Teaching technology use 'is important'

19:36 11th September 2009

Teaching the effective use of technology is an important task, one headteacher has asserted.

Following the release of a new report from the Cranfield School of Management which indicates that addiction to technology can be a disruption to learning, the headteacher of St Cyres School, Brian Lightman, argued that it is an important aid to learning.

"Technology is an important part of the world, and we need it, and it can have enormous benefit," he said, indicating the importance of effective IT training.

Nonetheless, it is important to teach how to use different media, he said, adding that it is not a replacement for basic literacy.

The report from the Cranfield School of Management found that some 40 per cent of 11 to 18-year-olds believe that text spelling has damaged their written English.

Besides this, the report argued that over-reliance on technology can encourage plagiarism - one-third of those surveyed said they believed that inserting text from the internet into their own work was an acceptable thing to do.

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