Twitter is to be taught in Britain’s primary schools as the Government seeks to make online communication a permanent part of the UK’s education system. No, it’s not April 1st. Twitter really is about to join maths, English and science in British classrooms.


New plans for the UK’s education system have been drawn up by Sir Jim Rose, the former head of school inspector Ofsted. They were due to be published in full next month, but have leaked early to The Guardian.

Under the new guidelines, an understanding of Twitter will be taught alongside Wikipedia and blogging while knowledge of podcasting will also be taught at primary school level.

Children of all ages will also work towards “fluency” in handwriting and keyboard skills, and will learn how to use a spellchecker as well as how to spell themselves.

It’s not all tech savvy though. The Guardian reports that there will be “less emphasis on the use of calculators than in the current curriculum.”

Of course, being top of the class for tech, we’re already on Twitter. Follow us, and see what all the fuss is about!

Out April | £TBC | DCSF

  • Ben Sillis

    Just gonna throw this out there: I’m not entirely sure anyone understands Twitter right now. Is it a search engine? A networking tool? Just a new form of IM? If Twitter’s founders truly knew the answer (Or at least what the balance was) they might have figured out how to make money by now. How or what schools will teach kids about Twitter is anyone’s guess, but I shudder to think.

  • http://www.gravatar.com James Holland

    Twitter keeps getting investment, and just because a business plan isn’t public doesn’t mean they don’t have one. The new curriculum is more likely teaching, for want of a better phrase “information awareness” where kids are taught the difference between trusted and authoritative sources, and the digital equivalent of hearsay. I think that’s immensely valuable. Even primary school students create reports and projects – they need to understand the value and legitimacy of what they build into them – it’s not just a case of trusting a book from the school library any more.

Hot chat, right here!


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