It is interesting that in this country there is a good deal of attention and money spent on developing electronic aids to learning because this is not so prevalent in other European countries. A keen focus on the role of ICT is being created by funding for new secondary schools. Undoubtedly it is and will be a powerful driver for curriculum change, a major consideration for and fundamental feature of learning in the future. In the drive towards greater personalisation, a robust ICT infrastructure is essential. Our students need to learn expression, communication, innovation, collaboration, and creativity. ICT (and the Internet) is a critical tool to doing this work.

New Schools, new futures

The Government has committed large resources to ICT through BSF. Schools can anticipate £1,450 per student for such developments (although DFC loss is a consideration). This level of investment in ICT intends to provide new opportunities for students to learn in a range of different ways and experience learning that may well better prepare them for their future life and work. Many students already make far greater and more imaginative use of technology than their teachers or parents.

Provision in schools will allow access to ICT/learning outside of the school site and out of school hours. It could also allow individual learning resources to be tailored to individual student needs. ICT is seen as a vehicle to motivate and engage students, some of whom might be relatively disengaged from their school experience. A key task of a step change in provision is to ensure that the appropriate resources are set aside for the development of teachers and staff so that learning gains are clear.

Of many claims for new technology, the benefits currently trumpeted are: communication and collaboration - features of education normally claimed to be shrivelled by a typical British classroom and discouraged by its testing regime. These social affordances, along with the ease of working stepwise towards improvements (iteratively), are the new and exciting features of an information age, a society where economic requirements and aspects of personal empowerment look for and value agility, creativity, ingenuity and an ability to collaborate.

More than most people, Stephen Heppell is an impressive authority on ICT developments (http://www.heppell.net/). He is the person credited with putting the C in IT and has a simple mission to make learning a little more delightful. He highlights the difficulty and complexity involved in planning for the future, ' Unhelpfully, tomorrow's pedagogy is typically a theme explored through speculation, clouded by doubt, guided by prejudice and spun by marketing.'

He makes it clear (in his blog) that computers are everyday tools for us all, seen or unseen, but their value in learning is as tools for creativity and learning rather than as machines to 'deliver' the curriculum. He claims that these tools in our children's hands are forever pushing the envelope of expertise that previous technologies excluded them from. He highlights the remarkable achievements that are already observable where students:
. compose and perform music before being able to play an instrument
. shoot, edit and stream video and audio with no media course support
. produce fly-throughs of buildings without 2D drawing skills
. make stop frame animations with plasticine and other models
. create and finesse their own poetry, guided by others
. explore 3D surfaces and generic forms on their visual calculators
. swap ideas with experts on-line about volcanic activity
. follow webcam images of Ospreys hatching
. track weather by live satellite images
. communicate with learners in distant countries
. control robots that they have built
. build and develop their own websites and programmes
and generally push rapidly at the boundaries of what might be possible, indeed what was formerly possible, at any age.'

ICT, future gazing? (Based substantially on Stephen Heppell's work)

Extended school campuses include community features: library (learning centre), sports and technology facilities. They may also house other functions (health, local radio, start up business support, police etc). The 'school' might have extensions in the local community (e.g. local libraries). There's a need to design for community engagement, especially for ICT resources.

ICT capability will be of paramount importance. It will be portable and everywhere. ICT suites may or may not still exist; wiring and conduits (optical to copper) are built in under the floor so that there is access through very many outlets, including many wireless points. Computers are carried around with some housed in a learning centre and within mixed media 'pods' - a mix of Macs, PCs and smaller devices. Thin client technology is used for these fixed devices: powerful servers with small memory (economical) for end usage, a system that is easily maintained and upgraded. Servers are small, easily exchanged and make use of virtual memory so that functions can be switched easily. The system never fails and is capable of rapid growth. Learning centres contain fewer books and periodicals; there is a good ('cool') virtual learning environment (VLE) that enables multi-media student e-portfolios with access to developing ideas sections, especially linked to citizenship and school 'council' forums.

