"The need for improved technical support in schools has expanded as the Government and schools have increased their investment in information and communications technologies"
About this Quote
Estelle Morris points to a simple but often overlooked truth of digital reform: buying hardware and wiring classrooms is only the beginning. As governments and schools pour resources into computers, networks, and online platforms, they create a living system that must be maintained, secured, and made dependable. The value of the investment hinges on whether teachers can walk into a room, switch on a device, and trust it will work. Without robust technical support, equipment becomes fragile ornamentation, downtime erodes learning time, and staff revert to older methods out of frustration.
Her observation emerged from the UKs early 2000s push under New Labour to modernize education through ICT. Initiatives like the National Grid for Learning, widespread broadband rollout, and targeted funding for classroom technology expanded digital capacity at speed. Agencies such as Becta tried to set standards and share best practice, but a critical bottleneck remained: who would keep the systems running? Schools discovered that the hidden costs of technology are not primarily boxes and cables but people, processes, and training.
Technical support here is more than break-fix. It includes network management, cybersecurity, content filtering, data protection, interoperability between systems, and on-the-spot help that keeps lessons on track. It also blends into pedagogy: instructional technologists and well-trained teachers translate capabilities into effective practice. That makes support a matter of equity. Affluent schools can hire technicians and buy managed services; others struggle, widening the digital divide even as devices proliferate.
Morris is, in effect, arguing for total cost of ownership thinking in public policy. Procurement should budget for refresh cycles, help desks, professional development, and resilient infrastructure, not just the initial kit. The social contract of educational technology is reliability and trust. When support scales with investment, technology becomes an enabler of learning. When it does not, the promise of ICT turns into a burden for classrooms least able to bear it.
Her observation emerged from the UKs early 2000s push under New Labour to modernize education through ICT. Initiatives like the National Grid for Learning, widespread broadband rollout, and targeted funding for classroom technology expanded digital capacity at speed. Agencies such as Becta tried to set standards and share best practice, but a critical bottleneck remained: who would keep the systems running? Schools discovered that the hidden costs of technology are not primarily boxes and cables but people, processes, and training.
Technical support here is more than break-fix. It includes network management, cybersecurity, content filtering, data protection, interoperability between systems, and on-the-spot help that keeps lessons on track. It also blends into pedagogy: instructional technologists and well-trained teachers translate capabilities into effective practice. That makes support a matter of equity. Affluent schools can hire technicians and buy managed services; others struggle, widening the digital divide even as devices proliferate.
Morris is, in effect, arguing for total cost of ownership thinking in public policy. Procurement should budget for refresh cycles, help desks, professional development, and resilient infrastructure, not just the initial kit. The social contract of educational technology is reliability and trust. When support scales with investment, technology becomes an enabler of learning. When it does not, the promise of ICT turns into a burden for classrooms least able to bear it.
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| Topic | Technology |
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