Teach17

Technology is often introduced into schools with promises of reduced workload, personalised learning and improved communication. Yet many teachers experience something very different: unreliable Wi-Fi, repeated data entry, too many passwords, constant notifications and new platforms that duplicate systems already in place.

The answer is not necessarily more technology. It is better-chosen, better-designed and better-supported technology.

Every new system should help teachers spend more time planning, explaining, questioning, supporting pupils and building relationships. It should remove unnecessary work rather than simply move that work from paper to a screen.

Here are 17 ways technology could support teachers better.

1. Begin with a real problem experienced by teachers

Schools should not purchase technology simply because it appears innovative or because neighbouring schools are using it.

The starting point should be a clearly identified problem:

• Teachers are entering the same data several times.
• Cover work is difficult to organise.
• Resources are scattered across different drives.
• Parents receive messages through too many channels.
• Assessment information takes too long to interpret.
• Pupils cannot access particular materials independently.
• Staff lose teaching time because equipment is unreliable.

Teachers who will use a system should be involved before it is purchased, not consulted after the contract has been signed.

A small trial with one department can reveal whether a product actually saves time. It can also expose practical problems that may not appear during a polished sales demonstration.

The Education Endowment Foundation’s guidance on digital technology provides a useful starting point for schools considering whether technology is likely to improve teaching and learning.

2. Make the basic technology dependable

Teachers cannot rely on digital resources when the projector takes several minutes to connect, the laptop needs repeated updates or the Wi-Fi disappears when a full class logs on.

Before investing in artificial intelligence, virtual reality or expensive interactive systems, schools need dependable foundations:

• reliable broadband;
• strong Wi-Fi coverage;
• computers that start quickly;
• working classroom displays;
• sufficient charged devices;
• effective filtering;
• secure networks;
• accessible technical support.

Teachers should not need a backup lesson every time they plan to use technology.

The Department for Education has published digital and technology standards for schools and colleges. Schools can also use the free Plan technology for your school service to assess their infrastructure and identify priorities.

Reliable equipment may be less exciting than the latest application, but it is far more valuable to classroom teachers.

3. Provide fast technical support during the school day

A teacher with 30 pupils cannot spend 15 minutes searching online for a solution to a technical problem.

Schools need a simple way to report faults and receive help. Staff should know:

• where to report a problem;
• who is responsible for dealing with it;
• how urgent issues will be prioritised;
• whether replacement equipment is available;
• when they can expect an update.

Common problems should be recorded so that recurring faults can be identified rather than repeatedly patched.

Schools could also provide brief troubleshooting guides for predictable issues such as connecting a display, restoring sound, resetting a pupil password or reconnecting a device.

Technical support should allow teachers to teach. It should not quietly transfer responsibility for maintaining school systems to classroom staff.

4. Reduce the number of passwords and separate platforms

Teachers may need different systems for email, homework, behaviour, safeguarding, assessment, seating plans, printing, professional development and communication with parents.

Even when each platform works individually, the combined experience can be exhausting.

Schools should aim for:

• secure single sign-on where possible;
• one clear platform for each main purpose;
• consistent usernames;
• automatic account creation;
• prompt removal of accounts when staff leave;
• straightforward password recovery;
• clear instructions about where information should be stored.

A teacher should not have to remember which of four platforms contains a particular document or message.

Reducing digital clutter is one of the simplest ways to make technology feel supportive rather than burdensome.

5. Make school systems communicate with one another

Teachers frequently enter information that the school already holds.

A change to a pupil’s name, timetable, class, SEND provision or contact information may need to be entered separately into several platforms. This wastes time and increases the chance of conflicting records.

Approved systems should share relevant information securely. For example:

• class lists could update automatically;
• pupil photographs could appear in seating plans;
• timetable changes could update homework platforms;
• assessment results could feed into agreed reports;
• authorised support information could be visible in the systems teachers already use.

Integration should not become an excuse to collect more data. Its purpose should be to prevent staff from repeatedly typing, copying and checking the same information.

6. Remove an old process whenever a new one is introduced

New technology often creates an additional task without replacing the previous one.

A school introduces an online behaviour system, but teachers must still complete a paper form. Assessment data is entered centrally, but departments must also maintain separate spreadsheets. Messages are posted on a staff platform, but the same information is sent by email.

Every new system should come with a clear answer to this question:

What existing task, form, meeting, spreadsheet or platform will this replace?

