Teachers find free stuff

More than half of schools are now downloading significant amounts of lesson materials for free from the internet. The trend is noted in a wide-ranging survey of school computer use by the British Educational Suppliers Association.

The poll, which included 798 primary teachers indicates a major change in teachers' use of the web over the past five years.

Nearly all schools have downloaded some free resources since 2002, but the annual survey shows that the proportion of schools downloading a 'significant' amount of free curriculum materials and software now exceeds 50% of primaries.

The report suggest the figures may even under-estimate teachers' reliance on free web materials. The report says that, "It is likely that the subjective definition of 'significant' has changed over time. What was a significant amount of material in 2002 may well be considered to be less significant today."