Tools for the job: a report of two surveys of information and communications technology training and use for literacy in primary schools in the West of England

Abstract Substantial investment has been made in improving computer hardware and raising the profile of information and communications technology (ICT) in English primary schools in recent years, in line with the belief that skills in ICT are essential for our future workforce ( DfEE/QCA 2000 ). This study compares practising teachers' responses in 1998 and 2001 to a questionnaire about the aims and uses of ICT in primary schools for literacy activities. It discusses the changes in what teachers want and their understanding of the task the government has given them to do. A commonly cited problem is finding time to absorb the new technology to maximise its pedagogic potential.