Being green is never easy

Magazine Article posted January 11, 2011

Environmental issues are always on the classroom agenda, but now they are joined by green ICT. Of course, we all want to do our bit for the environment, but is ‘green’ being done effectively in ICT? I had to look up quite a few articles to get a grasp of green ICT as it isn’t covered in teacher training. Perhaps it’s assumed we know what it involves, but do teachers even understand the term? I asked a few and none had a good understanding.

What about teachers who don’t use ICT very often? Would they know what to do in a computer suite to save energy? And how do students treat the equipment?
Some green ICT measures recommended shutting down computers after use, but this isn’t practical. I teach in ICT suites where computers are used all day. It would be impossible to turn them off every time they have been used, not to mention expecting students to do this.

As well as practical concerns, green ICT raises funding and responsibility issues, but where will investment come from and where does responsibility lie? Often, not with the ICT department or the technical team. Considering these are the two groups who use ICT equipment the most, you may think they would have considerable influence.

The environment is important to schools, but green ICT will only be an enabler for change if it is included in teacher training.

- Laura Mulholland
Laura Mulholland is a trainee teacher of ICT at south west teacher training