The annual fest of educational technology, the BETT show, is on us again. Its January 9-12 slot at Olympia, London, is a useful moment for reflection, particularly this year as the first round of the Government’s ICT strategy is due to meet its targets (see right).
Schools are now getting a glimpse of the excitement and richness of the wired-up world and the challenge is to extend the strategy with some careful, confident strokes that bolster current successes and alleviate the weaknesses. Two obvious ones to remedy are the national issue of poor broadband access (so that it’s the majority rather than the minority who can benefit) and teacher education, which has not been solved by the massive pound;230 million training scheme funded by the New Opportunities Fund (p42).
The announcement of Curriculum Online last month (p4) will have far-reaching effects in generating digital curriculum material for the National Grid for Learning. Presumably the funding for the learning credits is the money saved by ditching the controversial digital TV project. Let’s hope it’s not one-off funding.
The real test for the politicians will come next - deciding how to stock its digital treasure house. Defenders of public service broadcasting find it difficult to sympathise with a disingenuous BBC. To grant what is an increasingly commercial corporation a business advantage in a major national undertaking with international implications is dangerous. And it could backfire, especially if the row rattles on to the European courts where favours might not be so forthcoming.
When multimedia emerged as a motivating tool, the problem was to establish ways in which this blend of text, image, sound and video could be incorporated into classroom work - it is now pretty much accepted. Digital video is in a similar situation.
This month we showcase some of the pioneering work going on in UK schools to show that curriculum demands on teachers do not exclude work with digital video. In fact, it allows teachers and students to hit curriculum targets and enjoy increased creativity. Leading practitioner Vivi Lachs highlights the curriculum rationale for digital video (p12) and other teachers provide practical back-up for both the technology and the learning (pp47-55). If you visit BETT you can see much of this on the Apple stand (don’t forget to get your February 8, Online for a free CD-Rom with the full, licensed version of QuickTime Pro for digital editing and effects).
Finally, at 88 pages this is the biggest Online ever produced. A big thank you goes out to all the people and organisations - staff, writers, photographers, news sources, advertisers and readers - that have made it possible in otherwise difficult trading conditions. Happy New Year to you all.
Merlin John, TES Online editor
