A new network to boost the development and use of educational technology in further education will be given 3.9 million in funding.
The Technology Exemplar Network programme - created by government partner Becta and the Learning Skills Council (LSC) - will help educational bodies share best practice and improve the use of technology for learning, the groups said.
Bill Rammell, the minister for lifelong learning, further and higher education, said: "Technology has the power to change lives. We rely on our education system to help us master it. Just as it is changing how we live, so it is changing how we learn. Many of our schools, colleges and universities already teach technology effectively and apply it innovatively in other subjects, but we want to see all leaders, teachers and trainers making full use of the potential for students and business."
The 3.9 million in funding will cover the first phase in 2007 and 2008, and go toward setting up the network as well as to technology providers with a good track record, following a bidding process from November 2007. The network will launch in January 2008.
Stephen Crowne, Becta's chief executive, said: "This new network will help the sector raise its game still further by getting the best out of technology... We know that there has been significant investment in technology for learning and there are tremendous examples of where it has made a huge difference. This network will ensure that these examples are made available across the country."
