Education policy and the rationale for technology development in schools: political drivers - Teaching with Technologies: The Essential Guide - page 31

pupils (for example, via the school website or learning platform). These factors are
crucial in the successful implementation of technology in schools and the com-
plex interplay between them needs to be understood as part of an interconnected,
dynamic ecosystem, which in turn is nested in a regional, national and global bio-
sphere (Younie 2007).
In 2005, in order to overcome the disparities between schools, the government
launched its new national strategy, 'Harnessing Technology: Transforming Learn-
ing and Children's Services' (DfES 2005a). To address the discrepancies, the 2005
e-strategy had four overarching objectives: transform teaching and learning; engage
hard-to-reach groups in new ways; build an open accessible system, with more infor-
mation and services online; and achieve a new level of efficiency and effectiveness
in delivery (DfES 2005a). These objectives were echoed in the 2005 Schools White
Paper, 'Higher Standards, Better Schools for all' (DfES 2005b), which specified
government plans regarding the principal role of technology, which were to be
'designed around the needs of the individual' (Moffatt 2009). As the DfES (2005b)
asserted: 'by 2008 all schools will be able to offer access to e-learning resources
both in and out of school. We encourage all schools, by this date, to make avail-
able a personal online space for every pupil'.
This marks the step change in policy direction to 'personalization' and when the
agenda of 'personalized learning' became core themes of the Primary and Second-
ary National Strategies, 'Every Child Matters' and 'The Children's Plan' that were
launched in 2007. In 2008 Jim Knight, Minister of State for Schools and Learners
(2007-2008) at the Department for Children School and Families (DCSF), outlined
policy plans for the next six years. The revised e-strategy, 'Harnessing Technology:
Next Generation Learning 2008-14' (Becta 2009c), specified five key priorities that
the government considered essential to deliver 'a technology-confident education
system':

1. promoting a technology-related learner entitlement ;

2. putting in place universal access to powerful learning tools;

3. providing professional tools and support for better teaching and learning;

4. mobilizing leadership , and

5. developing a fit-for-purpose, system-wide national digital infrastructure

(Becta 2008a: 6, bold emphasis as original).

The 2008 e-strategy highlighted as a goal, the development of 'integrated online
personal support for learners', which entailed the provision of an e-portfolio, along-
side e-assessment and online reporting to parents. It was envisioned that 'personal-
ized online learning' would be facilitated by these e-strategies, with, for example,
online reporting increasing parental engagement (2008b). It specified that all second-
ary schools should provide online reporting for parents by 2010, and similarly all
primary schools by 2012 (Becta 2009b: 12). Moffatt (2009) argues that this strategy
was developed in response to research, which shows: 'the single most important fac-
tor behind educational achievement is getting parents and carers involved in their
children's learning' (Becta 2009c: 3).