
In a move that has sent shock waves throughout the education technology world, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA), which has been a leading international voice in research and support for using information and communications technology (ICT) in schools, is shutting its doors—a victim of the new U.K. government’s cost-cutting measures.
BECTA’s closing could leave many U.K. schools on their own as they struggle to integrate technology effectively into teaching and learning, and its absence could be felt in the United States as well, observers say.
A “quango,” or non-departmental body, BECTA is the U.K. government agency that has led that nation’s drive to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology in teaching and learning. Through BECTA’s work, U.K. schools have received expert advice on ICT purchases and applications in the classroom. BECTA also led the U.K.’s Home Access plan, an ambitious national initiative that sought to offer certain low-income families with children a free laptop computer and internet access.…Read More