Speedy wireless web access is available throughout the school (provided health fears are unfounded) and students are encouraged to bring in their small and personal technology, configured for both home and school use by the school. Students log on every day to receive messages and updates and they register in (and out of) school for 'lessons'. Administrative functions utilise new technologies to the full, with a smooth and safe transfer of data available. There are no registration periods.

Students have large, open, social 'doing' spaces. Rooming is flexible; walls not load bearing (i.e. a steel frame building). Large 'lecture' spaces and small tutorial spaces are available, possibly enabling whole school assemblies at irregular times. Rooms are convertible to larger spaces with soundproof, temporary screens. Open plan arrangements are optimal. Several spaces have plasma or other screens and speakers so that collaborative group work is facilitated. Seating in these areas is comfortable.

Teaching spaces have screens or interactive whiteboards, with other screens or whiteboards either side of them. Students can connect wirelessly into these display devices.

Collegiality needs to happen for successful cross curricular connections and synthesis to be made. Inter-disciplinary learning, through rich and independent tasks, reinforces and extends subject based studies. There are active federations of students, departments and schools.

Learning to learn, developing thinking and understanding are at least as important as learning content. The curriculum helps teachers teach students to meet the unknown.

Students need to be able to perform their understanding in many different ways - so that they can be sure they are learning. Assessment is ipsative: students seek to improve on a personal best performance. Regular review is managed electronically through quizzes and other assessment devices. Students are able to e-revisit taught sections to lessons. There is far more independent learning, with student created aspirations. ICT is symmetrical in that what can be used can also be created. Timetabled time for really creative work is available.

The synthesising and creative mind will make a difference to our planet. Our curriculum needs to prepare students for sensitive, intelligent (in a broadest sense) and adaptive thinking skills.

Ewan McIntosh (http://edu.blogs.com/) (slightly adapted) (2007)

Ewan proposes small but deliberate developmental steps in schools. One or two developmental projects can really make a big difference to those involved and then, when they get comfortable with them, share the ideas with and train other colleagues and move them on, moving on to the next development.

"Why bother?"
Kids are changing. The 16 year old in this decade is entering the employment market with internet-age experiences on which to rely (the internet came into being in 1991). The six year old entering Primary school expects the web to allow them to publish and share their views with the world.

Five elements that have dramatically changed as technology develops outside school and which needs to change inside school as well:
1. Audience. How many people read or hear the work of your students? Do you project the work of your students onto walls of the school? Do you publish their work on school blogs for all to see, in the same way that their "stupid and useless" videos attract 154,000+ viewers? Do you know how to?
2. Creativity Unleashed! Student creations can be conceived and published in the same place, whether that's in photographic, video or audio forms .
Find out how to do all this. Channel the creative energy and ideas of your students - with a teacher as guide, not fount of knowledge - and you can turn those silly 'YouTube' aspirations into something far more powerful.
3. Differentiate... by raising the bar Students' favourite elements of learning are often the most difficult. If students have persevered to create something valuable, share it in formats that they can relate to and use: mobile phones, iPod and gaming formats. Then mum and dad can see it straight away - and anyone else. You can assess and be creative at the same time. Take a look at formative assessment in action in Modern Languages et in English. Why make students write to express their views all the time? Why not use photography and notes e.g. on Flickr?
4. Authentic goals (for students, not teachers) e.g. create real audio guides for their locality in 'AudioSnacks' or equivalent. Keep a learning log of what is going on in class or on a school trip. Produce a Wiki in French or German about your locality.
5. It's not about the teach, it's about the tech. Use the technology that is in your students' bags and pockets - mobile phone ideas; iPod use (listen to education material on iTunes Podcast Directory); xBoxes let you speak with fellow players around the world; the games played by kids on their N intendo DS or Wii can often be put into multilingual modes - never has brain training been so draining (see the rising popularity of Dr Kawashima's brain gym on the Nintendo DS).

The tools we use should not get in the way of the far bigger question - what is your role in your classroom now and how will new technologies integrate with it and enhance teaching and learning? The chances are they won't, unless you integrate (i.e. change) with them. The main release these tools will offer the teacher is the extension of the classroom beyond 'nine-to-four'. Collaboration and communication tools offer free and flexible ways to claim back some of the 200 minutes spent online by kids each night.

