About Becta

The reports found that young learners are prolific users of Web 2.0 technologies in their leisure time but that the use of Web 2.0 in the classroom was limited. However, schools and teachers who are innovating in this area have found benefits, such as:

• Web 2.0 helps to encourage student engagement and increase participation – particularly among quieter pupils, who can use it to work collaboratively online, without the anxiety of having to raise questions in front of peers in class – or by enabling expression through less traditional media such as video.
• Teachers have reported that the use of social networking technology can encourage online discussion amongst students outside school.
• Web 2.0 can be available anytime, anywhere, which encourages some individuals to extend their learning through further investigation into topics that interest them.
• Pupils feel a sense of ownership and engagement when they publish their work online and this can encourage attention to detail and an overall improved quality of work. Some teachers reported using publication of work to encourage peer assessment.

The research also found that over half of teachers surveyed believe that Web 2.0 resources should be used more often in the classroom. However, the majority of teachers questioned had never used Web 2.0 applications in lessons, despite being frequent users of technology in their personal and professional lives. Their main concerns involved a lack of time to familiarise themselves with the technology and worries about managing the use of the internet in class.

The reports recommended that teachers should be encouraged to help learners to develop more sophisticated use of Web 2.0 technology and to give them the skills to navigate this space.

Tony Richardson, Executive Director Strategy and Communications, said:

"Some schools and individual teachers have been very innovative in developing their use of Web 2.0 to support learning. However, clearly teachers need the support, time and space to develop skills and practices that will allow them to integrate Web 2.0 into lessons. The report shows that the impact that Web 2.0 can have on the motivation and engagement of pupils. We need to ensure that these benefits are extended to all learners."

Notes to editors: 

About the project

The Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4 project was a major initiative funded by Becta to investigate the use and impact of Web 2.0 technologies in and out of school.

The project's reports can be downloaded from the Research area of the website.

Further information:

• 2,600 students in year 8 and 10 were surveyed between August 2007 and May 2008. There were also 60 pupil focus groups and interviews with over 100 staff and a teacher survey
• 96% had internet connections at home but majority had a ‘shared’ family computer
• Leisure use of technology at home by learners varied. Whilst older learners and girls were found to be more interested in social networking, younger learners and boys were more likely to use the internet for interactive gaming
• Teachers are frequent users of technology too, with 93% of teachers surveyed using search engines regularly and 70% using the internet for work purposes. In their personal time, 45% had used social networking at some point, 29% had blogged and nearly a third had uploaded a video that they’d shot.
• The research also provided an insight into the habits of young people using Web 2.0. Of the 2,600 learners surveyed across 27 schools, 74% have social networking accounts and 78% have uploaded artefacts such as photos or video clips from phones.
• The report found that while learners were prolific users of technology they were not necessarily sophisticated users. They generally lacked an awareness of the range of technologies available, and how they could be used. Although access to the internet at home was found to be high amongst the students surveyed, this was often on a shared family computer, which could limit the time that they spend using it.