Catshanghai

Demos is an influential think tank based in the UK that has just published a research paper called “Their Space”, commissioned by the National College for School Leadership. Reading this report should be a wake up call to anyone involved in digital education. Demos makes a case to change the way that technology is perceived and taught throughout the UK education system. The report claims a pragmatic middle ground between neo Luddites crying moral panic about braindead videogamers and those who think that computers are the answer to everything.

According to Demos, young people have never had so much access to technology in terms of cell phones, PCs, game consoles and mp3 players. Technology is integrated into everyday life and this had led to different patterns of users from information gatherers, communicators, creative producers and digital pioneers. The problem is that schools have failed to adapt to this fundamental change in culture. The UK education system is not giving opportunities to harness the digital skills that are being developed by young people outside school. The report argues that young people rely on informal social networks to gather the skills, confidence and mindset to be able to work on their own projects that are totally unrelated to their school activities. Demos cites the case study of Raza aged 16 who set up a political blog and websites. He could only get a summer job in a call centre based on his ability to touch type, whereas his computer and communication skills were given no recognition.

In many cases, the skills and approaches adopted outside of school are totally at odds with the rigid routines and regulations pervading school culture. Social networking sites like Myspace and Bebo are blocked. MSN is not available. Cell phones are banned and the digital curriculum is packed with commercial office software and methods that are narrow, outdated and dull. Spreadsheets get more coverage than digital video even though young people spend more time watching Youtube than using Excel. Informal networks encourage collaboration whereas schools tend to call group work plagiarism. The UK government has invested billions in hardware and network infrastructure for schools without changing the way that teaching and learning works.

There is still a digital divide where many low income families have limited access to computer equipment. Demos thinks that the UK government should continue to work in partnership with schools to increase access to computer facilities by letting students take home laptops or open after school classes for young people and their parents. There is also a digital skills divide so that the digital pioneers and creative producers are making rapid progress whereas the everyday communicators are excluded, because they are performing the same repetitive texting and MSN tasks on a daily basis. The underlying reason for this skills gap is that the pioneers have access to mentors and informal social networks whereas those making less progress do not.

Demos believes that schools have an important role in bridging this skills gap by building partnerships with parents and students’ informal social networks. They think that schools need to embrace the reality that students often know more about ICT than their teachers by giving young people more freedom, responsibility, flexibility and influence when it comes to managing their technology learning. This could mean unblocking or unbanning sites, protocols and technologies in favour of learning good practice in a safe, supervised environment. Students could be empowered to manage their own Internet digital portfolio or even have a voice planning the ICT curriculum. Demos argues that formal education can build on students’ existing skills so they learn how to find, organise, describe, evaluate and discern the digital tools and information sources they use or create. Such innovation requires policy makers and school leadership teams to give teachers the freedom, training and support to build new and relevant student centred learning. Teachers also have some responsibility for the learning and relationships that take place in and out of their classrooms. There are plenty of opportunities to do good things now. For example, one teacher setup a silent debate where students anonymously discussed a motion using instant messaging software. This worked really well, because students are very familiar with messaging tools and they could participate without feeling shy or intimidated.

I think that this report is going to have a significant impact on approaches to technology education in the UK. The government needs to feel its investment in technology is bearing fruit at a time when it is becoming increasingly obvious that the Key Stage 3 ICT strategy needs a complete overhaul. “Their Space” is going to have a big influence on discussions between policy makers, LEAs, heads and teachers. That is not to say that I accept everything in the report. Demos suggests that young people learn far more about technology from their friends and informal networks rather than from their teachers. This may be true, but Demos has not proven this hypothesis beyond doubt, because the report is taken from a qualitative study based on diaries and interviews with 60 young people between 7 and 18. I have worked in a UK comprehensive and an international school where students are making so much progress that the curriculum needs to be rewritten to keep up with them. The education system must not take full credit for all these changes, but it deserves a little recognition for its contribution towards some of the progress. Now we need to reflect on whether schools’ contribution have become old fashioned or even misguided. With this in mind, we need to see “Their Space” as an important piece of work identifying the issues and practical steps that will help to build bridges and harmonise the digital lives of young people in and out of school.