School textbooks 'will become obsolete'

More than a quarter of teachers believe textbooks will become obsolete due to the rise of the internet.

A survey of nearly 600 school staff showed many believe more learning will be done online.

And the majority think information technology (IT) is now more important than traditional teaching methods.

Some 27.4 per cent said textbooks would become obsolete as increasing amounts of teaching material was posted online, while more than two-thirds said IT, such as interactive whiteboards and computers, were most important to them in the classroom.

A fifth said access to a computer and the internet at home was "essential" for a pupil to complete homework.