upon funding from Becta, either directly or indirectly. In such circumstances, the organisations may be studying their own balance sheets simply to see if they can continue with their current work, let alone take on other roles; unless those other roles can be income generating.

So there is a balancing act to be done between waiting to see what emerges, if anything, from the closure of Becta and re-examining your organisation’s current and possible future roles. – Interesting times indeed.

One thing that needs to be agreed, though, is that educational technology is important and needs to be developed for the benefit of learners. Whatever happens, there is work to be done and learners seeking learning. Let’s hope we all, schools, organisations, private companies, individuals, work towards positive outcomes.