In 1996, the British Educational Co

In 1996, the British Educational Communications and Technology
Agency (Becta) (Youngman & Harrison, 1998) carried out a study that
sought to develop teacher competence and confidence in the use of ICT with
portable computers. Approximately 1150 teachers in 575 primary and
secondary schools were provided with a multimedia portable computer
together with two Internet subscriptions, core software and a number of CDROM
titles. The evaluation of the project made use of three sources of data:
the databases which held records on the teachers and their schools,
including self-ratings of initial self-confidence and competence with ICT; a
detailed questionnaire administered at two points, 3 months and 8 months
into the academic year; and case study data. It was found that a very high
proportion of teachers (98%) made effective use of their computer; a very
high proportion made use of desktop publishing software; over 94% of
teachers attempted to use the CD-ROM, and 91% were successful. The use of
e-mail (62%) and the Internet (76%) was high. The degree of computer
literacy of many teachers increased to the extent that even relatively
inexperienced teachers were quickly able to use their computer’s power to
evaluate a variety of software packages, and to filter, import and export
information in order to better suit their own curriculum purposes. Teachers’
confidence and competence changed for the better; they felt that their