§ Jane GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to develop the delivery of education in schools through digital formats. [156805]
§ Mr. BlunkettI am today publishing a consultation paper "Curriculum Online", which sets out our proposals for the next steps in the use of technology to raise standards of education, including consulting on the future of the National Grid for Learning. Copies of the paper have been placed in the House of Commons Library. We are seeking views on the best way to achieve our vision of a consistent and coherent set of electronic resources available across the curriculum. All teachers will have access to the best available resources to support their34W lesson planning and all pupils will be able to use the same materials at home as they do in the classroom, to support their homework and revision, for example.
As a first step towards achieving our vision, I am also announcing today the outcome of our competition for the provision of digital course materials for GCSEs in English, mathematics, science, history, geography and French. We will be investing £42 million over three years in these materials, to be delivered over digital television and other channels. The proposals were assessed against criteria including their educational merits and their value for money and the BBC and Granada Media were judged to have submitted the best proposals. Subject to the necessary DCMS approvals, they will be working together to deliver the six GCSEs, split equally between them.
In addition, I can announce that we will be developing a "Cybrarian"—a virtual librarian service for learners of all ages—using £17.5 million from the Capital Modernisation Fund and a further £5 million of DfEE funding. It will offer much more effective ways of connecting learners with the rich electronic content that they need and will be a powerful tool in efforts to bridge the digital divide, particularly for those traditionally poorly served by electronic resources.
Together these announcements represent another important step forward in our plans to use the potential of technology to reinforce and support our commitment to the best of traditional teaching methods.