Is there too much technology in education?

BBC News

4 days ago

The head of a school academy chain has warned the education system is in danger of being over digitised, amid the rise of educational technology. As schools are encouraged to invest in "ed tech", a recent report by the Nuffield Foundation highlighted a lack of "evaluation and oversight" of firms providing learning platforms for children. John Uttley, who leads 12 primary and secondary schools in East and North Yorkshire, said he had seen "no evidence that [devices] are more beneficial than other methods of teaching".The government, who announced £4m of funding towards developing AI tools to help mark work and plan lessons last year, has been approached for comment.
Data provided by technology company Glass.AI estimated that 1,203 ed tech companies were operating in England in 2025, up from 1,017 in 2022.The industry has an estimated worth of £6.5bn, according to the firm, with 90% of primary and 92% of secondary schools currently using these learning platforms in England.
Mr Uttley, CEO of The Education Alliance which has schools in Naburn, Driffield and Beverley among others, said: "We should rightly worry about this generation being so reliant on smartphones, on tech. "It risks sending a mixed message around saying on the one hand be careful how much you're on a screen and then saying the main way we are going to learn in a school is through a screen." Nuffield Foundation's report, titled A Learning Curve? highlighted a lack of support for schools and school leaders when it came to purchasing educational technology for children.Data protection and the risk of data exploitation were areas of concern, drawing attention to the importance of schools fully understanding what pupil data was being collected, how it was stored, and with whom it was shared.Co-author of the report Renate Samson said a better understanding of the technology and evidence of the impact on teaching methods and learning outcomes was needed. "It's hard to identify what the benefits are, as there's little research of the effectiveness and efficiency of these products," she said."Some schools are purchasing through word of mouth or lured by big marketing and hype."
As many parents struggle to balance children's time on screens with real-life interaction, some worry the use of technology for school work gave them "less control". Mum of two Anna, from York, said: "We try on a daily basis to limit the time they spend on devices. "They say we need it for homework but I'm sure half the time they are then going on other things that aren't homework."Anna's daughter Rosa, nine, said she enjoyed doing her homework on a device, especially maths, as it let her "earn coins" for answering questions correctly.Meanwhile, Rosa's 13-year-old sister Matilda said she found education apps "overwhelming" and would prefer written homework. "It goes in better [on paper] because I don't have a screen dinging every five seconds showing me something I want to look at," she said. "I'm just focused on it that entire time and don't have anything else distracting me."
Some schools, such as Rossett School in Harrogate, have embraced educational technology.The secondary school, part of the Red Kite Learning Trust, has been an "iPad school" for the past decade.Its pupils buy a device through the school for class and homework to "enhance" learning.A firewall is installed during schools hours so only class work can be accessed. Year 7 pupils told the BBC they "loved" using iPads, describing it as "so fun" and "more interesting than writing all the time".
'iPads do what textbooks can't'
Head teacher Tim Milburn said he believed working on devices was a great way to engage young people and prepare them for the digital world. "Teachers are able to make decisions where teaching is enhanced by technology making sure young people can use that safely and properly," he said."We can do things on an iPad that we can't do with a text book." Additionally, he said using tech to help with marking could free up teachers and cut their workload."If that can mean more time is spent on planning lessons then that's got to be for the benefit of young people," he said.
Many schools were forced to introduce more technology during the coronavirus pandemic but Mr Uttley said The Education Alliance reviewed this once schools returned to normal.He said: "We really believe the best teaching happens between an adult and a child and it's very important for children to continue to develop writing skills, reading skills with books and on paper, rather than just always on a screen."Mr Uttley acknowledged that technology can play a valuable role in the classroom, but only when used appropriately."It needs to be used when it really adds to learning," he said."Researching a particular topic on the internet is a perfectly appropriate use of tech but that doesn't mean that whole lessons should necessarily rely on tech."