Why an urgency to adopt new and changing technology? Because new technology will push us into new practices.

ICT in BSF schools

Introduction
ICT is already transforming the shape of teaching and learning across all subjects and ages. Not only are children being taught in new and exciting ways, but they are learning new skills to enable them to participate in our changing society and economy. Teachers are also seeing significant changes beyond the classroom. We are making sure that we have the right levels of capital investment to achieve our radical vision of ICT in schools of the future.

The mission for ICT in schools is:

"To help all children achieve their full potential by supporting every school in England to become a centre of excellence in the use of ICT for teaching and learning and for whole-school development."

An ICT guidance document has been developed to provide context and guidance for the implementation of ICT as part of BSF. This guidance covers the inclusion of ICT in all BSF planning from the announcement of each wave to procurement of the ICT service.

Priorities
. Embedding the use of ICT across the curriculum - does the vision allow access to ICT as and when it is needed for teaching and learning?
. Personalised learning and workforce reform - will ICT provision be sufficient to stimulate and engage pupils? Similarly, is it sufficient to stimulate and engage teachers and support staff to achieve a significant impact on workloads etc?
. Broadband connectivity - will appropriate broadband connectivity be delivered to the classroom/desktop/office?
. Curriculum online - will the ICT infrastructure be capable of delivering media-rich teaching/learning resources to the classroom/desktop?
. Inclusion - is ICT provision sufficient and appropriate to help to address the needs of pupils with special needs, or absent or at risk, or disaffected with traditional methods of learning? Does it provide access to ICT resources for communities that do not currently have high rates of ownership or access?
. Technical support and training - do school staff have the technical support and training that they need to enable them to use ICT effectively in their jobs?
. New relationship with schools: information management - will ICT provision, connectivity and compatibility enable the efficient use and seamless transfer of data between all parties with a legitimate interest in it?
. Communications - is communication with schools e-enabled? Do schools and local authorities have and use the ICT infrastructure to allow this to happen and effectively reduce burdens on schools?
. Self evaluation - do schools and local authorities use ICT effectively to facilitate self evaluation and reflection on process and practice?

Considerations
. New school buildings must have the right physical spaces, these must be correctly configured (different requirements for whole-class teaching and individual learning), with accessible power and network cabling and appropriate environmental standards (heating, lighting, ventilation etc.). In addition to ICT infrastructure and equipment, provision must include technical support and training.
. Cabling, equipment and other services must allow true broadband capacity to be delivered to the classroom and school office.
. ICT infrastructure and equipment must allow the use of media-rich learning resources. BSF provision must include appropriate servers and sufficiently powerful PCs to enable use of current and future digital learning materials.
. Personalised/individual/independent learning is inconceivable without access to ICT. ICT provision is essential to develop differentiated, personalised approaches to learning and the aim for BSF schools should therefore be to have sufficient and suitable equipment to allow individual access.
. Appropriate provision and use of ICT can improve the quality of teaching, reduce teacher workloads and improve the recruitment and retention of teaching staff and other adults.
. Data capture, management (MIS) and transfer are key to delivering the personalised learning agenda and to developing a new relationship between the Department, partner organisations, local authorities and schools. BSF schools should be supplied with appropriate ICT infrastructure and equipment to enable efficient management and allow those schools to work with the data collected.
. ICT is a powerful tool for promoting social inclusion and delivering educational opportunity beyond the school gates. BSF ICT provision should include specialist equipment and software and home to school links, (and links between schools and hospitals and other locations) to support pupils with special needs and to transcend the need for learning to take place at a fixed physical location and time.
. ICT is an integral tool to allow schools and local authorities to evaluate practice against established goals and milestones. It can also allow for sharing and benchmarking within local contexts and schools in similar situations.

DfES - Unit 15 Using ICT to Enhance Learning
BECTA - Learning Platforms and Personalising Learning
BECTA - Learning Platform Functional Requirements