IT education needs 'more standards'

12:53 7th November 2008

A major policy commission into the needs of the UK's education system has identified that more standards are required to fully exploit IT in schools.

Commissioned by the British Educational Suppliers Association, the report is a result of contributions from educators and leaders and has disclosed that the deployment of further hardware and software is vital to address IT skill shortages.

The commission also recommended that Becta, the government agency responsible for the promotion of IT, should lead the development of standards and ensure compatibility and competitiveness.

The report concluded: "Technology, whether used in an institution or at home, must play a full and seamless part in supporting personalised learning … interoperability of content, software and hardware is key to these goals"

Last month, the security vendor VeriSign suggested that IT security education should be a major part of school computing courses to ensure that users learn how to surf online safely.