Much technology, but limited impact: what progress has been made with Learning Technology in the Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) sector?

• Main Author: Crawley, Jim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Huddersfield Press 2009-01-01
• Series: Teaching in Lifelong Learning: A Journal to Inform and Improve Practice
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.5920/till.2009.1143

This article reviews the progress which has been made in the uses of Learning Technology (LT) to support teaching and learning in the Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) sector. It argues that progress in terms of the depth and breadth of overall impact is limited and disappointing, despite significant investment from government and others. Across the PCET sector as a whole, despite progress in a number of areas, the use of technology is far from embedded in teaching and learning, and little real ‘transformation’ on any major scale has taken place. The possible reasons for this situation are discussed, as is the particular situation of teachers in PCET. The lack of progress is not, it is argued, due to any lack of willingness by staff to experiment and innovate, but to a range of other sector wide issues. The article concludes with some recommendations relating to how this important sector of UK education could move forward to a more positive future in relation to LT.