Why is it called 'ICT'
Anticipating that they would soon be in government, they commissioned a study to look into the use of computers in schools in order to plan what actions to take. The job was given to Sir Denis Stevenson and it was he who put the "C" into "ICT". You can see it used for the very first time in the picture below which is the cover of the report he produced.
Read on below or go to next page previous page or see a film.
You can still read the entire report on line at http://rubble.ultralab.net/stevenson/ Of greater importance was what the report actually said. Everyone anticipated that it might say something like "things aren't too bad", or perhaps "some improvement is needed". In fact, when it came out the report contained a profound finding. It said that if something wasn't done to improve the use of new technology in education, Great Britain would soon be in serious difficulties! The actual words the report contained were: "The state of ICT in our schools is
primitive and not improving" The incoming government accepted the report in its entirety and began an extensive programme of improvements in the use of ICT in all schools which is still continuing. |
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n the world at large it's called
IT (Information
Technology) but in UK Education it is referred to as ICT (Information and
Communications Technology).
Many people are confused by
this and to find the answer we need to go back to 1996 when Tony Blair and David Blunkett
were still in opposition and John Major's Conservative government was in
power. Blair and Blunkett felt sure that the next election would bring a
victory for New Labour and as it turned out they were right. 
Sir
Denis stated that IT was having
such a profound influence on communications (think of mobile phones, networks,
the Internet and digital television) that it really wasn't just
"information" technology any more and that the communications element
had assumed immense importance. He decided that it should be called "information and
communications" technology (ICT). There was much debate about whether to add the
"C" or not. In the end the education community in the UK did but
everyone else didn't.