RTG News
Pupils use home computers for schoolwork
5 Feb 2010
A Microsoft study has found that 37% of secondary pupils use computers for study every day at home. This is more intensive usage than at school with only 30% of pupils using computers every day.
The survey considered the computer use of 512 families with children. Among these pupils, aged between 11 and 18, more than 90% used a home computer for schoolwork at least once a week. More than a third were using their family's computer for homework or revision every single day.
There has been much media coverage about the "digital divide" in which children from more affluent families receive an advantage in school from better computer equipment at home. The government states there are approximately one million children without the internet at home. Earlier this month the government announced a £300m Home Access scheme to give a laptop to 270,000 low income families and free broadband access.
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls said that being without the internet at home leaves pupils "at a disadvantage to their peers".
Ed Balls said:
"Computers are no longer a luxury for the few, but are as essential a part of education as books, pens and paper.”
To read the article on the BBC website, please visit:
BBC News Online: http://news.bbc.co.uk
