The Curriculum for ICT in Schools

There is significant evidence to suggest that learning is a search for meaning.  If this is so, then the ICT curriculum in schools needs to be built around those things that students are interested in.  Whilst there is clearly a case for helping students – or any learner for that matter - appreciate aspects outside of their experience, my anecdotal experience suggests that this is more likely to come about through activities, tasks and approaches which begin with those things that are of immediate interest to them.  There are a number of arguments, I think, that support this view of ICT in schools, i.e. the need to:

• help pupils become responsible users of the technology, including appropriate use and keeping themselves safe
• find ways to encourage pupils in, and excite them about, their learning
• provide increased scope for creativity and imagination
• implement what we now know about the learning process through recent developments like active learning, accelerated learning and the like. 

 So what influences learners in schools?  My experience with young people with learning difficulties and special educational needs (SEN) may be somewhat limited but suggests that young people – perhaps all of us - are strongly influenced by the media in all its forms, newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, images, music, video, games and so on.  This influence can be manipulative and result in all kinds of difficulties that individuals have to contend with.  Add to this, the needs of learners to communicate, share and make a contribution, their longing for success and to feel valued, their desire to learn and achieve, their search for happiness (whatever that might mean) and a life free from fear, anxiety and worry and the task for teachers is much more complex than the traditional focus on delivering someone elses’ view of the ICT curriculum suggests.  I admit that these additional aspects are not always apparent in the daily life of schools, but they are there nonetheless if we just take the time to look. 

Building a curriculum around the interests of young people means talking to them and finding out about them, their interests and aspirations and adapting tasks and activities, material and resources to suit their needs.  For teachers, learning should not start with the technology but with developing a relationship which is supportive of individual learning and development.  In this way we can match the technology to the learner and avoid the pitfalls of “one size fits all” and creating barriers which limit the ability of learners to follow their interests and achieve the meaning they are searching for in their lives.  If we do it this way, we can provide for young people the kinds of learning experiences which for many will have a positive impact on the rest of their lives. 

In future blogs, I intend to develop this theme and look at ways in which we might secure the interest and commitment of learners and motivate and excite them about their own learning!  To those who are interested, I invite you to let me have your thoughts, ideas and comments to help me with my own learning in this increasingly important area of school life.

Long live learners!  Long live the technology!