Windows of opportunity? Schools and the Internet in the U.K

For many with an interest in education, and certainly for the governments of most industrialized nations, connecting schools to the Internet is the number one priority for investment. Typical levels of connectivity for schools at present involve one or two networked computers, introduced at a fairly negligible cost, with a similarly minimal effect on education provision. What is envisaged goes much further than this, with whole classrooms wired up to virtually unlimited Internet access throughout the school. If all of this is to be achieved, it means a huge investment. In the United Kingdom, as elsewhere, the government acknowledges this, and says it intends to get the private sector to put up much of the funding. However, if that money is to be found (whether from public or private sources), then when should it be spent? Whether the industry money will be forthcoming is questionable, given past experience, and it may well be that the provision of information and communications technologies (ICTs) continues to develop only slowly from the rather minimal level that now exists. Nevertheless, the author questions the setting of priorities, rather than considering what may or may not actually happen. The call for Internet connection is an attempt to find a simple technical solution to a complex social problem, and the urgency of the demand reveals a number of assumptions about the purpose of education and the social function of technology. Such questions are easily overlooked given the temptation to seize upon any possibility of additional funding for education.