A useful “one in, one out” rule would prevent schools from building layer after layer of digital administration.

When a system is no longer needed, it should be formally retired. Staff should not be expected to check it “just in case”.

7. Automate repetitive administration

Technology is most useful when it completes predictable tasks that do not require professional judgement.

It could help to:

• populate class lists;
• organise parents’ evening appointments;
• record consent-form returns;
• produce registers and labels;
• send routine reminders;
• identify missing submissions;
• calculate straightforward assessment summaries;
• schedule recurring communications;
• generate certificates;
• organise trip information.

Automation should make the whole process shorter. Replacing a quick paper task with a complicated online workflow is not progress.

Schools should be particularly cautious about forms that collect information simply because technology makes it possible. Data should be gathered only when somebody will use it for a clear purpose.

8. Use AI to create a first draft, not a final decision

Generative AI can help teachers begin routine tasks more quickly.

It might produce a first draft of:

• retrieval questions;
• vocabulary lists;
• model answers;
• reading passages;
• revision schedules;
• parent communications;
• lesson explanations;
• practice questions;
• administrative summaries.

The teacher must remain responsible for checking accuracy, suitability, bias, safeguarding, copyright and curriculum alignment.

AI should never make automatic decisions about safeguarding, behaviour, predicted grades, SEND provision or the quality of a teacher’s work. Nor should identifiable pupil information be entered into a public AI system without an approved legal basis and suitable protection.

The Department for Education provides free support materials for using AI safely and effectively in education.

Used carefully, AI can reduce the time required to reach a workable first draft. Used carelessly, it can create plausible-looking errors and additional checking.

9. Help teachers find and adapt good resources

Most teachers do not suffer from a complete lack of online resources. They suffer from having too many places to search.

A useful departmental resource bank should be:

• organised around the curriculum;
• searchable by topic and year group;
• clearly dated;
• easy to edit;
• linked to the relevant specification;
• quality assured;
• free from unnecessary duplicates;
• accessible to new and returning staff.

Useful search filters could include lesson length, required equipment, reading demand, prior knowledge, common misconceptions and level of challenge.

Schools should also protect time for departments to improve shared resources. A carefully developed curriculum is more valuable than hundreds of disconnected worksheets downloaded at the last minute.

Technology should help teachers build collectively rather than forcing every teacher to begin from nothing.

10. Turn assessment information into useful next steps

Digital assessment should provide more than a mark, percentage or coloured spreadsheet.

A useful system could help a teacher see:

• which questions caused the greatest difficulty;
• which misconceptions appeared repeatedly;
• which pupils need further support;
• which pupils are ready for greater challenge;
• whether a weakness is new or persistent;
• which content needs to be retaught;
• whether pupils were successful for the right reason.

The teacher should then decide what to do with that information.

Technology can organise evidence, but it cannot know the class as well as the teacher does. A low score may reflect poor understanding, absence, anxiety, rushed reading or a badly worded question. Data can begin a professional conversation; it should not replace one.

The best assessment technology answers, “What might I do next?” rather than simply, “Who scored the least?”

11. Reduce repetitive marking while protecting good feedback

Technology can help with feedback when it identifies patterns and makes it easier for pupils to respond.

It could:

• mark carefully selected factual questions;
• group similar incorrect answers;
• highlight widespread misconceptions;
• store useful comments;
• support whole-class feedback;
• allow audio feedback;
• provide opportunities for correction and resubmission;
• show whether pupils have acted on advice.

Teachers should not be expected to provide lengthy individual digital comments simply because a platform makes it possible.

Sometimes the most useful response is to reteach an idea, model an improved answer or discuss a common error with the whole class.

The EEF’s guidance on teacher feedback emphasises the principles behind effective feedback rather than insisting on one particular method.

Technology should help teachers notice what pupils need. It should not turn marking into a continuous online conversation that never ends.

12. Make adaptive teaching easier to manage

Technology can help pupils access the same ambitious curriculum through different forms of support.

A shared resource might include:

• text-to-speech;
• recorded instructions;
• a glossary;
• an enlarged diagram;
• a worked example;
• optional hints;
• additional practice;
• extension questions;
• captions and transcripts;
• a reduced-distraction version.

This is more manageable than expecting teachers to create several entirely separate lessons for one class.

