The Internet is at last transforming learning

I recall the words of the then US Secretary Of Education Rod Paige that just having technology in classrooms was not of itself sufficient.

 "It's not enough to have a computer and an Internet connection in the classroom if they are not turned on. It's not even enough to turn them on if they are not integrated into the curriculum, And it's pointless to integrate them into the curriculum if they don't add value to student performance. So our mission should be about the quality of education, not the quantity of computers "

His words were spoken at the turn of the millenium and since that time I have wandered into various classrooms and College campuses and seen little evidence that the way that the curriculum was delivered was starting to change, other than in ICT classes where you have to work very hard not to integrate computers. That is until now.

Recently I visited the new Newcastle under Lyme College building. It is a great learning environment full of space with computers located in the places where students are most likely to be. It was lunchtime and I caught sight of two young students sat at one of the computers on the edge of the cafe area, downloading from their mobile, images of the hair cuts they had completed that morning and cross referencing them against some occupational standards. They were engrossed as were the students in the salon itself who were competing a colourful interactive exercise about of all things Health and Safety. 

Last week I attended as I have done for the past thirteen years the summer school music concert. The first concerts we attended usually had more polished performances by ensembles however everything has now changed. They are full of work composed by the students themsleves. Of course composed 'work' was there before however it tended to be the school heavy rock band crashing out a number. Now it was the variety of the music that was presented that was so impressive.

I asked one of the performers about her work. She explained that she had never been taught the guitar but she had found a website on Youtube where there were lots of different videos you could watch designed to help you not only learn the guitar but to compose as well.
The evening finished with the school's dance performance for a local 'Rock Challenge.' A really full on committed and disciplined performance with over 50 dancers involved. We were told that the young people involved had choreographed and organised it themselves and I was pointed towards the 'Rock Challenge' blog. It provides both a great history of how the work was created and it is also real evidence of a live learning community.

What impresses is not the technology but the learning it enables and supports.