On a glossiness scale, Outlook for Learning: schools in the digital age gets top marks. This publication from Learning and Teaching Scotland, the National Grid for Learning and the Scottish Executive comes in a plastic folder pack containing a video and CD-Rom.

The 10-minute video, presented not by a teacher but by weather forecaster Heather Reid, takes viewers on a tour of Scottish schools, such as Gairloch High and St David’s in Dalkieth, showing uses of information and communications technology in learning, teaching and school management. It is informative and constructive to see practising teachers, rather than computer experts, talking about how they use ICT.

The CD-Rom is both Windows and Mac compatible and very easy to use. It contains two 30-minute videos of speeches by Professors Seymour Papert and Stephen Heppell. I was very impressed by the latter and his study of the work done by pupils using Apple ibooks together with wireless technology. It was also useful to hear about what is possible now rather than what could be in the classroom of tomorrow.

Whether a CD-Rom is the best way to show what are essentially two video recordings is a valid question. This is especially true considering that the video included in the pack could have been better presented and much more useful as a CD-Rom with links to schools sites, more in-depth interviews and examples of work.

However, for teachers like myself who live far from the urban centres, this pack provides an easy and possibly inexpensive way of finding out about what is going on in other schools around the country. Knowledge and experience of using ICT, and indeed all areas of the curriculum, need to be shared and this innovative pack is a way forward in this regard.

Murdo Macdonald teaches in North Uist and is a former presenter of Radio 5 Live’s computer programme Byte Size