Virtual Learning

This title was first published in 2001: Since the early 1980s, successive governments have realized the importance of computers and computing and made significant investment in schools. The most recent initiative, the National Grid for Learning, seeks to place online learning facilities at the heart of the curriculum for both teachers and students, and use it as a vehicle for lifelong learning. The impact of ICT in the classroom transforms management, organization and conventional pedagogic approaches. However, many teachers still struggle with ICT in the classroom. Since the mid-1990s, a significant number of students have gained access to a PC at home. They ways in which they have learnt to use machines and the uses to which they are put, are shaped by input from peers and personal experience, other than teachers. The education systems struggle to meet the demands and expectations of these young people and those without technology at home are doubly disadvanted if their schools and teachers cannot compensate. In this research, the author examines patters of computer ownership and use among young people, as well as teacher use and teacher attitudes. The results demonstrate the disparity between student computer ownership and use, and that of their teachers, with profound implications for the education system as a whole.