As these teachers' experiences demonstrate, ICT is playing an invaluable role in teaching and learning. Here, four classroom teachers talk to Bea Oaff about the impact of new technologies in their schools.
For some time, secondary school teacher Baldev Singh felt that ICT was not being used or taught properly. "It was being done in a vacuum," he says. When the subject of citizenship was introduced in 2002, he thought it could provide the context required. "It was an opportunity to do things differently," says Baldev, who is now head of ICT and citizenship at John Cabot city technology college in Bristol.
After looking at the topics that could be covered in citizenship and the skills that needed to be gained in ICT, he discovered that it was possible to integrate them. Crucially, he sought to do this strategically. "I wanted to introduce technology and ICT in a way that was creative, but also seamless and meaningful," he says. "There's no point just tacking computers on to the end of a lesson. It has to be incorporated. It has to have a purpose. And it has to add value. If done well, ICT can turn a seven-out-of-10 lesson into a nineout- of-10 lesson. But if it's done badly, I believe it can lower - not raise - standards"
In his Bristol classroom, Baldev is keen to use ICT to give pupils experiences that help them go beyond their immediate environment - what he calls 'the borderless classroom experience'. For example, during the last Olympic Games, pupils learned about cultural diversity, making video presentations of various competing countries.
When the Tsunami struck, pupils talked about the implications, creating video diaries that detailed their own feelings about the disaster. These were shared with young people in India who, in turn, sent back their own thoughts.
General Election time offered a perfect opportunity to explore democracy. The Bristol pupils logged on to the web to discover the name of their local MP; which political party they represented; what the party believed in; and ultimately how successful, or otherwise, they were in the ensuing election. The information was presented in various graphs, tables and spreadsheets, created on a laptop.
In 2004, Baldev's work was nationally recognised, when he received a Teaching Award for 'Innovation in Education'. Now his advice is sought both at home and abroad, supporting schools in Jordan, Egypt, Namibia and South Africa to make the most of e-learning.
Baldev recalls that one pupil became so inspired by the General Election topic that during the lesson he sent an email to his local representative, Roger Berry. The MP for Kingswood replied, visiting the school in spring 2004 for a Question Time style session with teachers and pupils. "The pupil felt comfortable with the technology and so was able to do something extra and independent. It was a real boost for him," says Baldev.