Support should be easy to add and remove. Pupils who need a scaffold for one topic may not need it forever.

Technology works best when it helps teachers anticipate barriers while keeping pupils connected to the central learning. It should support responsive teaching, not place pupils permanently on simplified digital pathways.

13. Build accessibility into every platform and resource

Accessibility should not be treated as a specialist addition requested only after a pupil has struggled.

School systems should work with:

• screen readers;
• keyboard navigation;
• text-to-speech;
• speech recognition;
• captions;
• adjustable text sizes;
• accessible colour contrast;
• alternative text for images;
• uncluttered page layouts;
• different methods of recording work.

Accessible design can support pupils with visual impairments, dyslexia, physical disabilities, hearing impairments, language needs and difficulties with handwriting. It can also make resources clearer for everyone.

Schools should ask about accessibility before buying a product rather than assuming that the supplier has considered it.

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative provides guidance on making websites, documents and digital tools more accessible.

Technology cannot support inclusion if some pupils cannot use it independently.

14. Bring communication into fewer, clearer channels

Teachers may receive information through email, staff messaging, homework platforms, parent portals, safeguarding systems and informal group chats.

Important messages become harder to identify when everything arrives with the same sense of urgency.

Schools should define:

• where urgent messages will appear;
• which platform parents should use;
• where safeguarding information belongs;
• when staff are expected to respond;
• which communications can be scheduled;
• when notifications should be switched off.

Technology could combine routine updates into one daily summary rather than sending a separate alert every few minutes.

Templates can help with common messages, and approved translation tools can improve communication with families. However, sensitive or complicated conversations may still need a telephone call or meeting.

Better communication technology should reduce interruptions. It should not make teachers permanently available.

15. Improve cover, practical work and shared-school organisation

Technology should make everyday school logistics easier.

A good cover system could provide:

• the class list;
• the seating plan;
• the current curriculum topic;
• an appropriate pre-prepared lesson;
• essential support information;
• relevant behaviour routines;
• links to required resources.

An unwell teacher should not have to spend the morning constructing and emailing detailed cover work.

Departments could maintain a bank of worthwhile cover lessons connected to their curriculum rather than relying on generic activities.

Shared systems could also manage room bookings, computer suites, tablet trolleys, specialist equipment and practical requests.

In science, a practical-booking system might include equipment requirements, class size, preparation time, safety information and disposal instructions. This should strengthen communication with science technicians, not attempt to replace their professional expertise.

16. Provide short, subject-specific training

Teachers rarely need another general tour of every button on a platform.

They need to know how the technology can help with a real aspect of their work.

Useful training might show staff how to:

• use a visualiser to model a process;
• create an accessible worksheet;
• analyse one class assessment;
• organise shared departmental resources;
• produce a useful self-marking quiz;
• give audio feedback;
• use AI safely for planning;
• protect sensitive information.

Training should include time to practise and apply the tool to an upcoming lesson or task.

Schools could also identify staff who use particular technology effectively and give them time to support colleagues. This is more useful than appointing an enthusiastic “digital champion” with no time, training or authority to help anyone.

Professional development should focus on better teaching and reduced workload, not on promoting a product.

17. Judge technology by what it improves and what it removes

Every digital system should be reviewed after it has been introduced.

Schools should ask:

• Has it reduced workload?
• Has it improved teaching or pupil access?
• What previous process has it replaced?
• Are teachers using it consistently?
• Has it created any unexpected work?
• Can all pupils use it?
• Is personal information protected?
• Is the system reliable?
• Does it remain good value?
• Should the school renew, change or remove it?

Teachers should be able to give honest feedback without being blamed for lacking enthusiasm.

Schools can use the Department for Education’s workload and wellbeing resources to examine whether systems and processes are helping staff.

Security must also form part of every review. The National Cyber Security Centre’s resources for schools provide practical support for leaders, governors, IT teams and other staff.

A system should not be retained merely because the school has already paid for it. Continuing to use ineffective technology creates further costs in time, frustration and lost confidence.

Technology supports teachers best when it is reliable, straightforward and almost unnoticed. It should reduce duplication, improve access to useful information and remove work that does not require a teacher’s professional expertise.

The aim is not to replace teachers or automate every human interaction. It is to protect the parts of teaching that matter most: clear explanation, thoughtful planning, professional judgement, encouragement, humour, relationships and noticing when a pupil needs something different.